Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - December 28, 1979, Winnipeg, Manitoba Ocif arshed Days a at 300 tsar Tofi Winn Fugg r3c 3c1 by a rafted 9439331 class Riaff publisher its a Alonje p6ffeft mild Faytock editorial Page editor Murray Burt managing editor Ottawa re 5 Marti zobans will More Benefit from the1 Fritschler jute Pirts concerning political responsibility far Manitoba by dub polity than from its identification of the decisions that Cost the Power consume is and taxpayers of province Between and the of the former cannot be fully appreciated without the of the the provincial government a shed lose and time in changing the Manitoba Hydro act s6 will know just who is setting Hydro Adf what and for whose the report makes it Clear that the controversial decisions Toft the sequence of development along the Nelson River were political decisions that were then on technical to was a Case where the responsible engineers in required to come up with technical arguments that could support the necessary As the pm part the customer would not Realise that the amount was being charged was larger than it would have but for some blunders during the preceding financial disaster that is documented in Tritsc Hiers report will come As no Surprise to Premier Sterling or his minister of Don who is now responsible for Manitoba much of the material now to be found in the report was in different their 1977 election the charges of mismanagement were speculation now they have ithe respectability of i the the and the political Are All matters of the past that cannot be neither can anything be Don about the fact that Manitoban will continue to pay Hydro even Frozen that Are 20 per cent higher than this will not be changed by any new policy what can be changed is the rat setting and the that exists Between the Manitoba Hydro Board the these changes should reflect the realities of the and make Clear the position of hike politicians in the it was David Ith former chairman of Manitoba Hydro and the object of criticism in the who said that when utilities begin making massive demands on the Public decisions regarding their operation will be made in the political Arena not the the f fits chief report if that the were made in the political but the responsibility was left in the report recommends that the responsibility be this recommendation was made last when Tritschler dealt with the narrow pet Klefti of rat setting that Tinye the Reseen Mer Tatien Mahe the support of the h6w that shows the change Fritschler suggested that Hydra Curtt True to set its the rates be reviewed Public utilities but that the final Sivility rest with the5 which would change any Hind actions already known to the Public at its political Tritschler report will probably be criticized As being too but it is difficult to see How of political acts can be much Manitoba Hydro did not become a political Utility under former premiered the change from an arms length Crown corporation began when plans to develop the Nelson were first the not from the chairman of Manitoba Hydro in the Utility but from another former Duff in the just As past history cannot be neither can the who must raise the divorce their interests from whatever political benefits can be worked into Hydro the who must their taxes or their Power deserve to know who has decided to spend their Money and for what any Reform should prevent a situation where officials and engineers have to make decisions that put their livelihood at risk should their political masters the Price of principle should not be immediate or future politicians should no longer be Able to hide behind officials and nor should officials and engineers seek their own Protection by hiding behind their Public relations the report recommends either that the rules of the Legislatures committee on Public utilities be to permit the committee to become an effective review instr or that the committee review be the present which so often found itself frustrated while in opposition has an interesting Choice sense on the Senate while the unanimous judgment of the supreme court of Canada in the Senate reference May come As a Shock to the Legal luminaries who advise governments in it is a very commonsense decision which should be of value in cutting through the tangle of misunderstandings impeding serious constitutional in 1978 the Trudeau becoming impatient with the wayward published a constitutional project in the form of a draft the in the absence of was to achieve unilaterally a first phase Reform by july As an obvious sop to the the Centrepiece of the scheme was to be a House of the f federation with members chosen on the basis of proportional half of them by the provincial j when the far from responding with Universal i United in opposition to the the Federal government decided to test its challenged Powers by submit Ting a reference to the supreme j the first As reduced to its essentials by the f was does the parliament of Canada have legislative authority to abolish the Senate Federal thinking on this matter was conditioned by three All of them As was suggested at the time by eminent constitutionalists such As Eugene Forsey and William since the project did not affect the formal division of Powers but merely the Central it did not seem in Ottawa to be of proper provincial a constitutional amendment of 1949 had accorded Parlia ment a subject to specific to Amend the Constitution of this was imagined to be the Federal equivalent of the provincial Power for the amendment from time to notwithstanding anything in this of the Constitution of the except As regards the office of lieutenant it is Well known that including have abolished their Legisla Tive there is also the accorded astonishing significance by the that parliament on made marginal for increasing the number of senators and introducing a retirement As the judges Point without a colonies would not have accepted to the upper said sir John is to be confided the Protection of sectional even More explicit was George on no other condition Equality in the upper House could we have advanced a while performance May have been the provincial then cannot reasonably be the judges agree that there have been housekeeping not affecting the essential role of the Senate As a legislative in their a Clear distinction exists Between housekeeping and