Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 5, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba 6 Winnipeg free press. Tuesday May 5, 1981 Winnipeg free press Freedom of Trade Equality of civil rights Liberty of religion published and printed six Days a week at 300 Cariton Street. Winnipeg r3c 3ci by Canadian newspapers company limited Telephone 943-9331 second class mail registration number 0286 Donald Nicol publisher John Dafoe editorial Page Edito Murray Burt managing editor the neglect of Churchill editorials the communique on transportation and Grain handling issued during last week s Western premiers conference at Thompson contains what has become the obligatory one paragraph plea for greater use of the Prairies Only Salt water port at Churchill. The premiers called for maximum use of the port of Churchill for the 1981 shipping season and beyond. This could be achieved the premiers said by having the Federal government impose a minimum quota on Grain exports ensuring that at least three per cent passed through the Manitoba port. In addition the premiers want a lasting interchange agreement that would allow Grain from Canad an Pacific delivery Points to be shipped to Churchill an extended shipping season and an examination of Winter loading of the terminal to in the premiers words Maxi Mize the communique was not nearly Strong enough nor specific enough to accomplish what should be Western Canada s primary objective for Churchill to Stop a studied neglect of the port on the part of the Federal government aimed at eventually closing it. This neglect has been assisted by the self serving statements issued by the Manitoba Pool elevators whose spokesmen lose no Opportunity to Point out the Adverse economics of Churchill but usually forget to mention their own vested interests in Thunder Bay. Churchill serves a Small Grain growing area in Manitoba located near the Pas and a larger part of Saskatchewan. The port should not remain in operation to serve Only the prestige and not the economic needs of the Prairies. But to be Able to judge whether the port can operate in the Black it will be necessary to ensure that it is Able to serve As More than a Grain Export Point. There is no technical reason to have the shipping season at Churchill As Short As it is. If Canada s East coast ports and the St. Lawrence Seaway were left to nature they too would be closed for several months each year. But modern icebreakers keep some of them open year round and the remainder open for All but a few Short weeks. It has been years since the prize Given to the Captain of the first ship into Montreal has been collected any later than january 1. At the moment nothing is imported through Churchill automobiles built in Japan Are carried across the country by railway. Those destined for Prairie cities carry a heavy freight charge a charge that is waived once the same railway cars get to Toronto so that purchasers there can enjoy the same Price As is charged customers in Vancouver where the cars Are unloaded. Why cannot european cars that Are to be sold in Western Canada be brought in through Churchill new loading equipment would be required but the equipment would not be As specialized As the present Grain handling machinery. The Day May come when Churchill will be needed to import material to be used in the proposed aluminium smelter in Manitoba. It could be used to Export Potash lumber soft Coal and manufactured goods. Western Canada is on the verge of rapid Industrial expansion. As is mentioned in the premiers communique projections for bulk commodity exports within Western Canada indicate a 66 per cent increase in railway freight by the year 1990. Nowhere else in the world is there talk about phasing out a Salt water port. Churchill could become an economically justified port if the traffic that is now directed away from it were allowed to use it. Reason on Handi transit Winnipeg City Council is now Able to repent at Leisure its Hasty decision not to raise Handi transit fares at the same time it was raising All the other bus fares. The decision was made on compassionate grounds but compassion outran reason. The Manitoba league for the physically Handi capped is now asking the Council to reconsider. The House of commons special committee on the disabled and the handicapped when it toured the country last year heard time and again from handicapped people that they do not wish to be objects of pity. They Are acutely conscious More so than the people around them of the things they could do if Only society would make a few Small adjustments so that they could Lead Normal lives. The Winnipeg transit system made an intelligent adjust a Fleet of Sui Tab y " Ted buses Jand suitably trained operators so that people in wheelchairs Are Able to move about the City at will without waiting for some kind soul with a car to come and fetch them. The Hani transit service is Well used and highly praised by those who Sty s a specs lived part of system not a civic the adult bus fare is set in relation to the costs of operating the transit system. Fares for children and retired people Are set lower because they have much lower incomes and cannot afford the full fare. There is no getting around the fact that Handi transit is a distinct part of the transit