Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 29, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba 6 Winnipeg free press wednesday april 29, 1981 Winnipeg free press Freedom of Trade Equality of civil rights Liberty of religion published and printed six Days a week at 300 Carton Street. Winnipeg r3c 3cl by Canadian newspapers company limited Telephone 943-9331 second class mail registration number 0286 Donald Nicol publish i John Dafoe editorial Page Denoi Murray Bur managing frito editorials first Settle land claims pipelines Wilt certainly have to be built eventually not just to Norman Wells but All the Way Down the Mackenzie Valley through the Delta to bring Arctic Oil and Gas South. The question is How soon. Or. Justice Thomas Berger after investigating the matter for the Federal government recommended in May 1977, that no such pipeline should be built during the next ten years. During that ten year period he recommended the govern ment should reach a settlement with natives in the territories Over their title to the land and should strengthen the native Economy of Hunting fishing and trapping so As to minimize the social ill effects of massive Industrial development. Four of those ten years have passed. The government in 1978 reached a tentative land title settlement with the Mackenzie Delta inuit but has since changed its mind and backed off from that agreement. Native groups disagree amongst themselves whether they should pursue Cash and land in Exchange for their aboriginal rights or whether they should seek instead creation of a new quasi state Akin to a new province. J four years has not been enough to resolve the land title question. Even the ten year period suggested by or. Justice Berger May not be enough in the absence of an urgent deadline obliging the government and the native groups to reach an agreement. Native land claims in Alaska and Northern Quebec were settled Only because projects that were already in Progress in one Case hydroelectric Power in the other made settlements necessary. Imperial Oil and others now wish to build a pipeline As far As Norman Wells Halfway Down the Mackenzie to tap the Oil Pool Imperial is already operating there. The National Energy Board last week announced that As far As it was concerned the pipeline could be built but a final decision rests with the Federal Cabinet. Given a Cabinet Green Light Imperial and its partners work next year. With the pipeline to Norman Wells Imperial offers to produce barrels a Day from that Field a Mere drop in the Canadian Petroleum bucket. Or. Justice Berger s argument for a moratorium applies to both ends of the Mackenzie Valley. The country stands to gain very Little from letting Imperial build As far As Norman Wells immediately. Nor can the country wait indefinitely however canadians need for Arctic Oil and Gas will not necessarily wait for the Federal government and All the native groups in the Terri tories to make up their minds what they want and reach an agreement on land ownership Hunting fishing and trapping rights and the viability of the traditional Way of life of the indians the Metis and the inuit. The government could reasonably Lay Down a policy that it will authorize the Wells pipeline As soon As a land settlement is reached and that it will do so in any event after some stated interval perhaps three years hence. With a deadline of that sort All parties will have an increased incentive to find an agreement. In the absence of a definite deadline the land claims negotiations Are proceeding haltingly and aimlessly. Native groups can dream of founding a new state and the govern ment can chop and change because the need for an agree ment is hazy. Neb approval of the Norman Wells project has brought the need into sharper focus. Provisional Cabinet approval with a further delay would Sharpen the focus still further. The aboriginal rights of the Northern indians and inuit Are Worth something and they have a legitimate interest in what is done to their land to the wildlife that inhabits it and to the Way of life they Lead on it. How much they Are Worth or How much Effort should be made to protect them Are matters for negotiation. But they will be Worth much less if White Industrial society begins by destroying the land the game and the traditional Way of life and negotiates afterwards. The government must make a serious Effort to reach a viable and useful agreement with the Northern natives before launching a pipeline project. It is just beginning to do that. The process needs More time but it also needs More urgency. Women and pensions most of Canada s elderly poor Are women mainly because the country s pension system serves men much better than it serves women in a great variety of ways. The Manitoba Chambers of Commerce have drawn Atten Tion to one of the least important oddities in certain types of pension plan a male and a female retiring at the same age with equal pension credit will receive unequal monthly pension payments. This is because actuaries assume on the basis of past experience that the woman will live longer hence the pension benefits she has purchased have to be spread More thinly Over a greater number of years. The Chambers of Commerce want it understood that an employer is treating his male and female employees equally if he makes equal contributions to their pension accounts even if these produce unequal monthly pension payments. There Are Many other ways however in which the pension system is ill suited to the Way women fit into the labor Market. The most obvious Are that a great Ninny women never