Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 1, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba J Winnipeg free press Friday. May 1, 1981 published and. Printed Days a week at 300 Cartton Street. Winnipeg r3c 3c1 by Canadian newspapers company limited Telephone 943-9331 second class mail registration number 0266 Freedom of Trade Equality of civil rights Liberty of religion end the water bargains Donald Norcot put dishes John Dafoe editorial Page edit Murray Burt am Gmo editor Winni Eggers Are going to have to pay to protect the much touted purity of their drinking water. The obvious Way to raise the Money is by increasing the water rates charged to every household and business on the basis of metered consumption. But this should not be done by a simple across the Board increase in the present rate schedule which gives a big discount to heavy volume Consumers of water the Price charged for water in excess of cubic feet in a three month period is one half of the Price charged for the first cubic feet per three months. The Price on inter meddle quantities Falls Between the top and Bottom rates. The discount especially benefits the heaviest users p ants and the of the discount was justified when the Cost of supplying water consisted almost entirely of the Cost of laying and maintain ing pipe and the water itself was available almost free of charge in unlimited quantities. But the water is no longer free nor unlimited. The indians of the Shoal Lake Indian band who have lived largely by commercial fishing have seen their fishing rights curtailed to protect fish stocks for the Benefit of tourist anglers who Are the basis for another of the major Lake of the Woods industries. Unable to beat the tourist Industry the Indian band reasonably enough sought to join it by opening to cottage development some of the land it owns on the shores of Indian Bay. But the Winnipeg water Supply cannot tolerate the pollution that would probably result from the Normal sort of cottage development so close to the source from which it in w Day has two f 2? 3 at the intake or buying out the Indian band s development rights a third possibility is Worth out the band s right to pollute Indian Bay. Forms of the hat would of trouble the to Ater Supply if the density were Low enough if sewage and garbage disposal anti pollution bylaws were strict and strictly enforced development along those lines might permit theban to put its land to profitable use without affecting the City s inter Ess putting a Price on the right to pollute would be Tricky but it were Ower than the Price of a treatment Plant a the Price of development rights it would be Worth paying whichever route is taken the purity of the drinking water Nas its Price and All Winnipeg water users will have to is Zonnar m e is that the Supply is no longer limitless. Each annual increase in water test brings the City cl0ser to the to to Bra a second a1ueduct have in nor h rate schedule such As the one encouraging heavy use speeds the arrival of that Day the City should instead have a rate schedule that enc our the the coming fiscal Battle even before the smoke has cleared from even before the smoke has cleared from the constitutional Battle Ottawa and the provinces Are firing the first shots of their next great confrontation the fight for the taxpayer s Dollar. Even More so than the constitutional debate the new struggle will Deal with the fundamentals of politics Money and Power. Specifically the struggle will Deal with the renewal for a ments covering Federal contributions to health care higher education and social programs which run out at the end of the fiscal year. In a broader sense it will define the balance of Power Between Ottawa and the provinces for most of the rest of this decade. The Federal government has set up a parliamentary task Force to hear the Public s views on the Issue but in his submission to the task Force finance minister Allan Mac Eachen left Little doubt that on fundamentals the Federal government s mind is already made up. In Ottawa s View the chief aim of negotiation with the provinces is to achieve a new agreement on joint programs under which Ottawa will pay less and interfere More. Or. Maceachen was quite Blunt too about Ottawa s fundamental concern. Fiscal strength he told the commit tee is one of the important factors which determine a government s political leverage. As provinces individually and collectively become Fis Cally stronger they attempt to increase their political leverage within the federation. At the same time As the fiscal position of the Federal government weakens its political leverage Ottawa s aim it is Clear is to increase its own fiscal Power and political leverage and to diminish that of the provinces More specifically it is to diminish the fiscal leverage available to the government of Alberta through immense Oil revenues. That in principle is a perfectly legitimate aim the history of the Canadian federation has been the Story of a continually shifting balance of Powers and resources be tween the Central government and the provinces. Ottawa can legitimately argue that Money and Power has shifted too much to the provinces in recent years though to do so it must also admit that its own policies of pushing provinces into worthwhile programs such As medicare have been largely responsible for that shift. The provinces have an equally legitimate right to defend their existing fiscal and political strength. The clash Between those