Winnipeg Free Press Newspaper Archives Aug 20 2015, Page 8

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 20, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A8 Grit quits over old tweets Ala Buzreba’s withdrawal is more principled than the actions of some sitting MPs and senators who treat governance as a farce. @ TomMcGr The real lesson from this Ala Buzreba fiasco: no matter how new you are to politics, you’ll always be running on your record. @ OneChrisEdwards The vetting process doesn’t just protect the party. It protects the candidate too. Ala Buzreba will live in Google forever. @ MarcPower The tweet by Ala Buzreba is not as offensive as the tweet she was replying to, but I guess that’s how Canada’s going these days. @ vexedalex Twenty- one- year- old Ala Buzreba should stay as a candidate. Dumb teenager tweets are past; she apologized. Need young politicians. @ Penalosa_ G I think it is ridiculous that Ala Buzreba was pressured to step down. @ AaronWrotkowski OUR VIEW œ YOUR SAY WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2015 Freedom of Trade Liberty of Religion Equality of Civil Rights A 8 PERSPECTIVES AND POLITICS EDITOR: Shannon Sampert 204- 697- 7269 shannon. sampert@ freepress. mb. ca winnipegfreepress. com EDITORIAL LETTERS FP COMMENTS TWITTER VOL 143 NO 276 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 2015 Winnipeg Free Press, a division of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Published seven days a week at 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6, PH: 204- 697- 7000 Publisher / BOB COX Editor / PAUL SAMYN Associate Editor Enterprise / SCOTT GIBBONS Associate Editor Operations and Engagements / SARAH LILLEYMAN Associate Editor Digital News / WENDY SAWATZKY Night Editor / STACEY THIDRICKSON Director Photo and Multimedia / MIKE APORIUS W What’s your take? The Free Press wants to hear from you. Email: letters@ freepress. mb. ca Post: Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, R2X 3B6 Please include your name, address and daytime phone number. Follow us on Twitter @ WFPEditorials For a how- to video on writing letters, visit winnipegfreepress. com Harper’s responsibility questioned While the Duffy scandal isn’t comparable in financial terms to the scandal that helped topple Paul Martin’s government, in political terms it’s much worse ( Trial remains a hot topic , Aug. 19). The prime minister’s responsibility for creating a team of advisers and assistants so heedless of the truth and reckless with national interests and values makes one thing glaringly clear: Stephen Harper should fire his entire staff and then resign. Canada’s liberal parliamentary democratic values, traditions and institutions cannot tolerate ( or survive) any more ( months and) years of this regime. The limit has been reached. DONALD BAILEY Winnipeg ¥ The media are relentless toward Prime Minister Harper regarding testimony in the Mike Duffy trial; it obviously makes good press during an election campaign ( Wright denies lying to Harper , Aug. 18). To liken the situation with everyday experiences, if an employer hires someone who steals from the company and another employee lies to cover up the theft, is the employer at fault? Of course not. TERRY MEINDL Teulon Hunting debate needs civil discourse Re: Debate impossible in face of rage ( Aug. 19). I would like to congratulate Paul Turenne for his objective look at an issue that was blown hugely out of proportion by the media. Just like abortion, religion and mosquito fogging, game hunting seems to bring out the wildly fanatic factions of society. Social media lets us think we can say whatever we want in a less- than- civil manner. Too bad we can’t have civil discussions about these things anymore like we would face to face. MARLENE PERRIN Morden Questions about PM, religion Stephen Marche is right in arguing Harper’s “ peculiar hatred for sharing information” accounts for his need to control, his branding of individuals and organizations as either enemies or friends and his efforts to gag scientists ( For Harper, ignorance is bliss , Aug. 18). However, it doesn’t explain his infatuation with Israel’s most right- wing government since it was founded, nor his rejection of marriage equality. Harper consistently refuses to answer questions from the media about his religious beliefs and how his faith influences his political agenda. He belongs to the Christian and Missionary Alliance, a fundamentalist Protestant church that teaches we live in “ the last days,” which will culminate in Armageddon, the final battle between good and evil represented in part by Israel and Islam. The church also teaches homosexuality is sinful, and that gays and lesbians can only be redeemed by abandoning their sexual orientation. Does Harper share these beliefs, and have they influenced his stand on Israel and marriage equality? ALAN BOWD Winnipeg U. S. demands on Cuba hypocritical If the U. S. truly believes in a new era in American- Cuban relations, it should refrain from using the same old tired statements about democracy and human rights changes as condition for improved relations ( A new era , Aug. 15). Cuba shouldn’t be stampeded into such changes, but rather allowed to effect substantive changes over time. The admission by Barack Obama that the U. S. made concerted efforts to undermine the economy and stability of the Cuban government for 54 years is telling, as such actions ended up harming the Cuban people, not the government. To now call for human- rights changes for the very people the U. S. victimized is hypocritical. DON PALMER Winnipeg Tweeters a bunch of twits One of my favourite reads of the day has always been the Letters section of the Free Press ; it’s a great forum for readers to have their opinions expressed. The many points of view expressed leads to debate on serious ( and some not- so- serious) issues we face in this city, province, country and beyond. Ever since the Free Press included Twitter and Free Press website comments, the content in those forums has a decidedly left- leaning bias — the majority of these comments are anti- Conservative. One