Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 4, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba 6 Winnipeg free press monday May 4. 1981 Winnipeg free press Freedom of Trade Equality of civil rights Liberty of religion published and printed six Days a week at 300 Cartton Street. Winnipeg r3c 3c1 by Canadian newspapers company limited Telephone 943-9331 second class mail registration number 0286 Donald Nicol publisher John Dafoe Edi Loul Page Eji Loi Murray Bur managing Edilio editorials Laws and civil liberties the Laws of Quebec Are riddled with infringements of civil liberties according to Legal research commissioned by the Quebec government. The same is probably True of the Laws of Manitoba according to attorney general Gerry Mercier. The Quebec government hired a Montreal Law firm to sift through Quebec statutes and regulations looking for provi Sions that would conflict with the Trudeau charter of rights. A plenty. Or. Mercier has asked his officials to go through the Quebec list and form an idea of the extent to which Manitoba Laws would have to be amended to bring them into line with the charter if and when it is written into the Canadian Constitution. The Quebec study involved a Good Deal of Guesswork since the lawyers had Little basis for predicting where Canadian judges would draw the line Between the rights of individuals and the government s legitimate restrictions on those rights. They relied heavily on . Supreme court decisions to predict what meanings Canadian judges would give to such expressions As Freedom of the press and cruel and unusual treatment and they found that several Quebec Laws deny the principle that a person is presumed innocent until he is found guilty. For example a person accused of taking part in an illegal strike bears the onus of proving that he did not and a person found with a Large Quantity of liquor can be required to prove that he did not have it for the purpose of Selling it. These and other reversals of the customary Burden of proof have crept into Canada s Federal and provincial Laws because they make life easier for the authorities when they seek to Stop illegal strikes and bootlegging and because nothing prevents a legislature from enacting such a Law. Enactment of the charter of rights would give accused persons an Opportunity to argue that they cannot be presumed guilty. It would oblige the Crown to justify before the courts any reversal of the Burden of proof. It would Force governments to consider much More carefully than they now must before writing Laws that seek to reverse the Burden of proof. The same applies to a great Many other infringements of civil liberties found in the Quebec study. Quebec Law gives to roman Catholic parishes certain Powers not open to other religious groups to tax the property of their members though that practice has fallen into disuse in the age of women can be bound by marriage vows at a younger age than men. Consumer Protection Laws deprive merchants of certain Legal protections open to others. A great Many Quebec government programs and official appointments Are open Only to Canadian citizens or Quebec residents or to firms whose principal place of business is in Quebec. The Quebec government has never had to justify these Laws in relation to the principle Laid Down in the proposed charter of rights that everyone has a right to equal Protection and equal Benefit of the Law without discrimination. It is High time governments were called to account. The courts would not necessarily strike Down All or even most of them. That would depend on How Good a Case the Crown could make in their defense and on the importance the judges would give to the escape clauses written into the charter. Or. Mercier probably exaggerates when he says Manitoba would face legislative re drafting work of the same order As Quebec s to bring its Laws into line with the charter. Manitoba does not have a Structure of Legal distinctions Between religions and language groups comparable to que Bec s. Nor has this province been As aggressive As Quebec in restricting its programs to local residents. But or. Mercier s expectation that a careful search would turn up Many infringements of civil rights in Manitoba Laws is significant. The results of the search will make fascinating Reading. The Cost of Protection since our exorbitant interest rates Don t seem to work 1 Why not give Good old fashioned usury a to their credit those who defend marketing boards against the statistics which prove that they Are responsible for increased consumer costs Are putting their Best Case Forward. It is that the Cost to Consumers is a Small Price to maintain the Canadian Way of preserving otherwise uneconomic industries. Unfortunately like the turkeys which Are fattened for Christmas Consumers Are unlikely to get a vote on their Fate. If they were Given such a voice it is Likely that marketing boards in Canada would go the Way of the Avro Arrow but much faster. The report ordered by the Federal government and assembled by objective researchers puts a High consumer Price on marketing boards. Canadian eggs the report says Are 13 cents a dozen higher than they need be. Broiling fowl is nine cents a Pound on the heavy Side of its proper Price. To get the prices where they should be it would be necessary to eliminate both the boards and import quotas. This Prospect will immediately arouse the nationalists who will argue rightly that import quotas protect Canadian jobs. The task can be done equally