Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 22, 1975, Winnipeg, Manitoba Fax empt by the of Fempel ree Coap Noy United 300 Carton of cedi win Oreg Manitoba Mcharo Malone r h Shelford pub shei pros and Gen mgr Peter cd Stock Maurice Western Efcy Ottama r s Malone Winnipeg free press Winnipeg tuesday 22, 1975 pages 15-26 Freedom of Liberty of religion Equality of civil flights Indira Mussolini in Iii new India of prime minister Indira Gandhi trains Are running on time. Moreover the thousands of tick Tiess commuters who used to ride on the roofs of the railway coaches have found that mrs. Gandhi s new Broom has swept them into pools of stagnant water and other unpleasant environment where the trains were made to Stop and those without tickets chased by the railway police into Ponds and marshes India s civil servants now report for work on time. Gone Are the Days when few civil servants would be be Hind their desks before 11 . The penalty for being late is instant dismissal. The government employees unions that used to strike at the Mere hint of a reprimand have been silenced. In the new efficient India strikes have been outlawed. Hoarders Black marketeers and merchants accused of overcharging have been put in jail and prices have been tumbling Down. The threat of imprisonment with no a peal and no Legal remedies is a persuasive argument As Mussolini and Stalin had established Long ago. From lowly government clerks to factory workers and senior executives everybody is on the Job Early in the morning and everybody is working hard. Nor was there any student unrest at the universities when they reopened last week. Mrs. Gandhi saw to that too by arresting All student leaders. About political prisoners Are now in India s jails and no imprisoned my will be released to take part in the current special session of parliament that is rubber stamping mrs. Gandhi s emergency measures. Editors were told they can freely report the proceed Ings provided they publish solely speeches in support of mrs. Gandhi. They Are allowed to mention by name members of the opposition who Are still at Large but not what they May say. This is free press As the term is understood in the land of mrs. Gandhi s friends the soviet Union or in deed in Portugal and As it was Practised by the late Benito Mussolini who too began his dictatorial career by making trains run on time. Indira Gandhi is in excellent company. Canada s nato commitment arguments against reduction by David Macdou the Price of Oil National Energy Board shirks it responsibilities a starkly vague report on Gas in defending his latest budget with a series of speeches outside parliament finance minister Turner is making the Best of a bad Job. But his defence of an in creased gasoline Price should not be necessary. Though unpopular since it will add about 1.5 per cent to the average Cost of Liv Irig this measure was unavoidable. The Only question is whether the Price has been raised enough not merely to suit the government s financial convenience but to conserve and expand the nation s Energy resources. While the government Hopes that a Price increase of 15 cents a gallon or slightly More enforced by an extra tax of 10 cents and a per barrel on crude Oil will persuade Canadian motorists to waste this result is by no Means assured at least in the Short term. Clearly the main immediate purpose of the higher tax is to raise about million which or. Turner Ottawa Federal Regula tory agencies such As the National Energy Board must take the political climate As Well As the technical eco nomic and Trade Imp Lica t i o n s into consideration when they attempt to report to government and to the Public on issues crucial to the country s future in this instance future natural Gas Supply. But the recent report to the National Energy Board on Canada s natural Gas sup ply and requirements seems to go too far to the Detri ment of the reputation of the Board the state of uncertainty in the Petroleum in a Tatry and. Ultimately the chances of Canada escaping a serious Gas shortage in the last half of this decade. As almost everyone who by Jeff Carru Wiitra Tico lored document the Oard notes we Are in the position that Long term Export con tracts running to some one trillion cubic feet a year with a total of some 14 trillion cubic feet still committed to Export Are in effect a first charge on our production while Canadian requirements have to be satisfied from what is left Over. The situation if allowed to prevail reverses the priority for Canadian require ments As set out in the National Energy. Board in other words by allow ing the situation to continue the Board is violating the in has read the Gas report has observed it is. A starkly vague document. It is vague about the i intensions of the Gas Supply needs to finance subsidies for imported Oil and maintain a uniform Price across the nation. He could do without that added Revenue so Long As Canada s Oil exports to the United states continued in their earlier volume. Now when they Are falling his tax collection Falls with them and he will get the required Money directly from the Motorist. The larger National problem of Energy however is not solved and May not be much affected by these Bud-1 Export have Geary arrangements. Even if increased prices disc our keen Cut Back for two age the present lavish use of gasoline for nonessential already and in some parts purposes the nation must face the fact that