Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 25, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba M Ken free press school Board trip opposed Boniface school boards decision to spend to Send 34 bureaucrats and trustees out of town to Ponder what kind of superintendent to hire does not sit Well with the boards resident advisory the school Board has decided to hold the meeting at Gull Harbor resort on Hecla Island next week so that participants will be free from other distractions to find a replacement for George Derenchuk whose two year contract was not renewed when it expired july but the divisions residents advisory committee has opposed the move As extravagant and voted unanimously wednesday not to Send a represent committee member Joey Stephenson said the the residents group saw no reason Why the meeting should be held on Hecla Island when it could be held at division Stephenson said some Boniface division classrooms have As Many As 37 students and the would be better spent on teaching she said the committee would have preferred More than one representative at the but not out of when it takes More of the taxpayers distractions cited Board chairman Jim Garwood said trustees decided to hold the meeting outside Winnipeg to free participants from other he added that the divisions teachers Centre had already booked space at Gull Harbor for a Garwood said five As Well As school principals and will attend the he said they will leave Winnipeg by bus at 4 monday and return by 6 tues the Board chairman argued that is much cheaper than the the Board spent on a consulting firm before hiring he also said he thought Stephenson was contradicting herself by refusing to Send a representative while calling for greater Parent representation in Board the Board expects to hire a new superintendent by Early Garwood in an Stephenson also blamed the St Board for the failure of a Grade 9 French immersion program at Louis Riel the Board decided in june to establish the program to accommodate 19 students from Guyot school who finished Grade 8 last All but three of the Guyot students registered at other schools in twelve went to Boniface three registered in Louis Riel 5050 French English program and one went to Johns r i l i to r i r i t i to Stephenson said if the Board had Debbie Benanski above and Jill both on the Rookie lady Strain to decided earlier than june to establish reach a teammate during 10th annual great Rock climb at University of Winnipeg the immersion More than despite a spirited the ladies failed to place in the race won Rock n Roll three students would have freeze on tax assessments Portage Avenue property owners fighting for right to take tax appeals to Board of revision Winnipeg free 1981 3 straining for new Heights by Chris Smith Portage Avenue property owners cant Appeal their tax assessments be cause the City mistakenly claims there Frozen by provincial Law yer Ross Nugent argued in court yes but a lawyer for the City said the province froze assessments until the end of next preventing the cites Board of revision from hearing tax yesterdays hearing before jus Tice James Wilson of court of Queens Bench was the latest round in a tax dispute which started three years ago and resulted in provincial Legisla Tion to validate out Date tax assess ments in Winnipeg and throughout the the province acted after two property owners asked the courts in to declare void All tax assess ments in downtown Winnipeg because they had not been reassessed in the previous three years As required by the City of Winnipeg the province headed off the Challenge by validating existing assessments and set up a tax assessment review committee headed by former Premier Walter move challenged the owners of 47 properties on both sides of Portage appealed to the Board of revision in March to have their land tax assessments reduced by two saying they Are higher than in other downtown the Board of revision was prepared to hear the a but the City decided to go to court to Challenge the boards authority to do this while the alleged freeze is in of Marvin a lawyer for the said yesterday the whole assess ment process in Manitoba is at Issue and the Weir committee needs time to review the system and report on whether changes Are Samphire argued that Bill which became Law in gave the committee that time by freezing tax assessments at the 1980 level until the end of next it says property in the City can Only be assessed during 1981 and 1982 at the same Levels of value As in he Samphire and who is acting for Portage Avenue property locked horns Over the meaning of Levels of value in the 1980 Samphire said the City considers it to mean assessments re Gards the Law As putting All tax assess ments on hold for the two year Bui Nugent said the downtown prop erty owners consider the phrase to mean the Levels of value used to deter mine the tax assessment not the assessment he argued that the Law simply requires that the relative amounts Are equitable that one prop erty Worth less than another is not assessed at the same Nugent said a fair and just relation is needed Between properties and argued that the 1980 tax act allows appeals on that Nugent added that the legislation does not use the term but refers to Levels of if it said we be Samphire dismissed the claim As a tortured interpretation of the stat he said arguments about relative value of assessments and the Board of revisions no matter How were not relevant to the decision reserved Samphire said the Issue before the court is whether the assessment is Frozen or if it the March Appeal to the Board of revision by the Portage Avenue property owners cannot be he if the whole assess ment process will be open for Appeal judge Wilson reserved decision on the cites health threat in City feared from Alcan hazardous smoke emissions could engulf Winnipeg if Alcan builds an aluminium smelter 40 Kilometres North West of the Harold Macdon Ald said Macdonald warned civic executive policy committee that smoke carried by prevailing winds could pose a health threat if the smelter is built on Al cans preferred a 50squarekilometre tract in the Rural municipality of Macdonald said the City should obtain a potential pollution assessment from its Board of commissioners so the possible dangers of smelter emissions could be if we intentionally wanted to inundate the City with we have picked a better location from which to do Macdonald referring to the site Between Ston Ewall and control measures the committee decided not to take any action on the smelter plan at this Jim Ragsdill said he under stood that any regardless of its location in would come under the most stringent environmental control measures and would employ filter devices to scrub steam and smoke emissions to keep the damage potential to a John Angus and chief commissioner Nick Diakiw both reminded committee members that the Provin Cial clean environment commission will hold hearings and set standards