Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 22, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba 6 Winnipeg free press wednesday april Winnipeg free press Freedom of Trade Equality of civil rights Liberty published and printed six Days a week at 300 Carlton Street. Winnipeg r3c 3c1 by Canadian newspapers company limited Telephone 943-9331 second class mail registration number 0286 Donald Nicol publisher John Dafoe editorial Paye editor Murray Burt managing editor editorials paying for Alcan s Power the letter of intent that has inched Forward the possibility of an aluminium smelter being built in Manitoba makes it Clear that the aluminium company of Canada will proceed Only if it is allowed to own the part of the Hydro Plant that will Supply its needs. This will necessitate changes in the legislation that Grants Manitoba Hydro owner ship of new Power plants. Manitoban Cair expect a vigorous debate when these changes Are introduced on the question of exclusive Public ownership of the province s most precious natural resource. It is not unusual for Large industries to build and own their Power plants. In the past both the Hudson Bay mining and smelting company and Sherritt Gordon mines owned the Power plants that supplied not Only the needs of the mines but those of the nearby mining communities As Well. In the two provinces where Alcan has plants Quebec and British Columbia it has Complete ownership of the Power plants it uses much More than is being proposed in Manitoba. Both British Columbia and Quebec consider their Hydro develop ments As significant a natural resource As does Manitoba and both have been prepared to allow Alcan to own outright a part of this resource in return for the jobs and taxes the plants produce. At today s construction prices and interest rates Alcan will begin by paying much More for electricity than it could have negotiated had the Public been required to come up with the capital necessary to build the Plant. As time goes on Alcan will pay water rights for its water transmission fees to move the Power from the Nelson to the smelter negotiated operating fee for its part of the Plant. Alcan is gambling that during the initial 35-year life of its contract and during the 15-year extensions that Are possible its Cost of electricity will be below what it would have to pay if it did not own the Plant. As Well Alcan will be limited to the ownership of Only that part of the Plant used to produce electricity for Industrial purposes. Manitoba Hydro will own the rest of the Plant and Supply the needs of the new Community that will be built. In the meantime the Manitoba government will collect corporation taxes from Alcan individual taxes from employees sales taxes on purchases and will save the interest it would have had to pay on borrowed capital if Manitoba Hydro had been required to build the entire Plant. The Deal is probably not the one that would have been negotiated had Manitoba been the Only available site for the smelter. The Manitoba site however is Only one of a dozen world wide and one of three possible locations within Mariada itself Alcan s requirement of Power ownership is the same at All locations. The other locations under consideration will have to Cope with environmental concerns As will Manitoba. It would be simplistic to dismiss these concerns but those who use them As an excuse to advocate no development at All will have to restrain their complaints about the Lack of Industrial growth in the province. The question that remains is whether a break in the policy of Public Power ownership is too High a Price to be paid for a major Industry in the province. In practical Dollar terms having a private concern put up the Money to ensure its own Energy Supply is More desirable than loading an already overburdened Public Treasury with debt that would Lead to higher Power rates higher taxes or since the government has to guarantee a Long term Supply of Power at assured rates in order to obtain the Alcan development it makes some sense especially at current rates to ask the Industry to put up the necessary invest ment. The fact is that even current retail rates for Power in Manitoba do not reflect the Cost of new construction. At two and one half cents a kilowatt which is slightly More than retail customers pay on average Alcan s estimated con sumption of 330 megawatts represents a Power Bill of about million a year. The Cost of one third of the Limestone Plant which would be Alcan s share will probably be close to million. At a favourable interest rate of 14 per cent this investment would require an annual interest payment of million considerably More than the Power could be sold for at current retail rates. In those terms at least it looks like a Good Deal for Manitoba. The threat to or. Giscard next sunday French voters will take part in the first stage of deciding who will be president of France for the next seven years. They will finish the Job in the May 10 second stage of the voting. It is no longer As Clear As it seemed to be at the Start of the Campaign that Valery Giscard d Estwing will win re election decisively. His seven years at the Elysee Palace have been ones in which economic conditions have improved