Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 20, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba 6 Winnipeg free press saturday june Winnipeg free press Freedom of Trade Equality of civil rights Liberty of religion published and printed six Days a week Al 300 Cartton Street. Winnipeg r3c 3c1 by Canadian newspapers company limited Telephone 943-9331 Donald Nicol publisher John Dafoe editorial Page editor Murray Burt managing editor editorials judging the Meg projects the Day has Long since passed when promises of massive or even not so massive resource developments Are greeted with uncritical Joy. People know by experience that development projects often bring with them a Cost to the environment to social structures sometimes to the taxpayers. They know that multinational corporations Are not above playing off one jurisdiction against the other in the search for concessions. They know that governments in the search for politically attractive investment can give away too much to entice investment. They know that in the past the search for development at any Cost has led to scandal and waste. That is Why the three Large projects now being pursued by the provincial government the Western Power Grid the Alcan smelter and the International minerals and chemical corporation Potash development near the Saskatchewan Border deserve some careful scrutiny to ensure that they really do provide the people of Manitoba with the benefits they Promise. Two of those projects the Alcan smelter and the Potash development have received some of that scrutiny Over the past week. The results do not discredit the projects. They do indicate the need for continued Public awareness to ensure that the benefits to Manitoban outweigh the costs. In the Case of the Alcan smelter two chief concerns arise the insistence of the company that it own the Means of production of the vast amounts of Power needed by the smelter and the project s environmental Impact. The Power Deal upsets the Long standing policy of Public control of Power production in Manitoba. It is also essential if the project is to go ahead. Alcan is convinced that the one essential for the economic production of aluminium is an assured Supply of Power at a predictable Price. The Deal does not amount to a Giveaway. Alcan will provide the investment in its share of the Power Plant. It will pay for water rights. The Deal is similar to those in effect in Quebec and British Columbia. Both of those provinces regard Public control of Power production with every bit As much concern As Manitoba does. Both those provinces have been ruled by governments which cover a wide Range of the political spectrum. None of them has Ever sought to cancel the Deal. On the evidence a similar Deal would be a Good one for Manitoba. Experience in Quebec and British Columbia also shows that aluminium smelters can create pollution problems. It also demonstrates that the newer the facility the More effective pollution control can be. The Job for Manitoba is to ensure that pollution controls at the proposed new Alcan Plant meet the highest contemporary standards. The chief concern Over the Potash development is the tax regime which will govern Potash production in this province. It is Clear that Manitoba s return will be significantly below that of Saskatchewan. That is understandable. This province cannot match the vast reserves of High Grade Potash that Saskatchewan has to offer. The question is whether the Manitoba tax Deal has to be quite As Sweet As it is. The hurried and incomplete version provided by Energy and mines minister Don Craik does As much to raise fears As to Calm them. The shrill and somewhat incoherent analysis provided by the nip critic Vic Schroeder is no More enlightening. The right level of taxation is the one that will bring the highest benefits to the people of Manitoba without rendering the project uneconomic. Finding that level will always be a matter of judgment but it should not be forgotten that under previous tax regimes no development at All took place. If there is no development the tax return is Zero. The need now is for a responsible watchdog to ensure that the proposed new projects provide Manitoban with maximum possible benefits at minimum possible costs. The Best Way of ensuring that the people of Manitoba have full Access to information on the projects would be to refer both of them and the deals which surround them to a committee of the legislature for continuing scrutiny. That s never listened to us before the embargo fantasy the worker s stake in his Job the million in compensation the Federal government has decided to pay Farmers for pain and suffering experienced because of the Grain embargo against the soviet Union is a fantasy figure representing Little More than what the Federal politicians think they can get away with in terms of those who will receive the Money and those who will have to pay it. Since the Canadian embargo against the soviet Union was in effect for less than seven weeks at the end of a single crop year when no significant stocks of Grain were available for delivery and when most sales for the year had already been made even the strongest supporters of the compensation admit that there were no lost sales As such for which compensation had to be paid. The Federal order in Council that imposed the embargo for one crop year was not renewed when that crop year ended seven weeks after the embargo was imposed. If the embargo resulted in losses to Canadian banners then these losses resulted from the Brief depression in world Grain prices that followed the imposition of the embargo by the United states and Canada. Estimates of these losses Range from Zero to million depending on who is doing the estimating. There Are also some in the agricultural Community who Are willing to suggest that rather than suffering a net loss because of the embargo Canadian Farmers actually benefited. These people suggest that without the embargo and the animosity toward the United states the instigator of that embargo Canada would have had a much More difficult time negotiating its most recent major Grain Sale to the soviet Union. All of which Means that from an economic Point of View the payment of compensation because of the embargo was and continues to be a matter of debate. There is no debate however about the political necessity of such a payment. Politicians imposed the embargo and promised compensation if there were losses As a result. To suggest that the losses