Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - March 31, 1975, Winnipeg, Manitoba Printed and published daily except sunday by the Winnipeg free press company limited 300 Canton Street Winnipeg Manitoba. Richard c. Malone r. H. Shelford publisher pres. And Gen mgr. Peter Mclintock Maurice Western editor Ottawa editor r. S Malone chairman Winnipeg free press Winnipeg monday March 31, 1975 pages 17-30 Freedom of Trade Liberty of religion Equality of civil rights the opposition the conservative party is taking what Comfort it can find in the recent Alberta election but the Comfort is cold the crumbs from the table of an Oil Rich prov Ince pretty Small. Premier Lougheed s overwhelming Triumph nevertheless leaves the political map of the West unchanged his party leaderless in National poli tics divided and desperate. For the nation there is no Comfort at All in the plight of the parliamentary opposition and even a smug Liberal government if it can see further than its nose will discern no cause for satisfaction. In times like these when All the great problems re main unsolved every democratic system needs a Strong opposition to watch the government and if necessary to replace it. But that alternative does not exist in Canada today. No credible successor has emerged to follow Rob Ert Stanfield and none is Likely to be found in provincial politics. After his local Victory or. Lougheed probably could have the leadership if he wanted it but he does not and is obliged to fulfil the mandate which he sought and received from his own voters. Besides it is almost a Law of Canadian politics that the Leader of a provincial government no matter How successful cannot Transfer his authority to Ottawa or. Stanfield being the latest example. In this Century no Premier has become prime minister though three respected conservative premiers have led their National party always to defeat. There is much More to the opposition s dilemma than the accidents of personality and the Liberal party s Long run of Luck. The conservative party has failed Over and Over again sometimes by a Small tantalizing mar Gin for two Basic historical reasons. It could never establish itself firmly or for More than a Brief period in Quebec and lacking substantial French Canadian strength no party can govern Success fully even if it wins office. John Diefenbaker won it in 1957, without that strength and seemed to have broken Quebec s Liberal monopoly in the grand sweep of 1958. But it was a pyrrhic Victory and its gains were soon squandered by a prime minister who did not understand Quebec s mentality and could not find that French can Adian partner essential to the Only sort of coalition which can effectively manage a dual society. The Liber Al party has succeeded mainly because it has been based on such a partnership Ever since sir Wilfrid Laurier s time. Or. Stanfield understood Quebec perhaps better than any conservative Leader since sir John a. Mac Ronald. His refusal to turn his party against it and win the votes of racial prejudice in other provinces will always Honor his memory. Now the party in its desperation is tempted to revive the old strategy. It might succeed briefly in terms of electoral votes but Only at the Cost of dangerously splitting the nation. If the temptation is resisted when or. Stanfield has gone if the party can present a Leader and a policy acceptable to even a Quebec minority then the opposition can make itself a credible alternative government not otherwise. But under any Leader conservatism will re main in disarray until it frames a policy understandable to the whole nation. None has been devised yet because the party is divided not merely on peripheral issues but on fundamentals Between its right and left wings. While All democratic parties in Canada and elsewhere Are always divided to some degree and Bridge their differences by pragmatic give and take the conservative party has been unable so far to achieve such a work ing Compromise. With a leadership convention two wings Are diverging instead of coming together. This however is too Short a View of a political situation changed by drastic changes in the National Economy. The Liberal government controls Parlia ment but it is in deep trouble like governments almost everywhere because its economic mismanagement has deeply undermined its Public support. In the. New Situa Tion the conservative party can begin its revival if it has the wit to see its Opportunity and the courage to stand by the policy which it advocated in last year s election but bungled in its speeches and thus mystified the voters if the party would reunite in demanding a freeze profits and prices it would become cred Ible Agaid. For that policy though rejected at the polls in a time of deceptive affluence and much confusion is being vindicated by events then unforeseen and now driving the nation toward uncontrolled disaster. Only catch with your suggestion that you stuff the Money directly into drains is that it abrogates the rights and privileges of the senior by the labor of men easter 1975 in Jerusalem felony in Berkeley Square mrs. Leger steals a chef by Alan Harvey l on Don Canada is stealing one of France s most talented chefs to brighten official menus in Ottawa. In slightly felonious Fash Ion government House in Ottawa has persuaded five Star chef Daniel Dunas to move his pots and pans from London s select con naught hotel to Rideau Hall starting in april. Don t blame governor general Jules Leger it looks As though his wife Gabrielle May be the real Cul Prit. I think my husband Sim ply could not resist Madame Leger s talents of per the chef s French Canadian wife Raymonde told me. Or. Dunas will be at government House in time to prepare for his first vip guest