Well by tariffs. What marketing boards do is to protect at increased costs to Consumers regional interests. Without marketing boards for example Manitoba would produce a much larger percentage of Canada s eggs than it is allowed to do under what proponents like to Call orderly marketing. These people and Canada s agriculture minister Eugene Whelan is one of them argue that the extra Consumers have to pay is in the interests of protecting producers. But Consumers will ask whether it is right to protect inefficient producers in one part of the country against More efficient producers elsewhere particularly when All Are canadians. The Federal government got some favourable reaction from Canadian Consumers when it commissioned the study Given the Speed at which governments act it is a Safe bet that now the figures Are in the report will be nothing More than a report. Marketing boards affect interested target groups of voters who Are Likely to react As groups to any change. Consumers can be counted upon to shrug off the whole matter As just one More example of the Cost of being Canadian. 6 premiers gird for new Battle or. Lougheed s Challenge during the past year Premier Sterling Lyon has occupied a position of prominence that is rather out of proportion to Manitoba s real influence on the National scene. As chairman of last summer s Canadian premiers conference or. Lyon has since then served As the official spokesman of the provinces. Last week or. Lyon acted As chairman for this year s Western premiers conference at Thompson. The most powerful Leader in the Western group Peter Lougheed of Alberta was the Host of the Western meeting last year. This year or. Lougheed assumed a supporting role rather than one of leadership a move that has already produced speculation that the Alberta Premier is experienc ing a backlash of discontent resulting from his earlier prominence As the main provincial spokesman on issues of the Constitution and Energy. There is no doubt that in the end or. Lougheed will play a More significant role on both constitutional and Energy matters than any of his Western colleagues. The Price of such leadership May be higher than Many realize. Or. Lougheed has also become primarily because the bulk of Canada s Oil production is in his province the spokesman for the Oil Industry and Industry generally in Alberta. These special interest groups have looked to or. Lougheed to protect by political Means what is so important to them in economic terms. If the fight is lost either on the Constitution or on the National Energy package or if a series of setbacks make it appear As if it will be lost those who now look to him May turn to More extreme spokesmen. Although some May consider or. Lougheed to have been More hostile than necessary and sometimes to have used words that tended to inflame on balance he has been a reasonable spokesman for regional interests. Or. Lougheed is not without Power and has so far resisted the temptation to use that Power in a reckless manner. By Fred Cleverley last year at Lethbridge Alberta the four Western premiers hammered out a concise three Page statement condemning sovereignty association and calling for constitutional reforms that would unify Canada. For the Eastern press present by the dozen the state ment was exactly what they had trav Elled into the Western wilderness to obtain. Important message this year at Thompson Manitoba the premiers used six pages to express concern Over the Economy something that has been discussed at length at each of the 10 meetings that have been held by the four provincial leaders in the last decade. It was a message that should have been As important to Canada As a whole As the statement on sovereignty association was last year. Most of Canada will not hear that message. It was reported to the East but the reports came from the Western stringers of the National television networks and did not have the urgency of last year s Story delivered As it was by the familiar faces that Are fixtures on the National television news or written by the names that appear on National printed columns. Besides the message got lost in the words used to deliver it. Instead of calling for Unity it used phrases such As stability and predictability flexibility and balance clarity of responsibilities co operation and consultation and rationalization and simplification. The premiers themselves delivered orally the message in a much better form. Premier Allan Blakeney of Saskatchewan squashed the myth of West Ern wealth. He excluded Alberta but said that i terms of individual incomes his province with All its Oil its Gas its uranium and its Potash stood behind Ontario and Quebec and just margin ally ahead of Manitoba. After those 19 million or so Canad or. Blakeney said we Are right at the the premiers economic communique devoted itself to attacking not Only the myth of Western wealth but the consequences of that myth producing a Federal grab of Western natural re sources which All four premiers con Sider to be capital not income. Squandered the premiers interpreted Ottawa s stalling on the renewal of equalization formulas set up in 1976, As evidence that Federal officials wanted to reduce the National share of payments to have not provinces by raiding the resource treasuries of the newly capital Rich ones. All four feared that if this takes place then Western resources will be quickly squandered just to keep up the Pace of current spending and will not As they should create newer wealth