did not occur is politically unacceptable. There should be no mistake however that the million is a fantasy figure readily supportable on political grounds but not on the grounds of economics. Over protecting the air the Canadian radio television and telecommunications commission will have to exercise care in dealing with applications put before it during its meeting in Winnipeg that it does not protect Canadian broadcasters from each other so Well that the airwaves will be filled Only by non Canadian signals. When the commission granted Winnipeg s third television station Cynd its licence in 1974 one of the terms encouraged the station to extend its signal to other areas of Manitoba particularly to Brandon. Cynd applied for a rebroadcasting station to serve southwestern Manitoba in 1978, but the application was turned Down after the Brandon station complained that its audience would be fragmented. When Brandon was serviced by Cable Cynd s signal was left off the service presumably in the expectation that a Manitoba station should make itself available eventually without the Cable charge. Cynd has filed a new application for a rebroadcasting station to be located at Minnedosa with a signal Strong enough to be received throughout the southwestern part of the province. The Brandon station Cox to has objected even though Cynd has promised not to sell advertising in the Brandon area. The Brandon station filed an application for a new station at Portage la Prairie which would deliver a signal mostly made up of Csc programs into Winnipeg and has promised not to sell advertising in this City. When it turned out that the station s plans to affiliate with the Csc had fallen through Brandon was ordered to refile its application if it so wished As an Independent. The crts May think it is caught in a dilemma and cannot approve one application without approving the other. How Ever if it takes that course it May be putting itself into a much More complicated situation. One of the executives associated with Cynd Izzy Asper was asked what had changed since the crts first denied his station the right to expand its coverage. He replied that since 1978, satellite signals were flooding Canada and would soon be available on an individual basis from direct broadcast satellites. Or. Asper suggested that one Way of fighting the flood of foreign signals was to flood the Market with Canadian signals. What would be ridiculous in the Light of modern technology would be for the crts to attempt to carve out zones of exclusivity. By Eric Dowd special to the free press Toronto does an employee who has worked in a Job for some years have an investment in it should he be entitled to some compensation if his Job vanishes Ontario has become the first province to answer yes with some qualifications to these questions which Are being asked More frequently As unemployment stays High and particularly As companies reorganize their operations. Promise fulfilled the progressive conservative government of Premier William Davis fulfilling a Promise of sorts made when it had a minority before the March election has brought in legislation that will require employers to pay sever Ance pay to employees who lose their jobs when plants Are closed or partially closed. The legislation will apply Only in closures not for instance where employers merely reduce their work forces because of slow demand for their products or other business reasons. It grew out of a furore Over a rash of Plant closings last year which prompted the minority government to set up a select committee to look specifically at Plant closures. It recommended Legisla Tion. Companies also will have to provide Severance pay Only where 50 or More employees lose their jobs. The new democratic party would have liked legislation to cover smaller groups and even individuals but both the conservatives and liberals were unwilling to apply it to Small businesses. They also argue Severance pay is More valid when Large numbers Are thrown out of work because the Job Market becomes crowded and alternative work becomes harder to find. Firms also will be required to pay Only employees with five or More years service labor minister Robert Elgie s explanation is that an employee Sli Ould have to provide some evidence of Long term commitment to his Job to be entitled to Severance pay and five years indicates a commitment. The Severance pay required from employers will be one week s pay for each year of service paid in addition of course to notice or pay in lieu of notice which under Ontario Law rises As High As 16 weeks where 500 or More employees Are Laid a week s pay for each year s service is the most common formula in the Union contracts guaranteeing Severance pay which cover at most one sixth of Ontario s workers. It is also what the province pays its own employees. The legislation also will place a Ceil ing of 26 weeks on the Severance pay an employer will have to pay Union contracts recognizing the older employee has a still greater invest ment do not place limits. A Sieve when All the qualifications Are taken into account the legislation is some thing of a Sieve people will Benefit than might seem at first Blush. In last year s epidemic of layoffs which has not been repeated on the same scale in 1981, employees were reported As Laid off either permanently or indefinitely to the degree they were off More than 13 weeks and there was no indication they would get their jobs Back. Of these Only about one third lost their jobs in com plete or partial closures. The other two thirds were Laid off because their employers were reducing staffs. Many will not regain their jobs but would not have been eligible for the mandatory Severance pay because it will be Avail Able Only in closures. Of the who lost their jobs in closures were in groups of 50 or More. About of these using rough averages would already have been guaranteed Severance pay through their Union contracts. So this leaves about those ineligible because they had not worked for their employer for five years would have benefited from the new Legisla Tion. Suspicions the legislation clearly does not solve All the problems of All workers who lose their jobs. But it is More generous than some critics had expected the govern ment s pre election Promise had been Only broadly to making Severance pay mandatory in closures. There were suspicions it would bring in Only two Days pay for each year of service although the select committee had urged a week for a the Ontario Law will