for his countrymen. In the last year or two however the deteriorating world Economy has inevitably had its effect on France. Unemployment has reached and is rising most speedily among the Young. Or. Giscard seems to be reaping the consequent discontent. When he began his Campaign or. Giscard declared that his Only real opponent was socialist Leader Francois Mit Ter and. That was premature. Gaullist candidate Jacques the forceful mayor of Paris and former Cabinet minister under or. Giscard has run effectively and now frightens the president s Campaign managers. By offering tax incentives less government regulation arid government spending restraint or. Chirac has struck a responsive chord in the agricultural and Small business sectors to which the president is appealing for support. From being fourth in the race behind communist Leader Georges has moved up to at least third. This has eroded popularity of or. Giscard and made it technically feasible that or. Chirac could run second thus putting him into the final voting stage opposite or. Giscard. Part of the changed dynamics of the election can be Laid at the door of or. Marchais who has run a vicious Campaign against immigrants pandering to the lowest prejudices of workers frightened by immigrant Competition for a declining number of available jobs. Or. Marchais also has attacked or. Mitterrand whom he supported in the 1974 presidential election threatening widespread strikes and disruption if a Mitterrand presidency does not bring Strong communist representation Cabinet. Those threats have weakened the Mitterrand Challenge at a time when the socialist Leader has seemed to be almost a Force under determined attack from within his own party by ambitious younger men. President Giscard would have gained More from this fratricide on. The left had not or. Chirac shown such determination it is an irony that this worry would have been much less if or. Giscard sufficient skill and flexibility to keep in Liis Cabinet. Since he did not the first round ballot will be As tense for the president As will be the second. Who decides on Garrison the speech by North Dakota senator Mark Andrews describing Canadian objections to the Garrison diver Sion bogeymen and red Herrings is what can be expected from the american political proponents of the scheme. They consider Garrison to be simply recognition for an otherwise neglected area. Senator Andrews allowed himself to be carried away by his own enthusiasm however when he said that the final decision on Garrison will be made not in Canada nor in Washington but in North Dakota. A More accurate Way of putting it would be to say that the decision will be made not in Canada nor in North Dakota but in Washington. The Canadian objection to the scheme is the Transfer of Missouri River water with its life forms to the Hudson Bay watershed. While senator Andrews May consider the Souris James and Sheyenne Rivers As ready made drainage ditches for Garrison they become drainage ditches Only if and when Man made structures put Missouri River water onto farm lands that Drain into them. Fortunately for Canada Federal officials in Washington Are apparently aware of the anti pollution provision of the 1909 Boundary Waters treaty in which Canada and the . Undertake not to pollute each other s Waterways. Canada is also fortunate that Washington officials appear aware that the damage provisions of that treaty might Lead to compensation payments which could spoil Cost Benefit ratios in the diversion plan. Senator Andrews appears willing to consider Only the concerns of his own constituents. Fortunately the senator s voice is Only one of the Many that will make the final decision not in Canada not in North Dakota but in Washington. Building the Sun into a Home architects Are often skittish about designing a Home for themselves for their style is immediately open to critical review. Etienne Gaboury an urbane creative architect with a Beard that gives him somewhat the appear Ance of a Prophet has no such qualms. He designed his Home directly related to the movement of the Sun. Winnipeg has a great abundance of Sun As cities go in this world . Gaboury wanted to exploit this phenomenon for its warmth and Beauty. Sun within the Sun is within the Gaboury House hold from the time it rises until it sets. The bedrooms Are in the East to Greet the Sunrise. The family room facing the South is enveloped in the midday Sun. The dining and living room Are opened to the West and the Sun setting Over the River. The windows Are planned so that the Sun penetrates freely in. The Winter and nominally in the summer. For the same reason there Are overhangs on the South but none on the North Side of the House. I was born and raised on a farm at Swan says or. Gaboury. My father was a Middle of the Road to poor Farmer. He built the farmhouse himself from Standard plans modified for his own family. I remember As a child sitting on the floor of the family dining room. The Sun would just burst in during Winter the beams streaming through the High vertical windows playing on the floors and Walls and giving a great vitality to that i was discussing the Issue with or. Gaboury that we do not design our City nor our houses to