Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 1, 1972, Winnipeg, Manitoba Printed and published daily except sunday by Winnipeg free press company limited 300 Carlton Street Winnipeg Manitoba. R. S. Malone publisher and editor Inchcl Peter my unlock Maurice Western executive editor Ottawa editor r. H. Sheppord general manager Winnipeg free press Western Canada s National newspaper Winnipeg monday May 1, 1972 Freedom of Trade Liberty of religion Equality of civil rights Tariff cutting As a weapon it is now Plain that the great automobile manufacturers principal beneficiaries of the . Agree ment have not merely exploited their captive Market in this country but have also at the least misled and at worst deceived the government of Canada. Jean Luc Pepin has confirmed in the House of commons that Ford established a disc As Long ago As december 1971. Gener Al motors has now taken similar action. The outcry in parliament is fully warranted As or. Pepin said of the disc Domestic International sales corporation scheme it is a very bad piece of legislation. It violates Gatt. It violates the Auto pact whether in practice the companies employ the tax savings to subsidize their exports or to maximize their profits remains to be seen. The important question All the More important with a budget in Prospect is the nature of the Canadian response. Despite their favored treatment it does not appear that the big three take the government seriously. There is accordingly a need for salutary action. On the other hand it would not be in our interest to indulge in state to state retaliation and since we condemn discrimination and violations of Gatt we would be foolish to indulge in them ourselves. The proper response should be Liberal non discriminatory and Forward looking it should be designed also to Deal effectively with the burning grievance of Consumers the now shocking disparity in prices charged Here and in the United states for identical models. There Are reasons undoubtedly valid which justify some discrepancy in these prices. But something is plainly wrong when the Gap widens very markedly in a period characterized by an increase of approximately 8 per cent in the value of our Dollar relative to that of the United states. Experience suggests that there Are Only two effective limiting factors first the threat of imports most of which must surmount the Tariff Walls and second Public outcries which As the latest Ford move would indicate do bring occasional concessions of doubtful duration. High automobile prices Are of particular concern to Middle income people already squeezed by inflation and High taxation and squeezed again by the recent policy of treating this country As a High profit Market. If the government under pressure from the Law and the nip merely responds by seeking to reinforce the protective safeguards in the existing pact nothing will be gained from a consumer standpoint. A More constructive course was suggested on Friday by Thomas Mccutcheon an on Tario conservative member with experience in the Auto Mobile business. His suggestion not developed in detail was that the government should increase Competition by reducing taxation he mentioned excise on lower priced offshore imports. Or. Pepin s objection to this is that every manufacturer desires Relief from excise. This is doubtless True although it is to be noted that the Auto Mobile Industry has already been singled out for special treatment by government and is considered by economists of particular importance for general economic activity. In any Case it is no argument against Tariff action which would achieve the same effect. The situation is that imports except those from Bri Tain pay a duty of 15 per cent on their value plus the 12 per cent excise to which All automobiles Are subject. There is and always has been an element of tax paid on tax by maintaining this Tariff the government limits imports and thus increases the Freedom of the great trans Border firms to charge higher prices to Canadian Consumers. How can the government provide Relief in non discriminatory non discriminatory mat is to say As Between Oge country and another the most obvious Way is to vary the Tariff according to Price ranges. For the Man who can afford a Cadillac the Tariff May be no great deterrent for most people in the Middle group it is an extortion. Admit the Volkswagen free of duty maintain the Tariff on the Mercedes. This would involve no discrimination by country whatsoever but it would certainly increase the wholesome threat of imports and thus impose on the Continental manufacturers a measure of Price discipline applying in fact Over a considerably wider Range. The government should also take note of the agreeable fact that or. Ford himself has often avowed his Faith in free Trade. Despite innumerable assurances the automobile pact in its present unmodified form has been a one sided arrangement beneficial to Industry and those who work in it but of no value to the vastly greater number of Canad an Consumers. It is time for a fair Compromise justified alike by