Re: Retired teachers slam NDP, union, July 22.
I guess when Retired Teachers Association president Pat Bowslaugh made the comment that retired teachers have been frightened, threatened and hurt by the NDP government, she wasn't aware that there was to be an aside to the article where it was pointed out that Gary Doer and the rest of his NDP union lapdog MLAs had already committed an additional $1.5 billion to the basic liability of the teachers' pension and have now committed a further $130 million to cover the COLA portion. These facts make Bowslaugh's statement ludicrous. What Manitoba taxpayers should find more perplexing is that the teachers' pension fund finds itself short in these boom economic times. If the fund can go broke during this past period of tremendous economic growth and bull markets, what will happen over the next 10 years when investment returns are likely to be significantly smaller.
My bet is that the $1.63 billion the Manitoba government has already committed will only be the tip of the iceberg and that these guys will be back to the trough year after year looking for more taxpayer bailout money.
Given the market conditions over the past decade, it is very unlikely that the teachers' pension fund could have been mismanaged to the point where it was not generating reasonable return on investment. This leads one to surmise that the fund was being underfunded during that time.
Under those circumstances, most of us common folk would simply have had to put more of our own money into our pension fund. Apparently that course of action never occurred to the teachers in this province.
Cal Paul
Winnipeg
Promise proved hollow
In April 2005 after the R.B. Russell Y-Not? Downtown Y Anti-Poverty program generated Free Press coverage, the Free Press published a series of articles examining the availability of recreational facilities throughout Winnipeg. The study concluded that in the inner city, North End and Point Douglas communities there was little or nothing available in terms of recreation. As a result of the study, Mayor Sam Katz was moved to announce that a $7 million recreation centre would be built in the inner city, presumably to improve social conditions.
Alas, the mayor's promise proved hollow. It now appears that the $7 million earmarked for that much-needed inner-city recreation centre will be drained away for a water park that will generate dollars for a businessman's pockets and the admission fees will prohibit access by kids in poverty. And people wonder why we have a car theft problem in Winnipeg.
If inner-city kids don't have free access to recreation facilities, there is little likelihood of social change for our city in terms of meaningful reduction of the human costs of crime and punishment.
BRIAN MacKINNON
Retired inner-city teacher
Winnipeg
Protect site at Forks
Re: Rare find steps out of dig at Forks, July 22.
While the Canadian Museum for Human Rights might have something to offer this city, the fact that the site rests on a rich history of our collective past ought not be discounted. The dig at The Forks ought to be viewed by everyone in this city if only to marvel at the artifacts dating back hundreds of years which are being unearthed daily. If anything, people ought to be granted more time to fully explore what lies beneath decades of river silt. Anything less is a disservice to those who made what we have today possible.
DAN DONAHUE
Winnipeg
Share the road
Re: Environmentalists use pedal power, July 19.
Mike Waite of the Manitoba Safety Council was quoted as saying bike taxis are "risky business" and went on to say that the city's infrastructure "doesn't support another mode of transportation that will slow us down and complicate the system even more."
I understand his concern about safety but he seems to think that completely separate facilities are required before bicycle traffic can be safe. This is not true -- what is needed are cyclists and drivers who know how to share the road, drive safely and respect each other's right to be there. The Manitoba Safety Council could assist in this by offering courses for cyclists, along the lines of the Can-Bike program that has been adopted by the Canadian Cycling Association. And Manitoba Public Insurance could assist in this by providing more focus on how to share the road with cyclists in their driver education program. The reality is that increasing numbers of people travel by bicycle in Winnipeg, and that cyclists need to use city streets to get where they want to go.
We should be supporting the growth of cycling for environmental, health and economic reasons, and making it as safe as possible rather than discouraging cycling because we don't have perfect infrastructure.
JEREMY HULL
Winnipeg
Credit the customers
I would be pleased to donate money to a charitable cause through a store if the store agreed to match the funds raised. Ditto with the bags of food they encourage us to purchase to donate to Winnipeg Harvest. Isn't there a problem here? The food store should be donating food, or at least matching what we donate. When the same stores advertise that they have donated X amount of money, they neglect to say that the money comes from the customers, and not from the corporation.
June Slobodian
Winnipeg
Lie down, take a rest
Re: Tired, not drunk: officer, July 22.
I am sure that everyone who has imbibed too much and has decided to drive wishes that the officer who stops them would assume that they looked tired rather then impaired. Then there would be no need for such nonsense as a breathalyser test. Perhaps they would then be offered a place to lie down and rest. The public has never heard such a bunch of bull from their police force as they are hearing now.
LOU SPAKOWSKI
Winnipeg
Catch and deter thieves
Re: Auto theft stats wrong: police, July 22.
I agree, it is indeed concerning that once again Winnipeg has retained the embarrassing title of auto theft capital of Canada, with more than double the rate of thefts as the next closest city. Rick Linden of the Winnipeg Auto Theft Suppression Strategy points out that in 2007, at least half of the auto theft crimes in Winnipeg were attempts, therefore skewing the picture of how bad auto theft in our city really is. What we must not forget is that regardless of whether thieves are successful in stealing your car, it still makes you a victim of auto theft and is a drain on our justice system. The bottom line is among major cities, Winnipeg has the highest number of auto theft victims per capita in Canada. The NDP government needs to work on catching and deterring thieves from committing crimes in the first place. Only this will ensure Winnipeg and Manitoba once and for all relinquish their top titles for auto theft -- and other crimes for that matter.
Gerald Hawranik
Progressive Conservative Justice Critic
Winnipeg
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