Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 9, 1979, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press tuesday january i Iff Grain processing Industry suggested Lang interested in sask. Rate plan photo by Dave born or Manitoba Premier Sterling Lyon left listens As Federal transport minister Otto Lang Speaks at conference. By Debbie Sproat the Long standing debate Over fun toe at the port of flared up at a top level conference on Grain handling and which began in Winni Peg monday. Government officials from Manito and Saskatchewan insisted improvements at Churchill Are Desir Able and economically sound. Meanwhile British Columbia Agri culture minister Cyril Shelford suggested that funds be used to develop coast ports near the expanding Pacific rim Grain Market. Alberta to straddle the Fence. Saskatchewan and Al Berta Are bound and determined that Churchill will have a continuing part to play in the Export of Grain to world Sterling Lyon of Manitoba told reporters after the Cdr Ference . With a minimum improvement of existing facilities we Are told the talks focus on port port of Churchill could have a throughput of 50 million or 55 million bushels a Lyon said. He said the Basic improvement needed is the upgrading of rail lines. Agriculture minister Jim Downey of Manitoba agreed improving the port of Churchill would t require a lot of Money adding looking at Western Canada As a granary the More outlets you have the More Grain you Are going to move at whatever Shelford said he did t object to improvements at Churchill but thought the Money would be better spent the West coast ports of Prince Rupert and Kitimat. The number one problem is rely ing on one major port to move the bulk of our Grain and most other Shelford said in pre pared notes for his speech to the conference with the Pacific Trade increasing each year this has to be mistake made by Cana Dian policy he noted Vancouver is the Only port on the West coast that loads deep sea ships compared to 11 on Canada s East coast and eight on the Pacific coast of the United states. Improving the ports at Prince Rupert and Kitimat is the Only Way we can make use of the Good work done by our National government in upgrading the in Northern lines the last few he said. Premier Peter Lougheed of Alberta did t object to being included As one of the provinces bound and Churchill be developed but later re emphasized Alberta s special interest in Prince Rupert. In opening remarks to the Confer ence Lougheed said Alberta remained convinced that expansion and modernization of this facility Prince Rupert is the Best option for alleviating the congestion. We would like to see a commitment to improve the throughput of this the three Prairie premiers agreed the subsidized Crow rate must be preserved for Farmers. Premier Allan Blakeney of Saskatchewan proposed that the fed eral government compensate the railways who Are faced with increasing losses for Grain transport. Blakeney also suggested Saskatchewan would relieve the Burden on the Grain transportation system by As sisting in the development of Indus tries which would take Grain out of the Federal system and have it processed into finished products before shipment. Under the plan he said Saskatchewan would pay the railways the Dif Ference Between the compensatory rate for the movement of processed Grain products and a Crow related rate on these products. Alberta had earlier proposed a sys tem to retain the benefits of the Crow rate for Farmers while encouraging the processing of Field crops by subsidizing their transportation by rail. Lang said he would like to see a common plan rather than plans Dif Fering Between provinces. While Manitoba s Premier Sterling Lyon labelled the Saskatchewan plan interesting and the prov Ince s agriculture minister Jim Dow Ney said he could t see Manitoba accepting the provincial subsidy proposal. What you enter into is provincial treasuries competing with each other for Industry. It s a dangerous Prece Downey said. Saskatchewan s proposal for a transportation coordinator to co or continued donate quotas rail cars terminals and ships for All grains was less enthusiastically received even by Lang who had earlier proposed a similar Lang said he preferred a co opera Tive approach to working out the technicalities of a Czar or co Ordin Ator. Premier Peter Lougheed of Alberta rejected the idea of a coordinator claiming we have enough players on the scene right now. I Don t think we need another Lyon said he hoped the meeting could agree on an on going commit tee to Deal with Grain handling and transportation problems. The Manitoba Premier confined his opening statement to listing five major problem areas but suggested no solutions. Along with other participants he identified a shortage of rolling Stock As a major problem. During the meeting up rail agreed to earlier Federal government requests to participate in a Boxcar repair program Cost shared 50-50 be tween the Federal government and the railways. The railway said it will repair boxcars this year for Grain ship ments at a Cost of million. Up rail said the program would create about 85 additional jobs at the Weston railway shops in Winnipeg and cars would be repaired at the rate of about 80 per month. Canadian National railways ear Lier entered the agreement to repair older cars at a total Cost of million the premiers postponed comment until today on a proposal by British Columbia agriculture minister Cyril Shelford that workers in the Grain transportation Industry