competing interests normally results in a Compromise which Over the years has corresponded remarkably Well to the needs of the country As a whole. The danger of that approach this time is that the new confrontation is taking place in an atmosphere already dangerously soured by Federal bullying Over the Constitution and Energy. The provinces Are Likely to see Ottawa s fiscal proposals As simply part of a Power grab which has already produced encroachments on provincial control Over Educa Tion civil rights and natural resources. The debate Over fiscal sharing is in danger of becoming not simply another exercise in adjusting the Federal provincial balance but the latest of a series of confrontations which will add to disunity and regional alienation. If there is a Hope of avoiding that danger it lies with the parliamentary task Force. The government May Well regard the task Force As simply the tame servant of its will certainly or. Maceachen last week appeared to be giving the members their marching orders in unequivocal terms. But the task Force can become a forum for a More creative and less confrontational approach to fiscal sharing. It has Down with silly coherence for a system of equalization in which the provinces themselves would be responsible for a degree of Revenue sharing. If the members of the task Force have the wit and the Independence to press for solutions which reflect less a raw struggle for Power and More an equitable balance of needs and resources they can do much to defuse a dangerous situation. The aim should be a new set of fiscal arrangements in which the Winner is neither the Central government nor the provinces but the Canadian Federal system. Defensive in a year after the derailment at Macgregor of a car freight train carrying deadly Vinyl Chloride the railway has responded to recommendations aimed at making such a traumatic event less Likely. The response displays a certain sense of institutional grievance about the several hard things that were said at an inquiry about the railway s handling of the incident and about the adequacy or otherwise of the railway s Normal procedures. The Canadian transport commission which conducted the inquiry was not carrying out a Witch Hunt but attempting to ensure that such an incident would be less Likely to happen in future. The commission proceeded by Way of a careful searching and responsible investigation in which it sought the views of everyone involved in the derailment and its aftermath submissions were invited and the Public was Able to participate in an open hearing. The railway the company that owned the spilled chemical the townspeople of Macgre Gor and All those with an interest were Given ample Opportunity to state their Case. Subsequently the commission produced an exhaustive report Complete with findings and recommendations the railway was Given six month to respond. That response which interested citizens can examine at City Hall covers every recommendation. The commission is now assessing it to see satisfactory it May be and what action if any must next be recommended to the Federal government by the commission. A preliminary Survey of the in response shows that the commission May indeed have to recommend government action because the railway has taken a defensive attitude towards some recommendations concluding that its procedures Are satisfactory and that no action is necessary. In such cases the Public interest and the railway s institutional interest May be at variance. It is up to the commission to see that the Public interest prevails special to the free press Montreal Given the Post modern one of our liter Ary lights noted the other Day in discus sing the novel the desire for Coher ence is either silly or Well politics Are not always fiction but Given our Post election situation any desire for coherence is both silly and embarrassing. The scenario is simple enough. Pre Mier Rene Levesque won an Over whelming Victory on april 13. He did it in part by for swearing a referendum during the lifetime of the upcoming National Assembly. If he did Well on the basis of seats won however he did not do nearly so Well in terms of the popular vote. There the breakdown was 49 per cent for him 46 per cent for the liberals and five per cent for the Union National. A legend nonetheless a most interesting leg end is developing around the result. We Are being told and not by the dummies in the parti quebecois but by those who Are among the party intellectuals that or. Levesque s Victory was a Victory for separatism. Quebe cers in voting As they did according to this thesis voted for an Independent prov Ince. The logic in this argument is difficult if not impossible to follow. Or. Levesque has won twice in his political career and on each occasion Victory has been tied to either the abandonment of a policy of separatism or As in 1976, to a very careful Down playing of it. Where separatism was an Issue he was Defeated handily. So How does it come about that intelligent people can draw the conclusion is being mentioned so frequently furthermore we Are also hearing that despite his Oft repeated pledge not to Call a referendum he might do just that using As his excuse prime minis ter Trudeau s constitutional package. But the package existed during the Alcan profits election and played Only a Small part in the result. Dreaming is not something restricted to politicians or their helpers. We it but it is rarely the basis for important political action. Or. Levesque