Border mobility is top of mind for these voters this federal election
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Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Author urges resisting efforts to clean up ‘image routes'
Last month, city Coun. Jeff Browaty proposed banning encampments along what he called 'image routes' like the Disraeli Freeway just before Main Street, along with Pembina Highway, McPhillips Street, St. Mary's and St. Anne's roads, Kenaston Boulevard and Regent Avenue. The reason he gave for the proposal was safety, and also for esthetics — they make Winnipeg look bad. The question left hanging seemed clear: Who wants to see encampments on the side of the road on their way to work, shopping or to see a movie? David Driedger, lead minister at First Mennonite Church in Winnipeg (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press files) An editorial in this newspaper discounted Browaty's proposal, suggesting it was more about optics than addressing the issue of safety — out of sight, out of mind. And, if applied, all it would do is move encampments to another part of the city and make it someone else's problem. Like the editorial writer, David Driedger isn't in favour of the councillor's idea. When it comes to encampments, Driedger, lead minister at First Mennonite Church in Winnipeg's West End, doesn't think moving them to less visible locations is the solution. Instead, those tents and tarps and shopping carts should be seen because they might be showing us a way to salvation. That's the argument he makes in his new book Nothing Will Save Us: A Theology of Immeasurable Life (Pandora Press). According to Driedger, the 'nothing' he refers to in the title are those people and places often seen as being of no importance. Yet these 'nothings' in the eyes of society are people loved by God. Not only that, they can hold the key to spiritual well being for people of faith — if they only pay attention. 'I want to call us to pay attention to those who are regarded as nothing in the eyes of the world,' said Driedger, adding that he isn't trying to romanticize the poor or poverty. 'Everyone is created by God, and we can see God in everyone and everything.' Through the book, which is aimed at Christians, Driedger argues that these 'nothing' places are where people can encounter God, discover truth and see how some structures of society are set up in such a way that some people, despite their best efforts, simply can't move forward or get ahead. Citing the Old Testament prophets who 'proclaimed that every king, regardless of his actions, caused the people to sin,' Driedger says structural sins like the old regulations that required Indigenous children to be sent to residential schools continue to have consequences that can be seen on the streets of Canadian cities today. Driedger's challenge to Christians is to not only support charities like food banks and soup kitchens, but to also think about how laws and structures that disadvantage and oppress certain segments of society can be changed. This includes laws that impact sex workers. When Driedger asked to meet with some, they were at first surprised a pastor wanted to talk with them. During the meeting, they spoke about the dangers of criminalizing their work, the lack of police protection and the Church's tendency to either 'rescue' or condemn them, instead of listening to them. In the book, Driedger compares their experiences to the women in the Gospel of Matthew's genealogy of Jesus. They were also women who transgressed social and sexual norms — people like Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba — in order to survive, but who are not discounted when it comes to telling the story of Jesus. Driedger goes on to wonder if Christians today can find ways to not discount women caught up in sex work, but to hear their voices and stories instead of judging them. The book is rooted in Winnipeg, using Winnipeg examples. For Driedger, that's also a good illustration of what he means about being overlooked and underestimated. 'Winnipeg seems neither small town nor big city, often discounted as nothing by insiders and outsiders alike,' he said. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. The same goes for the West End, where he lives and which he loves. 'Like many discounted neighbourhoods and their real challenges, there remains something welcoming and inclusive about the West End, resisting the measures of the upwardly mobile,' he said. Overall, the book is a reminder to Christians to take seriously what the Apostle Paul writes in the second chapter of Philippians. That's where he says that although Jesus was in the very nature of God, he did not use that to his advantage but rather 'made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant.' (New International Version.) Similarly, Driedger said, Christians should also 'empty themselves' of their preconceived ideas and stereotypes about people who are poor and marginalized in order to truly see and hear those who are seen as 'nothing' in this world. And, for him, that would include resisting efforts to clean up 'image routes' in the city of Winnipeg. faith@ The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba. If you appreciate that coverage, help us do more! Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow us to deepen our reporting about faith in the province. Thanks! BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER John LonghurstFaith reporter John Longhurst has been writing for Winnipeg's faith pages since 2003. He also writes for Religion News Service in the U.S., and blogs about the media, marketing and communications at Making the News. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CBC
2 days ago
- CBC
Voters speak after casting their Battle River-Crowfoot byelection ballots
Advance byelection polls have opened throughout the Battle River-Crowfoot federal riding. It's considered one of the most conservative ridings in Canada, and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is one of more than 200 candidates running for the seat. The CBC's Acton Clarkin caught up with voters outside a polling station in Drumheller, Alta., after they cast their ballots.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
First Nations demand end to wildfire ‘cycle of failure'
Four wildfire-affected First Nations in northern Manitoba urged the federal and provincial governments Friday to do more prevention work and collaborate to avoid future mass evacuations of the fly-in communities. More than 6,000 evacuees from the remote Island Lake region — composed of Garden Hill, Red Sucker Lake, St. Theresa Point and Wasagamack Anisininew nations — have been out of their homes since July. 'We demand that emergency-response investments are made to Anisininew nations, which is only a small component of our unfinished business,' Alex McDougall, grand chief of Anisininew Okimawin told reporters in Winnipeg. Anisininew Okimawin is a council that represents the four First Nations. The chiefs of the communities, also backed by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, called on Ottawa to spend more on wildfire-prevention measures such as community-led fire breaks and local firefighting teams. They called on governments to fund infrastructure projects, including an all-season road, that would reduce the need for evacuation flights. Other demands included a tripartite emergency accord, regional evacuation and national Indigenous fire strategies, and respect for Anisininew leadership. The chiefs said prevention measures could have been implemented, but weren't, after a mass evacuation in 2017. 'This is not an emergency system. This is a cycle of failure. Our chiefs in Anisininew nations are saying to Canada, 'The cycle ends now,'' he said. The Free Press has requested comments from the federal and provincial comments. The Island Lake region is about 600 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. Several fires were burning in the area Friday. The largest was an out-of-control blaze, measuring 37,857 about hectares, that forced a full evacuation of Garden Hill. The fire was caused by human activity and detected July 6, the Manitoba Wildfire Service said. The Manitoba government extended a 30-day provincewide state of emergency, which was set to expire Friday, to Aug. 22. It is the second Manitoba-wide state of emergency since late May. About 14,000 Manitobans were displaced as of Friday. The wildfire service reported 159 active fires as of Wednesday, for a total of 403 since the season began in April. Almost 1.7 million hectares of land has burned. That is the most since 1989's record of more than three million hectares. Chris KitchingReporter Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris. Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