common sense and by the conduct of the manufacturers. There is a remedy available to government and or. Turner should not hesitate to use it. Abolish the Tariff on Low priced cars and do it now. Reversal although prime minister Trudeau has consistently de Nied that his government has any plans to replace the Royal Canadian mounted police or to remove the word Royal from the name of the Force he has equally consistently Given the impression that he is less than wildly enthusiastic about ties with Bri Tain or with anything that is a reminder of these ties As is the word Royal in ramp. Despite the prime minister s denials there has been a growing concern and a mounting criticism especially in Western Canada about the move to have the initials ramp removed from patrol cars and buildings in favor of the word police atop the ramp coat of arms. To All who have Given voice to this criticism and concern the announcement remembered words from the gondoliers by sir w s. Gilbert in Enterprise of martial kind when there was any fighting he led his regiment from be Hind he found it less but when away his regiment ran his place was at the fore that celebrated cultivated underrated Nobleman tie Duke of made by or. Trudeau in Edson Alberta last thursday that the removal of ramp initials from buildings and patrol cars has been halted will be Welcome news. The dislike of the new signs by canadians in the prime minister said has been communicated to us clearly. And we have Lis after the results of the most recent political polls and with a general election in the offing or. Trudeau is probably doing a lot of listen ing these Days and a lot o Fence mending. His action on the ramp Issue is one indication of this. The ramp has a Long and honorable tradition in this country. Perhaps in the eyes of the world As Well As in the eyes of canadians besides being an effective police Force it is the most recognized Symbol that we have m r. Trudeau s Statemon should Mark the end of this unfortunate controversy. Contradictions never ambivalence Ever Ottawa no minister ser ves Long in external affairs without finding occasion to assure the country that Ca Nada apart from being the envy of less Happy lands is generally admired by every jinking person abroad. From he context it usually appears that we Are favored children of Fortune largely because of the Beneficent government under which we Are privileged to live at any Given time. It May also result from world recognition of the pre Eminence of external affairs in sheer refinement of thought. In this respect few ministers have shown advantage than Mitchell Sharp. On the eve of the Nixon visit or. Sharp gave an interview to Bernard Kalb correspondent for lbs news. The text has now been made available by. The department. Or. Sharp mentioning in passing Canada s unique role in the world addressed him s e 1 f to problems of the changing Canadian american relationship brought up by his interviewer. Certain Ca Nadian attitudes Puzzle or. Kalb As will be evident from the following Exchange. Q but Aren t there cer Tain built in contradictions for example there seems to be a sense of unease about the dimensions of american investment economic invest ment in Canada. A fear that perhaps too much control rests in the hands of Ameri by Maurice Wittern cans. At the same time it would seem to me that you Are also concerned about there being enough american investment to come into can Ada so that the canadians can proceed with certain eco nomic programs they have for development. Aren t you caught in a or. Sharp no we do have an ambivalent it should be Clear from this although apparently it was not to or. Kalb that Exter Nal affairs is not caught in anything. How if it was Falli ble could it Ever have be come the eighth wonder of an admiring world the interview continued. Q what s the difference whether it s ambivalence or contradiction it s a Cycle that you re or. Sharp yes. There Are two aspects to foreign in vestment which we be always recognized. We have benefited enormously from having Access to foreign capital foreign technology foreign initiatives particularly from the United states As our clo Sest Friend and neighbor. At the same time canadians would prefer if they had this kind of capital this kind of technology and this kind of expertise and initiative at q or. Secretary in t Canada caught up in some sort of contradiction in its re 1 a t i o n s with the United states a certain amount of complaint possibly even of resentment about the Dimen Sions of american invest ment economic investment in Canada because of the control exercised by Ameri cans at the same time the Canadian desire for Ameri can investment so that Canada can proceed with its plans for development and Progress. Aren t you caught up in that or. Sharp i think it s More of an ambivalent Atti tude that we lest any victim of error should fail to grasp the importance of ambivalence or. Sharp went on to emphasize it a third evidently we Are confronted with a distinction both significant in the eyes of Exter Nal affairs and characteristically