Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 6, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba 6 Winnipeg free october 1981 Winnipeg free press Freedom of Trade Equality of civil rights Liberty of religion published and printed six Days a week at 300 Carlton Winnipeg r3c 3c1 by Canadian newspapers company limited Telephone 9439331 guidelines for ministers the awkward position in which agriculture minister Jim Downey finds himself today is a shining example of Why the government Long have established guidelines which made it Crystal Clear that ministers could not profit by their official the Public rightfully demands from its politicians that they do not place themselves in any position where they might Benefit personally from the political decisions they Are required to from developments that they Are Able to influence or from knowledge they May have gained in their official there is no reason to so restrict the ongoing private business of a politician that he cannot resume his private business when he leaves such would dissuade Many capable men from seeking Public because the Price of exercising Public response bit would be too damaging to their own private there a need for reasonable guidelines to ensure Public disclosure of the financial interests of those in Public life and to ensure that these interests do not conflict with their Public Downey is an Active so is the former nip Sam Yuskiw and the present agricultural critic for the Bill in Downers his business has expanded since he became his cattle and horse operation at Melita has acquired More land near where the management of the company has seen fit to invest in a watering new and the conversion of grazing land to crops since Downey purchased it in the fact that this land turns out to be situated near the site which Alcan has selected for its prospective aluminium smelter raises two the first is whether Downey was in a position to know in Advance that his farm was located near the proposed smelter and that he stood to gain from the expected increase in property there is no evidence that he the second is whether Downey should have an his interest in the area As soon As there was any indication that it might be on Al cans shopping Downey says negotiating for his Interlake property in physically occupied the farm april 1980 and completed the transaction the following at that the Public was told that Alcan was attempting to decide whether a smelting Plant somewhere in Manitoba was Alcan officially began looking for a site in 14 months after Downey closed his Downey says he was surprised by the Alcan decision but made no Public announcement of his interest in the area because everyone in the cattle business in Manitoba knew of his Manitoba has no provincial conflict of interest Downey says the Premier was aware of his land but it is unclear when he Felt compelled to Tell the Premier what he did not feel compelled to Tell the and whether the Premier was As unconcerned As his minis the incident demonstrates the need for guidelines which will assure the Public that ministers of the Crown Are not using their positions for personal had guidelines which among other disclosure of a ministers financial been in Downey would not have found himself appearing to have concealed something he believed was not necessary to neither would he have found it necessary to Call a full blown press conference to explain his incoherence on defence conspicuously absent from president Ronald reagans major decisions on strategic defence outlays for the balance of this decade Are the logic and coherence that he has Long suggested were missing from similar decisions made by former president Jimmy in one these Are not decisions at they Are an almost desperate attempt to buy time by going for interim solutions that will reduce the political pressures on him while or possibly another president who succeeds makes the real in terms of the global balance of these interim decisions seem to be they Send a confusing signal to the soviets about strategic they will leave military allies scratching their Heads about the meaning of it they introduce a note of uncertainty about the fundamental beliefs of the which provides a dangerous unknown about How he might handle the enor Mous War machine at his disposal in a future As far As his much vaunted fiscal responsibility is con he is ignoring it by spending an extra billion on strategic compared to the billion that was planned by Jimmy this Transfer of extra resources to weapons systems that no citizen can drink or Wear will create inflation by putting new spending Power into the Economy with no corresponding increase in production of goods that can be consumed at Home or sold that Means tight High interest an Over Strong Dollar and the Export of inflation to precisely the unwelcome gift that is being Given at the the most glaring inconsistency in his announcement is the plan to put the 10warhead missile experimental my in silos currently occupied by minuteman and 53 Titan ii these Are the same silos that Reagan and defence Secretary Caspar Weinberger have Long described As being to Complete elimination by a soviet icbms first if both men have been telling the then they Are guilty of criminal irresponsibility by putting vastly More expensive icbms in the allegedly Vulner Able holes in the in the suggestion that the soviets have achieved technical accuracy of the level that would let them wipe out the land based icbms Force is not accepted by Many experts on missile even if it were Why would the soviets try when the United states would be left with More deliverable warheads than the All of them safely lodged in airborne b52s and Dee Ocean submarines the Likely explanation for putting the my in old silos is that it saves Money by avoiding digging or or any other number of holes in the Utah and Nevada it stops the mormon Church and influential congressmen and Environ mentalists shouting their opposition at it avoids the thing he has least wanted to do copy any idea of Jimmy it puts off for two or three years the hard decision on what to do with the my it gets off his desk a Maze of almost incomprehensible options that have been a Strain on his raising the by bomber from the dead is a Complete waste of Little has changed since the late 1950s to disprove John Diefenbaker thesis that the Day of manned bomber has the soviets allot very Little Money to strategic but they do not have to contend with the formidable lobbying Power of the United states air Force in the appropriations each by Cost million when Jimmy Carter cancelled