razing to the As for the supposed analogy with the provincial this is a Case of careless Section which enabled the provinces to dispense with second contains the very important words notwithstanding anything in this this is not to be found in the 1949 which covers Federal housekeeping but not give a general Power to change the one of the exceptions in the clause there shall be a session of the parliament of Canada at least once each but what is parliament it consists of the the Senate and the House of the governments project would have made nonsense of the very Section on which its lawyers nine other questions were most of them reflections proposed the court gave a Flat no to six and said that it could Deal with the others Only in a factual it held generally that it is not open to parliament to make alterations which would affect the fundamental Fea or essential characteristics Given to the Senate As a Means of ensuring regional and provincial representation in the Federal legislative thus direct election is out so probably is election by legislative assemblies so is the elimination of the Senate from the legislative none of this Means that our Constitution is unchangeable like the Laws of the medes and it does mean that Ottawa must abandon the notion that Radical alterations in our Central institutions can be effected without regard for the that in any had nothing to recommend it from the standpoint of National one my All these will be tax credit caused election by Leonard Shifrin special to the free press Ottawa to Ontario treasurer Frank the Cost of the Clark governments budget hikes in Energy prices and Energy taxes would have been next year for a typical Ontario if that family had a below average it would have qualified to be protected against that blow by the budgets proposed refundable Energy tax credit of the difference Between those two figures has a lot to do with Why we Are now in an election inadequate it was not because the liberals and new democrats voted against it for the time that the government but because for the first time the credit stes refused to vote for and the flagrant Inadequacy of the Energy credit was the reason for As Long As the tories had been warning that higher Energy prices were on the they had coupled their forecasts with promises that the poor would not be last for Joe Clark assured the Dps Stanley Knowles that changes in Oil pricing would be accompanied by a measure to protect senior citizens and others on fixed incomes a Means related specifically to increases in the Cost of Enas we Learned on budget that meant a refundable tax credit which covered Only 20 per cent of Cost in even for the poorest of Fame to inject that figure with a bit of real consider the couple whose income consists solely of government pen until a year when the Trudeau government boosted the guaranteed income supplement by a such a couple had always been below the poverty now it is slightly above the but increase its Energy costs by several Hundred dollars More than the credit and the couple is Back in poverty again Courtesy of compassionate outraged like the liberals and the were outraged by the budgets failure to provide the promised Protection for Low income what they did about differs markedly Between the John Crosbie and Joe Clark versions of subsequent according to the finance conversations Between Fabien roys credit stes and the Conser but they came to what the so reds said was that we agree to double the Energy tax and we were not going to make any kind of deals like it would have been inconsistent with the whole thrust of the restraint the finance minister who interrupted commons debate on his billion homeowners tax Giveaway to make the budget the Clark version of the 31st Parlia ments last on the other is that no such conversations Ever took 1 made it very he that in the circumstances i thought it would be most inappropriate for Roy and myself or any of our representatives to Why it would have been inappropriate at All not Only is bargaining for policy concessions a traditional part of any minority Parlia but it has been a feature of previous Confidence votes in this to win credit Ste support in last months vote on Energy for Clark made a number of commitments to including the Promise to set up an Energy supplies allocation Board to Deal with the possibility of fuel shortages in Eastern can Ada this this the tories either refused to make concessions the Cros Bie version or even to have conversations the Clark instead they booked their Campaign somewhere along the electoral the question of who caused the election will recede from Centre but what should remain is the question of Priori what can and cannot be of reasonable is the Homeowner As the tories the most reasonable allocation of billion of scarce re sources should the whole Lowe income half of the population qualify for the full amount of a partial Energy As was proposed or should benefits be several times but restricted the lowest income Quarter of the in order that they can be fully protected in their the conservatives chose to defray the same 20 per cent of increased Energy costs for those below the poverty line As for those Halfway up the income the Wisdom of that Choice warrants Leonard Shifrin is a freelance writer who specializes in Nodal letters the Winnipeg free press welcomes letters from the authors name will be and All letters Are subject to pc promises your recent editorial decrying the defeat of the Federal progressive conservative government and implying in responsibility on the part of the two opposition parties is severely Short sighted to say the while it May be termed unfortunate that such a defeat took place it would seem to me that failure to defeat this government on such a negative budget would be what should be termed canadians 35 per cent of them supported the conservatives last at least in on the basis of a multitude of promises made by the then primary opposition these promises included a much heralded billion tax control of the growth in the Public mortgage deductibility and physical movement of Canadian embassy in Israel among this same once in then proceeded to literally ignore the promises upon which it in no Small been the embassy move was shelved inde the considerably watered Down mortgage deductibility plan included in the recent budget when combined with