My Scooter in Japan

I lived in Japan from 1989 to 1992 in Tsuru City in Yamanashi prefecture west of Tokyo. Mt. Fuji stood between my prefecture and Tokyo. 

It was not a scooter drive from my home to Tokyo. By train, it was around two hours as distance from Fuji to Tokyo was 100 kilometers. Neither of the two scooters I owned could really go over 45 kms an hour. And you never knew which weather conditions you might ride in. It could easily rain on any given day. And the early sunset by 7 every day could mean a colder ride later on.

I used to take the train for two hours on Chuo Line from Shinjuku to Otsuki, Yamanashi and transfer to the expensive Fuji-kyu Line. My home in Tsuru was about 30 minutes from Otsuki. All of 1989 I walked or took train or bus. But my 1990, I felt the walk to my closest train station which was 30 minutes from my apartment just didn't cut it. The above picture shows Shinjuku which is a major downtown for the city and the highway and railways extend west to Mt. Fuji and around the right of it to Yamanashi prefecture. 

The main school I taught at was 20 or so minutes away from my apartment. I taught at another school in another town which entailed walking 30 minutes away to Yamura train station, travelling for 30 minutes by train to Kitafuji at the base of Mt. Fuji and walking 20 minutes to work. Luckily, a teacher drove me home any day I worked out of town. However, that did not happen immediately. So a commute twice a week could be over 2 hours long.

I didn't mind walking as it is a good way to get to know your area but two hours commuting for work is tough. Part of the problem was that my apartment was on the mountain beside Tsuru University. Brand new and with amenities, I really did well with it. And location-wise beside the university and full furnished was great. But it was 30 minutes walking to either rail station. The university was halfway between them. In 2004, they actually built a station five minutes from my apartment. Would have loved that.

Above, in Kofu with fellow travellers from around the world. Me in the middle. Think this is an instant of where I drove to Otsuki with the scooter and then train on JR line.

For those of you who ask what I didn't have a bike. The answer is I did. I was donated a bike which was functional and had poor brakes that I had to fix. This was after I soared down a mountain and into a rice patty. Once the brakes were fixed, I gave it another try and a few days later, while I stopped on a sidewalk with no curbs, I was hit by a young driver who was not looking and tossed over the car and my my bike was wiped out. My fellow teachers were convinced I must have been in the wrong because "you don't know Japanese roads."

There was some mumbled apologies from staff when a huge gift basket of various coffees arrived at the school along with a confession that the driver was on the wrong side of the road, had been stopped at a shop and drove off without looking and hit me. One teacher said they are probably grateful that as scraped up as I was and with a damaged bike, I didn't file a police report. I didn't even think to do so. However, it was last time I ever road a bike in Japan. It could be that the bike was just jinxed as I never again had a road issue save for a speeding ticket on my scooter returning from Kofu. It was quashed from a faulty reading. My scooter was not able to do the speed they said I was doing. I was told most Japanese would pay the ticket but I went in and made my argument and it turned out the machine was wrong.

By 1990, despite discouragement from my school, I went and got my Japanese driver's licence and purchased a 1984 Honda scooter. I didn't get an International driver's licence. Always managed to go the hard way but I got a Japanese one. No one said I couldn't so I did it. I bought my used scooter from a Tsuru dealership. Lots of students would have a scooter for three or four years at the university and would sell them so there was always a supply. I bought a helmet as well. The helmet was blue, the scooter was red. I loved that scooter.

No longer did I take the train to work twice a week. I drove my scooter which took about 30 minutes from home. I still walked quite a bit as I went to Tokyo nearly every other weekend and going to Shinjuku or Rappongi and other places could amount to 20,000 steps and lots of stairs. What I did differently though was to take my scooter to Otsuki on the main Japan Rail line thereby avoiding the expensive private Fuji-Kyu line that took me home.

Least you think that theft doesn't happen in Japan, I returned home from a trip to Tokyo and got off the train in Otsuki and went to the bike and scooter parking area and my scooter was stolen. I had to take last train home. I reported the theft to the police and my staff said I would likely never see again. I waited a week and no report so I went shopping for a new scooter and got myself a Yamaha Champ, a 1989 scooter. It has storage inside the seat for helmet. My last scooter had a place to lock my helmet to but since the scooter was stolen, I lost both. I bought a new helmet.

I was pretty pleased because I was fairly dependent on the scooter for work and social life. I was teaching businessmen and tutoring university students as well as my regular job. It entailed at least travelling a half hour to work and then socializing as you see in the picture above. The business owner wished more of his staff was conservational in English for customers. My Champ was was was maybe only a few kilometers faster but I loved it.

Three weeks later I got a call from the police. They had found my scooter and helmet. I expected it to be trashed but when I arrived the thieves had only peeled back some plastic and hotwired it. So now I had two scooters. Luckily, I was able to sell me older scooter to a student at  the university for a shade lower than what I bought it for and she loved it.

So I was back in business and able to commute to work, tutor and save time and money by going to the main rail line when going to Kofu or Tokyo. There was maybe only a handful of days where snow fell that I could not ride the scooter. And I had raincoat for the rainy season and a heavier leather jacket for when it was colder.

One thing to point out is that Japanese drive on opposite side of the road like the British. They have steering wheels on cars and trucks on right. The acceleration for motorbikes is the opposite side handlebar as well. I got used to pretty quickly but when travelling home and tired, I had to get used to North American left hand drive.

A very few of my colleagues who were in multiple schools had to have cars and an international driver's licence. I was the only one who got a Japanese licence and a scooter. One of the teacher colleagues from Britain had this tiny four seat car and we took a road trip to Osaka and stayed in a capsule hotel and had a blast.

I drove to Kofu a few times which was about an hour away and maybe 50 kms. Tokyo at 100 kms was possible but it would be 2 or 3 hours one on windy roads and tunnels. Even to Kofu was through tunnels. And they are scary and loud. I once walked back from Kofu because the trains stopped running. It can take 9 hours walking and that didn't scare me. The tunnels scared me. I actually had police pick me up in the tunnel and take me to Otsuki where I caught a taxi the rest of the way home. I never did that again. In more recent years there is now an alternative and safer walking route that avoids those tunnel for both walking and scooters. Would have loved that when I was there.

