Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 15, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free september 1981 f focus by Terence Moore Hie Federal government intends to take charge of economic and social development efforts in Northern Mani Toba in a much More visible and ener Getic manner than but it re Mains unclear where the Manitoba provincial government fits into the fed eral All Manitoba finance minister Brian Ransom knows for sure is that the new Federal policy has left him Short million in Federal contributions he had expected to help finance Northern development work this spokesmen for both governments say their main concern is to do useful things for people in Northern both profess eagerness to talk to the other about How they can but the responsible Federal and Provin Cial ministers Are in talking except for the Exchange of Public and there Are significant differences in their views of How Northern development should be done and who should do the two governments have been co operating in Northern development since when they concluded the first two year interim it was followed in 1976 by the five year North lands agreement by which they agreed to spend Mil lion Over five years on Job Job Small scale waterworks and fire Protection for Remote Northern the Federal government agreed to put up 60 per cent of the or the province 40 per cent or the last of that Money is now being together with a bit extra to continue some programs an extra and the last of the Tion projects that were undertaken Are being approach changed the original agreement provided for a review in the third of the five years when that year rolled the conservative Lyon govern ment had taken Over from the nip and it took advantage of the review to ease off on some aspects of the work and boost five Money losing logging and construction firms in Cran Berry Wabowden and elsewhere were dissolved or additional Money was put into reforms Park Mineral exploration and Road As Ransom explained in a recent interview we wanted to put More emphasis on things of lasting value instead of make work projects that would cease to provide lasting benefits As soon As the funds were Cut the new provincial government saw Mineral fish stocking and wildlife management As necessary Steps to the development of a self sustaining Northern North is new Battleground fight partly Over who gets the recognition Manitoba Brian Ransom faces a funding shortfall because Ottawa wants different North lands mainly in the form of subsidies to struggling was Cut Back by about million from what had been agreed in 1976 and that amount was put into the natural re source the total budget for the agreement was increased by Mil lion to pay for Road mainly for improvement of provincial Road the Highway to the Federal government agreed to the changes and work in May ten months from the scheduled expiry of the five year Federal and provincial ministers including regional economic expansion minister Pierre de Bane and provincial finance minister Don Craik met in Winnipeg and agreed that their officials should Start work on negotiating a new the provincial ministers Drew from the meet ing the impression that the Federal government was pleased with the work that had been done under the old agree ment and intended to continue financing similar work under similar rules at a similar that is with Federal contributions of around million a discussions among officials proceeded through the summer and fall of 1980 leading to the outlines of a new agree by ransoms those discussions confirmed the provincial expectation that the new agreement would be very like the old there was still some difference in emphasis the Federal Side was still keen on human development helping Start and sustain local firms that would employ Northern natives while the province was More keen on developing fish finding Likely spots for Mineral building roads and laying in water but there was no sign of a major obstacle to concluding an by february of this the agree ment had not been concluded but it was time for who had by then succeeded Craik As finance minis to present his spending estimates for the new fiscal he concluded from the May conversation with de Bane and the subsequent discussions with officials that about million in Federal funds would be representing 60 per cent of shared costs to which the province would add an other million for Northern develop ment work of the Type that had been done under the North lands agreement in the preceding he wrote his spending plans accordingly and promised the North More More More fish stocking and so but As the weeks went the draft agreement was not signed and Manitoba began to get signals from Federal officials that some serious problem had Ransom began to get won in he sent the first of a Stream of inquiries to de Bane what Money the Federal government was prepared to provide and what it intended to do about concluding a new North lands de Bane replied in late april that some aspects of the proposed new agreement were not in late he told a questioner in the House of commons far from concluding a new he would simply extend the old one by a it emerged later that this was to permit completion of work started late in the five years and a More drastic rethink ing and revision of the terms of the the Federal govern ment would provide an extra Mil lion during 198182 to cover its share of jointly funded activities which could not be abruptly turned such As teacher training for indians in Northern communities by Brandon that left Ransom with two prob it left him about million Short in Revenue he had expected from the Federal government to support Northern programs he had promised in his Esti and it left him in doubt about what the Federal government intended to do in Northern Manitoba from 1982 Onward and where the province could fit into the Federal thinly spread to Deal with the Gap in his Ransom asked the provincial depart ments administering Northern pro Grams to suggest what should be Cut and what should be the he intends to spend every Nickel of the million that it would have spent jointly with but that Money will have to be spread More thinly Over the million Worth of North lands programs promised in his tree planting will proceed As with Manitoba co vering 100 per cent of the installation of water Supply pumps and treatment plants for Remote communities will be severely for Lon term we need to have he water systems lend themselves to stretching out Over three years instead of for exam other choices Between what to drop and what to pursue will be made piece for the longer Federal govern ment thinking about the shape of the Northern development Effort from next year on has begun to emerge in letters and statements from de they among other that Manitoba finance ministers will have a whole lot less Federal Money to spend on Northern development from now first of three mule powered missiles will checkmate soviets they laughed when i established the Institute of lower in those Days Only two types of technology seemed conceivable High technology and higher you Are swimming against the tide of tech everybody i sided my and everybody laughed at under the pressure of technology heightening time was no longer sided by the Clever it was measured Down the last on Hundredth of a second on a digital Quartz wrist Public sneers did not trouble studies conducted with a handful of faithful lower technologists proved conclusively that the higher technology the More intolerable it costs became frequency of breakdown increased alarmingly because of the machinery com maintenance and repair prob lems became almost it was Clear that higher technology would soon become one of the gravest menaces confronting the