Readers offer their opinions on the conflict in the Middle East, Saskatoon city hall’s tracking of issues and a patients-to-nurses ratio for Saskatchewan.
It has always been our understanding that the letters column of the StarPhoenix is intended to encourage citizens of Saskatoon and area to express their views on contemporary issues of importance.
He does not seem to know that the Zionist project began displacing Palestinians over a century ago.
He is blithely unaware that international courts have declared the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories to be illegal, and that in January Israel was ordered to “protect against further severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people.”
Above all, the writer shows no compassion for the almost 40,000 Palestinians, including an estimated 15,000 children, who have been slaughtered by the Israeli army, nor for the entire population of Gaza, some two million people, whom the Israelis have deprived of the food, water, and medical supplies that they desperately need for survival.
The people of Saskatoon and area deserve better coverage of this crisis and its implications for us all.
Michael Murphy, Sandra Beardsall, Saskatoon
Pothole, weed reporting needs new strategy
Block mentioned that citizens can report these situations through various ways to city hall as the city cannot afford to have managers driving around reporting such things.
As the city has a large labour force, couldn’t, for example, the parking enforcement staff who drive down our streets on a daily basis be tasked with reporting these situations? Seems to me this would be a perfect fit to do this reporting.
Another option would be have someone on a contract basis report potholes, dead trees and out-of-control weed growth throughout our city. I wouldn’t think this would be a difficult task or a significant cost to the city to bring back the city that was once know as “Saskatoon the beautiful.”
I look forward to your thoughts and responses on these suggestions.
Steve Hyde, Saskatoon
Nurses should have patient ratio
Last October, registered nurses, nursing students, and supporters rallied at the Saskatchewan legislature drawing attention to issues of patient safety and quality of care.
Little has been done to address the problem of staff shortages. B.C. has become the first province to implement minimum nurse-patient ratios. Saskatchewan should follow suit.
Ed Lehman, Regina
(This letter was originally published in the Regina Leader-Post.)
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