I have thought about a scooter in Winnipeg. The prices for buying them are higher, insurance is not terrible but shorter season of use and it is dangerous sharing roads with cars. Still, I'd love to have one again.

Windsor Hotel Evicts Residents

One of the major causes of homelessness in Winnipeg was the closure of so many hotels that were affordable to many. While those in the city called a large part of Main Street skid row and reviled the violence and alcoholism, most people had a place to stay and there were no encampments of people on the streets. There were also several temporary job offices up and down Main. Now there are only social agencies or parking lots of displaced people with no where to go.

One recent report said that Winnipeg has lost over 45,000 units of housing the last few years that were $750 and under. The province itself has closed social housing and sold off buildings and has watched landlords convert huge amount of housing into condos. The cumulative effect is a loss of the affordable spaces. Older housing stock is reaching a point where there needs to be massive renovations or outright replacement. A lot of times now, it is simply being abandoned, sold off or demolished.

City and provincial officials know there is a massive problem on housing and while it seems self evident, the best way to way to end homelessness is to make sure people don't lose their homes. The sale of the Windsor Hotel and the eviction of 20 people from the 46 units building makes it clear that new owners have something in mind for the site. It is quite possible that whatever is coming surpasses what is there now. But there is no way to know as no plan has been presented. It could be that the building is slated for a parking lot although the city would resist that.

The Windsor Hotel has a quite a history and for a while during the 1990s was enjoying a good second life. Built in 1903 at 187 Garry Street, it soon was converted to a hotel called La Claire Hotel in 1910. A gentlemen's club was established. Men's only licensed establishments were common. The only women allowed being staff. This existed till the 1980s in some older hotels, often with veterans of the war, I still remember the TV story on the last one going co-ed and the old guys looked fragile, even scared, but resigned that there were fewer of them around each year.

In 1930, the hotel went through extensive renovations and became The Windsor Hotel. And that is how it remained till 2023. In the 1990s, the bar attached had a renaissance and jazz was the tonic. As a popular jazz joint more renovations and an expansion was done to accommodate the influx of fans. It is uncertain what led to that decline. The closure of Lo Pub and the Royal Albert left the Windsor as a music mecca in 2013. Ten years later, it was a place where the police regularly visited for major crimes and the music died.

It is hard enough for artists to survive in the marketplace with how expensive it is to tour and costs of venues. A less expensive venue is awesome. An unsafe one will hurt as surely as an expensive one, Perhaps literally. And now it is too late for The Windsor Hotel. The evictions certainly look like the building will not survive. What will come of it is extremely important. A sad time for the place where Charlie Chaplin once stayed at back in Winnipeg's heyday.

Winnipeg Free Press Drops Dilbert

The comic strip Dilbert has been dropped after artist Scott Adams recorded a podcast in which he made anti-black comments in response to a poll linked to white supremacists.

While the artist said he was taken out of context and others said he was being absurd, it was hard to distinguish anything of the sort from his race-based comments. Even Elon Musk hasn't sought to defend the comments just his right to say them. However, every newspaper has a right to carry whatever comic strip they wish to carry as part of their right to free speech as well. And in this case, hundreds including the Free Press, no longer wish to associate with the artist and his work.

An editorial note will appear where the strip is starting on Tuesday, February 28, 2023.

It remains to be seen whether the Sun will pick up the strip.

Will Winnipeg Free Press Drop Scott Adam's Dilbert?

Hundreds of newspapers have dropped Scott Adam's Dilbert. The announcement came from Gannet and the USA Today group late afternoon Friday.  It was too late to stop the colour comics in most newspapers Saturday and Sunday in North America but many will not be running the strip as of Monday.

Scott Adams has increasingly taken aim at things politically both in his his strip and in commentary, including his YouTube contributions. Most cartoon artists have something in their art that can end up offending. Even beloved cartoon artists such as Dr. Seuss or Warner Bros. Looney Tunes have art or script now that would not make the cut now because it is offensive. Some might call it "woke" but "blackface" humour today is widely recognized as unacceptable. When Justin Trudeau dressed in blackface, he had some explaining to do, mostly saying he didn't intend to offend. However, his defence would not have been accepted had he said the critics were "woke." 

Humour has a full range of logic and emotion behind it, Stand-up comedy is today's equivalent of philosophy but with belly laughs. If it doesn't challenge, it falls flat. Still, there is a sense when humour moves towards hatred, bullying, intolerance, privilege and cruelty, it crosses a line And for the person behind the art to delve into anger, it hard to be part of their world.

This week on Scott Adam's YouTube broadcast, he is quoted as saying: 

“If nearly half of all Blacks are not OK with White people – according to this poll, not according to me, according to this poll – that’s a hate group,” Adams said Wednesday on his YouTube show “Real Coffee with Scott Adams.”

“I don’t want to have anything to do with them,” Adams added. “And I would say, based on the current way things are going, the best advice I would give to White people is to get the hell away from Black people, just get the f**k away … because there is no fixing this.”

The cartoonist has tried to explain that he is being cancelled because of his free speech and that no one can understand his message of don't be hateful. Scott Adams does not look deeply at the poll which the Anti-Defamation League says is linked to white supremacists which try to use certain polls to form a narrative of a race war.

Adams is smart enough to know one poll doesn't tell a full story. The context of the poll, when it was sent out, who it was sent out to, how was it sent out are important facts. This is why what he says can be only be regarded as reactionary and his rant on race divisive.

Numerous newspapers began dropping Adams last year when he was placing "woke" criticism in his comics. Some newspaper groups don't want any politics in their funnies. None. And many papers change things up. Adams was not the comic strip dropped. Most had nothing to do with politics but poor readership. 