work for pay and so never earn pension credits and that women s pay is generally lower than men s so that their pension entitlement is lower. But besides that most employer sponsored pension plans severely penalize the worker who changes employers or who drops out of the labor Force and women do that much More often than men. Small businesses and those employing Low wage workers commonly do not offer pension plans and they employ More women than men. Private pension plans generally do not ensure benefits to the pensioner s spouse usually the wife after the death of the pensioner or the breakup of the marriage. A further minute contribution to the poverty of elderly women arises from the difference in the life expectancies of men and women and the correspondingly lower monthly benefits that a minority of pension plans pay to women. The actuaries who calculate the monthly payments due to a pensioner on the basis of his total pension credits ask just the age and sex of the pensioner. The general principle is that the closer the pensioner is to the Normal dying age of his group the More he should be paid each month. The system could theoretically be refined by other distinctions. If it were found that left handed people die younger than right handed people that smokers die younger than non smokers that fat people die younger than thin people the monthly payments promised each group could be adjusted accordingly. But actuaries most of whom Are men have decided that the Only distinction that will be made is the distinction Between men and women though that distinction is no More defensible in fairness than the others. Just As the system averages life expectancies Between smokers and non smokers Between the healthy and the unhealthy so it can average them Between men and women. The averaging instrument is the unisex actuarial table which calculates life expectancies and monthly benefits for each age group As a whole not separately for males and females. Employers sponsoring pension plans should As the Cham Bers of Commerce recommend make equal pension contributions for their male and their female employees. But they should also ensure that pension benefits Are awarded without respect to sex. If a slightly higher level of contributions is required to bring the benefits promised women up to the level promised men so be it. Wider use of unisex tables in pension plans would be a Small gain for fairness in the pension system. But no one should imagine that it would make a noticeable Dent in the poverty of elderly women. The pension reforms that will Benefit women most Are the same ones that will Benefit the whole Force reforms that bring pension coverage to workers not now covered by pensions and that ensure a worker does not lose pension entitlement when he drops out of the labor Force or changes jobs. A guarantee of benefits to the pensioner s spouse after his death or the breakup of the marriage would also be significant improvements. Next the Gnu one of the More persistent Canadian myths is Likely to be put to rest Over the next few months that is the theory that once the politicians Stop fussing about the Constitution and Start doing something about the e Economy we will All be off. Give or take an Adverse decision the supreme court of Canada the politicians will Stop fussing about the Constitution for a while. But anyone who imagines that we will All be More Happy and prosperous once they set the British North America act aside and Start paying More attention to the Gross National product is probably in for an awful Shock. Likely to discover that it was never an obsession with the Constitution which kept Canada s leaders from doing something about the Economy it was the fact that they had no idea of what to do. Allan Maceachen after All was minister of finance for eight months before he got around to producing a budget. When he did produce one it was carefully calculated to have no particular influence on either economic growth or inflation. Since then the Economy has performed in a Way quite unanticipated by the budget showing stronger growth and higher inflation. The government has now agreed on the urging of Premier Davis of Ontario to do for the Economy what it did for the Constitution Call a Federal provincial conference. It is hard to imagine a More fruitless Prospect. The grand Forks love affair sore losers much attention has been paid in recent months to the criticisms of the nip made by a number of discontented former members. Some of these critics have even gone so far As to form their own party in the legislature. The use of quotation Marks is deliberate since there is no evidence that More than a handful of people have supported the move. A closer inspection of the alleged reasons for the split reveals Why. I the discontented members initially cited disagreements Over the Constitution and labor dominance within the nip As the reasons for their splitting from the party. The first reason is obviously a red herring. It is hardly sufficient reason to Start a new provincial party since it is an Issue Pri Marily at the Federal level. The labor Frank Syms contradicted dominance Factor is also a red herring. Labor does not control the nip As it has Only about 13 per cent of the votes at conventions. To imply that the re cent support for an anti Scab Resolution is evidence of labor dominance is also misleading the Resolution was sup ported by the vast majority of both Union and non Union delegates. The reason Why the opponents of the Resolution simply did t give a convincing argument against it. Recently been suggested by