suit our climate. The skylines of Dallas and Calgary Are. Strikingly similar and Winnipeg s is not too different from cities a thousand Miles South. It is patently absurd for cities on the Prairies to resemble sub tropical cities. Winnipeg has a dual charac Ter half Winter half summer but we scorn our diverse personality. Portage and main could be anywhere it does t take into account the wind or the Sun or places for people. People Don t say Val Werier they la meet you at Portage and main it is not a Public gathering place As it should be. Or. Gaboury agrees that there must be a greater attention to our climate and to the human dimension of our buildings. Buildings should face South and turn their backs to the North. Streets Are designed with no consideration for Snow drifts or the Sun. In climate he says the City should be More compact and with features to make Winter pleasant. Why not a mall on Portage from main St. To the Portage would be enclosed in a network of glazed malls adjoining present establishments and interwoven with gardens As Well As walks that can be opened in the summer. It can be done reasonable economic says or. Gaboury. The cars can go somewhere else. I know the traffic engineers will say it is impossible. We should make the car subservient to. The people instead of the people subservient to the multiple housing or. Gaboury is not against higher density so Long As it is planned in an urbane Way with places for people. He agrees that multiple housing May not Appeal to Many people but most think of multiple housing As austere High Rise impersonal apartment blocks. It need not be that Way. High rises make our sky line look like any other City and use a lot of Energy. We should have More Low compact he says. What about the Cost of property which makes it necessary to put it to High density use land is Only expensive because of the Way you zone he replies. Zon ing is like a Blank Cheque. Zone the land to higher density and you make it Worth a lot More. If the East Yards were zoned As Parkland the value would drop. But it is of incredible value to the made his Mark or. Gaboury made his Mark in Winnipeg and some degree in the world. I would say he has left his stamp in Winnipeg More so than most Archi says a local architect. He s original interesting has made a Crea Tive use of space. Perhaps Jie s More of an artist than an some of his buildings Here include the mint the lower fort Garry interpretive Centre a provincial office building in Portage the St. Boniface civic Centre precious blood Church the St. Boniface Cathedral where in an inspired fashion he retained the facade of the original Church destroyed by fire. Recently an unusual ceremony was held Here in connection with a stained Glass window created in Winnipeg for the Canadian embassy in Mexico City. It is a Fine colourful work designed by or. Gaboury himself and constructed by design Glassworks. also designed the Canadian embassy a Structure sensitive to mexican culture and to the character of Canada. Embassy buildings in foreign lands often Are a bold expression of. The outside country without regard for the native culture. Or. Gaboury accomplished both. As in his design for the stained Glass window or. Gaboury studied at length the history culture and materials of Mexico. The outside of the three Storey building has the Tex Ture and flavor of Mexico with a mod Ern Motif. Inside it is Canadian with a spacious open environment full of Light and color. A totem pole highlights the Cen trial space. In the covered courtyard Are five Brilliant banners by Canadian artist Taka Tanabe. It is a building for All seasons Canadian and mexican. In Winnipeg above All there must be a design for All seasons for the Prairies have a split personality no threats i wish to refer to the recent Contro Versy relating to the Tritschler inquiry into affairs of Manitoba Hydro. Early in january 1979 i became aware of Steward Martin s proposal to Challenge the commission of inquiry because of his grievances associated with the commission in his role As Legal counsel for Manitoba Hydro. I myself was shocked at his proposed course of action namely to Challenge the terms of reference of the commis Sion in the Manitoba courts. The morale of Manitoba Hydro was at that time very Low and declining. It was my Martin shocking proposal considered opinion that the Best thing for us to do was to co operate with the commission of inquiry which was. A properly constituted body in order to bring this phase of the corporation s history to a steady conclusion without compromising the integrity of the corporation or its staff. In my opinion the intervention proposed by or. Martin would have had no effect other than to protract the inquiry and would not serve the Best interest of the Utility. With Hindsight i believe that i was right and if called on to consider the situation today i would not find any reason to change my then reaction. I informed the minister about my viewpoint and my intent to so recommend to the Board. I also informed him of the general nature of or. Martin s grievances contained in his submission to the Board. Subsequently at a special meeting of the Board my recommendation was ratified the proposal was taken