The Winnipeg Free Press carries Dilbert. I can't recall when it first ran but the strip started in 1989. The newspaper has polled on items in the paper over the years including comic strips. Syndicated works from comics to advice columns are the hallmark of newspapers all over the world. How a newspaper chooses stuff is sometimes the purview of the editor but how are they to know sometimes what might appeal to younger readers or families or anyone really? You have to be able to assess and curating can be excellent but it helps to have some science behind the art.

In the case of Scott Adams, he is free to say what he wants but the Free Press has the right to carry what it wants. It would be surprising if they offer no commentary on this and run the strip like nothing has happened. Hopefully, someone high up the food chain where these decisions gets made offers some commentary that will say where the Free Press stands. I reached out to ask but have heard nothing back at this time. 

If they don't pay attention, I feel fairly confident they will hear from their readers on both sides of the issue. No matter what happens, the Free Press becomes the story within the story.

The Sun may editorialize and criticize the decision if the strip is dropped. They can certainly put their money with their mouth is and pick up the dropped strip. Either way, they will have to take a position just as any newspaper out there. In or out and why?

As for Adams, his net worth is estimated to be $70 million. He is 65 years old. He can complain about being cancelled but welcome to the club. There is no right of having shelf space in someone's life or newspaper or wherever. In every newspaper for as long as they have been published there is a line item that you can use if you no longer wish to have a newspaper. It is called Cancellation.

If people feel strongly about anything a newspaper does, they can cancel it. The Free Press should feel they have the same right when it comes to Dilbert. They may or may not on this but either way, it is a choice.

Russia - What Could Have Been

Between 1989 and 1991, the Soviet Union was collapsing. The wall game down, the Eastern Bloc were free to make their choices and it was chaotic and painful. The problem was that so much corruption exposed the rot and dysfunction underlying the whole system. The military went for a coup to overthrow Mikael Gorbachev and the Russian would not have it. Boris Yeltsin won the support of the people and Russia changed course. Gorbachev's position as President and Secretary General ceased to be by the end of 1991.

President Boris Yeltsin became the guy in charge of a country with the largest population in Europe but no longer with a Soviet Plan and real problems from a security and economic standpoint. The west was mostly interested in wrangling the nuclear weapons out of former Soviet republics and their solution for the economy was "shock therapy." Bolivia and Poland had gone through similar shocks.

Poland's moves to change their moribund and stalled economy started earlier and had more more planning behind it. Hyperinflation and shortages were in place already before reforms were enacted in 1989. There was terrible suffering but inflation started to come down slowly. And shortages ended swiftly as private enterprises brought in food and supplies. It took six years for Poland to reach its 1989 GDP levels and for the last 25 years they have achieved excellent growth and are members of both NATO and the European Union.

Poland is worth mentioning here because Russia could have had what Poland has now and more. Gorbachev's perestroika was gradualist and glasnost opened the door to the change that was needed to change Russia. But as the attempted coup showed, there were forces that Poland and China did not have to contend with that Gorbachev and Russia did. And it didn't help that the U.S. offered little support either with George H. W. Bush or Bill Clinton when Russia did go into shock therapy and plunged into Depression as deep the likes the world has seen. The cash for weapons deal that was agreed by the U.S. for Russia removing the nuclear threat barely kept Russia afloat.

Boris Yeltsin threw open the doors on Russia and hyperinflation exploded. Meanwhile the west was going from one major conflict to another; first Gulf War 1 and then into the Balkans as Yugoslavia broke up. There were also costly engagements in Somalia, failures in Rwanda and continuing military efforts in bombing Iraq military targets and terror cells in Sudan and Afghanistan for worldwide attacks on Americans at home and a abroad. The United States and the world were not paying near as much attention to Russia save for the ethnic dissident violence taking place in Chechinya. As many Russians suffered, the United States went into budget surplus by the late 1990s. Russia was selling off assets to insiders and creating billionaire oligarchs. Corruption and crime were rife. Once popular Yeltsin was now near zero support.

The failing health of Yeltsin and rising power of the oligarchs meant reforms were stymied by the revolving doors at prime minister and as power and wealth were controlled in fewer hands. The resource crash of the 1998 affected Russia greatly and only an International Money Fund injection of billions kept the country from collapse. By 1999, resources rebounded but Yeltsin ravaged by sickness turned to unknown Vladimir Putin, a former KGB officer, to become prime minister.

Putin became engaged in combat with Chechens in Dagestan and bombs attacks in Russia attributed to Chechens. Some doubts not lie in regards to those attacks. Madeline Albright certainly felt she had seen no evidence that Chechens were bombing apartments. All Russian investigators ended up dead or arrested. This was a case where a false flag narrative appeared to re-enforce Putin as the defender of Russia. And gave him the excuse and support needed to start a second war with Chechnya.

Even Yeltsin seemed confident in Putin and resigned early and Putin became acting President in 1999. He went onto win the presidency of Russia in the next election and had held power as PM or president for near 25 years. A good deal of that success was based on a rise of resources and confiscating some oligarch's assets and removing any threat inside Russia to his power. Investment was made in schools and hospitals and people could see recovery in what had been an awful time for ten years.

Putin in every year he has been in charge of Russia has become more authoritarian. Any critic, any opposition gets removed through threat or violence. The last election in 2018 saw to it that he really was unchallenged. The trade off for most Russians is that the economy was still growing and if that was happening, it was best to stay quiet. Some were in full support as appealing to Russian nationalism often worked for Putin.

And the west was prepared to let Russia take a pass so long as it didn't involve direct conflict. Putin counted on that. For years he seethed about Russia's loss of domination of everything east of the Berlin wall and of clients states around the world. He wasn't a communist anymore, if ever was. His aspirations were for power. And in 2014, he took Crimea and part of eastern Ukraine and sanctions were insufficient to convince him that the west would ever stop his ambition. Even Olympic games just went on.

A year ago, Putin made the calculation that if Russia took the rest of Ukraine, no one would do anything about it...not even Ukraine...once it was occupied. After all, 2014 to 2022, he was able to annex Crimea and nothing happened. What he didn't count on was Ukraine fighting back and that his force would not be able to muster a lightning fast response. Keep in mind that Ukraine did this with western countries closing embassies and moving people out in the expectation that they county would fall. It didn't.

