Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 14, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba I y i Winnipeg free press tuesday april 14, 1981 3 by Andy Blicq two Winnipeg police officers who last week had assault convictions against them overturned by the Manitoba court of Appeal were slated to return to Active duty today. Constables Ronald Albert Chambers and Lawrence Ernest Obirek have been reinstated but they will not receive Back pay for the 16 months they were suspended until the Crown decides whether to Appeal the decision to the supreme court of Canada Winnipeg police commission chairman Jim Moore said yesterday. James Haugarth Alf Impf file several officials in the provincial attorney general s department said yesterday no decision had been made on whether to take the Case to a higher court. First class constables earn about 000 a year and both constables have been suspended for a total of about 16 months. Moore said yesterday he plans to introduce a motion which would give the commission the option of suspend ing police officers with pay. The motion would require a change to the City of Winnipeg act plus approval of civic executive policy committee and counsel. Moore suggested officers suspended from their regular duties could be put to work in areas of police work. The commission now Only has the Power to suspend police officers with out pay. Pointing to the Iti months Obirek and Chambers went without pay Moore said it has been an emotional and financial hardship for the officers. Obirek and Chambers said yesterday their friends family and the the Winnipeg police. Credit Union have stood behind them. Moore also expressed concern Over what seems to have been in an in crease in the past year of police officers facing criminal charges. He said he would like to have new guidelines set Down for the com Mission to Deal with citizen complaints and suspension of officers facing charges. He also said police Are conducting an internal inquiry into the incident. Before the officers were reinstated yesterday cat Varey Winnipeg police association president said once the constables Are Back on duty they should receive Back pay and benefits. Varey also said the police association will be approaching the City to pay for the very expensive Legal fees required to defend the constables. Under the police officers contract the City is responsible for Legal fees which Varey estimated to be about to Date. Chambers and Obirek were convicted twice in provincial judges court of assault causing bodily harm in connection with the alleged beating of a theft suspect in a holding room in the fort Garry District police station in february 1979. Both convictions were getting a Friend to Supply the Power is one solution to the Energy crisis As Kevin Rumpel seems to have discovered As John Rogers pushes him along in a Soapbox car yesterday on a City sidewalk. There s no waiting in line to buy expensive gasoline maintenance is minimal and besides it looks like fun. Civic works and operations commit tee yesterday approved the sole bid received for 28 new transit buses a tender from Ontario bus industries inc. Of Mississauga out. Federal funding of part of the Federal Urban transportation assistance program Utah Money which was to have gone toward the now defunct Sherbrook Mcgregor overpass proposal will finance the bulk of the contract. The City will pay toward the 22 30-foot buses and six 35-foot buses to be delivered in six months. Rate Rise proposed a 30-per-cent increase in City water City Hall rates and a seven per cent increase in sewer rates retroactive to april 1, was approved yesterday by civic works and operations committee. The waterworks waste and disposal division requested the increases to avoid a operating deficit for the water distribution system and a deficit in the sewer operation this year and to maintain the utilities retained earnings balance at 20 per Sherman future medicare by Manfred Jager health minister l. R. Bud Sher Man told the psychological association of Manitoba yesterday that psychologists services will be covered by medicare As soon As the provincial government can afford it. Addressing the association s annual meeting at the Winnipeg Squash Rac Quet club the minister said medicare coverage of psychologists services will have to remain on the government s priority list for now because of a Lack of Money. Sherman said the province does not have funds available to cover the initial million a year it would take to expand medicare into psychology. Many medical patients have primary and secondary psychological problems and resolving them reduces demand on health services Sherman said. You justifiably wonder therefore Why the minister of health does not hasten to accept your request to include clinical psychology fully As an insured service in Manitoba. I wish to assure you that i do foresee that eventual financial constraints have been the Only reason for not covering psychologists services before now Sherman told about 50 of the association s 135 members. To the government of Manitoba and to the department of health you Are the minister said. Without you our health facilities could not function effectively our school system would be impaired and our Community agencies Sherman told the psychologists the government has had to Deal with re quests by various groups of health professionals in recent years to have their services covered by medicare. The association has approached the current conservative government and the previous nip administration to cover clinical psychology outside Hospi tals under medicare. In addition to clinical psychologists the list of professional groups and occupations seeking entry to the system includes