Canadian. In View of the traditional prominence of Rhodes scholars in the department one naturally turns to the concise Oxford for further guidance. Here we find ambivalence having either or both of two contrary values or qualities. It is puzzling that or. Kalb would sense contradictions in our contrary values. A Possi ble explanation May be that he consults american dictionaries. Thus random House offers the following definition ambivalence uncertainty especially when caused by in ability to make a Choice or simultaneous desire to say or do two opposite things. Only an american or a suspicious and disaffected per son could attribute such a de sire to a Secretary of state for external affairs. To and thinking Man or woman i will be obvious that of unique role in the world is in compatible with inability to make choices or the urge which May indeed be Felt in other countries to say or a suspenseful convention by Flora Lewis tv7ashington d e m o cratic National chair Man Lawrence o Brien said he other Day that we be Jeen stating we re going to Lave an open convention and be re sure As hell going to have an open that is the main message from the primaries so far. There Are still 17 to go four of them in the crucial big delegation states of Ohio Michigan California and new York. But a Seesaw pattern has already emerged and it is unlikely to be broken. It will probably mean that no candidate will reach Miami with enough votes for a first ballot nomination and Given the new Delegate Selec Tion rules nobody will have assured ability to control Large blocs of votes on later ballots. Some Republican leaders whose Only convention sus Pense is what City they i meet in say this will wind up defeating the democrats whole idea of Reform. With nobody visibly in control they figure the democratic Bosses will return to the old smoke filled rooms to Settle the confusion in quiet deals. It in t impossible but it in t probable. There in t going to be that much Capac Ity to deliver votes when deals Are made because there won t be any Way of foretelling How a Large number of Independent minded delegates will choose after they have been released from the e i r first ballot commit ments. Whatever senator Muskie decides about continuing the race after his bad Pennsyl Vania and Massachusetts de feats he has had to concede do two opposite things. Every red blooded Canad an will be grateful to or. Sharp for disposing of or. Kalb s Odd notion in this forthright fashion. Ambivalence Ever contradictions never. Four Square we stand in our unique in our contrary ties role As discerned from time to time and speech to speech by external affairs a Model As Ever for the spellbound world. That he certainly in t most democrats first Choice. He has been arguing though that he is everybody s Sec Ond his Hope of emerging As the Winner by Compromise was based on the Assumption Wallace delegates won t real a matter. But these Are very shaky assumptions. A breakdown of the Penn Sylvania returns showed that while or. Wallace and sen. Mcgovern s strengths lie in different areas their weak Nesses Are the same among Blacks Low income groups and organized labor. Those Are precisely the groups where sen. Humphrey did Best and sen. Muskie muddled. They Are essential to democratic Hopes for no v e m b e r but they Aren t enough. After the first ballot the dominant question at the convention is bound to be How to put both sets of constituencies together. The primaries Are making this task a Good Deal easier than it looked three months ago. They Are defining the issues and the mood Well enough to make an All out platform fight unlikely. The War prices tax inequity and the general sense of Drift and decay in the country Are what the democrats will Campaign about next fall and it won t be hard for All the leading candidates to agree what Side they should take on these questions. In fact they will have More trouble trying to distinguish their positions before the balloting starts. That will leave personal pulling Power and claims on loyalty rather than position As the main guides in settling on a candidate when the free for All begins. It s the sort of Situa Tion where you Don t Compro Mise by taking somebody in Between the two leading con tenders you Compromise by taking both. Which one winds up first and which second depends then on actual show of leadership As the balloting proceeds. That is Why whether the politicians like it or not m r. O Brien is doubtless right in predicting an open convention. It is also Why in conclusive As they be a that senator Humphrey s and senator Mcgovern s support ers have such a revulsion for each other s candidate that they could t possibly agree on a joint ticket and that geared the primaries really Are gradually sorting out the candidates and narrowing the decision to be made. It looks like sen. Mcgovern and sen. Humphrey or vice versa. The common Market crisis labor s struggle for its soul theatrical decisions resignations anyone today s scripture what is a Man profited if lie shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul Matthew birthdays mrs. Ethel May Paterson Winnipeg born Spring Val Ley minn., May .1, .1892. A different kind of Board at Mac representing wider interests and a greater variety of the membership theatre but first who Are the members of the theatre season ticket holders and those who subscribe or More for an annual membership. So All those people who hold season tickets and Are puzzled by the dismissal of Keith Turnbull As artistic director and by the attempt to make it appear that he had resigned Are entitled to attend the annual meeting and ask for explanations. They Are also entitled to make nominations for the Board. The bylaw says the members May freely nominate for the office of governor provided All such nominations shall be deposited with the Secretary at least 30 Days before the annual meeting of the Manitoba theatre Centre and All such nominations shall be consid ered together with the nominations by the nominating committee at the annual general meeting of the Mani Toba theatre the trouble is that a quorum is 15 members which is skimpy out of a membership As Large As that of the theatre and very few members attend. Another Snag is that while Ine Law re quires that nominations to in 30 clays before the annual Geneval meeting members need not to informed of the Date of that meeting More than ton Days before it. For example i am told preparations Are already under Way for this meeting to be held Early in May. If members do not know this How can they meet the conditions Laid Down in the bylaw with re Gard to nominations for the by Shaun h err on Board of governors in t this one Way to ensure that the Board is always self perpetuating yet a different kind of Board differently composed is urgently necessary. It is necessary because for one thing there appears to be a disposition on this present Board to seek contributions Only from a narrow segment of the Community that is they Are reportedly reluctant to make general appeals for funds to the Community at Large preferring to canvass the Rich members Only. But if an old age pensioner with to spare wants to give it to the theatre Why should he be denied the Opportunity if a Workingman wants to throw in to help keep a theatre in Winnipeg Why should he be excluded it will be argued that he is not excluded. No he is to seek the Opportunity it is not to be offered him. Just As it May be said that nominations to the Board Are open to members if they know in time when the Board is to meet. We Are All familiar with the techniques of exclusion. They Are not the techniques that Are of use to this theatre at this time. They arc indeed the techniques that will do it most damage at the moment when its a peal As a theatre is widening. Has anybody from a Trade Union Ever been invited to join the Board if not Why not this is after All a Community theatre and full Community involvement is the Only thing that will ensure its Prosperity. The University is represented and has been for a very Long time. There is a rift on the Board but the executive committee of the Board shall have All the Powers of the Board of so it becomes in effect the Board of governors Between full Board meetings and is dominated by a Small group with proprietor Al attitudes. This is the sort of thing that this theatre at this time can least afford. The entire atmosphere of the operation is wrong. It ought to be and must become a Joyful sort of out reaching t o the entire Community so that the participation of the audiences and their identification with the theatre As their theatre can be Felt among the Grea test number for the greater Good of the Enterprise. I do not mean by this that every member should have a hand in running the place and its affairs in practice democracy does t work but neither does self perpetuating oligarchy and that is what we have now. In effect those who Are effectively in control of the Board and therefore of the theatre Are not responsive to the Public or its needs. Whether they Are also unresponsive to the artistic needs of the theatre staff is another question but the answer to it appears to be negative. When they have a staff whose judg ment can be trusted their attitude is much like their Atti tude to the rest of the Board and to the changing nature of the theatre s Public. Since it is probably too late to present nominations for the Board perhaps the next Best thing this year is a Good turnout at the annual general mooting and a lot of Persis tent questioning about what is going on with suggestions about what certain executive members should now do London by now Cana Dian readers must be fed up with the european common Market. Few peo ple it follows Are Likely to be palsied with excitement Over the crisis now raging in Side Britain s labor party. Who cares labor is out of Power Britain is virtually in Side the european Community the whole sad Saga of labor splits and squabbles is too Complex and convoluted to engage overseas attention. And yet and yet it is important labor s struggle for its soul could have serious consequences. It might Mark the beginning