Then leader of Ukraine Zelensky shamed the west into action and galvanized his people into defending Ukraine. NATO and other nations dragged their feel about any military assistance but relented in the face of Russian brutality and Ukrainian resilience. A year is past and it appears Russia is planning a spring offensive. There hasn't been this type of heavy duty fighting since World War II. How it ends is hard to say. The Ukrainians are determined to kick Putin out once and for good and for Putin, only total victory might be acceptable for those who matter in Russia.

And to think, it could have all been so different starting way back in 1989 till now. This is why the case of Poland is still worth examining. While they are not perfect, it would be safe to say that they have embraced Europe and are a stalwart ally of the west. They have backslided on some democratic aspects of their post Eastern Bloc breakaway but then again, much of Europe is less liberal than it was.

Gorbachev's gradualist change for Russia was too slow compared to the social and economic struggles of the country. However, every move he made was constrained by those who wished no change. Give the literal shortages and the stranglehold the nation felt on any innovation, this was not a strategy that could go much longer. The Soviet Union could not continue an arms race and manage the Eastern Bloc and its own republics without collapse. Ultimately, Gorbachev chose to let the Eastern Bloc chart their own course.

Where things could have gone differently is if Gorbachev had codified the changes needed on taxes, banking, administration and a whole host of areas that Poland gave great thought to in 1989. The gradualist approach though didn't remove the command economy and had no real answers for the nearly 25% of the economy that was the military industrial complex. While Poland was one administrative area with nearly 98% ethnic Polish, the Soviet Union was multiple administrative areas, multiple ethnicities, multiple languages, nations within nations and Russia itself at the time had no administrative area just for itself.

From 1989 to 1991, Eastern Bloc countries were literally rewriting the books that were set since the end of the war. For East Germany, it was a reunification with West Germany that would have been near impossible without massive financial and structural changes from the wealthier German side. Poland and Czechoslovakia were not nearly as lucky but better planning and transfer of assets to the citizenry made for less painful and faster economic growth.

The utter corruption in the Soviet Union and Russia prevented any "Velvet Revolution" or short "shock therapy" from working as it did for others. The attempted coup in 1991 is but one violent example of the resistance. A for the next ten years there was a prolonged robbery by a kleptocracy of government and oligarchs. This collapse was not the west attempting to make a pauper of Russia. The United States, Canada and Europe were downsizing military involvement that was focused on Russia. Canada, for example, pulled all its forces out of Europe.

Putin's criticism of the west is that it was surrounded on all sides by enemies but that doesn't jibe with the fact that Russia was invited to the G8 and G20 is 1997 and 1998 respectively and was courted by France and Germany for expanded economic, social and political involvement in Europe.  The break-up of Yugoslavia was the source of growing tension mainly because of Russia's connection to Serbia.

Any hope of avoiding conflict in the region seemed fruitless. And keeping the status quo while other parts of eastern Europe were looing to grow their economies and allow for open elections was just not on. Russia, still crippled economically, was not able to help their Serbian allies save for blocking any type of United Nations action. And China was never going to support action because they still kept a military option open for Taiwan and would not support something that could bring consequences.

NATO involvement in the former Yugoslavia was to end fighting that was sending millions fleeing and killing tens of thousands of others. Canada alone took in 220,000 refugees from 1994-2000. Prior to that, economic collapse sent thousand to Canada as immigrants. Years of sitting on the sidelines by the west prolonged death and suffering by so many. Still, this was never an attack on Russia nor China although the Chinese embassy was hit in Belgrade resulting in three people being killed. The Chinese continue to say this was on purpose. One thing made clear was that the CIA was the instigator of the attack rather than NATO. And perhaps the point of their attack intelligence assistance by China to support Serbia was being done in the embassy. Debate on that still goes on today.

Keep in mind that one year later, after China was compensated for the deaths and made a member of the World Trade Organization in 2001, relations with the U.S. improved. But Russia and China were not happy with NATO's response to the former Yugoslavia because it showed that ethnic cleansing was just not in the cards and that eventually would lead to action. 

Today, Russia and China continue to be opposed to the west as both seek to disrupt democracies while asserting their own power and influence. The authoritarian rule of both countries depends on a narrative that western countries are a threat to national independence. The truth is that authoritarianism is a far worse threat to that. Democracy is not easy nor is rules-based relationships. In the absence of democracy, our safest and most reliable world-wide arrangement is a rules-based pattern of behaviour.

Even in democracies like Canada and the U.S,, breaking the rules happens. The January 6 riot to overturn the election in the U.S. is an example of that. But it bears repeating that the west is not looking to invade China or Russia. Putin digs back deep to World War II and the Russian Revolution in his criticisms of the U.S. and others. China often goes back to days long before the Communist Party took over when criticizing the west. The west can take the criticism but it doesn't mean attack is imminent. 

For a lot of the world outside Europe, the war in Ukraine is just another western war. Unless it is in their region, it is hard for them to see why to be involved.

Authoritarian rulers often use nationalism and security threats to control their people. Russia uses that to keep its people in line and to feed the war machine. The problem is that is that the population will not accept defeat from its leaders if drawn into a war that hurts them. Emptying out the prisons and mass deaths there doesn't hurt Russians. Further call ups of citizens will eventually hurt more.

This post though was about how things could have been different for Russia and still might be if the conflict stops. There wasn't anything dictating Vladimir Putin had no choice to act the way he did from 1999 till today. In fact, from 1991-1999, he and others could have made moves to make their countries better but he acted corruptly and took money. And the first thing he did was pardon himself. And doubled down on the corruption thereafter. 

Corruption is the poison that undermines representative government. Antidemocratic forces are ones that try to suppress voting, free speech, the judicial system, free press and any critics or monitors of government. It has happened in Canada, it certainly happened in the U.S. and still does. The strength of liberal democracy is that creates a rules bases system that allows people to be free but has recourse from the abuses of state and enterprise. In Russia, corruption has been going on so long that all that is left is authoritarian government. And strangely enough as Putin and oligarchs gorge themselves, they seethe about eastern Europe and former Soviet Republics.