Prince Charles due in Ottawa starting april 10. It took All mrs. Leger s extrovert Charm to Winkle or. Dunas out of London. We were very Happy Here and it s not easy to leave such a splendid Post As the the chef said in an interview As some of the 40 Cooks in his charge filed through his London office. The Mailer cuisine has been 10 years at the con Sist it is the Best hotel in Britain bar none. It has a prize but unobtrusive reputation. It is eminently in g 1 i s h very old world straight out of the top drawer without being gauche. I is next door to Berkeley Square. But there is a sentimental reason for looking Forward to going to Canada. Or. Dunas has worked at government House before. In fact his Romance had its roots in Rideau Hall. He went skating there fell Down and bumped into a Young lady named Raymonde Morin whom he had never met. They got talking and later married. Mrs. Dunas is Happy to re turn to Ottawa where her sister jives but there is a twinge of sadness about leaving behind their 19-year old son Michel who is completing a civil engineering course Here. A daughter Suzanne 18, is flying to Ottawa in the first week of april along with the family s alsatian dog Sasha. What is the Connaught going to do without its five s t a r chef Don t worry gourmets. I hear it s going to sign up a top chef from maxims the celebrated spot Jerusalem the other j Day Teddy Kollek the exuberant mayor of Jerusa Lem took me for an Early morning tour of this most haunting of cities. What ensued says something about the poignant Quality of easter in the holy land this year. As he drove the mayor r a to l e d out information. Jerusalem was the fastest growing City in the world four per cent growth in the Arab population by birth equal growth by jews moved into town to head off Arab predominance. We were on our Way to an Arab Quarter in East Jeru Salem which exemplified efforts by the state of Israel to provide Good housing for everybody. Studies had shown the arabs preferred private i o m e s to the apartment houses usually constructed or the jews. So Money had been made available for cheap mortgages. Sites for single family dwellings had cleared. Hours had been arranged and materials let aside so persons of limited Means taxi Drivers say could build their own Homes. We stopped at a Small playground where a Young Arab girl was coasting Down a plastic slide i mobilized tier for the mayor said needling me for what he apparently sensed was resistance to a hard sell. An elderly Man recognized the mayor and saluted him in arabic. He brought a Friend Over for presentation. The mayor kidded with them and they slapped each other on the Cheek in Friendly fashion. It does t mean All that mayor Kollek observed As we drove on. To Morrow they could align with Arafat and the pales Tine liberation organization against Israel. But on the other hand they Don t have to be Nice to me. It shows by Joseph Kraft we went next to the ancient City Wall. Mayor Kol Lek showed me a Section Al ready excavated with huge stones at the Bottom dating from biblical Days. Another Section was being uncovered from beneath some 20 feet of accumulated debris. We uncover the top few feet with the mayor said. After the first few feet we do everything with the utmost care. We use scrapers and chisels and i Don t know what tooth brushes even. But our critics in the United nations com Plain that Israel uses Bull dozers on after that there was a jewish housing development with transplanted Olive Trees. Then a couple of warehouses and factories. Next a Road being constructed so arabs could walk to and from a Village without stepping on some recently discovered jewish Graves dating from 500 or 600 years ago. Everywhere there were Parks and schools music Cen tres Small theatres and hospitals and transplanted Fig Trees. Eventually i lost count. We fetched up at a restau rant near the first jewish settlement outside the City Walls a Home for the poor built in the last Century by the Anglo jewish philanthropist Moses Montefiore. Wanted you to Sec All the mayor said Over breakfast so you would know there was More Here than High politics. I wanted you to get a sense of the Energy Here the furious Energy of our building the Confidence of our i replied lamely that i was mainly a housing project. A trifle miffed i think the mayor handed me Over to a Young woman who worked in his office. She walked with re to a Case showing the Carriage used by Moses Montefiore on his travels and a magnificent Slone Windmill which he had built. The Windmill had never been used because the jews in the old City had been too afraid to venture out. I asked to go inside. The key did t work. I said it did t matter. We inspected the great coach with the Montefiore coat of arms on the outside. Think How he must have had to work to get per Mission to use hebrew let ters on the coat of the Young woman exclaimed. By the time we rejoined the mayor i knew Why i had been so unresponsive you Are following the Pio i told him. You Are attempting miracles. But the age of miracles is look at it this he said. We re ants Here building an ant Heap. We know that a Man with a big stick might come anytime and scatter our work to the winds. But then we would Only Start building again else can we do you Tell i did t have an answer still Don t. But later i remembered a phrase dredged up from childhood of Thi which seems right easter in Jerusalem year. In this the saying goes the work o the lord is done by labor of birthdays j. I i. F. Baird Winni Peg born cons econ on Tario March 31, 1888, in historical perspective another ufos study by Maurice Western 01tawa As the Canada Council is known to be in insatiably curious few will e surprised to read that has been invested in a study of