Tough love or common sense

    Editor’s note: With the release of a Spring 2026 report that says the City of Winnipeg is dealing with up to 60 plus drug overdoses a day, I thought it appropriate to re-run an edited version of a column from June, 2025.

    Some very basic changes are needed. There are many clues leading to the need for change. Here is a list.
    Go into any urban centre, especially large ones and the presence of drug dealers and addicts is painfully obvious. Areas of Winnipeg, Brandon, Thompson and other locations have drugged and drunk people obvious in the streets. It used to be a criminal offence to be in such a condition. That is no longer the case.
    We have cases reported to us every week about rural theft, sometimes accompanied by guns and threats of violence. There was a murder case in 2025 in Brandon and the amount of sympathy in the court and the media for the murderers was astonishing.
    I don’t care how rough a life you have had, or how many mental health issues you may have, there is no excuse for violence unless it’s a matter of self defence. The recent Brandon case didn’t seem to have a self defence aspect to it.
    If a person goes to an event at the Canada Life Centre (Winnipeg Jets arena), there’s a good chance your vehicle will be smashed into and items stolen.
    At least once a month, we see news releases about chronic violent offenders being released into areas of a community with the warning that, “They are likely to re-offend”. There is often a stated provision that, “Women and children are  especially at risk”. These kinds of notices are appearing more frequently in 2026.
    Community leaders from Indigenous and other communities have publicly said that, “This catch-and-release” system of justice isn’t working.
    Community planners wonder why people don’t want to be in downtown Brandon or Winnipeg. It should be obvious. People who live there don’t feel safe, people who visit there definitely don’t feel safe and there’s ample proof as to why that is so.
    There has to be some solutions.
    From what I understand, more and more people are being asked to administer drug overdose antidote injections. That simply boggles my mind. Apparently drug users and addicts know that if they OD, someone is likely to bail them out with an antidote injection.
    I am tempted to say, “Let them die! The current approach is not reducing the cases and we know that paramedics, police and fire staff are at their wits end trying to get through this very unnecessary workload.
In Manitoba we have life pretty good. Education (albeit less than the standards we might like) is readily available. Food is still readily available and, if a person shops and cooks wisely, it’s affordable.
(Before anybody gets too worked up about that statement, please examine your shopping list and if it includes regularly purchased $5 cups of coffee, cases of bottled water and huge bags of pet food, then please go and re-examine your shopping cart.)
    Roads are pretty rough in places but pretty good shape relative to many other places.
    There is a lot to be thankful for. If after all that, you are in a bad mental state, then let me ask, have you volunteered lately for any groups or organizations in you community. Have you picked up even one piece of trash? Have you even considered getting involved with a church or place of worship? There are lots available and some of them are even friendly.
    If you don’t have a job, you should have one. If you don’t like your job then make the  moves necessary to get a more suitable one.
    But what about the hard core criminals and drug addicts. I say put them in an institution until (or if) they can get their head straightened out so they can conduct themselves in a way that doesn’t involve violence, drug dealing or causing misery to other people.
    Quite frankly, there are people who have proven that they don’t deserve to ever see the “outside world” again and while that is sad, maybe being in an institution would be best for everyone including them.
    Call it tough love if you like, but it could also be called common sense as our current system isn’t working all that well.
    Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are the writer’s personal views and are not to be taken as being the view of the Banner & Press staff.