of the end for opposition Leader Harold Wilson and keep prime min ister Edward Heath s ruling conservatives on top indefinitely. If persisting the convulsions resulting from the resignation of Roy Jenkins As labor s Deputy Leader could shatter the whole basis of Britain s two party system of government. If labor is gravely weakened by the latest schism it could shatter the British political balance in which co exist the traditional party of the moderate right conservatives and the socialists a mildly reforming party with a Broad humanitarian Bias. Such a rupture might open the Way to Continental style instability. A major weakness of european politics most observers agree is the absence of a moderate left leaving the party of the status quo vulnerable to As saults from Ultra leftists. Such a situation makes easy pickings for the communists whose very presence Mili tates appropriate word against the formation of a democratic left. Working with communists is like sharing pillows with a. Porcupine. They Are too big and too prickly to be ignored. You can t got along with them and you can t get along without them. It May to no Accident that Britain unlike France or Italy has never had a bloody revolution. It has also never had a major communist party. Its diluted socialism wards off extremist infection. In understand the present highly charged dispute in Britain so deeply rooted and emotionally scaring that by Alan Harvey one participant became physically sick in a spasm of rage and frustration it is wort h remembering that labor is a special sort of political creature a movement rather than a party a fiercely combustible collection of revolutionaries and re formers Power zealots and idealists Neo marxists and fabians Trade unionists and Tea party theorists. It s a goldfish bowl of grievance and recrimination. It revels in personal jealousies. Essentially it is a party of. Protest preferring the excitements of opposition to the cares of office. With its Core of genuine it fixes its eyes on the stars while betraying a perversely Earth bound zest for political in fighting. It is periodically divided against itself the Ramsay Macdonald crisis of 1931, the struggles of the 1950s centred round fiery Welsh orator Aneurin Bevan the Hue and cry Over nuclear disarmament. I the party s latest split is i Over european policy and it j is As elemental As anything it has Ever faced. It goes to the roots of the Way englishmen feel about themselves and j their country. It affects the struggle in local parties where pro european maps Are stigmatized by anti european executives. It runs through parliamentary debate a vivid thread of invective. It affects the my s mailbag. One key party Fig ure Douglas Houghton told me wearily his Riding has one critic who complains con-1 stantly that Britain s entry into the common Market will change the butterfat Content in British milk. That s the last said or. Hought on a convinced Kuro Ponn. Imagine Britain s future re lations with Europe depend ing on fractional differences in the drama permeates everything. It even prevented the election to a key parly Post of pro european Gwyn j Morgan simply he was pro european. Or. Mor Gan underwent the agony of three deadlocked votes against an anti Market candidate before the anti Market chairman Anthony Wedgwood Benn gave his casting vote to you guessed it the anti Market Man. Labor s present predicament arises partly because its restless left Wing so Long a minority is now in the majority. This follows a shift in Trade Union Power which finds the leaders of the big Union battalions ranged on the left. The result has been that the anti Market forces spinning their procedural webs have been Able to Force the As the europeans Are called into a Corner. What finally caused or. Jenkins to resign was the device of a referendum on British entry persistently pushed by Anthony Wedgwood Benn. Labor turned a deaf ear at first but changed its mind when French pres i d e n t Georges Pompidou called for a similar move in France. The upshot ironically is that the labor left has won a party Victory but lost the struggle against Europe in destroying the Jenki Sites temporarily at least it has freed them to vote for British entry into the european Community and thus ensured parliamentary passage for the conservative govern ment s common Market legis lation which was beginning to look in danger. The dispute has pointed up the importance of principle in politics. In exposing the contortions of the labor leadership Over Europe and in spotlighting what some re Gard As the opportunism of or. Benn in principle a supporter of British entry it has underlined the Dif Ference Between political expediency and political integrity. It has loft labor groggy. Some Are counting it out As an effective opposition Force. My bet is that come the an Nual party conference in october labor delegates will link hands with All their old Fervour brushing aside senti mental tears As they sing Auld land syne while ready to clobber any Tormentor preferably conservative hut. Fellow socialist if need ;