NATO, the European Union and other world bodies are rules based organizations that Putin can't stand. These institutions were open to Russia but he only favoured ones that concentrated on trade like the WTO. As the world has come to understand the WTO is pretty powerless over brutal regimes.

After a year of war in Ukraine and longer if you go back to Crimea and Eastern Ukraine in 2014, imagine a Russia inside NATO, a member of the European Union, trade partnerships over the world and as a democratic country. It would be the wealthiest country in Europe, be safe and secure in a European and NATO circle.

No nation is perfect but Russia is in trouble because its leadership is a kleptocracy and now because of belligerence, it has finally met resistance that likely leads to defeat for Putin. It could have gone so different.

514 Wellington Crescent Approved for Condos

The above rendering from Prairie Architects was approved by city council in Winnipeg this week. The house was demolished a few years ago. It sat empty a few years before that. Known as the Gordon House, I only knew it through my entire lifetime as the house of Senator Doug Everett. It was a fine house, on a fine road in a fine neighbourhood. However, the story on Wellington Crescent over the decades has been apartments and condos stretching out from Osborne Village all the way down the Assiniboine River. Even when a house is demolished as in the case with Munson Park or converted like the Fortune House, there has been a lot of debate. In the case of the Richardson house that made way for the park, I think there is wide agreement that this was a wise idea. And Fortune House stands as an icon even though there was a lot of whinging happening at the time that it was turning into a rooming house.

It would have been amazing if Gordon House could have been purchased by a single family that could have afforded the upkeep. Unfortunately though, the size and the cost of upgrades is massive even for the fabulously rich. The structure of the houses in Crescentwood are not something that younger families look for as much. Large empty dining rooms, lack of family entertainment rooms, kitchens that are too small and rigid structural walls are among the problems not easily corrected. And parking. Some families want lots of parking.

Crescentwood continues to have many well maintained homes but all of them are aging rapidly. Wellington Crescent was fairly unchangeable till the last decade but the amount of houses being demolished and re-built is quite large. Someone visiting after ten years away might not recognize it. The protests to put historic status on a number of houses does not always translate them being sold and preserved. And even if a single house is re-built on a property, there is likely going to be complaints regardless that it doesn't fit the neighbourhood.

I'll admit when I watched the house get torn down, it felt it was the end of an era. I can't say I know that the rendering is attractive or not. It resembles a design you might see in St. Norbert or St. Boniface in that it has a French chateau look. Nothing wrong with that. Developers when they build a neighbourhood tend to make them cookie-cutter for cost reasons and also that no one wants to stick out.  Diversity in style tends to take years if not decades. City and neigbourhood pressures to conform run strong. Change your grass to a garden and someone will disagree with it.

This fight over one property has been going on since 2016. There are a few other properties that have been nearly as long. The age of the houses and the complex nature of their upkeep and restoration can often mean economically it is better to start over. But that will never mean an identical house to the one that was there before. A builder and a family would find that the costs to replicate prohibitive. And many don't want fireplaces or dining rooms.

The four storey, eight unit and near 50 feet high new building has been approved. It is doubtful that this fight will be remembered in ten years from now. Wellington Crescent, at least in this section, is a major commuter and active transportation route. The residence should attract professional in their first home and retired people looking to downsize, A frequent issue (of a few in the Crescentwood and River Heights) is that older residents have to move right out of the area because there is nothing suitable for owners who downsize.

A more pressing need for the area is that lack of pharmacy or grocery nearby. The neighbourhood is truly car dependent. But other amenities like parks, schools and proximity to work are standouts. It is no wonder that people want to live on Wellington Crescent. Expect a few more battles along the street in the area from Grosvenor to Kingsway.

With the expectation of 20,000 people a year moving to Manitoba for the next several years, here is a passing thought. If density cannot be changed in the area of places like River Heights or Crescentwood, it will result in more people racing through the neighbourhoods to get to further suburbs. It is already happening. Taking several years to decide on properties could result in them just being abandoned. Depending on rich people to rehabilitate and occupy old housing stock is just not in the cards. 

Surplus Direct, Lord Selkirk Furniture and Top Pro Roofing Total Loss in Main Street Fire

Surplus Direct took over 843 Main Street and a discount furniture store in 2007. Prior to that it had been Kern-Hill Furniture Co-Op from 1963 up till when they moved to Nairn in 2005. 

In truth the building as a furniture store pretty much since 1945 and the end of World War II. However, in the years following the war Main Street was filled with businesses. Banks, jewelers, furniture stores and the like lined the streets in between all the hotels. 

In 2023, more and more For Lease signs line the street. Or worse, there is nothing but an empty space lining Main Street. That one block just north of the underpass has hosted successful businesses for decades that brought people to the area. Surplus Direct, Lord Selkirk Furniture and Top Pro Roofing.

Dozens of people are out of work this week and owners of these businesses scramble to survive. The cause of the fire may take some time to find out. However, if it is an arson, it points to a problem that cannot be solved simply by re-building. There have been a lot of suspicious fires that have later been identified as arson. No business or resident can count themselves safe if this continues as it has. People have already died and millions have been lost to damage.

The commercials that ran on TV and radio for Kern-Hill Furniture Co-Op cemented 843 as the place to be for the list of furnishings that Nick Hill said we needed to check out before shopping elsewhere. And whatever feelings people had for Main Street, they were prepared to overlook to go 843 Main Street where Nick Hill's number 1 son left the sofa-making machine on.

Like Honest Ed's discount store in Toronto, people were ready to come in and get lost. Winnipeg people like a bargain or shopping for one. Surplus Direct owned by the McDonald family knew that he address alone made people think shopping discounts and they too found sound success in the same spot.