no further and that As far As i was concerned was the end of the matter. I am therefore very puzzled by the suggestion that there were threats by the minister since the course of action taken was in accordance with my recommendation in the first place. Furthermore i told this to or. Sullivan of the free press when he telephoned me about this Early in april. On a minor Point the Winnipeg Sun reported me As saying that the minister was very enthusiastic about the proposal by or. Martin. Your paper correctly quoted me As saying not very . Wedepohl p. Eng., former vice chairman of the Board Manitoba Hydro Surrey . Letters the Winnipeg free press welcomes letters from readers. Writers must give their name and address. The author s name will be used and letters Ara subject to editing. Racists at the very outset i would like to make one thing Clear it is a very Small fraction of the Canadian population that is racist. Another Point i would like to make is that these few bigots do know that they Are not right in their stand and that most canadians Are going to condemn them for their actions. Thirdly i would say they Are cowards because they attack from be Hind or in the dark when they cannot be detected. They hurl insults or attack their fellow canadians from different backgrounds Only when they find some one alone. These people have picked on different ethnic groups at various times. Now they have picked on canadians of Indian origin. Let me give you some background of East indians in Canada. Some East indians did arrive in North America in the first decade of this Century. At that time India was under British Rule. East indians were insulted by being called slaves not free people. Our forefathers who were Here took up the Challenge and went Back to India to fight for the Independence of their beloved country. It would be note Here that even the British could not defeat the sikh armies in the Battlefield. They were forced to form a Friendly Alliance with them. Now the question arises who Are the sikhs an article a few years ago in the daily Appeal Democrat of Marysville Yuba City California stated their religion Sikhism encourages hard work and self sufficiency. The life of the Recluse or beggar is strongly disapproved and a Man is expected to marry and support his family by honest that is Why you would find no Immi Grant from that part of the world living on welfare. All East indians have a similar background. Most canadians Are ignorant about our background. I am sure if they know who we Are even the very staunch bigot will think twice before doing any stupid thing such As hurling an calling names. We have been listening to some racist slurs or insults because of our beliefs for we believe that if i offer you a pen and you accept it then it belongs to you. On the other hand if you Don t accept it then it would still belong to me the person who is giving it away. The same is True we believe of some insults hurled at us. But we find now that the other party takes that As weakness. This has to Stop. We Are taking All Legal Steps to curb this menace. Our fellow canadians do not approve of the action of this Small group of bigots our officials Are now moving in the right direction. We Hope to eliminate this evil from our country. Partap Singh Winnipeg political Bias the free press must be in a True Rush to present the Public with prime minister Trudeau s viewpoint on the Constitution and at the same time an apologist for the francophone move ment in Manitoba. After All Frances Russell always has fitted the previously described role perfectly. By her rapid return to a supposedly Neutral columnist position with the free press after so recently working for the Ottawa government miss rus sell has placed herself in a conflict of interest situation. Political Bias and leanings cannot be turned off quickly like a tap. Too Many Media people these Days move in and out of Federal government sinecure involved with partisan poli tics and propaganda Back to assumed Neutral Media positions capable of influencing Public thought and opinion through acquired distortions of the truth. Brian Haeberle Winnipeg whip i wish to commend the Winnipeg Home improvement project the organization does work such As Interior and exterior painting Carpen try and Cabinet making and people Only have to pay for the Materi als used. This is a Benefit for Low in come people and pensioners. Those interested in the project can Call 942-554 to apply for an application form. Bernard Tesluk Winnipeg poor taste it would seem that another Publica Tion recently in the news is not the Only one to display poor taste in its Content. I refer to the photograph on Page one of your final edition of april 8, of the unfortunate victim of the Accident in Corpus Christi. If it was printed for its Shock value a Case might be made for your paper to publish photographs of child beatings victims of muggings close of survivors of car accidents etc., which would presumably fill the need for local news. It is hoped that the victim s Helper in the Case in Point was showing More compassion than the person whose responsibility it was to allow the photo graph to run. . Martin Winnipeg hold it or. President. You be just slashed i ;