May not order a referendum and he May not indeed consider the verdict on april 13 a justification for separatism but clearly the result has set in motion a conviction among some in this province that what happened in Early april can be interpreted As a favourable verdict on the Issue of separatism. Only ambition to All this or. Levesque has said nothing though he must be wondering Why he can win from his people every thing except the endorsement of separatism the one ambition of his Politi Cal life. Even on Victory night when his delirious supporters greeted him with the chant of be Quebec Aux Quebe Cois there was no response from the Premier. He did not even mention the first article of the program of his party. He did not even hint that for him separatism was still the Issue. On that night Here was no word of encourage ment for the faithful no recall of past Hopes no Promise of renewed Effort. Pierre Bourgault an old time separatist was sad to see so Many Gen Erous militants give a tremendous ova Tion to the Man who is not leading them where they want to or Bourgault believes the Victory was not a Triumph but a tragedy for those who support Independence. Their cause May be he wrote because those who were supposed to defend and promote it May become very Busy doing some thing else anything to or. Bourgault defeat on the Issue of Independence would be better than Victory ignoring it. As for others who believe in the cause they clearly see the result very differently for those not caught up in the dream of Independence however or. Bour Gault s words seem right. For the cynic there is a third Choice. There is something very comfortable about Power and something very unnerving about the Prospect of losing it which can account for almost any Polit ical policy. A dash of dreams in the cold water of reality is not a bad political cocktail. It keeps Hope alive stimulating the appetite without dulling the senses. If there Are curious goings on among parti quebecois supporters what is happening in the Liberal party can hardly be described As coherent it was natural to doubt the leadership Quali ties of Claude Ryan but it is hardly sensible to suggest As a possible Succes Sor a ghost from the past. Yet there is talk of the return of Robert Bourassa who suffered a much More devastating defeat than or. Ryan five years ago there is no doubt or. Bourassa would accept the leadership if it were offered to him but whether the voters would accept or. Bourassa whom they so summarily rejected before is another matter. Still Leader or. Ryan is still Leader and much of the talk of replacing him comes from disgruntled candidates who failed to win their own seats but there is a tendency in contemporary politics to Lay everything in Victory or defeat upon the shoulders of the Leader. Parties which have just been beaten when they expected to win often suffer from temper tantrums and the Provin Cial liberals Are not different. In Dodg ing and ducking however in an Effort to find an excuse for defeat they May Well be proving Lloyd George s Dis Missal of lord Acton s famous dictum that Power corrupts. Not said Lloyd George it is the absence of Power which Quebec is a very quiet province today and the Assembly when it meets on May 19, will Deal with the budget which was lost in the election shuffle. It will be we Are told much the same budget which includes cuts in income tax and bonuses of various kinds for families and a very Large deficit. About a year ago a financial pout article headlined Alcan As an Energy Stock with excellent profit potential the key to this profit growth Lay in Alcan s ownership of the sources of electrical Energy which constitutes the greatest Cost in aluminium smelting while the Price of electricity is rising throughout North America because of increasing costs in construction and Thermal Plant fuel Alcan has locked in its Power costs at Low Levels by constructing its own captive Hydro electric projects. Alcan s profit potential comes not from producing aluminium but from controlling its source of Energy. Three quarters of world aluminium production is controlled by six multinational firms one of which is Alcan these six according to the financial limes of London conspired in the late to restrict production and drive Energy control helps Alcan a 4 up the Price of aluminium. Despite the fact that fully half of the world s alumni num is produced from relatively fixed Cost hydroelectric Power the Price of aluminium Rose from in 1974 to j0.66 a Pound in 1979. Therein lies the source of Alcan s profits. The agreement in principle Between Alcan and the government of Manitoba is in the Long term interests of Alcan because it once again locks in the Cost of electricity for aluminium production. For this same reason the agreement is not in the Long term interests of Mani to bans. Alcan s future High profit mar gins can Only partially be recovered by Manitoba through water Power rights rental economic rent taxes or corporate income taxes. As Manitoba Hydro builds increasingly Remote production facilities at increasingly inflated costs the average Price of Power to Manitoba Consumers will Rise. Alcan s Price will not. The net effect in the Long run will be that Manitoban will be subsidizing the operation of Alcan s smelters while Alcan reaps Ever greater profits. The whole approach of the Lyon government to economic development has been to passively sit Back and wait for development proposals from Indus try. This has