Lord Selkirk Furniture has already opened an alternative site and the owners have support from the Polish community. The owners Kathy and Andy Gadgamowicz announced they are on Selkirk Avenue which is extremely fast to be up and running considering the devastation wrought on their business. The owner of Top Pro Roofing  is likely assessing how much of his fleet and equipment outside is salvageable The Bialowas family and employees were helpful to those affected by the fire in moving things away in the aftermath.

Even with insurance, it seems a difficult talk about rebuilding on this site, Harken back to fires in the middle of Osborne Village and it takes years to get insurance to agree to build and almost never over one storey. Will this soon to be demolished site remain a parking lot for ages? Will the businesses simply move on and not return?

The tragic aspect of this fire is how long it will last in terms of suffering. The demolition has to be soon because the wreckage poses a traffic hazard from a lost lane and sidewalk. A fire hazard is still a possibility and an apartment and housing nearby can't afford to be unnecessarily endangered because of a long debate about what to do with the pile. Lastly, a fence is possibly going to be needed to prevent the site from becoming a parking lot for a lengthy time or an encampment of people living on it.

The homeless situation has grown so difficult that any open area can be where tents and make-shift shelters will be. The Manitoba Metis Federation found this to be and had to fence off the area and parking lot. Several fires have resulted in total loss of some encampments and people have been hurt or have died as a result. Some adjacent buildings have burned as well. To say it is a crisis is an understatement. Housing has been too slow, too expensive and too few.

There are other businesses across the west side of Main Street still going. The Northern and the Yale hotels and a number of other shops are present although a few for lease signs are there too. Without a doubt though, a big gap across the street is going to hurt. And having a longtime empty spot could perpetuate further loss of business.

The west side has not been immune from fires either. Winnipeg has far too many fires. Accidental or otherwise, it is a reflection of age of the structures, occupancy of them and how quick they can spread. Throw in deliberate arson and we have a problem that has no easy fixes and poses a danger to any building business or residential.

Heartfelt support to the owners of these vital businesses. Let's hope they get back on their feet and that the location on Main Street doesn't become an unhappy reminder of past businesses that are gone forever.

Bed, Bath and Beyond Closing in Winnipeg and Across Canada

In a page that we have seen used several times over the last years, an American retailer with operations in Canada heads into bankruptcy and no matter how viable the operations are north of the border, the receiver just wants to liquidate the Canadian assets to pay creditors.

And so it is for Bed, Bath and Beyond. The one location they have in Winnipeg is north of Polo Park next to Marshalls and Mark's. As early as 2017, there was some indication that the U.S. retailer was not taking Amazon seriously and their online sales strategy was lacking. The stock buy backs and sales coupons ensured they were ill prepared for the Covid outbreak.

One of the reasons Bed, Bath and Beyond was successful in the past was local manager had a lot of say in how the branch operated and stocked what they needed to be happy customers. The company had been profitable and used it to purchase companies like buybuy Baby. A branch of that company is on St. James Street. According to reports 51 Bed, Bath and Beyonds are closing and 11 buybuy Baby stores. Total Canadian employees are just are 1,500.

In Winnipeg, the square footage could total 60,000 back up for lease whenever final inventory is cleared up. Linens and Things and Home Outfitters in years past have also collapsed. It is a tough market. The former location of Home Outfitters/Linen and Things is Oomomo, the Japanese lifestyle store.

As mentioned in other posts, there are no long line-ups to lease spaces anywhere in the city. And large box spaces are some of the hardest to fill.

Expect topsee liquidation of stock at the Polo Park location of both Bed, Bath and Beyond and buybuy Baby. It will be interesting thereafter to see how long both spaces remain empty.

Aqua Essence Changes What a Mall Can Be

One of the lasting problems from the pandemic has been the shortage of trained professional teaching and lifeguarding in swimming. Covid itself closed pools up for a very long time. Kids often were not getting those valuable lessons which statistics have shown can lead to drownings. With 100,000 lakes and retention ponds, creeks and rivers everywhere, learning how to swim is so important.

Aqua Essence started off as business using city-owned pools. It also happened at people's pools and Winnipeg Beach's Camp Massad outside the city. The pandemic though meant a lot of kids got swim lessons through Zoom in the family bathtub with help of instructor. Not easy with 40 instructors prior to closures working all over and then suddenly nothing.

Owner Rishona Hyman looked for over a decade for a location for her business.  Oddly enough, it arrived when SmartCentres Winnipeg Southwest tried to figure out what to replace some of the closed big box stores with. A long waiting list of retailers was not in the cards. Addition-Elle closed 74 stores in 2021 and those leave gaps not easily filled.

The opening of the Outlet Collection mall down the street has seen a few stores migrate and relocate. Innovative thinking was required but many landlords had to be convinced. And in some cases, desperate enough to listen.

The pool in the 8,000 square foot former Addition-Elle is L shaped and stainless steel. A first for Manitoba. The fears of mould due to humidity is less and the chance for deteriorating of infrastructure diminishes. Most landlords present an empty shell with services connected so the fear that drastic changes could not be reversed weighed on the decision.

In the case of privately owned pools, Winnipeg is way behind Toronto where you find many of them. We have been lucky to have large indoor pools like Pan Am and Eldon Ross, which also has a 1,500 square foot basin pool. But swimming lessons have been left to more private means with non-governmental organizations like Canadian Red Cross getting out of the business.

The convenience of an instructional pool in a big box mall is not the least bit counter-intuitive. And on cold winter days learning to swim in 34 C heated waters with a parent near by or in the water makes sense to a landlord if it fills a spot and brings people to the area.

This is a great Winnipeg business story and an indication of what malls can become. There are still empty spots to fill which will require more innovative thinking. I have a feeling though that many of these malls have more parking than they require. Don't be surprised if some density is added with some residential in the near future.

The Exodus from Winnipeg

Winnipeg experienced a net loss of 7.140 people July 1 of 2021 to July 1 of 2022. It is the worst drop in 20 years. Even before the pandemic in 2019, the number was 6,607. It only dropped in 2020 when people were not easily able to move because of Covid 19. Statistics Canada has reported in its latest data that Winnipeg has seen more people leave for other provinces for 20 years straight. While this could be blamed on the city of Winnipeg government, keep in mind that Brandon last year lost 981 people and Thompson 163.