the program in now they will Cost at least million each and will be unable to get through soviet air defences to their spending extra Money on seeking the perfect anti ballistic missile system to protect icbms silos is like chasing the 1972 abm treaty was signed by both sides mainly because they realized that no system Ever would give 100percent Protection against incoming if that goal cannot be there is no Point in pouring out the huge sums required for abm research and develop the Only Good buy in reagans package is the improvement in equipment for control and com computer foul ups that Tell Norad a nonexistent nuclear attack is in Progress and messages that cannot reach ice carrying submarines Are among the More frightening nightmares of this nuclear Money to reduce such errors is no complaints defensive driving instructors teach their students that when making a left turn at a traffic they should pull Well into the intersection on the Green signal so that at least two cars can make the turn during the Light Winnipeg police cars Seldom do and other Seldom honk at them or shout the policemen who do not pull into the intersections know about the advice Given they have Learned from experience that they May not be free to make the left turn they plan they May be called to answer a Holdup or they May spot or that causes them to change their if they Are Well into the As the provincial defensive driving course they May be too commit Ted to left turn to turn or to go straight while the police practice May be annoying to motorists particularly during Rush hours when the first car at the intersection effectively prevents anyone else from making the even those who do not understand the reason Are usually reluctant to the Winnipeg free press welcomes letters from writers must give their name and the authors name will be used and letters Are subject to Bravo to dancers the review by Lynn Robson of the september 23 contemporary dancers performance was extremely Digap it was one of their most interesting programs to Date carefully worked and Well put with a Good variety of modern dance Robson did not do Justice to Robson spoke Well of which has been shown previously and is Al ways Well she justly describes flying colours As a visual but then goes on to say that the coloured scarves used Swir prettily and compensate for the incredibly plastic that the choreography is simplistic is a matter of she did not seem to appreciate the Joy of life expressed in this and the manner in which the scarves reflected the movement of the contemporary scarves swirl of Paula Ravitts inside which she found to be a successful Robson says it was comical with some of balance and bizarre she failed to commend Joost Pelt for his High Energy perform the of balance bizarre poses were acquired by the shifting of weight and centres of Gravity of the dancers in unison with each the reversal of roles in this dance was most fun to with the women support ing the mens and occasionally even lifting in morning tide Larry Isar offs lighting design was Rachael Brownes Haiku captured the essence of the japanese and Rob son failed to mention this or Taras Kowols effective costume and set de Marathon set out to depict the spirit of and the reviewers own definition As the striving and the pain contrasted with choreographer Stephanie ballads description of ones endless quest for the film footage offered a touch of As Well As a comment on the striving and the pain of Marathon Irene co Uplands costumes were imaginative and it was refreshing to see such a Well Well executed Choice of Reper Bravo 1 to All of the dancers for a truly Fine artistic Sherry Burns Winnipeg birthday Gisli Mani Bora october misconceptions it was our privilege August 28 to Host a press conference with Premier Ster Ling Lyon and several Cabinet minis at that one of your reporters interviewed me in regard to funds being designated for Tabor Home by the different aspects of Tabor such As waiting placement and applications for bed extensions were what is exasperating about such interviews is the headlines and misconceptions Given to the Public the next Day by newspaper the staff and who have been most grateful for government support and were appalled at the impression of ingratitude the head lines Leona Thiessen administrator Tabor senior citizens Homes supervise children with regard to the tragic drowning of two of Winnipeg children while Tak ing the risk of sounding offensive to i have nowhere read of the parents responsibility to their Chil to watch Over them and keep them from dangerous such As unsupervised swimming i am quite sure the parents involved loved their but it seems if anything tragic like this happens there is a lot of fingerprinting at the institutions or corporations or emergency services involved in such certainly it is a Good idea to discuss and improve but we have to realize our children Are our own re Jack Christian Winnipeg Donald Nicol publisher John Dafoe editorial Page editor Murray Burt managing editor Rudy Redekop controller Are we conversant with our governments dedication to the abolition of the single family dwelling Rene Levesque cashes in by Wilson special to the free press Ottawa the Federal government will need All the prudence the prime minister promised from Korea if it is to avoid the danger of greatly strengthen ing the position of Premier Rene Levesque in the supreme courts constitutional decisions have already strengthened his hand very significantly Burnot in any Way that is dangerous unless the Federal government makes it at this his situation has not been improved any More than that of the other seven provinces which oppose the Cen trial governments agreement needed if the Federal government were to push ahead without provincial As both the prime minister and the minister of Justice have said it Levesques position will be changed dramatically for the from his Point of for the worse from the the proposed charter of rights in Trudes into provincial jurisdiction in the areas that Quebec guards most jealously education and if the Federal Side plunges ahead without the Quebec Premier will be Able to say this to his province you you cannot Trust those Federal people even to obey the constr they Are asking the British parliament to legislate in the language and education to pass legislation on the school question in that is unconstitutional the supreme court of Canada says Levesque could argue convincingly that not Constitution prevents Federal intrusion in Quebec most cherished Fields of jurisdiction and from that it would be a very Short