Letters: Saskatoon must restore sense of safety for bus riders

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Re: “Unsafe and Unsettling,” Feb 8.

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So it’s come to this: Seniors (especially) who have ridden city buses for decades, and bus drivers themselves, have become “afraid” to board/drive them.

The SP story speaks of “crime and disturbances” on the buses, “open consumption of alcohol and drugs, aggression, threats and weapons possession.” Isn’t that lovely?

Since paying to ride apparently has become optional these days, I’m guessing these offenders prefer to ride free. That practice alone has to stop. But I’m no hot shot here: I have no idea how to stop the freeloading or the on-board mayhem.

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However, I do know that our civic culture has descended into a dystopian mess and that fire Chief Doug Wegren’s claim — that our bus disruptors would be better behaved if only they were “housed” — is fatuous.

Put these drugsters and vandals in houses and, before you know it, those houses would be broken and befouled — not unlike the vandalism which squatters have visited upon the former Lutheran seminary on the U of S campus. (see SP, Feb. 15).

Transit use in this city used to be efficient, affordable, friendly and a source of pride. Young kids could and did hop on without a second thought.

Whoever might be able to get things back to that reality ought to be named citizen of the year. One thing is clear: the solution will have to involve some kind of serious, take-charge butt kicking.

Wayne Eyre, Saskatoon

Health officials must start listening

Re: “Seeing this first-hand was horrendous,” SP Feb. 13

Kudos to the StarPhoenix for this article. I heard the CBC interview with Fran Forsberg yesterday and was struck by the power of her words, coming from her lived experience in the Royal University Hospital emergency department.

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As a retired registered nurse I’ve experienced and witnessed understaffing in long-term, acute and emergency care. In retirement, I accompany family members and the refugees for whom I am the designated health advocate in every one of these settings as well as to office appointments with physicians and medical specialists.

Our health-care facilities and personnel have been understaffed and under-resourced for many years now. I can’t accept the SHA defence that “staffing levels meet the standard.” If this is the standard, it needs to be updated to meet reality in care settings.

Solutions to the staffing shortage are complex. Our health-care-related educational facilities have been underfunded for years. We haven’t graduated enough health-care personnel to meet growing demand and increasing attrition as the boomer generation personnel retired.

Licensing requirements related to cross-border (interprovincial and international) hiring need to be evaluated and rationalized.

I could write a treatise on the issues causing this crisis and potential solutions, but reputable people such as Andre Picard and Jane Philpot (physician, former federal Minister of Health, author of Health for All) have already done this.

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Stop telling us staffing meets requirements and that the provincial and federal governments are putting more money into health care. Get serious about listening to and collaborating with health-care professional organizations, educational facilities, care providers and patients.

Annabelle Burton, Saskatoon

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