nation and in Short the country would demand people schooled in the intricate work of lowering in those Early our work was skimpy and our triumphs our most notable Success was in lowering the technology of the plastic Mustard our client complained that this new technological which was in tended to squirt out a narrow ribbon of Mustard when the plastic was had a serious if left for a Day or two in the refrigerator after it was Mustard hardened in the squirt Hole and made it if not to get fresh Mustard out on to a hot dog without first squirting the old dried Mustard clog into the Here was an Ideal problem on which Russell Baker to apply the science of lowered techno after months of we Deve loped a Lowe technology Mustard this consisted of a wide mouthed Jar for the Mustard and a Kitchen by manipulating the we found that unclogged Mustard could be easily re moved from the Jar and spread on the hot this Success for lower technology was noted at the where the skyrocketing costs of Ever heightening technology were threatening the nation with without consulting our de Fence Secretary Weinberger tried to apply our principles to Cut the Cost of the my Here was a typical High technology bankroll the missile itself is so Complex and costly that its budget May exceed the entire budget for the Union army during the civil in it would require an even More stupendous outlay for filling the southwestern deserts with its launch grasping weakly at the idea of lowering the suggested that instead of putting the thing in desert silos the air Force might carry it around in he had grasped the principle All after is the justification for a rocket it is faster than an carrying a rocket at air plane velocity meets the demands of lowered the Weinberger scheme called for carrying the missiles in costly higher technology planes that do not yet thereby throwing away All the benefits of the my own technologists have been working on a More sensible solution involving their tests Are being conducted with a 20muleteam draw ing an my missile Over both uncharted desert land and paved the findings will Delight the Penta the presidents budget cutters and the american they show that a 20muleteam can haul an my missile on an open Wagon at at average Speed of Miles per while the missile is not quite As it would be if mounted in a desert neither is it moving at sufficient Speed to interfere with an accurate the fact that it is nonetheless moving Miles per Day if we run our 20muleteam on an eight hour work Day will make it difficult for enemy missiles to locate and destroy it imagine 20muleteams hauling missiles constantly from one end of the country to the enemy chances of hitting them All simultaneously would be mightly would they not the chiefly for Purchase and maintenance of will be far less than the Cost of one new plane such As Weinberger the plane will be vulnerable to heat seeking missiles homing on its High temperature mule temperature is comparatively so Low that our teams will be Invulnerable to such at least until the soviets can develop a mule seeking during the years this must the United states will enjoy a powerful advantage in Low technology that ought to make Moscow mind its new York times witty Premier plays Little joke on journalists what about a provincial election in 1982 ridiculous incredible impossible does not the Law re quire that an election must be called every five years and was not the last election held october 1977 Surprise while it would be ridiculous for any government to wait until the very last legally it has that right and concern about a Date has increased in recent with election fever rampant As the summer season draws to an it was evident that a Large number of politicians were eager to hit the in most of the Rural tory members have been meet ing the Public at rodeos and while the More serious minded new democrats toured the province with their various task glean ing information and practising party Public relations along the despite the desire of the majority to officially Start the the pre who has the final authority to set the has displayed considerable possibly he is waiting for positive results in his party latest improvement in the a ruling by the supreme court on the Constitution and the official beginning of at least one of the much touted expectations grew when a news conference with Sterling Lyon under the dome Arlene Billinkoff was called the morning after the Long the election guesses were certain that the who normally meets the press on had something special to Why else would he abandon tradition it was two Days after the fourth anniversary of the Day the writs were issued in and while a govern ment has the right to stay in office for five it has been demonstrated that fou year terms Are More accept obviously convinced something important was about to the press came out of the there were National free Public relations people and a mass of in addition to the regular it was standing room hovering in the hallway were including people from the electoral anxious to learn whether they would have to shift into High and opposition hopeful that the Day of reckoning had it was not to in Stead of telling the people what they wanted to Lyon offered an announcement about the formation of a Manitoba Industrial benefits composed of five Deputy ministers of departments most directly involved with economic basically it was a Public relations which would be accompanied by a advertising informing Manitoban of the wonderful benefits they might according to the first the pro Vinces Mineral exploration was at an Al time High and the government wanted to make absolutely certain that Manitoban get the first and Best Chance at the for those filling in the accompanying there would be booklets on the pro Vinces growth and opportunities in the skilled some people May have been pleased with the but those eager to Start campaigning were Digap instead of announcing the the Premier merely repeated his Assurance that the election would be called within the Legal time would the writs be issued later this fall was there going to be another legislative session would they have to wait until Spring that was like fore if that sounded what would it mean to wait until december 1982 while it is highly unlikely a government would delay issuing the writs until the last possible several have come one govern ment which was elected August scheduled the next election june while the group in Power july waited until june and the succeeding government did not seek Public approval until june in More recent the Liberal headed by was elected on june 1953 and stretched out its time in office until june it was totally within the according to the legislative Assem Bly every legislative Assembly shall continue for five years from the tenth Day after a Day upon which polling takes place for the general election of that already Means five years and 10 but there is even More time while most Manitoba election campaigns last for 35 painful that is Only the minimum time Permis sible under the elections if one is really a Glutton for the Campaign can be extended to the Maxi mum of 50 that May tire out the opposition but it May be More Likely that prospective voters would become so they would stay Home in droves when the important Day finally if the Premier waited to the bitter with the writs issued october 1982 and a 50day votes would be cast december that feat would be immortalized in the footnotes of Manitoba history but would probably do Little for the governing of the since Lyon is also aware of that negative effect maybe he will have a press conference in the near future to make the announcement which so Many Manitoban doonesbury i discussing p strategy Fly Ive Ftp ably fou to i i i a i ;