Deck the halls with rapid transit
Nick’s civic wish list for Christmas and the New Year
Nick Ternette

So, it’s that time of year again. It’s the time when people feel like giving, lights are everywhere and consumerism is rampant. Buy, buy, buy!

It’s Christmastime — boy is it ever — and it’s snowing and snowing and...

“Bah! Humbug!” I say to those who want to take the Christ out of Christmas. This is political correctness gone overboard.

Did you know that Christmas is a pagan/Christian holiday, and that Jesus Christ wasn’t even born in December? In truth, early churches decided to make Dec. 25 the day Christ was born in order to convert pagans to Christianity.

But let’s face it — Christmas is not only a spiritual celebration but also a cultural one, no matter what your religious beliefs are (agnostics and atheists can certainly celebrate Christmas) and whether or not you question the origin of Santa Claus. There was, in fact, a St. Nicholaus in Greece who gave presents to children. Actually, I’m named after him. Then Coca-Cola created the image of the Santa Claus we see today.

This Christmas is a rather special one for me — I’m still alive!

In the summer I was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer, so my partner and I have had quite a rough road. I have just completed my final chemotherapy treatment and am looking forward to 2006 being a time when the cancer is in remission.

One source of joy in our lives has been our three grandchildren: Bruce, Colin and Simon. This Christmas they are five, four and two, respectively, and it’s quite a pleasure to watch them as Santa’s visit comes near. Bruce loves to decorate, Colin loves the Christmas lights, and Simon is looking forward to Fred Penner’s Christmas concert.

I was recently looking at my old Christmas columns and came across my wish list for 2002. You know what? My wish list for this year hasn’t changed.

I wish for a green, healthy, sustainable city. I wish there was no more urban sprawl in Winnipeg, because it’s destroying the inner city. I wish for a revitalized downtown where no more heritage buildings are destroyed and where 30,000 people move from the suburbs to live in the inner city. I see a pedestrian mall along Graham Avenue, outdoor cafés in the summer and fall, and people walking and talking in the downtown.

I wish for a city where city council is increased from 15 to 29 councillors, and where ‘closed door’ meetings are a thing of the past. I wish for the veil of secrecy to be lifted from City Hall so that we have an open and accessible government.

I wish for a city where boulevard grass is mown in the summer, back lanes are plowed in the winter and transit fares are decreased. I wish to see a city where government has the intelligence to use larviciding rather than malathion to solve the mosquito problem, and where there are no more bylaws banning squeegee kids, panhandling or loitering.

“Hey, Nick! Wake up and smell the coffee! You’re in some kind of dreamland. It’s worse today than it was in 2002.”

But it’s nice to wish and dream a little. So, to my faithful readers, I say have a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Nick Ternette is a social and political activist, freelance writer and broadcaster.