Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 6, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free july 1981 t focus task Force sets alarm Bells ringing Ottawa Canada is definitely a land of Golden in terms of Energy potential Canada is one of the wealthiest coun tries in the the massive Energy related projects to be developed Over the remainder of the 20th Century Promise economic activity that could restore canadians to one of the highest standards of living in the the potential is clearly illustrated in the report of a task Force on major Canadian projects and major Canadian which has been in the making for two the presented two weeks ago to Trade and Commerce min ister Herb was prepared by an extraordinary group 80 of Canadas leading labor leaders and Public the report could almost have been waved As a Flag on july it and it wont in the task Force report will probably never be Given the consideration that the stature of its authors suggests should be its the problem is that a majority of task Force members appear to have Peter Thomson Ottawa editor become consumed by their own self instead of following the Origi Nal intent of pinpointing the major projects and reflecting on the Man pow infrastructure and manufacturing possibilities associated with the task Force has tried to use the report to promote Canadian protect government intervention it for that procurement premiums totalling up to a maximum of three per cent of total project costs be provided to support Canadia based it also recommends creation of a major projects assessment Agency along with Many constructive information producing would have the Power to recommend changes in programs and priorities to maximize Industrial and regional the carefully chosen words of the task Force report do not sound Omi a report on major projects Tor Canada presented to Herb Gray contained disturbing Ommen Dallons that brought dissenting opinions from Busi Ness leaders Hay Armstrong Centre and and yet they do set off cer Tain alarm several prominent members of the task Force Felt strongly enough about the recommendations that they expressed dissenting chairman and chief executive officer of the Royal Bank of Canada stated that he did not agree with recommendations which relegate relations to receive More attention by Jeff Endrst special to the free new York Canada is about to be rediscovered As integral part of the Western the event is sponsored by the Centre for inter american relations in new York the Canadian consulate general in new York and a Cluster of Canadian Banks and corporations will act As the american it is will play the role of adoptive the chief aim of the Redis Cove Canada project is to inform and educate More americans about their neighbors to the the Centre is a nongovernmental organization whose honorary chairman is David it has functioned since 1967 in a patrician Park Avenue which housed the soviet Mission to the United nations before it was bought by Marquesa de a Rockefeller Cousin who donated it to the the original idea had grown out of a Ford foundation study which con firmed the founders impression that there was a need for a Central place for knowledge about the eco cultures and societies of the Western the goal of the Centre was to acquire such knowledge and disseminate the Only problem was that Canada got lost in the hemispheric the Centre admits that americans had succumbed to their longstanding tendency to take Canada for this benign neglect is to become a thing of the the Centre has launched a new Canadian affairs pro Gram intended to increase significantly its involvement in Canadian events and Lansing former time Bureau chief in has been assigned to head the new the Donner foundation of Toronto is behind the initial funding of the corporate sponsors of it include Canadian Pacific celanese Northern telecoms Royal Bank of Cana Bank of ism Canada Imperial Oil Scotia Bank and Joseph Seagram and the centres new Canadian thrust expects to concentrate on three programming efforts j political and economic As they apply to Canada internally and to the relationship d cultural programs in the Field of Canadian visual and per coming arts and g hemispheric programs linking the cultures of Canada and latin America More closely to one the Lamont will inaugurate a series of speakers events featuring noted As Well As seminars and conferences focussing on Canad United states Cul Tural events from Canadian Art exhibitions and concerts to film showings and literary readings by promo Zinent Canadian authors Are the Centre intends to assemble a constituency of american leaders with special interests in they in clude corporate members of the Community in new York City and across the United at the same the organizers plan to use the Centre to promote greater inter est in Canada among its own growing there have been presentations at the Centre from canadians or about Canada in the past but not in representative funding constraints and Lack of Canadian expertise on the centres staff have been blamed for that Situa last two staff members went to Canada to present the centres ideas to government cultural museums and film they found a favourable climate for the intended Experiment with greater Ca Nadian input in the centres inter american the one prevail ing message from canadians to the Centre was emphasize to americans How very different we Are from said Lamont we Are fully aware of it and our program will be designed to do something about americans tend to take their closest neighbor for granted Canadia based foreign owned firms to a secondary the stated objective of the task Force report is the maximization of employment the upgrading of labor and management skills in the optimization of Canadian economic it is my wrote that these goals can Best be realized in an environment characterized by open Competition and the free flow of Finan Cial capital and economic Long run benefits to Canada will in the on economic efficiency achieved by a Market based allocation of chairman and chief executive officer of Imperial agreed that canadians should have every Opportunity to participate in Canadas growth the question of fairness and corporate must be Given due Armstrong it would be a mistake to As sume that Canadia owned firms will by definition produce Industrial and regional benefits in excess of those provided by Canadia based Armstrong also questioned the ability of the proposed Agency to outguess the competitive Market to the extent required to reach conclusions that could affect project with regard to the procurement pre Armstrong said that As pro posed by business it would be Volun but that it should be recognized that one set of investors project Spon sors should not be expected to subsidize another set of investors suppliers unless Long term benefits to both Par ties Are executive Vic Epresi Dent of expressed concern that the