it will run of Ontario where Industrial out of Oil in about a decade unless new supplies Are Bergtold eloped. And they will not be developed without sufficient incentives to the developers. Tention of parliament which established it to guard Canada s Oil and Gas production for Canadian needs first. The Board admits while will ultimately mean a Ca Nadian shortage unless fron tier Gas becomes something the Board tresses it cannot depend on at this time. But that is not what the government says it is going o do. Rather Canada is going to share the shortage by reducing growth in do m a s t i c use and inducing current users to switch to alternative fuels while reducing exports to the . Energy minister Donald Macdonald and the neb both claim there is nothing inconsistent with to if to anyone who reads the neb report the governments policy seem Brussels nato Diplo Mats Here say Canada could hardly have picked a worse time to be thinking of rocking the boat by possibly reducing its european de Fence commitment. They Are concerned about the possible results of Canada s slow moving discussion Over whether its contingent at Lahr West Germany should remain a mixed Force become All air or All ground. An All air element would mean a reduction of forces. One senior West German Diplomat said bluntly by unilaterally reducing its military commitment to nato at a crucial period in the East West troop reduction talks Canada might Well contribute to the destabilization of Western de Fence. It is in the interests of both Canada and the Alli Ance for the contingent to stay at its existing size Anc its current mixed the troop Cut talks of i facially known As the Mutual balanced Force reduction negotiations and being con ducted in Vienna were mentioned by another diploma i As a serious reason for can Ada leaving its Force in be developing Gas shortage i changed y creating a climate of in Canada could endanger certainty in the Industry As the mfr talks by uni later result of the Federal ally cutting its contingent provincial tax squabbles. Just now. And it would be yet the Board has joined bad psychological blow at a he governments in sowing time when there have been eeds of uncertainty by defence budget cuts in being so vague so Intel member countries because tonally vague about the Gas of inflation and because of apply and demand problem the Oil Price and in such Stark contrast any Canadian reduction is o the Oil Supply report with seen As being bad for me Al. Specific recommendations i Fiance because As one Diplo is a there is a direct linkage be tween economic matters and defence considerations All Point out that attitudes in one Field Are Likely to affect those in another. Said the West German dip Lomat when governments look Over the Broad Range of their responsibilities and external relations they Are bound to feel that their sup port is Best Given to those who Are pulling their weight in areas vital to their Basic Security. Canada is Well liked but must pay her dues willingly in nato if she is o seek help in other mat nato diplomats say the Roop Cut talks Are a key Art of the Over All East West negotiations that in clude the strategic arms limitation talks and the 35 nation conference on Coop e r a t i o n and Security in Europe. Gas Winter Phe Board says shortages according to the major Oil companies the budget could Start to hit Domestic does not provide those incentives. The Price of crude Oil customers As Early As next is raise to per barrel or about below the Price but the companies expect the Federal and prove growing shortage or shirking the blame that Gas which should be saved for Canadian use is already being exported to the . Later in the report the Board seems to say unequivocally that it intends to carry out its responsibility under the act the National Energy Board act to in ure that supplies of Gas Are available to meet Canadian demand before allowing Gas exports even under existing Export commitments. Elsewhere making the same Point even More pointed the Board says that in its own View it is contrary to the provisions and the in Cial governments to take most of the increase in their about no can expect to taxes. Spokesmen of the Oil Industry say that it requires face the shortages. The world Price if it is to continue adequate exploration the Board also seems to in the Arctic and the offshore areas of the Atlantic conclude that there is no so coast. Or alternatively the indies total taxes Feder Al and provincial must be reduced and apparently some Gas supplies from the North reduction in royalties is under consideration by the Rich thus it would seem to be a Alberta government. Very serious problem Cana both inconsistent with wha the Board is saying and wit what it claims must be Don under its act. This is not t say that for other reasons sharing the shortage might be Best for Canada in its final conclusions the Board says it proposes to take appropriate action by inserting a condition in All existing Export licences making the annual and daily entitlement and therefore deliveries conditional on approved Canadian require ments being important qualifying phrase is approved Canad an with the accent on that phrase appears for the first and last time on the second to last Page of the Gas report and destroys in for action Export cutbacks mat said Canada that will be automatically wealthy country and such an up dated each year following example could Lead poorer annual Oil