step to insist that the Only True Protection is Quebec the provincial Premier Jost the last round on that question he would be very Likely to win the next it is not in question by anyone that the Federal parliament has no Power of its own to legislate on education and language questions in if it attempted to do the courts would immediately strike Down the Legisla it is Only by using the Back the London that Ottawa could proceed without running into solid Legal the whole Constitution any government seeking legitimacy for its actions must respect the entire Constitution and operate within the framework it it is not enough to pick those parts that Are convenient for the moment and respect Only treating other elements of the Constitution with it is Only by respecting the Constitution in its entirety that Trudeau can now avoid greatly strengthening the Quebec the colonial aspect of the course that has been proposed would also strengthen the British my Jonathan Aitken has remarked publicly in this country that nothing could be More absurd than a Canadian request to the British parliament to legislate on the Quebec school which is one of the aspects of the charter of it would not Only be absurd it would genuinely be a reversion to colonial albeit a temporary and expedient conventions the constitutional conventions within which our political system operates Are much More than traditions or although they Are not Laws enforceable in the they Are rules and very powerful the entire concept of the constitutional under which real Power is exercised by the govern not the rests on constitutional not so does the Cabinet system of government and the right of the parliamentary majority to form the rules that important cannot lightly be brushed aside by any political Levesque has announced that he will not take part in another Federal provincial conference unless tru Deau drops his threat of unilateral that is not unreasonable be cause at this Point the threat becomes blackmail and that is not a proper background for a not Only a decent respect for the Constitution As a whole but also simple common sense demand a fresh Start the absence of Legal barriers in one element of the Constitution cannot justify contempt for other it is by respecting the entire Constitution that Trudeau can move ahead and by ignoring important aspects of it that he would strengthen Quebec separate muddle takes charge by Joseph Kraft special to the free press remember the natural Force that dominated the russian front during the second world War a different natural Force emerged last week As the supreme Warrior in the Reagan adminis the most important strategic decision yet made found muddle in the administration came to office United behind a Campaign pledge to build a number of different weapons systems and a general commitment to increase defence but Secre tary of defence Caspar Weinberger has never enunciated a general strategy that links defence with comprehensive foreign policy he and his aides have been in constant conflict with the state department under Secre tary Alexander at the White the National Security Council led by Richard lacks the status and the capacity to coordinate effectively Between state and the Edwin the presidents chief political has the Power but not the and the president himself seems to equate defence with cheers for the White and so defence choices have be come the pure playthings of political and bureaucratic All these forces came to the surface in the decision regarding the my mis the my is a Juige weapon of High supposed to ride out a rus Sian attack and then destroy even the most heavily protected soviet it is part of a Cluster of weapons including the by the stealth bomber and a new submarine mis As a Candi said were required to close the window of strategic vulnerability sup Posedly opened by the russians through their recent there has been general agreement inside the administration on the by and the and on the submarine but there has been deep discord on the Basing of the my the Basing is critical because the my can Only close the window of vulnerability by virtue of its ability to survive a soviet the Carter administration wanted a deceptive Basing Mode that Ifould shuttle 200 my missiles among silos to be built in Nevada and that project acquired powerful Back ing among air Force headed up by David chairman of the joint chiefs of and the chief of air but re publican political figures close to Reagan including his Good Friend Paul Laxalt of Nevada objected on the ground of Cost some billion and potential damage to their backing away from deceptive Basing of the my has been a Weinberger project Ever since he came to the he first thought about putting the my out to sea in that idea was shot Down by the state department with the argument that if the refused to base nuclear missiles on the europeans would certainly not go along with modernization of nuclear forces on the next Weinberger became enthusiastic about putting the my aloft in a the air Force killed that idea on the ground it was technically Imas late As last parts of the White House and parts of the Pentagon were saying the decision was for a deceptive Mode of Basing in which 100 my missiles would be shuttled among a thousand different mainly in the holes were to be protected by an anti ballistic missile while the air Force affected to be Happy with the thousand the state department expressed worry that the decision might jeopardize the 1972 abm treaty with in the final decision the Secretary of defence and the president simply threw in the they have decided to place 100 my missiles in a Hundred silos originally built for other Large As sex the by bomber and the stealth bomber and the new submarine missile will be research will go Forward on protecting the a system through a ballistic missile there will also be research on putting the my but apart Froin what everybody there is nothing to close the so called window of Vul Era to the decision seems i do not and i did not believe in even the Remote possibility of a soviet but in the process of reaching a decision that makes the world the Reagan administration has con fused everybody and opened what will undoubtedly be a destructive de the air Force and its tribunes Are bound to unleash a storm of withering weighty figures in the Carter who were driven by Republican attacks to rely on the have no Way to support the administration and everybody has to wonder whether the who Only last thursday was talking about the window of knows what he is president reagans decision c los Angeles times Syndicate ;