proposed major projects assessment Given the Complex nature of its Structure and mandate and its clearly interventionist charac would be Fargey also noted that Canada is one of the worlds great trading nations and stressed that International Trade is a two Way in order to one must be prepared to in our View implementation of the recommendations of the task Force could not be done with it would be consid ered by Canadas trading partners As a concerted Effort on the part of Canad an labor and governments to restrict their Access to the Canadian in this the benefits for Canada anticipated in the report could prove president and chief executive officer of Dow chemical of Cana said he had reservations about the three percent legislation permitting establishment of project agreements and a concern that the assessment Agency become a further government intervention in Canadas chairman and chief executive officer of Algoma steel listed four Basic objections to the he could not accept the potentially interventionist nature of the proposed implementation mechanism regarded the three per cent Premium As unacceptable and unnecessary objected to references and inferences through out the report which would indicate support for a planned and questioned that Canadia based or non Canadian companies should be Sacri it is Clear from these dissenting views that the task Force strayed far into the realm of economic and Politi Cal philosophy subjects which should have been left for debate As a the task Force report has lost a great Deal of its potential both As a focal Point for canadians to recognize the great Ness of their and As an information vehicle which would apprise labor and business of the requirements of the for which they could be where does it go from Here the main recommendation is for by legislation of the Federal government and All of a major projects assessment Agency to be financed by Federal and Provin Cial and perhaps a Levy on participants in Canadas major such an Agency could serve an immensely useful purpose if it confined itself to an information service among labor and business and the As any kind of regulatory its usefulness would become extremely and it might indeed become counterproductive As the major projects task Force Al most air Canada cries Wolf Over any Competition the Standard defence offered by Apo joists for air whenever any thing is suggested that might create More Competition for the Peoples air is to cry to the heavens that Canadas aviation Industry is about to be this message came quickly and predictably from Pierre the executive vice president of the hot on the heels of the suggestion by the economic Council of Canada that the deregulation of Canadian airlines would most Likely result in better ser vice and lower Jeannot uses three pages of an air Anada press release to Trot out the old and threadbare threat to the country aviation he suggests that the deregulation if in could severely damage the Industry and the results would Only prove detrimental to the consumer if the argument is a bit of i hollow Niji to it is because we have j u u often it was used a Liberal Federal government decided to give up air a toehold on Canadian Domestic and was with when a conservative Federal government decided to remove the restrictions which permit Ted up air to carry Only a Small percentage of the total Canadian Domestic passenger the first to allow up air to Fred Cleverley compete at provided canadians with a taste of what another airline could do for them in terms of food and the general attitude of its flight canadians responded by booking the up air flights to Capaci Wuh Many businessmen instructing their secretaries to Book them on air Canada Only if no competing seats were the economic Council of Canada in its general study of the Cost of government regulation has suggested that if Canada were to follow the in deregulating air canadians would be Oik red a wider Range of Pucco flight and better Quality of services than they have the Council found no evidence that would be destructive in the sense that it would eliminate efficient ways of meeting the Public need for air Pierre Jeannot complains that the Council has not defined who it Means by the term he asks some he mentions first the people who live in communities who make the but vital for Jeanni ots the simplest of surveys among these people would have provided no Comfort for air which has been abandoning communities with an enthusiasm unmatched since it finished moving its Headquarters from Winni Peg to he mentions those Consumers who live in populous centres and wish to visit popular have struggled with air Canadas pre occupation with Ottawa and where hourly service is provided at the expense of Western Desti whose More years than see their fares used to wipe out the deficits incurred by air Canada in the he talks about these Are the same businessmen who Tell their secretaries to move heaven and Earth to get them on up air if Jeannot says that if airlines were deregulated the Industry would become making it uncompetitive against foreign in Western where air Canada has successfully persuaded the government to exclude most european except on a charter this statement is purely Onui speggers can not even get their Airport designated As a Gateway and thus have to pay for a trip to London As if they flew via even when they Fly the direct Polar he says the Canadian Industry is already and suggests that route awards Are open in Canada and have been freely made in recent perhaps he has forgotten How air can Ada muscled the regional Carrier that wanted the Winnipeg to Chicago route out into the then left the route a serviced for while holding the monopoly on n he has the nerve to talk about Price wars in these wars do rage in the where unregulated air lines have passenger pickup rights far in excess of those they have in the but they Are conspicuously absent in Western we should All remember that when an air Canada any air can Ada talks against Deregla he is really talking against any move that will increase the Competition the National airline has to face any where in its it is healthier for air if not for the Hardt Oiden tiny Consumers of air Canadas prod to keep As much Protection As it was Only because of the compel i Tion provided by up which provided its Empress service to Winnipeg at he same time it was made available elsewhere in the that travel lers from this City were Given an Opportunity to Sample air Canadas connoisseur before air Canada decided connoisseur service was far too Good for the people Here in the it is just surprising that air Canada did not drag out its crying Towel and complain when Competition forced it to offer Winnipeg passengers a free the aviation Industry of Canada was threatened with destruction As a doonesbury i wish you goofy have now Rue i think offs goths Tok a Ricks come a ion6 of just ifs Gyss i 1 a ;