through investment. Premier Peter Lougheed of Alberta said that the Transfer of a barrel of Oil from the ground to a Cash Bank account was a one time transaction. Premier Blakeney said his provincial heritage fund has been precluded from improving the social infrastructure of Saskatchewan because to do so would impose still More equalization prob lems As provinces without resources attempted to match what was happen ing there. He said however that if the entire fund had been spent in such a manner it could not have produced a social development infrastructure that would come close to Matching that already in place in Ontario. His Point of course was that Ontario resources were not raided while they were helping put this infrastructure in place. Fair agreements All four premiers regard the 1976 agreements covering such areas As medical care hospitals universities and tax collection arrangements As fair even though three of of the four Are contributors to equalization. The agreements they say represent a rational and reasonable approach to equalization. Their message was that they intend to fight with the same determination they have shown on the Constitution and on Energy any attempt by Ottawa to produce significant changes in these arrangements. Last year the premiers called for significant constitutional changes to fend off the possibility of Quebec Sepa ration. Having seen the changes that have been produced in the form of the Federal Resolution on the Constitution since last year s meeting the premiers have Learned from the developments and Are preparing to fight yet another Battle on the old Issue of economic development. They Are at a disadvantage because no one seems to be listening. Complicated economic issues Are hard to simplify. It is much easier to suggest that the premiers Are simply carping and flailing away at Ottawa. That concept is easy to grasp. One of our two Federal Liberal maps made what was probably his last state ment on our Constitution recently in the House of commons. Bob Bockstael who was an admired City councillor presented what amounted to an ugly diatribe and incidentally an unflattering portrait of himself in his speech outlining Liberal constitutional views and his misinterpretation of what they have come to mean to us in the West. Bitter personal attacks on our pre Miers will not offer future students Reading and researching our history in Hansard an uplifting picture of or. Bockstael or his party. He represents what thousands of us in his province feel is a despicable and unworthy exercise in divisiveness. Typically neither he nor Lloyd Axworthy has listened to the people of Western Canada. He seeks his own Comfort is rewarded with glimpses of satisfaction followed by a Long period of emptiness and shame which sucks him Dag Hammarskjold. Helen Lawrence Winnipeg Bob Bockstael not listening i would like to say that i am very impressed and grateful that the Post office and Contact have arranged for the letter carriers Alert program. My grandmother was living by her self in Vancouver and suffered a stroke. As a result she was left unconscious for approximately nine Days before some one eventually found her. She did not have a phone at the time and As her Only family was living in Winnipeg we did not have Access to information As to her Well being. She eventually died As this illness compounded an already existing condition. But had a program such As this been in existence i feel that her prognosis could have been much better. I am sure that families who live out of Winnipeg will have the great sense of Relief As i feel knowing that there Are people who Are going to be consciously aware of the Well being of elderly and debilitated persons who Are living independently and who Are at risk. Thank you so very much for putting this program into effect. Rae Anne Paxton Winnipeg hens and papers the editorials of the free press at times show a delightful unconscious humor As evinced for example on thursday april 23 sticking the con which bewail the killing of a million or so egg laying hens. Lest we forget a scant eight months ago the owners of the free press and the Ottawa journal killed off two news papers in one night with the avowed object of making their businesses More profitable quickly enabling a 30 per cent increase in advertising rates. When the killing is done by newspaper tycoons it is lauded As the exercise of sound business principles when performed by Small egg producers struggling desperately to make a living against rising costs it is called stick ing the . Mills Winnipeg 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 arc subject to Dilim status of women 1 applaud Roger Toews for his con Cern about a political voice for women april however his letter was inaccurate in some respects and in Complete in others. Or. Toews statement that women s political voice has structured itself Pri Marily into the National action com Mittee nac with its provincial Chap ters which provide action at the grass roots level and into the cac Canadian advisory Council on the status of women which is a group of intellectuals operating with direct input at the Federal level ignores the years of lobbying undertaken by the National Council of women. The new meets with Federal Cabinet ministers annually to present issues of concern to women and has done so for Many years. The Canadian advisory Council on the status of women established in 1973 As a result of a recommendation of the report of the Royal commission on the