The numbers have worsened in recent years but under NDP and PC governments provincially, it has been consistently bad. Were it not for immigration and birthrate, Manitoba would be in steady decline. There are no studies of why people leave. Anecdotally, the media will quote reasons from those who have left but there is no break down done from post-exit interviews that could assist in changes to government and businesses policies. Good data means better response to get people to move in or move out.

If crime data is all people see, it is not putting our best foot forward. We have our own Bureau of Statistics, we should be compiling data to act on. So much information is buried or requires freedom of information request and money to get a handle on. In many cases the government seems incurious after 20 years and collects no data. They don't want an answer. It is easier to blame past governments although the same results follow the new government.

It is not all bad news. Manitoba, and by extension Winnipeg, has attracted many immigrants through the innovative provincial nominee program. All political parties are agreed on it and it has kept the province from slipping into negative growth. The TV and film industry continues an upward cycle and requires more people each year and all months of the year. Manufacturing, agriculture, energy, financial services and insurance are diverse and strong sectors for the city. Post secondary education and government also contribute to the strength of Winnipeg.

So what are the cons that people outside of Manitoba have towards Winnipeg. In some case, we can't help those impressions and in other cases, we can.

Cons

- Extreme temperatures. Cold or hot, Winnipeg has them both.

- Mosquitoes. Some years terrible, other years tolerable.

- Crime. The numbers don't lie. It is too high.

-Poverty. Some of the poorest census districts are in Winnipeg nationally.

- Homelessness. The numbers are increasing and the housing strategy is too slow, too expensive and uncoordinated.

- Addictions. Winnipeg has a drug and alcohol problem. It is a health problem that can't afford to not have treatment available to those looking to receive it and know there are no spaces. And support has to be more consistent after.

- Downtown, Too spread out with safety issues for those who live and work in the area. 

- Public transportation. Safety issues in recent years and only one rapid corridor after decades of planning. Not nearly enough buses or security to make more people give up their cars.

- Not as senior friendly. While some seniors are able to go to warmer spots and return to Winnipeg. Some are making the choice to move to parts of Canada such as B.C. where they are able to be more independent and face less adversity being outdoors.

- Poor minimum wages, poor professional wages with respect to other jurisdictions in Canada.

- Crumbling infrastructure of roads, bridges, water and sewer makes it difficult to to service the community or expand capacity on existing infrastructure.

- City planning that fails to see sidewalks built of any kind on large lengths of streets like Kenaston or gaps like northside of Sterling Lyon Parkway among other places.

- Falling amounts of affordable apartments or any rentals of any kind. It makes it difficult for people who are students, newly arrived in Canada, those looking to downsize, upsize a bedroom for kids or simply don't want to live in a detached house.

Since Winnipeg grew by nearly 20,000 people, the have to advantages too.

Pros:

- Low unemployment. The city of Winnipeg continues to grow because there are jobs in the city. And those numbers have been steady.

- Steady economy. Other jurisdictions have highs and lows. Ask Alberta. While resources have driven growth, they have had painful times related to world market prices. Winnipeg have a very diversified economy. It has not had such roller coaster times.

- 24 hour airport. There are few in North America and the advantage for Winnipeg has been and will be worth billions. It has triggered the 20,000 acre Centreport which has over 1000 tenants and has air, road and rail connections. If Winnipeg cannot have a port on the ocean, it can have a port on land.

- Post Secondary Schools. They attract tens of thousands of students and the city has four universities, multiple colleges and several training schools. Foreign students numbers are rising all over Canada. Winnipeg needs to make room for the thousands of residential units needed. Many of these students will be in the city for years and in some cases make Winnipeg their home long term.

- More Affordable Housing. Home ownership is just a dream for some in the most active markets of Toronto and Vancouver. There are a number of options for housing with schools and recreation nearby that are attractive to those who might have worked for a number of years and have not been able to buy a home elsewhere.

- Diverse population. For immigration outside Canada, Winnipeg is attractive as there is usually a support system in place of people already calling the city home whether you are from Ukraine, Philippines, Syria of wherever. 

- Strong arts community. Winnipeg has a huge theatre, music, literature and arts community. One of the fastest growing areas is TV and film and with the addition of new soundstages and direct flights to LA. Some of the past productions that took a pass on Winnipeg will have it back at the top of their lists because of the advances in available flights, soundstages and crews. It is possible to work full-time in various aspects of production within Manitoba.

Winnipeg should not feel so bad. Other cities including Toronto and Vancouver have seen people leave. However, in the case on Ontario, Toronto loses to other urban areas of Ontario,

As long as Winnipeg remains attractive to immigration, growth will be in the thousands added every year. Some suitable economic growth areas have received government and business focus. The location for the city as an inland port is ideal over, say Edmonton and Calgary. Calgary is three hours from the border and the biggest cities in the U.S. are closer to Vancouver or Winnipeg. In short, cargo landing in Calgary or Edmonton, which is even farther away, will take some time to reach a U.S. destination.

Winnipeg, by contrast, is one hour from the border and is connected by three rail lines and a major highway that runs through several major cities all the way to the third largest city in the U.S.: Chicago. It is faster in some cases to land a cargo aircraft in Winnipeg overnight, unload it, put it on a truck and arrive faster in Chicago rather than landing in Chicago in the first place. Centreport could attract even greater cargo capacity and therefore employment.

The move to electric vehicles bodes well for Winnipeg since New Flyer and Motor Coach Industries are based in Winnipeg and are at the forefront of electric bus development and manufacturing. In keeping with the climate file, Manitoba has lithium mining for batteries taking place in Snow lake, Manitoba and the processing plant will be built at Centreport for 2025. Manitoba has nine of the critical metals needed for improving and changing technology for climate change. More than one processing plant might end up being built in the city.

