Letters to The Province, April 19, 2022: Reconcile our language

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The Pope’s apology to First Nations at the Vatican seemed to be more politically motivated than a sincere apology. Of all the hardships and abuse we were subjected to in residential schools, forbidding us to speak our language was the worst thing they did. Other acts of discrimination that began then and continue today must be addressed if we are to accomplish true reconciliation.

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At the very least, the government should ensure sufficient funding to maintain our Okanagan language they tried so hard to take away. Without adequate funding to preserve and enhance our language now, we will be unable to keep it the way it should be, with fluent speakers. Our language is who we are as First Nations peoples and goes far beyond just words.

All this talk from our politicians about reconciliation and how important language and culture is to First Nations peoples and that it must be preserved, so far, it’s just been talk.

Joe McGinnis (residential school survivor), Oliver

Winters Hotel fire: Turning a tragic event into a long-term positive

Re: Scrambling to help the 71 people who lived in the once-grand Winters Hotel

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With the terrible fire that destroyed the historic Winters Hotel, it’s appropriate that a joint initiative by the City of Vancouver and the provincial government be undertaken to purchase and rebuild this site to restore and, if possible, increase the stock of social housing that was lost .

This would turn a tragic event into a long-term positive effect on Vancouver’s social housing problem.

Paul Spiette, Port Coquitlam

Solving the housing affordability crisis

Re: Liberals, NDP have no good answers to Poilievre’s housing policy

As long as population growth and immigration continue, and as long as banks provide ever larger mortgages, housing prices will keep rising as much as the market will bear.

Reducing taxes and regulations will affect prices little but simply enrich financial institutions and other agents who supply housing to the end-payers. The affordability crisis will only be solved when more housing is built that is either non-profit, co-op, or regulated and taxed such that land prices are controlled, and rental caps imposed.

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What our current policies do, and which Pierre Poilievre means to accelerate, is to tear down available structures, evict current renters, and build more expensive replacements which are highly lucrative for private-sector developers.

Larry Kazdan, Vancouver

How dropping masks mandate affects COVID transmission

It is interesting how Dr. Bonnie Henry is now allowing people to go out in public unmasked when masks have helped reduce the transmission of COVID-19. I guess we’ll have to wait and see how this situation plays out in the next few weeks and months.

Michael Bardouniotis, Surrey