system with higher per passenger operating costs. With its customers paying a lesser share of those costs Handi transit will come in for special attention whenever the transit system is under pressure to Cut costs either on the basis of pity for which the handicapped Are not asking or else As a High Cost item calling for cutbacks. Wheelchair passengers will be exposed to the claim that paying the regular fare they should make do with the regular service ill suited though it is to their needs. They will forfeit the right enjoyed by other fare pay ing passengers to complain about the service and to ask for improvements. They Are converted into beggars when Thev Are asking to be choosers. Equal treatment for Handi transit users Means setting the fare in the same Way the other fares Are set like the adult fare to operating costs but tempered like the children s and senior citizens fares by consideration of How much the customers can reasonably afford. When they Are paying their Way in the same Way As everybody else they can demand service the same Way As everybody else the Council should indeed reconsider. It should not thrust dependency on those who Are asking to pay their Way the uncomfortable by . Wilson special to the free press feeding a White elephant the air transport association of Canada has reacted to transport minister Jean Luc Pepin s options for the future use of Mirabel Airport with unusual restraint especially in Light of the association s opposition to any requirement for increased use of Montreal s second Airport. Its True feelings in the matter however can be found in certain key words in its statement. Or. Pepin has suggested that one option would be to move All Montreal air traffic other than Short haul Domestic flights to Mirabel. The Atac suggests that to do this would impose serious financial burdens on airlines and higher costs and greater inconvenience on travellers while requiring unwarranted major expenditures of Public Money. In Case the message did not get through in those words the Atac said the compulsory use of Mirabel might persuade . Airlines serving Montreal to withdraw from the Market if they were faced with the costs and i practicalities of using Mirabel the Atac Points out is 34 Miles further from Montreal than is the Airport at Dorval besides persuading overseas passengers to Fly to Toronto the Atac says there would be an obvious tendency for Montreal passengers destined beyond Toronto to choose a Short haul trip to Toronto rather than begin their trip in the Foothills of the airlines the Atac says have Long ago Learned that customers do not submit to being assigned by authorities either airline or government to personally expensive and time wasting ground Access to it would be better the Atac suggests to retain the present split of traffic Between the two airports. The Choice of language suggests that the Atac knows full Well that All the disadvantages it has listed were known before Mirabel was built but that it was built anyway Ottawa Gerald Bouey does his work in the Mirror Glass spleen Dor of the Bank of Canada building and if the burdens of his Job seem too great he can leave his office and stroll along the walk ways of an airy and towering atrium for distraction. If he cares to lunch in the building with the senior officials of the Bank he can count on food far better than most in Ottawa being sent to the executive dining room from the Bank s Kitchen Cleft stick but All of that is deceptive. He is actually a Man who lives Between the prongs of a Cleft stick and they press hard and uncomfortably against his sides and those of his senior colleagues. He is the Man on whom the government has dumped the entire problem of inflation leaving him to Cope while it goes its own frequently inflationary Way. Given time or. Bouey s chosen method of gradualism in the control of the Money Supply May bring inflation under control but in the words of a former Deputy finance minister it does raise the question How gradual is very gradual indeed since or. Bouey is left unsupported in his efforts. It is easy to criticize him As the new democrats and others do when the Bank raises its nominal lending rate and thereby increases the actual rates of the chartered Banks now at stratospheric Levels. The usual criticism is that this too is inflationary and there is truth in that. Nuclear peril the More High costs from borrowed funds Are built into the Economy the More deeply ingrained inflation will be and the harder to eradicate. That is one half of the Cleft stick that always presses against the sides of the Gover nor of the Bank of Canada. The other is that if he does not increase interest rates More or less in time with their ascent in Washington the value of the Canadian Dollar will be adversely affected. Each time the Dol Lar declines inflation is shoved up another notch because the whole Range of products and services the country imports costs More. It is Hobson s Choice with a vengeance. The reasoning of the governor and those who support his policies is that As the Money Supply is kept under careful control always reined in some what below the rate of Price increases sooner or later inflation must subside because there simply will not be enough Money to meet the constant rises. Crudely put that is