Letters: Visitor from Winnipeg finds Sask. an angry, hostile place

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I’m a big curling fan, but I’m not at the Brier in Regina this week. Why? The same reason I wasn’t at the Labour Day Classic last year, despite a decades-long history of attending. I attended the last Grey Cup in Regina in 2022 and I have never felt so unwelcome anywhere in the world — let alone in my own country.

People of Saskatchewan, who didn’t seem to realize it was just a game, literally said they hated me. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, as you seem to be angry about everything these days — not just football.

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You are angry at people who choose to use a different pronoun to the point that you will infringe on their Charter rights and use the notwithstanding clause in a way it was never intended to pass your petty legislation.

You were once the most progressive and caring of Canadians — the ones who brought us medicare. What happened? I hope someday you find your way back and then I will too.

Sharon Tod, Winnipeg

Fondly remembering Mulroney

Brian Mulroney was courageous, but Justin Trudeau is cowardly. Brian Mulroney was visionary, but Justin Trudeau is visionless. Brian Mulroney was inspirational, but Justin Trudeau is contemptuous.

Chris Robertson, Stony Plain, Alta.

Remembering Mulroney less fondly

It is not nice to rain on somebody’s parade — especially with their passing. But the overwhelming adulation of Brian Mulroney omits the reality that this country has gone down hill ever since he forced the 1988 free trade deal down our throats against the will of the majority of Canadians.

Everything the opposing forces, the Council of Canadians, the Labour Movement, and many economists forecast has come to be. Our health system, our education system and social services more generally have all plummeted.

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Working people are working longer many with little or no security. Wages have not kept up with inflation. We have a drug- and crime-infested society. We clearly have become a vassal of U.S. foreign policy. We no longer control our economy, which is largely foreign owned.

The free trade agreements were not fair trade agreements and together have taken the country backwards. There was, of course, an upside: The rich got a hell of a lot richer. But with his passing we should give Brian Mulroney his due, as well.

He showed strong leadership when standing up to U.S. president Ronald Reagan and British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and playing a key role in ending apartheid in South Africa and befriending Nelson Mandela. Mandela, at the time, was on the U.S. terrorist list and was perceived as a communist.

Also, he was a leading voice in addressing the ozone environmental crisis. He showed he could be a strong leader. I only wish there was someone of his strength and calibre that would undo the negative effects of free trade and restore Canada as a sovereign nation.

Ron Brydges, St. Catharines, Ont.

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