Supply hearings. Countries to say Why should the Only other plausible explanation Lor such a Wishy Washy report is that the Board wants to protect its own flank and not that of the government from criticism perhaps realizing without admitting How badly it erred in 1970 when it painted such a Rosy Supply picture and authorized those exports which Are now causing All the problems. If that s the Case then the neb is doing an even greater disservice to itself and its masters parliament and the Public. Some diplomats feel the soviet military might find it difficult to Swallow conces Sions on both troop cuts and strategic weapons and might therefore seek a hard soviet reaction to further delay in completion of the european Security preparation of a text for a Summit signing Are Well advanced with "88 per cent of the contents Down on according to one Diplomat. But the Holdup is that Western countries want absolutely clean drafts with no ambiguities left in so the soviets and their allies Are at least theoretically tied Down to a Clear textual com Canada s conduct Over its nato commitment review we try hard if Canada is slacking by the same Token it is a bad idea for Canada be cause any reduction in Cana d a s nato commitment must inevitably mean a reduction in her influence in International this is partly an indirect reference to prime minister Trudeau wish for what he Calls a contractual link with the european economic Community eight of whose nine members also belong to nato. While no one Here says is therefore believed by its nato allies to hold special psychological importance just now. Even though it makes sense to have most Canadian troops in said one Diplomat the first line of defence for Canada remains Europe and that is the justification for Canada s nato birthdays mrs. Phyllis Field Coop or Glenboro Man. Born Chicago Illinois july 22, 1894. Cigarettes and whiskey and violence on the tube a much Over rated influence in this highly Complex argument of taxes prices a is much and profits the Oil companies can be suspected of self More serious and closer to interest rather than the interest of the Public. They will certainly try to charge the consumer All that the traffic one s Lap last will Bear. But allowing for any exaggeration of their Dif yet in spite of the obvious faculties the practical fact is that the search for new Oil supplies has been lagging. In the Arctic regions for example about million was spent on exploration last year without the discovery of enough Oil to justify a Mackenzie River pipeline and this year the expenditures Are Likely to be less depending on the tax policies of the Federal government and the future Oil Price. When All these factors Are considered along with problem the report is equally vague about what the government and the Public can and should do about the problem to minimize it and perhaps even eliminate it. The obvious solutions con Ern Canada s Long term sex Orts to the United states lat now amount to almost 0 per cent of Canada s do tent and spirit of the act that contractual obligations permitted under licences should continue to be Ful filled under circumstances in which Canadian require ments for use of Canadian natural Gas in Canada can not be a Lew paragraphs later it says in no Uncertain terms that it is the View of the Board that reasonably foreseeable requirements for Gas for use in Canada consistent with the pricing conserva Tion and industrialization policies of Canadian govern the open Cartel s threat to raise its High prices still higher the Turner budget cannot be regarded As the last word on the Energy problem of Canada and its author makes no pretence. It May be the Best that the government could do for the moment but it is no More than a temporary experimental look at the Long term prospects. In one of the most significant and least noted Pas sages of the budget speech or. Turner said that his present tax formula holds Good Only for the year ahead and that in subsequent years Canada will move toward the world Oil Price. Already indeed the Motorist out Side the attempted provincial freeze in Ontario though not the Industrial and Domestic Consumers i beginning to pay the equivalent of the world Price later on it May be inevitable for All Oil. In any Case the most urgent necessity is to find an develop More of it. Whether the budget measures will have that result the experience of the next year should indicate. Meanwhile the current and probable future Cost of Oil makes it All the More necessary to hold Down other costs and prices within Canada s control. But the budget offers no such Hope to the consumer when All Canadian production costs continue to Rise and will soon reflect themselves in prices. Mystic Gas production. In the preface to the mul ments must be Given priority Over existing Export com one second All the arguments Board responsibility in the previous 100 pages. Neither m r Macdonald nor Board chairman mar shall Crowe would say what approved Canadian require ments actually mean. Sup Posedly that will be deter mined by the government with the Board s Blessing alter consultations with Washington and affected provincial governments Dur ing the next year. Yet it represents the ultimate to use the vernacular of the Day. It allows the government All the room for manoeuvre there is an unfortunate tendency these Days when experts Are so highly regarded to look on the average person As a Simpleton whose dim thoughts