for the smelter Long before it is its at that Point we will get a Chance to make our input and air our environmental Diakiw progressive party Leader Sidney Green said yesterday the Manitoba government must make it Clear it wont accept any air pollution from the proposed aluminium prevailing winds Green echoed Macdonald argument that the Stonewall area site selected by Alcan wednesday would put the if in the path of prevailing winds headed for winds which blow most often from the Northwest would make the City a prime target for any he Green said residents of the Northwest end of the City already have been the victims of Lead pollution and the stench of old Kildonan sludge la however hypothetical the Winni Eggers deserve assurances now that the Little Plant that int there will not deteriorate what is now one of the Best air Quality cities in North Ameri he Green said he didst know if a smelter would Emit noxious or toxic fumes into the but he said the government be trusted to protect Winni Eggers from the the government seems hot for the no matter he the province has already agreed to give up equity in a future generating station without even having consulted the Board of Manitoba and there has been no real assessment of the benefits or disadvantages of such a he they now appear to acquiesce in a site selection without giving any environmental the government should be just As firm in its standards As it has been in Board to discuss complaints on busing policy with parents Dave free a floss Winnipeg school Board has scheduled a special meeting for tuesday to Deal with complaints from parents who say the divisions new busing policy is a danger to their trustee Brian Dixon said he asked the division Vic chairman to con Vene the meeting after hearing con Cerns from about 60 parents at a gathering he said the most of them parents of children attending French Immer Sion classes at Sucre Coeur voiced genuine concerns about the busing policy which they want the parents complained about a change in the system which forces children Between kindergarten and Grade 2 in special education and immersion programs to walk to pickup Points before they Board a bus for in the buses picked the children up at their about children attend special and immersion programs in schools across the the boards change in busing policy was approved in May and put into practice at the Start of the school but Hugh chairman of the parents committee at Sacre said parents were not Given sufficient he said there should have been an Opportunity fur people to have some say in the new but instead they were not told until late in Busy thoroughfares Ferguson said Many of he parents Are concerned their Small children must Cross Busy thoroughfares by themselves before 8 when Many motorists would not expect to sue them on the while some of the parents attend ing yesterdays meeting demanded a return to Doort door others said they would be satisfied if a proper patrol system could be set up to provide their children with some ruled Ion when walking to and from the pickup who met with the parents along with trustee Margaret Trott and a number of division administrative said the parents submitted about 100 letters to the Board detailing situations arising from the busing which they consid ered he said they will be duplicated and sent to All Board members before tuesdays meet Dixon said he would move a motion tuesday rescinding the new policy and reverting to door door pick the trustee added that he would also recommend a committee be set up to include some of the concerned groups which would work out an acceptable program for another parents meeting to discuss the busing situation has been scheduled for Ralph Brown school Mon trustee Margaret Trott discusses busing policy with opposing any reduction in water Quality As a result of the Garrison Manitoba requires no environmental Impact assessments of proposed projects before construction is a Alcan has agreed to conduct its own studies and submit them to Public scrutiny in a series of company spokesmen have maintained there would be no stench or fluoride contamination from a Manitoba Plant As there was with outdated smelter court upholds labor act a University of Winnipeg French professor yesterday lost his fight to have a court declare invalid sections of the provincial labor relations act which require him to be represented by the University academic Jack Dixon had told court of Queens Bench Justice Peter Morse he did not want to be forced to become a member of the University of Winnipeg faculty association or to be represented by the association was certified in february As bargaining agent for 210 Aca Demic staff who has been with the univer sity since had said he was opposed to paying dues to a Union of which he is not a member and opposed to others determining for me matters affecting my life and in a written judge Morse rejected Dixons As Well As his Contention that sections of the labor relations act Are Ultra or beyond the Powers of the provincial govern ment to Dixon had claimed the sections Deal ing with Union membership and dues deprived him of his fundamental right of Freedom from coercion and the right to manage his own affairs free from the interference of judge Morse said there is no ques Tion the legislation is in relation to property and civil a subject reserved to the provinces by the Brit ish North America act and is therefore within their if the legislation in question de Prives professor Dixon of any right he believes to be it never within the jurisdiction of the province of Manitoba to do the judge Dixon had also argued provisions of the act which allow the Union to bar gain on his his oppose were like the Law of the with the majority ruling by judge who took 10 Days to prepare his saying it is the Law of a civilized democracy attempting to regulate labor relations for the Benefit of society As a Dixon said yesterday he does not know whether he will Appeal the Rul i have to consult a number of peo he i cant do this on my he added that having read the judges 18page he sees weak Nesses in his significance of archaeological find questioned Winnipeg executive policy commit tee wants to know just How extensive and significant the archaeological find in Bonnycastle Park really Bill Neville told committee yesterday the Handhen log discovered recently by University of Manitoba anthropologists beneath the foundations of upper fort could be the most significant archaeological find in Western Neville said the City should not Only find out just How extensive the find but should also determine what legislative competence we have Down Here when it comes to future environment commissioner David Henderson reminded councillors the dig is on Public land and both the Federal and provincial governments can designate it As an historic the committee expects to receive a report from the anthropologists at the site on the significance of the find within a i i ;