status of women in Canada does indeed make recommendations to the Federal government based primarily on research undertaken by the cacs. Research priorities Are determined by the 30 cacs Mem Bers who represent All geographic areas of Canada and a wide variation of occupation interest and experience. It is not accurate to state that issues and recommendations Are All channelled through the cac cacs and then to while cacs does have Access to the Federal government so too do the nac new and their affiliates and federates. Nei ther the nac nor the new Channel their recommendations through the cacs. Therefore to suggest that when the Federal government deals with women s concern it deals with those concerns solely through the cacs and further to state that when the government deals with the cacs it is looking at one or two individuals who represent half the voters in the country is to distort reality. With regard to the advantages for women of an advisory Council reporting directly to parliament rather than through a minister it is important to recognize that there Are arguments to be made on both sides of the question. At present the cacs presents its advice and recommendations publicly and the minister responsible for the status of women receives them at the same time As the opposition and the general Public. In effect the cacs reports to Canada. The report of the Royal commission on the status of women recommended that a Federal status of women coun cil directly responsible to parliament be established but in its description of a Council the report stated the status of women Council would be established As a corporation operating under the authority of an Independent Board of both women and men appointed by the Federal government. It would make an annual report to the parliament through a while a Council reporting directly to parliament would less Likely be subject to charges of ministerial interference it would then not have a minister to Champion its causes in Cabinet. Women know that it is not enough to. Make your Point publicly. Women s gains have come from intense Tong term behind the scenes lobbying. An identified minister responsible for communicating women s concerns to Cabinet and answering to those concerns in parliament is an asset in this process. Berenice b. Sisler member Canadian advisory Council on the status of women Winnipeg Golden Rule i have read All the letters for the past few weeks in the free press about certain ethnic problems in Winnipeg. It seems that Only through education can we As human beings learn and be come Knowle Gabie on Why Immi Grants from various ethnic groups live in Canada. A different color of skin or language does not make a human being any less or More important than his fellow Man. We should first of All realize that each immigrant is a flesh and blood human being with feelings and emotions like Pur own. According to Raymond Wil Liams the human crisis is always a crisis of so if we could just try to understand that immigrants Are just trying to live life in a country with More opportunities and Freedom Are not just Here to make fellow canadians life miserable. As human beings first and canadians second we should try and obey the Golden Rule and do unto fellow humans As we would like them to do unto us for 1 am sure we could help to unite All human beings and make Canada one of the Homes for people who just happen to be the life blood of this and every other country. A. Paguandas Winnipeg sikh martyrs Canada has Many ethnic groups and East indians Are one such group. More than 80 per cent of this group Are the sikhs who can be easily identified by their coloured sikh religion is about 500 years old. Sikhs Are basically very peace Loving people so Long As they Are left alone. They do believe in non violence and Are Law abiding Citi Zens. Sikhs Are ordained to fight evil wherever it exists. Our gurus showed us the path to salvation by themselves providing examples of supreme sacrifices. Our fifth guru guru Arjan Dev was tortured to death by the Mogul rulers. Hot Sand was poured on his naked body. He was made to sit on a hot Iron plate. He was literally boiled in water but our gurus did not Stop their fight against oppression and injustice. Guru Teg Bahadur the ninth guru was beheaded by the Mogul rulers for no other reason except his fight against bigotry. These Are Only two examples out of hundreds that our Short history provides. When our forefathers sacrificed their lives for the Sake of truth and dignity when it was realised that the non violent approach had no effect on the violent oppressors then our gurus ordered their followers to Bear arms to fight the Mogul Rule in India. It was in the 17th Century. They sacrificed everything to protect the Honor and dignity of the common Man. Guru go Hind Singh our tenth guru who established the order of Khalsa or Singh in april 1699, had his whole family sacrificed for the Noble cause his father guru Teg Bahadur was beheaded in Delhi his two teenage sons died fighting in the Battlefield and the two youngest not even teenagers were bricked alive in a Wall but did not submit to the aggressors. That is How the sikh religion came into being and we Are keeping that tradition alive to this Day. This can be verified from the supreme sacrifice of mewa Singh in Canada in the Early part of this Cen Tury. I wonder what makes some bigots think we would not do the same to protect our dignity. Partap Singh Phangureh Winnipeg what did we talk about before the rna ;