physiotherapists chiropodists nutritionists and nurse Sherman said. We cannot afford to include All these services under medicare at the present time. We have proceeded and intend to proceed As responsibly As possible to add an insured program or two each guest speaker at the meeting or. Herbert Dorken a research psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of California in san Francis co said in an interview that health ser vice Cost effectiveness increases As More mental health services Are extended to society. People get appropriate care and there s less need for them to go search ing for other health services they might not Dorken who has done re search into economic aspects of clinical psychology said. You la find there Are fewer lab ser vices there s less hospitalization and fewer visits to the studies have shown that health ser vice Cost savings through the proper use of mental health services Are in the order of Between 36 and 62 per cent including the Cost of psychotherapy in the first he said. This has particularly been shown in alcohol and drug abuse cent of one year s sales Revenue. The new rates which still must be approved by executive policy commit tee and City Council would result in combined quarterly increases ranging from to on typical residential properties. Shell bid approved a Shell Canada Ltd. Bid to Supply of about tonnes of Asphalt Cement to the City this year at a tonne was approved yesterday by civic works and operations committee. The Only bid received for the Asphalt contract sets the Price at 47.5 per cent More than the Shell s bid last year. A principle condition of the bid is that the Price is subject to change without notice. Rail inquiry sought the civic works and operations com Mittee has recommended a letter be sent to the Canadian transport com Mission asking for a general inquiry into the safety of up rail s Winni Peg marshalling Yards. The suggestion is the latest move on coun. Bill Chornopyski s motion that an inquiry be held under Section 23 of the National transportation act with a View to relocating the Yards. Chornopyski has expressed concern Over the movement of hazardous and toxic chemicals through the Yard. The City s Legal department previously indicated it did not believe the Etc would hold an inquiry tinder pro visions of the National transportation act the railway act or the rail Relo cation act. However a submission to committee by a third year Law student prompted a request to the department to review the possibilities. Parking Law confusing mayor Bill Norrie says the City s current overnight on Street parking bylaw creates confusion non achievable expectations and As such is not a bylaw amendment adopted by City Council dec. 3, prohibits on Street parking for More than one hour be tween 3 . And 6 . On dates designated by the mayor or his representative. At executive policy committee s re quest Norrie declared the restriction in Force Between feb. 1 and May 15 this year but the mayor said he has received numerous Calls and letters in the last two months indicating confusion about the application of the bylaw. Norrie has recommended four alter natives to the current restriction a Universal ban prohibiting parking year round elimination of any restriction on overnight on Street parking designation of specific commencement and termination dates which could be varied by Council under unusual weather conditions or allowing overnight parking on alternate sides of the streets on alternate Days. Aut Opac employees charged with fraud two aut Opac employees and two other men have been charged with defrauding the government following a three month police investigation into the Manitoba Public insurance Cor p. S Auto Salvage operation. A Winnipeg police spokesman said yesterday it is possible More people including mp1c employees could be charged As the investigation continues. The charges Stem from the Sale of vehicles written off by aut Opac and scheduled for Public auction. A police spokesman said it is believed the Auto mobiles slated for auction were being sold to private interests. The two Pic employees charged with one count of fraud upon a govern ment Are Christopher Craig Krause 30, of Selkirk a Salvage operations Field Man and Allan David Reid jr., 34, of 996 Dudley Avenue aut Opac s com Pound caretaker at 1981 Plessis Road. Dennis Lysak 30, of l and a Auto body Steinbach faces one charge of fraud upon a government while War Ren Kenneth Carriere of Munroe Avenue owner operator of South City Auto Ltd., faces two charges. Krause Lysak and Carriere were arrested Friday and released on bail while Reid was arrested saturday and granted bail yesterday. They All were remanded to april 22 yesterday in provincial judges court. Its Point up need Canada school Western Canada needs a school of optometry to Cope with a growing shortage of Eye care specialists in this part of the country according to or. Herve Landry president of the Canad an association of optometrists. Landry in Winnipeg to address the annual meeting of the Manitoba Opio metric society said yesterday the two schools of optometry in Canada located at the University of Waterloo in Ontario and the University of Montreal Are not meeting the growing needs of Western canadians. We Are strictly dependent right now on the whims of the governments of the provinces of Ontario and which favor their own students Over those from Oiler provinces Landry said. He said Manitoba is particularly affected by the shortage because about half the province s 69 optometrists Are Over the age of 55. Manitoba also has the fewest number of optometrists in Western Canada. There Are 87 in Saskatchewan 167 in Alberta and 186 in British Columbia. Landry said