One of the fastest ways to decrease transfers of people out of the province is to make sure more people find a reason to come to your province for education. In 2022, both University of Winnipeg and University of Manitoba rated very high for student satisfaction in Canada. International students are increasing in numbers at both schools and will continue to if adequate housing, flexibility in work and supports encourage this pattern. For many years insufficient housing has plagued all our main universities.  Inter-provincial student migration increases are possible if something is being offered that is not available elsewhere. Winnipeg has a medical school, a dental school, law school and more. We graduate too few doctors and there needs to be a plan that makes it worthwhile for graduates to stay. Some of the doctors at the medical school are in the top per cent of research papers and cutting edge medical science.

Arts, as mentioned, is a huge booster of tourism and jobs. Folk Festival and Folklorama have in the past driven tourism into the province and contributed to employment of artists, hospitality companies and government revenues. TV and film continues to increase and is in a far more stable and predictable arc than in the 1980s and 1990s. Hollywood wants to save money but keep quality and that fits the bill in Winnipeg. And Canadian TV series are now being shot in the city regularly which is good all around. Thousands of people are employed in the arts and the more work they have, the less need there is to move to do work.

There is not much we can do about the weather but work, wages, advancement in career, training and education and picking our spots for growth will help. Energy from hydro is likely to become ever more important, especially with states like Minnesota making it law that they seek out cleaner energy. Conversion of transportation to electric and lithium processing will also contribute to growth. The deficit the city presently faces and the fact that a majority of it comes from snow removal is proof positive Winnipeg has a lot of roads that we maintain. It isn't wrong to think what ten years from now will look like. You can't park cars on the street and drive them without power supply. Assigned parking will be necessary and if a home has two, three or four cars, they will have to be cycled through charging. And if an apartment has dozens of cars parked on the street, they will have to seek out charging areas and wait. It is safe to assume a paradigm shift will happen. A future Winnipeg might include rental cars when you need them.

All in all changes are happening and an aging population will have to stay closer to home and populated areas as they require home care and beyond. The exodus out of cities like Winnipeg can't be sustained because no one will build a hospital or sufficient nursing homes in exurbia. Already people are making difficult choices when insurance is too high to go to Mesa, or living at the lake in Ontario means too far away from visits to the specialist...in the Thunder Bay.

One hopes the government acts rather than reacts. Short term thinking can hurt. There is some inkling things are headed to a turning point. Planning and stable financing to support that plan will mean vital cities like Winnipeg needs and wants. The future does not have to be grim.

Pizza Express and Submarine Returns to Winnipeg

After 20 years Brandon-based Pizza Express and Submarine has returned to Winnipeg and had taken up residence in old Charleswood at the site of the former Carbone Coal Fired Pizza along Roblin Boulevard.

As posted earlier just down Roblin Charleswood Pizza Depot just opened in the former Little Caesar's. It is a tough business but people are looking for something different and while Pizza Depot has a taste of southeast Asia, Pizza Express and Submarines has both pizza and subs.

Pizza Express and Submarine got its start in Brandon with Vasilarakis family. Working in pizza restaurants till they owned their own in 1982, they turned Pizza Express and Submarine into a western Manitoba fave,

In 1990 in the first incarnation of Pizza Express came to Winnipeg. The Portage location won over customers with Greek pizza fare and submarines. This led to another location on St. Mary's Road. However, by 1998 it was all over and an offer to purchase and a desire to be back with family and their original store and it was back to Brandon. And for years no more Pizza Express in Winnipeg till now.

The family has now grown up and the opportunity to operate in Winnipeg once more was a siren call. It is likely Charleswood is a good place to recapture the west part of the city again.

The pandemic and inflation has been a tough market to survive in but the job market remains resilient and the entrepreneurial spirit of people appears strong. Only a few vacancies exist in Charleswood which should attest to the business and restaurants needed in the area.

Charleswood Pizza Depot

After many years as an outpost of Little Caesar's in Charleswood, a change to the strip mall across from Laxdal came mid January of 2023. It was the only location in the Charleswood/Tuxedo location. The chain is in no danger of going out of business in Winnipeg with under two dozen locations spread across the city.

In it's place a Canadian chain is going up founded by Ranjit Mahil, an immigrant from India with a degree in chemistry. In 1992, when he found it hard to get a job in his field, he delivered pizza and eventually got a franchise himself. By 2017, Mahil knew the ins and out of the industry but felt that to be distinct, he would add flavours of India and southeast Asia. Adding store franchises each year in Ontario and Alberta, the concept arrived in Winnipeg with location on Molson, Mandalay and Main Street. Roblin Blvd in Charleswood will be the fourth location.

The opening was attended by Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal MP and covered by the Indian Canadian media.

Charleswood has shown a penchant for different dining experiences in recent years with Japanese, Chinese and fine dining mixed in with well known franchises for fast and casual dining restaurants. But Indian is now starting to expand into suburbs offering well known North American fare with a south Asian twist.

With so many pizza restaurants in Winnipeg, the ability to stand out is a compelling one. And butter chicken pizza could become a favourite for those in Charleswood.

Curry Up Indian Kitchen Coming to Kenaston Village

 

The sign is up, the restaurant is not. It is still being worked on. I was at Bulk Barn on the weekend and saw the sign and figured it was in the spot next to the old Kenaston Walk-In Clinic and it certainly looks like it. Still under construction and a few tables but strongly leaning to counter take-out service.

But what is it? Well, I looked it up and it is Indian food and Mexican food ordered like a Subway where you ask to load up how you like it at the counter. Well, if that doesn't sound like a recipe for success nothing will.

I mentioned in earlier posts that one benefit of immigration knows truly well is the international restaurants that pop up. Syrian and Afghan refugees have opened up up some delicious places all over the city.

Curry Up Indian Kitchen has a location on Regent and this will be the first location on the west side of the city. Curry Up at the location shares a space with the the family's other restaurant Goodlife Foods which is a spin-off from the original Thunder Bay location.

Curry Up Indian Kitchen Kenaston will be less dine in and more take out counter and should be open in next weeks.