led to the weak bargaining position of Manitoba in the face of Alcan s demands. The minute Alcan s ideas were made known the Lyon government should have been actively soliciting competitive bids from other aluminium producers for the privilege of using Manitoba s Hydro electric re souce. I would Challenge Sterling Lyon to produce any evidence that his government took Steps to stimulate Competition Between aluminium producers. Philip l. Eyler Winnipeg letters the Winnipeg free press welcomes tellers from readers. Writers must give their name and address the author s name will be used and letters Are subject to editing. Not a lawyer in your news Story entitled filipinos ask school Board to help ease racial tensions free press 15 april 1981 you referred to Conrad Santos As a perhaps implying that i am qualified to practice the Legal profess Ion in the province of Manitoba. This is not the Case at am a full time faculty member in the department of political studies University of Manitoba. May i remind you that under the act respecting the Law society of Manitoba no person who is not entitled to practise in the province As a barrister or solicitor shall in the province hold himself out As or represent himself to be or practise As a barrister or solicitor or for gain or Reward act As a barrister or the facts Are 1 at present i am not entitled to practise in the province As a barrister or solicitor. 2 i am not holding myself out or representing myself to be a barrister or solicitor. Of course there Are other facts that Are relevant which perhaps explain Why the press keeps on calling me a 1. In april 7, 1959, i graduated from the University of the Philippines with two degrees in Law a a Bachelor of science in jurisprudence cum laude b a Bachelor of Laws. 2. I took the philippine bar Examina Tion and was admitted to the practice of Law in the Philippines by becoming a member of the philippine bar in Maich 3, 1960. 3. I studied at Harvard Law school and graduated with a master of Laws on june 14, 1962. Nevertheless it is a fact that i am not at present a member of the Manitoba Law society and therefore not at present entitled to practise Law in the province of Manitoba. Conrad Santos Winnipeg not aggression i am writing to protest the article on the Winnipeg women s network women work up aggression of april 15, 1981. We do not meet to practice aggression. We meet to make professional contacts and to further our own professional and personal development. Further As a founding member and chairwoman of the committee which drafted the network s Constitution i can say authoritatively that the mini mum age required for set at 18 because that is the age of Legal majority liquor Laws were never Dis cussed. Your article presented us More narrowly and aggressively than we Are i Hope this letter will Correct an unflattering image so we can continue to attract new members and meet the needs of present members. Carla Melman Winnipeg marijuana dangers i would like to comment on the april 23 letter from Thomas Holden regard ing alcohol and. Marijuana. Or. Holden s first claim that alcohol is not a drug is ambiguous. The Mer Rion Webster dictionary states that Al Cohol is a the intoxicating element in fermented and distilled liquors and b any of various Carbon compounds Simi Lar to alcohol. The definition for the word drug is a substance used in Medicine. These definitions do not Clar Ify alcohol s status As a drug or non drug. However according to Louise Burgess in her Book alcohol and your health alcohol is an addicting drug. One suggestion for drawing attention to alcohol s dangers would be for health and welfare Canada to Issue a warning on the Label of alcoholic beverages stating that excessive use is hazardous to health. Or. Holden continues in the first paragraph to state that marijuana is nontoxic unless sprayed by chemicals. According to a report published in february 1980, by a committee con sisting of two principals a vice Princi pal and a drug abuse Council member from Ontario marijuana is solely and always an the next statement in his letter which stated legalizing marijuana would decrease its use by juveniles As a form of rebellion seems backwards. According to this logic one could con clude that legalizing stealing would result in a drop in the crime rate. The reduction of the drinking age for exam ple has resulted in the increase of drinking by juveniles. Also juveniles under the Legal age of 18 Are now drinking alcoholic beverages. He continues to say that legalization would give the government the ability to standardize the drug making it safer. Marijuana is not Safe to use. It contains from 200 to 300 chemicals. Or. . Heath found in his study that cannabis caused brain damage. Or. J. Hall found emphysema and chronic bronchitis in a study of labourers who used the drug. In the same study it was found that 20 per cent of the subjects were suffering from sexual dysfunction including impotence. Other studies on marijuana report its use causes chromosome damage. Still others report a noticeable drop in the ability to Ana Lyme comprehend and concentrate. It is interesting to note that Keith strays the founder of Normal a group in favor of legalizing marijuana re signed and went on television to warn others of the dangers of its use. Research into the use of marijuana should continue. Bringing the actual effects of the drug into Light would be a deterrent. S. Miller Selkirk Man. Don t Tell me. Chuck Lee class of go. Right ;