can so easily be set off in the wrong direction that he must be protected from All evil influences. An example can be seen in violence in motion Pic the idea that television and Tures creates violent Tenden cies in the people who watch them. Lately a similar con Cern has been voiced about the use of alcoholic drinks and tobacco As dramatic props. It is feared that when we see actors smoking and drinking on television we want to smoke and drink too. In other words exports i m the world. Anything it have to be Cut Back so that does ultimately even Noth be justified with the definition of approved Canadian the responsibilities of the Canadian needs Are met. If the logic used in the Oil report is applied to the Gas situation the exports in fact should be Cut off altogether. Continuation of the exports Board under the neb act can seemingly be conveniently forgotten. It is almost As though the Oard in writing the report intentionally stuck that one word approved in at the ast minute to let the government squirm out of an otherwise impossible Situa Ion. But its use also leaves everyone else about what the Ortw Uva first off All Isabel Yount Fot to Stop being a pussycat. Many studies have been done Over the years an other has recently been com by government on the effect of violence in entertainment on the Spectator but no link Between this and the real violence that plagues our society has been established. If similar studies were done alcohol and tobacco it is doubtful if the result would be different. Common sense tells us that we do not feel any compulsion to emulate television characters in our own lives. We know that if we see Vio Lence smoking and drinking in the dark on it docs not create in needs to be us the Uree to go out beat up a passerby and relax of by Tom Oleson in one of the worst offend is according to a Christian science Monitor Survey sip ing whiskey and it is doubt us that anyone Ever acquired a smoker s cough be a e Humphrey Bogart puffed so Many cigarettes. If t h e r e is cause for con Cern about violence on to and films it is not that the violence is there but the reason for it and that is be cause it is so popular. It is More worrying that a Mother who would have As they used to say. A conniption fit if she found Junior Reading Fanny Hill will Send him off quite cheerfully to see Kung fun killers and mayhem in the mafia at the local Cine a than it is that there Are film makers who willingly provide As much blood and Gore As popular taste and the Public stomach Wil stand. We May be going through a period where free Dom of expression is abuse by the exploitation of Vio it might be shocking if the programs were showing children drinking scotch with their meals or Huckle Berry hound guzzling fortified wine. Most programs however have adults As their main characters and adults for better or worse do not usually offer each other milk As a drink on so Cial or business occasions any More than cowboys Der soda pop in saloons. If children always the object of special concern in hese debates show an a erness to Sample the plea ures of alcohol and tobacco t is less Likely because they ave seen them on to than because they Are in our society Marks of maturity Lave out of natural desire Fiat our children should not e wheezing coughing uses made the use of Alco hol and tobacco into Legal done the Public the Gas producers the Gas pipeline companies the local Gas uti cities the Large Industrial Gas users the Export customers. All of them need to know now so they can make decisions that will affect their plans and future a year or two or three from now. The Board made a Strong by the government As being overstated Federal and provincial governments had aggravated Ter wards with whiskey and cigars. It has been estimated that a child devoted to watching behaviour go far deeper than the television or movie screen. Nor can we blame the abuse of alcohol and Tobacc on the fact that people a seen using them on telex Sion. Both Are for Many pc pie an enjoyable and Rel Lively harmless part of no Mil life. It is surprising i television will Sre some i fact to find that the Chris 31.000 killings on the screen t i a n science Monitor is Igns of adulthood. It is Only o be expected that children n their eagerness to grow up should be anxious to try them out. Violence alcohol and of acc. Have caused very real problems in our society but they will not be solved by showing on television and in the movies a land where these things do not exist. It is insulting when psychologists and sociologists and other Learned experts assume we and our children Are so simple that Are going to mindlessly emulate the nonsense we see on television. If they after watching gun smoke. Do not try and solve their problems by drinking in saloons and shooting it out in the Street Why should they assume that by the time he or she has graduated from High school. Most children however do not grow up to be brutes no matter How addicted they May have been to television. Nor is it Likely that anyone Ever Slid into alcoholism be cause he watched Joe Man Chol. Shocked to learn that Ameri we Are any different can television programs show people drinking liquor ten times More often than they Are shown drinking milk in spite of the fact that in real life 12 limes More milk is consumed than Alco today s scriptures we Are became a reproach to our neighbors a scorn and derision to them that Are round about us. Psalms ;