the situation will also become critical in Alberta with the rapid population growth there. Or. Keith Letts president of the Manitoba optometric society also said some students who travel to Ontario to attend school Don t return. As far As Manitoba is concerned we Aren t see ing the students coming he said. Waterloo graduates 60 students a year from the four year degree pro Gram in optometry. The University of Montreal which is a French speak ing program graduates 40 students. But Manitoban have had difficulty being accepted into these programs. It s an economic and political he said. The standards Are extremely High and Waterloo favors Ontario students Over those from Mani Toba and other areas of Western Canada Letts added. The Ontario government does not want to pay to educate Manitoba Stu dents Letts said. Landry said last year Only two optometry students at the University of Montreal were from outside of que Bec. He said a study commissioned by the four Western premiers last year dealing with the shortage of Eye specialists has been completed and will be presented to the four later this month. He said the association has been pushing for a school at a University in Western Canada for almost 15 years. Landry says it does t matter where the school is located in Western Canada As Long As we have a school in a University Complex which can Grant a degree of doctor of he said even if a school was approved immediately you re talking about six to eight years before graduates would be Able to relieve the shortage. Overturned by the Manitoba court of Appeal in the first instance because of an error in Law and the second time be cause the Appeal court judges Felt the Crown had not proved its Case beyond a reasonable doubt. The two constables were originally suspended for about 13 months after they were charged in May 1979. They were reinstated the following june after their conviction was overturned but were suspended again in january after being convicted again at their second provincial court trial. The two have been suspended since then await ing the outcome of the second Appeal. A committee of parents has recommended St. Boniface school Boa re move students within division school to Deal with shifts in enrolments expected to be triggered by French immersion programs. In a report to the Board last week tin committee suggested that 109 Frencl immersion students in grades 7 to 9 Ai Guyot Ecol be sent to Louis Riel school in september and that about lot English students at Louis Riel be shifted to two other High schools. Jump expected the committee noted in the report that enrolment in French immersion i projected to jump 79 per cent in the next four years to students while Over All enrolment is expected to de Cline 21 per cent to from enrolment at Louis Riel currently is at 315, but the school has the capacity to handle 945 students. Principal Rene bosc said there Are about 150 students in the English program about 35 in occupational Entrance courses dec and about 140 in the b French pro Gram. Parents committee president Vic Warkentin said yesterday students in the English program at Louis Riel would be transferred to Windsor Park collegiate which has 737 students but capacity for 999. He said enrolment at the school is expected to decline. Dec students will be transferred to Pierre Radisson High school which has 508 students but a capacity of 648. It also has a projected declining enrolment and already has an dec program Warkentin said. He said he believes it is logical for students in the b French and immersion programs to be in the same school rather than having the pro Grams in two English schools. Students in the b program Are Pri Marily francophone who take half their courses in English half in French. Immersion students parents Are English but students Lake almost All their classes in French. The a program is for francophone students who take most of their classes in French the committee has one representative from each of the division s 21 schools. The report said 16 supported the recommendation three opposed it one abstained and one was absent. One of those opposed Gilbert four Nier the St. Boniface College High school representative said the problem at Louis Riel could be similar to one which surfaced in the Norwood school division four years ago. Parents of students in the immersion program at precious blood school in Norwood fought against the b program remaining in precious blood. The school Board voted to allow both pro Grams but b students switched to is. Boniface schools because there were not enough to maintain the program at precious blood. The a program parents opposed co existence of the programs because they feared the b program would not create the French Milieu needed to counter the fact Winnipeg has basically an English speaking environment. Parents concerned Rollande Duffy Manitoba Public re lations officer for Canadian parents for French said immersion parents in St. Boniface Are definitely concerned there will not be a total French Milieu at Louis Riel if the programs co exist and students would speak English outside class. Fournier also said the recommendation is a Short term solution to the Long term problem of where the Divi Sion s French programs should be. The lease and its option year at the College which has about 550 High school students expire in the Spring of 1983 and the school Board May not renew it so a decision would have to be made before then on where to Send those students he said. War Kemin said the committee plans to look at this and other problems bin Hopes the school Board will decide on the committee recommendation by the end of april so students and parents can make plans. The meeting is set for april 21 ;