be More Gener Ous in some aspects than the Federal Law which has existed since 1971, covers Only the comparatively few workers in federally regulated Indus tries such As banking and inter Provin Cial communications and requires employers to provide Only two Days pay for each year of service up to a Maxi mum of 40 Days pay. On the other hand Ottawa s Law requires Severance pay for any size Layoff not Only groups of 50 or More and not just in clo sures Ontario also has brought i Manda tory Severance pay at a time when Only one jurisdiction in the United states Maine has such legislation and despite gloomy warnings by some business groups that it would impose an intolerable financial Burden and deflect Poten tial investors elsewhere no Prospect could be More calculated to give the Ontario Cabinet the conservative government which likes to think it knows business has clearly concluded that the limits it has imposed business can afford to pay. Development threatens an unspoiled Park Omand s Park one of few remaining natural Beauty spots Omand s Creek is one of the few remaining rivulets in Winnipeg. It comes to life in the Northwest outskirts of the City and in its final run skirts along Empress Street proceeds under Portage Avenue and empties into the Assiniboine River through an Enchant ing Ravine along Raglan Road. North of Portage Avenue the Creek has been mutilated and straightened in the name of development. The most outrageous episode was the City s Deci Sion in 1979 to permit a Developer to literally cover the Creek for 780 feet along Empress Street. The Creek was to be rerouted under the development. Joy to behold Omand s Park is the Only remaining part of the Creek that is a Joy to behold. It Raglan Road a residential Street of Only one Block with great character and elms More than 100 years old. The Park is a natural Retreat the Clear water now bubbling through the Ravine and gushing into the Assini Boine River. The Creek is a few feet wide and flows along a Concrete apron on the final path to the Assiniboine. Here Are stepping stones in the shallow water to reach the other Side. The Ravine has Maple Ash Elm and Willow Trees a variety of shrubs sedges and grasses. In Omand s Park Are yellow lady s slippers yellow Toad flax and a Bush called false indigo All rare in the City. The Park is largely unspoiled a Sanctuary for Birds squirrels kids and adults and the occasion Al Beaver by the River. And that is the Way most of the residents want it kept but the City has plans to establish some facilities there which residents Val Werier say will be the opening wedge to de stroy the character of the Park. The City has already approved a service building with washrooms a Bridge and other measures at an estimated Cost of washroom facilities May be Desir Able but a group of nature lovers including Maxine Lutz Hellen Dallas and Ken Campbell Are alarmed that the building will be placed in the area near the River and will destroy the unstructured image of the Park. They also want a smaller Bridge than contemplated. I am with these people. There is a tendency at times on the part of the Parks and recreation department to develop natural areas. Banks of other creeks have been improved by removing the natural growth and giving them a manicured look. Natural footpaths have been Gravelled. Some times facilities Are provided when there is no expressed need and this is the feeling of Many residents concern ing Omand s Park. The Park consists of 12 acres slightly More than half away from the Ravine consisting of two baseball diamonds in an amphitheatre setting created dec Ades ago when it was excavated and filled with water by Swailes and co. As an ice source in Winter. The remainder of the Park is the Only one left in Central Winnipeg that is close to its natural state. The Parks and recreation department is always eager to provide programmed recreational activities but that has not been the desire of thou Sands who have used the Park Over the years Many from other sections of the City. They have made their own fun. Generations of kids have cycled there in summer have Toboggan a along the natural slides in Winters. Walkers jog Gers and Bird watchers love the Park. Now there is some talk of additional Toboggan slides which Ken Campbell a teacher terms an unwarranted intrusion on the natural teeters like to do their own says or. Campbell who recalls using the Park As a child. Natural environment says Maxine Lutz we have Many areas for structured activities. Omand s Park must be left so children can experience nature can play and explore a natural environment not one that has been created for them. Why do we always have to do things for Chil Dren Wiy not let them experience what nature has i agree with is. Lutz. The Park does not have to be a Creek Bridge can be useful for cyclists joggers and walkers to and from the railway foot Bridge crossing the Assiniboine River and connecting the Wolseley and Wellington Crescent bicycle paths. But it should be a modest foot Bridge say the residents. Plans for the Park were proposed by the Parks and recreation department and dealt with in the budgets of 1979 and 1980. They Only came to the Atten Tion of residents two months ago. The idea was to make the Park More accessible to says councillor Frank Johnson who has been caught in the Middle of the controversy and has made a special Effort to meet with the people and get their views aside from two Public meetings held on the Issue. If the feeling is overwhelmingly against says councillor Johnson i will ask that it be deleted from the that would highly please the opponents who suggest a Compromise would be to locate the service building close to Portage Avenue away from the natural area. The matter will be aired again at the Community meeting at City Hall on tuesday. The women of the neighbourhood de serve great credit for their fight against development on the Creek Over the years preventing the construction of High Rise buildings and other encroachments. They Are angry and mystified As Are Many citizens How the City could have sold 3.2 acres of the Park along the Creek to a private Developer in a surreptitious Deal for in the 1960s. They Are also alarmed that the City s site drawings for Omand s Park con template two playgrounds and play structures in the future. That is not what the residents want. In a petition signed by hundreds they say we wish the Park to remain a natural space a wild area and a Pas Sive Green space for individual unstructured ;