4 days Ago By Winnipeg Free Press
A use for the money Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * A use for the money Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Opinion A use for the money Couldn’t the estimated $2.7 billion to $3 billion dollars the Liberal government is forgoing on collecting GST/HST on certain items have not gone to one of the many social issues that plague Canada? Homelessness, drug addiction, racism, and mental health, just to mention a few? To think that saving five per cent or 13 per cent on a $25 toy is going to make a difference on a family’s finances is ludicrous. I am not against people saving money on tax breaks, but I am against people suffering in a country as prosperous as Canada, when a political party is attempting to buy votes.
Alfred Sansregret Winnipeg Option for Trudeau Re: Dec. 16) I remember saying in 2016 if Greg Selinger had resigned the day before the provincial election the NDP wouldn’t have lost as many seats as they did, and Brian Pallister wouldn’t have been handed the largest majority government in the history of Manitoba politics. That’s how much the leader of the party was the party.
I don’t know if the same would be true here of Justin Trudeau. There is only so much Liberal party baggage Trudeau can carry with him on his way out the door that would allow a new leader to start on day one unencumbered. So, who would want to lead the party into the next election with less than a year to unpack what’s left, or find a way out of the darkness? It would have to be someone willing to put the country before themselves.
Someone who is willing to work off a best-case scenario of pulling off a minority government to hold Pierre Poilievre at bay long enough to rebuild. Someone prepared to sit in opposition even. Is Mark Carney that kind of person? Former Bank of Canada and former Bank of England chair.
But leaving Canada and coming back to lead the Liberals hasn’t gone over well with Canadians in the past (see Micheal Ignatieff). Freeland would be riding high for a bit, but as far as the current economic outlook goes, she is going to be saddled with that albatross and an easy target for her opponents both in a leadership run and, if successful, at leadership debates. So what is a Liberal Party to do? Well if Justin Trudeau wants to do anything to save his party and his political legacy, I think his only option is to fulfil a promise made in 2015, and one he could probably pass with the help of the NDP: proportional representation.
Elections Canada will say they need more time to get it in place. Parliamentary committees will say they need more information to decide on what process to use. The Senate will be stalled out by conservative senators trying to hold up second reading long enough that it dies somewhere along the way.
But if it did make it through all of that the next leader of the Liberals will be representing the people that voted for them. As will every other leader. At some point the electorate would come to see that proportional representation means their vote matters, their voice is heard, their wills reflected in the make up of their Parliament.
Those realizations will lead back to Justin Trudeau and maybe, just maybe, that could end up being what he is remembered for instead of the epitaph he is currently destined to have on his headstone. Brian Spencler Winnipeg Bus problems Re: (Dec. 13) I have to agree with Tom Brodbeck on electric buses.
It makes sense to go electric, especially in Manitoba. Much of the problem is service reliability. I took the bus once to a Jets game and went back to using my car despite the lack of good parking downtown.
I waited a long time for a bus to get on to go home and then I only got as far as Victoria Hospital and had to walk the rest of the way. Reliability is a main issue and, since my experience, safety has also become a problem. Even stations along the way with parking while travelling to and from downtown on the bus would help.
It seems city council is reluctant to take the initiative, and we are stuck with expensive diesel buses into the foreseeable future and continue to have budget problems every year. Terry Robert Winnipeg Follow the leaders Re: (Editorial, Dec. 14) Threatening to restrict sales of electricity to the U.
S. and balkanize the electric grid on which jobs, and in emergencies, lives depend (which will give the climate-denier who withdrew the U.S.
from the Paris Agreement an excuse to restart coal generators) seems like a terrible idea. However, we should remember that General AG McNaughton’s negotiations on the Columbia River Treaty of 60 years ago, which is seen as being unfairly advantageous to the U.S.
, were handicapped by a lack of political support in Canada. In the face of U.S.
tariff threats, we and provincial politicians should keep quiet and let our federal negotiators work in the confidence that Canadians are solidly behind them and whatever negotiating strategies they choose. Daniel Prowse Winnipeg Enough is enough The horrific news of Israel’s bombing of a UN school, and the resulting deaths — at least 20 according to witnesses — should lead us all to demanding a complete and immediate ceasefire in Gaza, with consequences for those parties who refuse. Sources claim 45,000-plus dead and 106,000-plus injured since Israel “retaliated” for the cowardly Hamas attack on Oct.
7 last year. This is far, far past enough and long past the point of appropriate or balanced, if that was ever an acceptable excuse. Israel can no longer use the claim of self-defence when they are targeting women and children, schools and hospitals under the guise of attacking locations where militants are operating.
To be clear, neither of the political/military forces are “right” in this war. Both must answer for egregious human rights violations, but the world cannot continue to sit on its collective hands while Israel runs amok murdering the innocent. At this time of the year when much of the world is hoping to celebrate peace, those celebrations mean nothing if we do not do something, anything to see that it extends to those in Palestine; ironically the birthplace of the one many call the Prince of Peace.
Rick Koss Winnipeg Thanks for the coverage I’ve been wanting to write a quick note to say that I have been enjoying what seems to be an uptick in faith community-focused reporting lately — e.g., about the annual perogy-making tradition at that one church, a front-page announcement about Blue Christmas services, and regular reports on the Roman Catholic synod.
While there has always been the faith section of the , it’s nice to see these stories included in the more everyday sections of the paper, too. We’re in an age when many people feel unsupported, disconnected, and lonely, so it’s great to showcase some of these community events and traditions where many Manitobans find support and belonging. Keep up the variety of interesting news stories! Olivia Kehler Winnipeg Advertisement Advertisement.