the six per cent increase in prime lending rates since this government assumed office provides no Relief for the reduction or control of Public sector employment we Are now told will be based upon the Sale of profitable Crown corporations which by definition Are not a Cost to the Canadian taxpayer and the Overall financial effect of the new budget is stated As being a billion increase in taxes rather than the billion decrease originally while i recognize that it is difficult canadians and the free press it seems to admit an unprecedented gullibility last it seems to be the height of foolishness to compound one mistake by by supporting a party in Power that has raised the term cynicism to a guiding i would suggest that rather than decry the defeat of this conservative government it would be More appropriate to thank the opposition parties for giving canadians a second Chance now having had the Opportunity to reflect on the past six months of nonperformance culminating in a budget that is As thoroughly amateurish As the govern ment that introduced lev an Hall Winnipeg try Iran Joe Clark i take great exception to your de Cember 14 editorial unwanted election in which you suggested that the Liber als and the new democrats should Bear the blame for bringing Down the conservative government after a Mere seven Canada is a free country this no Confidence vote is the Best example of True democracy at the opposition parties hold More seats and popu Lar for that matter than the tories thus the opposition does speak for the majority of the lest you Canada is not ruled by the Ayatollah should you prefer a land with elections few and far be Iran might be your Best Crock Winnipeg too much i cannot stand it the pc government barely has a Chance to organize and understand what they Are and then they Are voted nobody seems to understand that we have been calling the tune too Long without paying the the Only Way to decrease debts is to decrease expenditures and increase it does not matter if it is a Federal budget or the housewives the government i vote for will Start by abolishing marketing boards which penalize the productive farm and re Ward the Only Competition will Root out the Gold diggers who drive productive farms into i cannot afford any More taxes but if i see the government is doing something about reducing Cana Das ill put up with Linda w1shart Winnipeg Lon trip in reply to Janice backhands letter on the probability of a ufos coming from a planet of the nearest Star which is five Light years the Speed of Light is about Miles a consequently that planet would be Miles and the celestial occupants would take years to get need i say More Robert Stephens Winnipeg no loss on december 10 you published a letter from Anne Lester about the Resig nation of Sidney the nip la for and in her letter she also complained about organized labor be coming too Strong a voice within the perhaps this who claims to be a has forgotten that the nip is a labor party As the Kcf was a labor both parties followed the demo cratic socialist ideas of Woods Worth who believed that the Only Way labor could get anywhere was to have its own political Green is no loss to either party or organized because he sold labor out by not supporting a policy of the party that would make it illegal for a company to hire outside help during a Green claims that he could not support this policy because it is against the principles of his Brand of Freedom is great if you Are not the one who on by this move of Green is condoning strike this is a slap in the face to every Union member in Geoff Jones Winnipeg fluoridation i had a conversation with a Young lady in her third year of nursing at the University of in enquiring what our Nurs Stobe Are being taught about the fluoridation of Public water i Learnt that the prac Tice is being extolled to the students of in the Young lady seemed surprised that anyone should be questioning that some people consider it to be a forced upon them against their appeared to be a Brand new idea to equally new to her was the question of Side she had obviously never heard much less the National research councils recent report on How does one explain the ignorance of this Young lady Are our student nurses kept so Busy learning techniques that they have no time for philosophy if this is the if it is a deliberate policy of the faculty that the students in nursing be kept ignorant of the Many issues associated with then it is time we Manitoban questioned the competence of our univer Sites Board of or do i assume too much by believing our governors should be concerned with something More than the budgeting process and the approving of Candi dates for honorary degrees Dutton Winnipeg stealing i never found any logic in the English where stealing is called lift indy opinion people who shoplift do not think of themselves As thieves until they Are to take something without paying for it is a and therefore should be called shop stealing or i think the word shoplifting is too mild for Eugene Klein Winnipeg hypocrisy for the ruling class to talk of iranian terrorism is the Cia restored the Shah to Power in and for 25 years supported and supplied with billions of dollars Worth of arms the Shah regime of american support of the Shah and its harbouring of this criminal is what provoked the the concern of the is not human rights but its and its spheres of James Minal purse snatching one sunday i was running to get to mass on a Young boy stopped me to ask the i looked at my wrist and noticed that i had lost my the boy asked me something else to divert my attention and snatched my purse and i ran after him but kept to make a Long Story i want to say that there Are still kind and honest people in our in my Shock i took no names or addresses and i through the medium of your to thank All those who helped about two hours after the event a Man came to my door and returned the purse which he had found in the in trance of a i wish to thank him sincerely and also thank the three Young men who drove me i want to thank the Boniface police and the i find it very sad that because of people like the Young Man who stole my i will now refuse to help some one else who asks for the and probably also lose other opportunities to do a favor to a stranger because of Francoise Belair Winnipeg want to know what being held a me 4 4 4 ;