Frank Syms that the nip is not Only dominated by labor but by far left elements As Well. An analogy has even been drawn to the recent split in the British labor party. This comparison is not valid. In Britain major changes in both policies and the procedure for electing a Leader led to the split. In Manitoba there have been no such changes. The party it was under de Schreyer Well within the mainstream of Manitoba politics if policy and political differences Don t explain the split what does it appears that a Large part of it has to do with personal reasons and personalities. It is no Accident that All three of the Las who split from the nip have lost or were Likely to lose party positions or nominations. It is also no Accident that a number of them had developed Strong personality conflicts with other party members prior to the split. The progressives May have appropriated the name but they have not Givert their group the substance of the original progressives. Right now they Are not much More than the sore losers party. Steven Ashton Thompson Manitoba letters Winnipeg and grand Forks have had a bit of a love affair going for about 100 years and this Amity has flowered again in two developments. One is the figure of Michael Carpenter the . Consul general in Winnipeg the other the recent visit of grand Forks mayor Bud Wessman and entourage to beat the Drums literally and figuratively for this International infatuation. Or. Carpenter works diligently and actively to increase communication across the Border. He has. Impeccable attributes and has introduced an open innovative consular style to these parts. Mike As he is known affectionately to Many Manitoban has resurrected the memory of James Wickes Taylor american Consul Here in 1870. Crocuses for ladies or. Taylor made a Point of handing out crocuses to the ladies of Winnipeg and when he died it became the custom of citizens 90 years ago to place a bouquet of the Prairie wildflowers be fore his portrait which Hung in City Hall. Now or. Carpenter has instituted an annual Crocus Day to commemorate this affair of the Flowers. The Crocus of course happens to be Manitoba s offi Cial Flower. A most felicitous idea. No matter is too trivial for or. Carpenter s concern. Manitoban have called him to complain about being hassled at Canadian customs on a return trip from grand Forks and other american centres. Now that is not in or. Carpenter s Bailiwick his con Cern is american customs. However he enquired at Canadian customs to solve matters. Canadian customs will provide a stamp of the Date when Manitoban leave for the ., so there won t be any hassle As to their length of stay to qualify for duty free goods. On another matter or. Carpenter has influenced the Public to station at Fargo to use More Canadian Content. There is Little he won t do to smooth Canadian american relationships. He was the impresario on the occasion of the grand Forks festivity Here headed by mayor Wessman and he entertained his audience with his usual laconic style. His comments can be so deliberately corny arsenic and old lace the Winnipeg free press welcomes letters from readers. Writers must give their name and address the author s name will be used and letters Are subject to editing i Ira prisoners the free press according to its daily printed mottoes is a Champion of Equality of civil rights and Liberty of i wonder Why then is it not also a Champion of responsible and honest journalism the editorial headed death in Northern Ireland in the edition of Friday april 24, displays a deplorable Lack of understanding of the tragic Ireland which in turn has produced apiece of the most irresponsible arid dishonest reporting which it has been my misfortune to read. In the first place the hunger strikers incarcerated in the concentration Camp at Long Kesh make their own decisions regarding whether or not to undertake this most drastic of All actions to draw attention to the plight of the prisoners. Secondly the majority of the men and women so imprisoned have been arrested without charge and jailed without trial contravention of any internationally acceptable interpretation of the meaning of Equality of civil thirdly the seven men who voluntarily went on hunger strike during the last three months of 1980 gave up their fast when mrs. Thatcher and her government promised to concede to their five requests and to restore political prisoner status to these men and women status which they held prior to a reversal of British govern ment policy in 1976. As has always been the Case throughout our history Britain reneged on her Promise. It is Worth noting that the torture mentioned in your editorial was and is used by the British army of occupation and the state police against the civilian population. In 1978, amnesty International re ported on its investigation of ill treat ment of persons detained on suspicion of involvement not charged not convicted merely its find Ings were As follows beatings to the body and extremities beatings to the head psychological physically exhausting procedures such As prolonged and oppressive questioning threats and humiliation had taken place with growing up in Belfast As i did i know All about Liberty of persons of the Catholic persuasion were at Liberty to go without with out jobs without Homes without a future in their Homeland without Hope. In spite of this the two third to one third ratio protestant to Catholic has changed. It is now about 50-50. It is Little wonder that the oppressed Community asked for Equality of civil rights Back in 1968. The response to that request is what you