the theory of monetarism. In principle it ought to work although later rather than sooner Over a decade perhaps rather than a year or two. Fiscal policy needed the Bank of Canada has held for Many years now and under More than one governor that monetary policy alone is not an adequate tool to use in attempts to influence the Economy. The View has been that it must be rein forced by appropriate fiscal policies applied by the finance minister. During the Brief period while he was finance minister John Crosbie attempted to provide this support but by doing so he provided the Opportunity for the Clark government s defeat and the liberals recapture of Power. No support since Price and wage controls were phased out there has been no budget except or. Crosbie s that attempted to support the Bank s efforts to curb inflation. Under Donald Jean Chretien and Allan Maceachen the finance ministry has moved in the oppo site direction engaging in the massive deficit financing that has helped negate the Bank s policy. Shortly before Price and wage controls were introduced the income tax was indexed As a measure of social Justice to prevent people from being steadily shoved into higher and higher tax brackets without increases in their real incomes. That stopped the Auto Matic growth of Federal revenues which inflation would otherwise have produced. It was one half of a new fiscal regime. The other was that As govern ment costs Rose and new programs were adopted higher tax rates or new taxes would have to be applied to maintain a healthy balance. That was not done. Instead both or. Macdonald and or. Chretien Cut taxes and thereby built into the system the huge Federal deficit that helps Spur inflation. They applied exactly the wrong Medicine to the Economy because they and their colleagues preferred the soft option. They effectively ensured that or. Bouey s gradualism would be even More gradual than it needed to be. Your heading nuclear myth Over metro Dmytriw s letter about Paul sul Livan s comments on the three mile Island Accident is quite appropriate. On the Day of the Accident we were told by officials that everything was All right. In the Days immediately Fol lowing people with Access to the Media witnessed continuing denials by nuclear officialdom at the same time As evidence accumulated for All to see that this was indeed serious. Now the reactor they told us would reopen within a few weeks is a continuing disaster. What will Humankind do with it what will we do with All the other reactors that have been shut Down or have finished out their 30 years and what about the evidence it is almost humorous to see the effects of the Industry government response to three mile Island Public relations. Here we have people who profess to speak for science in advocating the nuclear path but when challenged on scientific evidence slip away with something like of but i m not a Paul Sullivan does not profess to be a scientist nor to speak for science. He does have a special Quality in his writing and i feel it s his sense for people and his Eye for the heart of a situation. Most people Reading this will have shared the image that a reactor once operating would produce electricity almost forever. What an to learn that every reactor has a Maxi mum life of 30 to 35 years and then is a mass of radioactivity to be decommissioned As waste. How Many people know this will the White Shell nuclear research establishment and atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. Inform us of such facts or must we seek information from sources which will Deal with the whole Story what about All those wastes and weapons the world is glutted yet More uranium is being mined and shipper1 and processed and turned into weapons and wastes and nuclear fuel while reactors have unexpected Acci dents All Over the world. The truth is that there Are reputable scientists on both sides of the technical issues. Regarding health hazards of Low level radiation there is accumulating evidence that after the 30-year time lag results Are coming in which show a much More dangerous situation than was predicted. The off hand Man Ner with which decl and or. Dmytriw ignore such evidence in favor of the pro nuclear position they Are paid to advocate is not at All humorous it is disturbing. Bill Curry Winnipeg the Winnipeg free press welcomes letters from readers. Writers must give their name and address. The authors name will be used and letters Are subject to editing. On track i am surprised and disappointed that the free press has not seen fit to search out and print any of the facts of the controversy Between the Council of Winnipeg Beach and the majority of its taxpayers. It is Correct that the Golf course property is privately owned and always has been. Unfortunately the majority of the taxpayers were not aware that it was not the property of Winnipeg Beach. There were a number of ways that this valuable asset could have been retained. Three mile Island cleaning the Airlock the property could have been bought by the town. Dit could have been sold to the golfers on a share basis. The provincial government could have bought it As an addition to the provincial Park. The Cost and Upkeep would have been minimal for such a facility in a provincial Park As they have a supervisor of