Canadian reports f unidentified flying objects. There is however something intriguing about he explanation provided by he Council in response to a Stitten question in Parlia ment. The award suitably enough comes under the explorations program. The explorer a or. Musgrave is 0 catalogue old sightings of strange Aerial Phenomena As in Canadian news papers journals and local histories and to interview people who have witnessed such Phenomena especially prior to 1974. It is Clear from the word no of the question what troubled Bruce Halliday the inquiring member of Parlia m e n t. Was the Counci aware he asked that the United states government spent More than half a Mil lion dollars Between 1966 and 1968 to have competent scientists conduct an intensive study of such reports including Canadian reports and that the conclusion o the Condon report was mat there was no evidence to warrant any further scientific investigation or. Halli Day wondered also if there had been consultation with officers of the National re search Council about the advisability of funding such a study. The problem with the answer is that the Council on this occasion appears to protest too much. If one Par of the answer is Correct i is difficult to make sense o the other part. There was in fact no consultation with anyone a arc. This is perfectly understandable because the focus of the project is histor ical rather than scientific if this is the nature of 1 n q u i r Yit is legitimate whether ufos Are substantial or insubstantial. In either Case people believe that they have seen Strang objects and their report have been widely credited popular illusions after All Are part of the history of the age. But the Council seem strangely reluctant to deem he award on this simple basis. The decision it re ports was based on an in dependent appraisal by four scientifically qualified people Ivhon were undoubtedly aware of the Condon report he chairman of the depart t e n t of astronomy in a United states University the director of the Mutual ufos network in the United states a biologist and the editor of the Canadian ufos it would seem reasonable to conclude from this that the Council despite the historical focus of the project lad some doubts about its investment. Why else would it arrange this in dependent appraisal and Why would it concentrate exclusively on the scientifically qualified How would the focus have suffered if a Ca Nadian historian had been enlisted As a fifth appraiser there Are other questions. How does one appraise in Advance interviews which have yet to take place about events reported nearly 30 years ago one of the difficulties with written questions is that they do not permit of supple mantaries. It is possible that with a bit of parliamentary stirring something of interest might emerge from this strange mix of science and history. The again it might not. A coun cil which must Busy itself this year disbursing nearly millions cannot be expected to remember All the details of a trifling inter planetary exploration. Or. Halliday might consider a More exciting inquiry. Is there someone. On the Council who was frightened out of his wits either by a nocturnal experience or by a science fiction hour on Tele vision is he available with friends from the ufos net works to assist the appropriate committee in bringing the unexplained into historical focus such an appear Ance might be very helpful to members in gaining a better appreciation of the Workings of a Council for which they regularly appropriate such lavish funds. Advice from the province what the City can tax that with politics aside was impressed that i had we can have an easy rela j never seen so Many bulldog i ers and that life Afler All strange subsidies naught. Some specialists in on the Rue Royale in Paris. Generally speaking there is More to be said against subsidies than for them Al though there can be occasions when the removal of a subsidy can work real harm. The Federal govern ment s decision to remove the subsidy on milk is a Case in Point. By removing the subsidy it forced milk prices up at a time when in the interests of Low income families every Effort should have been Bent to hold them Down. The same government which removed the milk sub Sidy however has shown no remembered words from the passionate Shepherd to his love by Christopher Marlowe come live with me and be my love and we will All the pleasures prove that valleys Groves Hills and Fields. Woods or sleepy Mountain yields. Similar desire to remove or even Cut Back its subsidies to Canada s inefficiently run Book publishing Industry. On the contrary it has pushed these subsidies up. The can Ada Council s current sub Sidy to publishers of some 54 million is to be increased annually by million ear marked for the promotion and distribution of Canadian books and periodicals. But unlike the milk subsidy this will not be used to bring prices Down. As any Book buyer knows Book prices Are not coming Down put going up. It is not necessary to get into a debate on the respective merits of books and milk to suggest that Ottawa s priorities on subsidies need to be questioned. Today s scripture study to Shew thyself approved unto god a work Man that need eth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth. Ii Timothy the provincial govern ment has t turned the City of Winnipeg away completely empty handed. Provincial officials Drew up a fairly lengthy working paper outlining a Host of existing or new taxes the City could impose to assist its straitened financial Circum stances. Many of these taxes Are regressive a fact Bol stering the City s argument for a bigger share of growth taxes collected from per s o n a 1 and corporate in comes. But there Are some which Are progressive or would