see today. Maeve p. Gray Winnipeg birthday miss Muriel Dallas Macarthur Winnipeg born Winnipeg april becomes strychnine and new lace in describing up tax Date grand Forks the atre but with his disarming delivery it turned out to be great vaudeville. In All this or. Carpenter was cementing the rapport with grand Forks. The relationship goes a Long Way Back. In Early settlement Here the Trade in furs and goods was North and South by of cart and by Barge on the red River. Grand Forks has Long been a weekend attraction for Winnipeg tourists and around 1881, it was said there was More Canadian Money in circulation than american. Too it was recorded by one that it was not uncommon for grand Forks residents to go off via red River Steamboat for a Short Holiday in Winni the big City today Winnipeg is the big City for grand Forks because it has More than 10 times the population along with the attraction of its cultural institutions the Racetrack zoo professional sports and restaurants. Says mayor Wessman expansively in the eyes of grand Forks residents Winnipeg has it Manitoba tourism is big business for grand Forks and when a new million shopping Centre was built there in 1977, it was for the purpose of luring Canadian dollars too the prices were lower for Many goods in the states. Now the difference in american Exchange has Cut Down tourism. Hal Gershman who runs Happy Harry s bottle shop and the trave Lodge says the business we get from Winnipeg is our profit. That s the extra that puts a lot of people Over the top. But now Motel Trade is Down by 25 to 30 per so a grand Forks group came Here and put on a Good show along with superstition i am writing to question the Wisdom of the inclusion of god in the preamble of the Constitution particularly As it was inserted at the last moment Leav ing no time for feedback from citizens. The thousands of letters in support of the conservative amendment show Only that the Church is Well organized and therefore easily Able to respond at a moment s notice with this Type of lobbying. For the rest of us who consider religion a private matter and in a country where there is no state Church it is hard to understand this major change. It was my impression that the Constitution was a people document a Way of protecting the minority from the majority. Why then the reference to a god whoever she May be this action is an erosion of the Long held principle of the separation of Church and state. What Are the ramifications Why was it so important to the proponents to have it included Are we going to see this used As a tool by the moral majority in this changing world with the fascinating new discoveries about our selves and the universe there should be no entrenchment of superstition in our Constitution. A. 1vey Winnipeg Pat on the Back the government of Manitoba should be commended for the very generous help it has Given children with special needs. Increasing funding from million to million shows that this government cares. F. Steen Winnipeg Dick King and his 16-piece classic swing band. They re accomplished musicians their efforts amplified too loud As i think All bands Are. But there s something Nice about a Small town band. Or. King is a lawyer the drummer the president of a Bank others Are teachers students and in other occupations. All very democratic. Grand Forks is a University town and also one heavily influenced by the near by air Force base. Holler louder i was surprised to hear from Happy Harry that grand Forks people had not been really aware of Manitoba s concern about the Garrison diversion. It does suggest Manitoban should holler louder about this Issue. At the same time mayor Wessman emphasizes that North Dakota has great need of water because of the indiscriminate tapping of the underground Supply. It s been the dream of North Dakota since it was incorporated in 1889 to obtain Missouri water via the Garrison diversion. Or. Wessman and others Are now fully aware of Manitoba s concern that the Missouri water must not be released through tributaries into Lake Winnipeg for it would carry organisms fatal to our fisheries. We share Many similar problems. In Canada there is bitterness Over Oil prices. Grand Forks is upset about the Price it has to pay. It obtains the natural Gas from Canada pegged to the world Market Price. It pays twice As much As Grafton Only 35 Miles away which is tied to the Western Gas Fields of North Dakota. In the meantime mayor Wessman says of Winnipeg we need to develop our symbiotic relationship to a greater he invites Canadian business to locate in North Dakota noting that it ranks fourth in . Attractiveness for development of Light Industry and manufacturing. It offers incentives including a five year tax abatement. Says Wessman we want you to know that grand Forks would be de lighted to be known As the subsidiary City of what More can grand Forks do to show its great adoration of Winnilee killing two Birds As a resident of St. Vital i have been aware of the deplorable state of the Seine River for some years. Has anyone considered the possibility of two Birds with one Stone it would seem the City and courts have a problem chastising delinquent juveniles. Rather than warnings and institutions How about some constructive labor a pair of rubber boots and a work schedule could be issued along with the slap on the hand the courts have been offering. A few blisters a healthy outdoor activity and a purpose May assist these kids in appreciation of our Community and of their own capabilities. L. Pm Eaton Winnipeg i you hear the news Poland wants us to protect her from her ;