be paid a substantial Bonus each year. For a trouble free year of efficient opera Tion of our transport Shelford also suggested an Effort be made to bring about Central bar gaining for the whole Industry As any one of the 25 unions can tie up the whole he noted 16 per cent of loading Days Are lost because of labor problems. At the adjournment of monday s meeting Lang and the provincial leaders expressed satisfaction they d been Able to agree Canada has the ability to produce and Market 30 million metric tonnes of Grain annually by 1985. While the Grain talks went on inside the legislative building members of the National Farmers Union picketed the building to protest the fact the meeting was closed to the Public. Lang told reporters he agreed the meeting should have been open to the Public. He said he would have liked to have All the Farmers watching in. But this meeting was arranged by Lyon not by a Nofu pamphlet said up rail should be operated As a Public Utility in View of the proven inability of the car to provide efficient service in spite of massive donations from the Public continued women aged 15-24 increased is two tenths of a per cent id 14.3 per cent. For men aged 25 and Over the rate declined by two tenths of one per cent to 4.9 per cent. For women aged 25 and Over the rate dropped to 7.4 per cent in december from 7.5 per cent in november. Newfoundland which consistently registers the highest unemployment rate in the country showed an in crease of nine tenths of one per cent to 17.4 per cent. The unemployment rate in Prince Edward Island increased to a season ally adjusted 11.2 per cent in Decem Ber from 11.1 in november. Quebec which has the second largest work Force after Ontario showed an in crease to 10.5 per cent from 10.4 per cent. The rate in Saskatchewan Rose to 4.8 per cent from 4.t a month earlier and in British Columbia it jumped to 9.1 per cent from per cent. Other provinces showed slight de Clines. The rate remained unchanged in Nova Scotia at 10.5 per cent. Statistics Canada said the total labor Force in december was 000, up from in Decem Ber 1977. There were per sons working in december compared with a year earlier. The actual number of unemployed in december was compared with in november and 000 in december 1s77. Of the total Labo Force 63 per cent was either pm Pluyd or looking for work. This figure known As the participation Rale was up from 62.8 per cent in november. The unemployment rate on a seasonally adjusted basis which takes into account labor Force trends stood at 8.5 per Cunt in december 1977. Although the rate has slowly crept Down to its current 8.1 per cent few economists expect there will be a significant improvement in the unemployment rate this year. Cause of Tanker blast unknown Bantry Ireland up two explosions ripped through a big French Oil Tanker unloading at the Gulf Oil terminal in Bantry on Mon Day cutting the vessel in two and hurling the bodies of Crew members into a sea of flaming Oil. At least 50 persons were reported killed. Officials said the dead included the Crew of 41, two representatives of the Tanker s owners and seven local workers. By Nightfall Only 15 bodies had been recovered All badly mutilated and horribly burned some with limbs blown off. The owners of the ship the dead weight Betelgeuse said in Paris that two of the bodies had been identified that of a Seaman and the wife of the ship s Baker. Gulf Oil officials said they did t know what had caused the explosions but experts in London said the blast could have been caused by highly volatile gases which May have collected in the ship s Oil tanks As they were emptied. Councillors decry inefficiencies continued Hanoi s official Vietnam news Agency released this photo monday with caption saying photo shows women soldiers of cambodian revolutionary armed forces on the outskirts of phenom penh capital of Cambodia. Vietnamese forming government continued it was noted that the vietnamese invasion Force of men by no More than questionably trained cambodians is now stretched across a vast area. They May find that it is one thing to overrun Cambodia and quite another thing to control said one military analyst. The vietnamese meanwhile were moving ahead to Ward the formation of a new phenom penh government announcing monday the formation of a Peoples revolutionary Council in the capital. The chairman was named As Heng Samrin the one time divisional commander of the Khmer Rouge who attempted to topple pol pot in an unsuccessful coup last april. It is also expected that Chea Sim vice president of the rebel front will be included in the Council along with six other virtual unknowns. The whereabouts of prime minister pol pot and the government leadership remained a mystery. They vanished from phenom penh Jan. 7 shortly before it was abandoned to the advancing vietnamese. Is believed they were flown from the City in chinese transports and taken to the big Field at Chipang about 75 Miles to the Northwest. Cite cases of civic employees non productivity. The City s Snow removal opera Tion was a favorite target with councillors charging that the level of Snow Clearing and hauling had decreased Over the past several years. Coun. Alf Skowron led the attack criticizing administrators for not listening to complaints. I for one can no longer tolerate All the excuses. I can t seem 10 pin them Down on Why things Aren t said Skowron councillors said they had received complaints that the blowing of Side walks was usually late and almost useless. Filmon said