facilities and would probably Only need at most two seasonal maintenance people and a seasonal cashier contrary to reports from the various news Media the taxpayers were never opposed to development per so but were opposed to the deletion of a facility that provided so much pleasure for youngsters and adults alike. I am sure they would have welcomed the develop ment in any of the open areas such As the new property development being offered by one of the town councillors. The present controversy is the enlarging of the Lagoon. It is a fact that the Lagoon has to be enlarged on orders of the government. However the pres ent two cells Are overloaded by the business premises of the town and the washrooms and changing rooms of the provincial Park and by a very few summer cottages and permanent Resi Dences. The majority of the summer resident taxpayers Are going to be taxed to pay for a six cell Lagoon triple the present size. Most cottages will not Benefit from sewer and water for Many years As the Cost of the Lagoon at some does not include the laying of sewer and water to the various residential areas. It does not take a mathematician to understand that the borrowing process of the town and the debt Load it can accumulate Are limited when the government Grants Are based on the census of the 12-month residents approximately 550. At present Winnipeg Beach taxes Are the highest of any resort area in the province. Is it any wonder that cottage owners of Long standing resent the con Job being perpetrated in spite of All of the assurances that the new develop ment will be serviced last it will be the first one serviced because of the Loca Tion. The developers at the Board hear Ings stated that they would put their Money up front for an Extension to the Lagoon Over and above the proposed Lagoon Extension which would mean an eight cell Extension rather than a six cell and that they would contribute to the present Extension As a Concession. It is not too late for the provincial government to preserve the tourist at traction at the Winnipeg Beach resort and to review the tax system whereby cottage owners pay school taxes for two residences and do not receive tax rebates on their summer residences resulting in a saving for the govern ment. The majority of the taxpayers of Winnipeg Beach Are concerned with maintaining the family atmosphere of the area and receiving the consideration clue to the majority. P. Byiers cottage owner Winnipeg at a time when Alf sectors of society Are being challenged to reassess Priori ties la Russ Doern certainly Speaks to a relevant Issue when he challenges the Justice of a situation wherein the car is permitted to own vast tracts of valuable land which Are taxed at a preferential rate. Or. Doern s Contention that taxpayers dollars should no longer be used to subsidize the car is certainly on the right track. J. Omelan Winnipeg autocratic i am not a conservative but i think that at least one person should thank Joe Clark for his spirited attempt to Stop the Trudeau constitutional Jugger naut. The unilateral passing of a new Constitution to which the provinces do not agree but which is binding on them places All Power in the hands of the Federal government. That a party calling itself Liberal should Institute this autocratic action shows that its Basic principles have changed and to be honest it should be renamed the autocratic party. B. Grant Victoria . Ethnic rights canadians other than French speak ing ones would do Well and would be within their rights As Bilinguals if they also demanded to have their ethnic origin and language recognized in the official languages act and in the courts of Canada. The recognition of Only French and English within a unilingual Canada makes All other language minorities victims of cultural discrimination and second class citizens. If we Are to have a fair charter of rights in our Constitution Equality of languages is Neces sary regardless of who May have been the first Canadian. The French people in Quebec and in other provinces who clamor almost obsessively for language Eminence in a free democracy such As we Are sup posed to be the rest of society in their quest for supreme domination Over other ethnic minorities. If the quebecois continue to pressure All other areas of Canada to expand the French fact 1 Don t believe we will Ever have a unified country even with a charter of rights in a new Constitution. Only referendums it seems can prod uce Justice peace and Security for canadians. The will of the people can be judged not by opinion polls and politicians partisan claims but Sensi ble National referendums. Canadians need another political vehicle other than various unreliable opinion polls. The Best consensus can be reached by conducting National referendum campaigns. N. Lewadnyj Winnipeg easy pickings Alcan is deciding if Manitoba near Winnipeg a feasible site for a smelter. They know we Are desperate and hungry and so the pickings will be easy. They Tell us they Are considering other Sites As far away As Australia this is just a cheap shot to whet our appetites and the going will be easy. My Hope and wish is that the nip be the government of Manitoba before the negotiations Are completed. Eph Portegal Winnipeg How would you feel it we Star fold making better and cheaper ;