have a social value. The fact that the City resists them plus the development oriented spending priorities of the current Council underlies the province s reluctance to turn Over any additional Money on an unconditional basis. The working paper in addition to proposing increasing some existing taxes on commercial property suggests a one per cent payroll tax a five per cent hotel room tax in effect in on Tario and a Dou bling to 10 per cent of the sales tax on restaurant meals in effect in a one per cent tax on liquor purchases a 2 c e n t per gallon tax on gasoline and for the third time a land . The existing taxes the paper proposed changing in clude a raise in the Busi Ness tax from 11 to 15 per cent a higher Mill rate on commercial property a 10 per cent electricity and Natu ral Gas tax on commercial users a 25 per cent increase on All permits licences and fines and a raise in the amusement lax from 10 to 15 per cent. Most of these proposals would bring the City Only around million from each. And increasing taxes on Busi Ness merely Means the Busi Ness passes the increase on to its Consumers in inc form of increased prices. By Frances Russell the single exceptions to the relatively Low yields from these tax changes Are the one per cent payroll tax which is estimated to bring the City million and the land , whose Revenue is almost impossible to predict because it would depend on which form of the tax was selected. The City argues of course that Many of these taxes would Hurt business in its area and the province has vaguely agreed that in some cases it would have to move to make the application of the tax province wide to avoid Ghatt sizing the City. While Many of these taxes Are regressive that is they would apply equally on Rich and poor i some such As the land and the Premium tax on gasoline have some social value. The chief result by a. Land in time is to Dis courage the buying and sell ing of land for speculative purposes which of course is a Large Factor in the Esca lating Cost of Home Pur chases and rentals. The Gas tax Premium would have the advantage of discouraging car use in the City and encouraging greater use of Public transit. The working paper was prepared by provincial officials for the last meeting Between the government and the City about two weeks ago. The City had stated it did t have the research capability to investigate alter Nate tax methods. Apparently the City initially rejected the suggestions out of hand but since has been told by its own administration that some would be feasible. However it is expected that the City won t move to Lake up any of them until it exhausted completely its efforts to get the government o provide it with further re venue sharing from growth taxes. The province is reluctant to increase its sharing of growth tax revenues with the City for several reasons. The main one is the traditional argument that the government which spends should also tax. Govern m e n t s which can spend Money they Don t have " to raise themselves lose that All important political incentive to hold Down costs. In addition to that reason the provincial government s reluctance is based on its philosophical difference with the cily. The province is annoyed that the City in three years has failed to take up its offer of assistance to bring in a land . The province finds such a tax philosophically attractive but the City dominated As it is by councillors with real estate interests finds it philosophically unattractive. I private passenger car. It is Worth noting in this context that the Only experimentation in the Public Tran sit system such As the dash bus and the dial a bus has come about through the province tying its Money directly Llo such activity. The province also feels that its property tax credit program with a minimum of automatically taken off everyone s municipal tax Bill and the possibility geared to income Ofiana Dit ional reduction from income tax has brought about significant property tax Relief for Low and fixed income homeowners and renters. The province included in its working paper for inc City tables showing the extent of this Relief. Individuals owning Homes with Market value of up to s24.000 and in some areas As High As. Have experienced property lax de creases since the unified City and the tax credit program was introduced for exam the province is also an noyed at the City s spending priorities. It looks at developments such As Triec and ii Uge proposed capital Bud gets for major through ways and Bridges As opposed to emphasis on improved pub Lic transit and fears hat any further unconditional Revenue sharing with the cily would just bring about More development not at tempts to reduce property taxes for the average Home owner. The present Council the province argues seems development oriented that is encouraging fringe Orcsi d e n t i a 1 subdivisions with their accompanying High costs for servicing land and pie a House valued at in the old City of Winnipeg experienced a 527.25 decrease in property taxes Between 1971 and 1974. Some of the property tax de creases have been As High As 5136.ss for a Home Worth in the Seine River school division Section of fort of course some of these decreases also reflect the province s transitional assistance Grants to municipalities to ease in the unified City. The assistance Grants ended this year. Any City argument for greater Access to growth taxes has Validity As it is True that most of the taxes available to municipalities Are regressive. Obviously however the City has t done enough to put its House in order regarding its own spending priorities to expect greater demand for More j a sympathetic hearing from and bigger roads and the senior level of govern Bridges to accommodate Chr Mcnol ;