can only come to the conclusion most of Manitoba’s tweeters are left- wing twits. The Free Press has more than its share of left- wing columnists — you don’t need another section filling readers’ heads with liberal naiveté. CAL PAUL Winnipeg Duffy trial dogs PM Re: Duffy trial revelations on staffers heating up political trail for Harper ( Aug. 18). Certainly Duffy’s and Wright’s activities were wrong. The courts are dealing with that. With all the issues facing our federal government, is Mike Duffy the most important issue? Because, if it’s so terribly important, Canada must be the best- run country in the world. The time being wasted on badgering Harper about Duffy and Wright should be spent on questioning the prime minister and other leaders about their platforms. Our country’s future doesn’t rest on Duffy and Wright. The media is giving the whole Duffy affair attention it does not merit. — emcee51 ¥ @ emcee51: So you’re saying no one should ask the prime minister what happened in his office, involving his staff and star senator under his watch? Harper is running a campaign based on his gang being the most competent to lead — I’d say all questions regarding how his handpicked staff managed a crisis are absolutely relevant and deserving of merit. — Canadian Thistle ¥ @ emcee51: Steven Harper and his attack dogs spared no quarter during the Liberal sponsorship scandal. Now the shoe is on the other foot, and you expect opposition parties and the media to just let it go? It was Harper who dissolved Parliament and plunged us into this long, long campaign. He knew when the Duffy trial would start, so he has no one to blame but himself. A strategic blunder that is proving very costly. — GammaRay ¥ The Duffy affair speaks to the honesty and integrity of our sitting prime minister. People trying to cover up a scandal and influence audits shows a supreme lack of both. This concerns all Canadians. — Gordo Jets captain checks in Re: He’s got playoff fever ( Aug. 18). It’s unsatisfying to see a team that played its heart out get to the playoffs — despite the injuries and suspensions ( hello Buff) — and then lose four straight game. These players will be better. I hope they now know what it takes to get to the post- season and maybe even into the next rounds. This is going to be a gonzo season if they start really well. Looking forward to it. — 1096009 ¥ Hope the deal is agreed upon and they are just waiting until he gets back in town to announce it. — 9X9 ¥ Chevy: Just get a contract signed already for another five years. The guy likes being here, and we like his attitude, too. — Geeze I T doesn’t seem like brain surgery, but Winnipeg has been struggling with the science of parking since the end of the Second World War, if not earlier. The proliferation of automobiles, the development of the suburbs and the changing character of the downtown over the decades have constantly challenged planners and urban theorists to discover an equation that accommodates people, cars and business, without wrecking the architectural landscape. Depending on who you talk to, the city has never solved the problem. Do we need more parkades or fewer? Cheaper on- street parking, or more expensive? Fewer loading zones? More residential parking permits? Maybe a form of mobility pricing that would charge motorists for entering certain areas of the city, such as the downtown, at peak hours? Of course, there is no single answer — at least, not a complete answer. That’s why the Winnipeg Parking Authority is looking for a consultant to review the literature and the experience of other major cities, which have all grappled with similar problems. The study will undoubtedly provide some new ideas. Edmonton, for example, provides car- share companies with one free on- street stall per block, and is considering expanding the program. The virtue of car- sharing is it takes cars off the street and frees up parking. Winnipeg has one car- sharing co- op with roughly 800 members, but the city doesn’t support it in any way. Calgary has a program that provides enhanced access to its parkades and lower rates for people who carpool, another way of reducing traffic. Car sharing and car pooling are ideal solutions for downtown residents who either don’t have a place to park or who don’t like the price. ( It could be worse. Two new Manhattan developments, for example, charge US$ 1 million for a single parking stall.) Environmentalists say parkades cause congestion in downtown areas by encouraging automobile use. Under this theory, fewer parking lots would force commuters to take the bus or use a bicycle. They also suggest the cost of parking should be expensive so people will leave their cars at home, but automobile use was not affected by high gas prices, and it is unlikely to be deterred by parking fees, either. In a sprawling city such as Winnipeg, with its weak transit service, businesses rely on the ability of customers to reach them by car and find a place to park. As residential development expands, particularly in the Exchange District, the need for parkades is even more apparent. The city contributed $ 5 million in an interestfree loan for the construction of a parkade in the CentrePoint development across from the MTS Centre, but it has been unable to find a solution for the civic parkade, which was closed three years ago because of structural problems. The area around city hall has since become a parking nightmare, although the relocation of the police service to its new headquarters should move some of the pain to that area of town. The city’s parking landscape needs to be much clearer. Motorists entering the downtown should have a good idea where they need to go to park. Instead, cars frequently circle through the downtown, like seagulls eyeing a potential snack, looking for a place to park. The result is even more congestion and pollution. The city’s goal should be to encourage green solutions and fair and effective pricing, while recognizing the age of the automobile has not ended yet. Rocket science and parking lots A_ 10_ Aug- 20- 15_ FP_ 01. indd A8 8/ 19/ 15 7: 46: 49 PM