the City Clearing sys tem required plows to go up and Down residential streets several until the Roadway was completed. That leaves the Homeowner shovelling himself out every time the Snow plow goes said Filmon. Smerchanski not told of fraud charge by ramp continued untold to deny pol pot hearing United nations a Victo rious cambodian rebels told the in Security Council monday that any hearing granted to the overthrown phenom penh regime would be Fla Grant intervention in Cambodia s internal affairs. The government of Premier pol pot which fled the capital of phenom penh before it fell sunday has sent Prince Norodom Sihanouk to the United nations to charge Vietnam with aggression against Cambodia. Vietnam is reported to have backed the rebels by committing troops tanks and warplanes in the Offen Sive. Sihanouk left peking by air tues Day for new York via Tokyo the cambodian embassy in peking said. The embassy said he was accompanied by his wife Monique and two representatives of the government that fled phenom penh. In Tokyo the japanese foreign ministry said it was sending a delegation to Narita Airport outside Tokyo where it understood Sihanouk would arrive this afternoon. The vietnamese Mission to the United nations relayed the message from the cambodian insurgents to the Security Council. Signed by Heng Samrin identified As president of the popular Council of the revolution of Cambodia the message said the government of the pol pot clique was overthrown at on Jan. 7, 1979, and ceased to exist As of that yen kicking Sand in poor Dollar s face impressed with the japanese will to work and who around again seven years ago to be impressed by the growing Raffl Eunce the major impression this trip is How badly dressed i am. Well not exactly Shab by but that familiar feeling of being out of it when one encounters the fashionable dress on the main Thor of Ghares in Paris rom and Montre Al. Tokyo now makes you look Down at your shoes Ani your Trench coat and wonder where you be gone wrong. I guess that s says Joseph continued Cial first Secretary at the Cana Dian embassy a stylish Youn Man married to the daughter of a former turkish ambassador. We dont eat meat any not when one famous Cut of Steak is six dollars for a Quarter Pound. What has so clobbered the canadians Here in relation to the japanese of course has been the dive of the unproductive Dollar up against the yeasty yen. Some five years ago there were 300 yen to the Dollar. At the Start of that time Span the taxi meter started at 285 yen. Today it s minor inflationary rate for the a doubling of the fare for a Canadian resident. In the land where deductibility has become a religion there is a Way around this if you wish to close one Eye. It will Cost you to Fly from Tokyo to Vancouver if you buy the ticket Here. If you buy it in Canada it will Cost you to Fly from Vancouver to Tokyo. The omnipotent yen that japanese travel agents have been willing to originate your Vancouver bound ticket in Korea for the authorized fare rip the Seoul Tokyo segment off toss it in the waste paper Basket and still save Money for the traveller. If you wish to Fly return Ottawa Tokyo the Bill is the embassy Here booking the same flight from this end must pay a Long distance Call from Here to Canada is from Canada to Here. Huband said he had no idea his client was charged with fraud until about a month after the fact when a judge mentioned it to him in pass ing at the Law courts building. Eventually Huband discovered that the charge was in the Possession of a judge and need not be made Public. He said the laying of the charge without proceeding any further was highly chief provincial judge Harold Gyles said in an interview monday a charge is not on the Public record until police Issue a warrant or sum Mons. Therefore there is no Obliga Tion to inform anyone of the action although he said he did t know Why Smerchanski himself or his yer had t been told. Judge Gyles said it was t unusual to Lay a charge without proceeding any further but agreed that this is most often the Case in private prosecutions. The police raided Smerchanski s offices and the offices of a number of companies he is associated with in Toronto Montreal and Winnipeg last january. Police were investigating alleged fraudulent activities in relation to trading in and promotion of the sales of shares of seven companies. The ramp received permission in april last year to extend by m months the period they could Smerchanski s documents for , nation. They argued that they needed the information and Complete their investigation. On Oci 18, the ramp said they needed Mic air or in investigate be fore they could Lay charges and received a further Extension to april 1979. Six Days later however the ramp the fraud charge with i ii As them to keep he until the Case is finally completed Constable d i Agnew of the ramp or. Division i i inn into is continuing. Vit he c Vild not when or ii a warrant in uni i issued for his arrest h Ikovic Iri empt to i in october. Fri id charge r police were ent led to keep us papers in definitely. Or. Justic Imes Wilson of court of pm to l ruled Cyk hat Thespo i it to i Idin the Doit or n that 1 of plaints he band i to the Courtesy of being Low 01 Laving o the information on oct 24." he ordered the Crown to pay Lor costs in the action. The Cor Pinies involved in the ramp investigation Are Border Fundy chemical internal us Dorchester Duquesne Ltd cat Lake mines Ltd., Border fertilizer 1972 Ltd., Are foam chemicals Ltd. And Wakelyn ;