Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 7, 1984, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free april 1984 f the Winnipeg free press welcomes letters from writers must give their name and the authors name will be used and letters Are subject to move to the right is wrong direction John Mccallum seems to have but one message for cutbacks in government wage freezes for civil servants and increases in regressive so the present Manitoba government has ignored the policies promoted by Mccallum and other righting econ Manitoban Are much better off than people in provinces whose governments have introduced such in his latest piece on the Manitoba situation time w right to Cut deficit free March 28 Mccallum again Calls for this time his Call is inspired by a concern about the provincial government specific he says that the deficit is a continuing Drain on Manitoba re this argument is valid Only if the government uses the borrowed funds for activities that do not increase in comes and the output of goods and the borrowed funds Are used for activities that put unemployed people to work or keep people working who would otherwise be there is no Only but burdens do result when governments As Mccallum argues they to bal Ance budgets in times of recession or economic there is a serious Drain on the Mani Toba Economy at but it is not the it is a it does not bother Mccal Lum that we have people in Manitoba who have been forced into idleness by current economic Condi he says he is astonished by the fact that the Gross combined debt Load per capita in Manitoba is 1 would suggest he reflect for a while on the Cost to Manitoban of maintaining a army of the next budget must maintain the orientation of the two previous budgets and address the unemployment prob Lem in creative and tangible if it turns out that we need tax increases to put people Back to then let us have us have them on High incomes and where they if Vic Schroeder and his colleagues Are tempted to follow Mccal Tims advice and join the great moving right show in they should also prepare themselves for the great Dis appearing act sequel in Errol Black compensation act reforms needed the news item new compensation act planned is worthy of comment at the same the first workmen compensation based on the precedent established by the workmen compensation act of was chapter 125 of the Manitoba statutes of and was assented to on March 10 of that this act was last reviewed in 1958 by commissioner the Manitoba federation of labor has for some 15 years called for a full review and update of the act without other than in 1974 when the minister of labor got As far As request ing names for a task the upcoming review committee will have before it an act fundamentally but weak in concept to meet present Day working conditions and social the act during its 68 years has been revised Only in piece meal a Saskatchewan task Force in which i participated during dwelt on the matter of Universal sick Ness and Accident insurance As opposed to the various schemes now in effect such As aut Opac and is it sufficient that working persons be covered Only while at work and is it economically prudent to operate a number of schemes where one would suffice new zealand deemed other Wise and adapted to a Universal cover age probably the task Force will come Forth with Cost reduction recommend feasible areas for such include Universal safer and healthier work places and recruitment of doctors trained to specialize in Industrial medi in addition to Dollar the task Force will weigh the human costs that accrue when a fatality occurs or when a body is maimed by Accident or Industrial while its assign ment will not be it is Long Over Nels Thibault Winnipeg school concerns some unhappy with the pub Lic school system in have sent their children to private these parents Are convinced that Aca Demic excellence and a High Standard of work ethics Are essential for the future Success of any leaving aside the question of Quality of education in Public and private there still exists a Choice for those who Are this might not always be the according to a report by Glenn Nicholls enhancing equity in Mani Toba published by the depart ment of education in some private schools currently accept a Pupil Grant of and also a print and no print Grant of per Pupil from the Provin Cial these Grants Are conditional and i quote to be eligible for the current Manitoba private schools must hire qualified teachers and must provide the Manitoba program of a private schools Liaison officer in the department of education must attest to the private schools eligibility for if the statement is understood Cor it Means in Exchange for a provincial government Grant of plus a private school must hire teachers certified by Manitoba and accept and teach the program outlined by the provincial curricula developed for the Public school a private school by accepting the provincial Grant enters voluntarily into an agreement to replace a substantial part of its own program of studies with the provincial this might cause concern among some parents who pay fees to private schools sell above 000 per child per year for a program from which they had already opted private schools More often than not claim to pursue academic Excel Lence and to provide educational and other it will be up to the parents to determine if the claimed differences really exist and whether they Are Worth the fee it is in our own interest to Monitor rather closely what is happening in every school in the whether it is a Public or a private Mcgregor Winnipeg evolution based in science the collection of letters under the head evolution called not free March supporting the teaching of creationism in Public schools reveals something of mis Conception about what is addressed by the theory of for Terry Lewiss letter questions the origin and existence of matter in the the age of the and the origins of life on As Well As advancing the Contention that science is another form of Reli none of which has anything to do with the theory of evolution is concerned with the formation of new species of living things from those which existed and like All scientific is based on information provided by observations from the origins of the universe and the matter of which it is composed is an Active Field of investigation in modern to physicists believe that the universe was formed thirteen and a half billion years ago in a colossal explosion popularly termed the big the age of the Earth is currently set at four and a half billion years by contemporary biochemists have provided speculative models of the origins of life or Earth that Are further enhanced by recent disco veries in astronomy that amino the chemical building blocks of life on Are present in interstellar dust Clouds in palaeontologists have uncovered the first signs of life in rocks dated at four billion and constructed a Fossil record of life from then until now that demonstrates a progression of forms from simple bacteria in the oldest fossils through More Complex forms in younger strata to modern plants and animals As they now astronomy and palaeontology have provided this information and the age of the h is Only at this Point that the evolutionist enters the Given a Long succession of Fossil most of which Are How have we arrived at our present state the theory of evolution addresses these observations by stating that recent species evolved from older ones by the process of natural Selec Tion of new forms generated by Muta if creationists choose to Dis Pute they must still provide an alternate explanation to the Long Suc cession of life provided by the Fossil creationists must be prepared to accept that acts of creation took place in a succession that spans the age of the it is perfectly acceptable for a person of deep religious feeling to believe that god works through what we term natural such As the evolution of new this is the attitude of Many of the major it is the attitude of scientists who work in these Fields and who still maintain deep religious convict if evolutionary theory concerned it self Only with snails and there would be Little fuss about but evolutionists dare to include human beings and for celebrate evolution is a dynamic and exciting subject to follow and demonstrates the Way in which science advances through constant Selex lamination and the search for new information to support or disprove the reigning on the other cannot tolerate question ing and demands that its teachings be accepted purely on evolution is not and creationism is not the confusion displayed by the March 24 letters Over what evolution Ary theory actually says is a compell ing reason to keep creationist teach ing and All religious teaching out of Public As the Parent of two i would be infuriated if a religion based curriculum was introduced into our religious belief is a personal and should be left in the hands of parents and the Church to which they evolution creation debate but the two Are not necessarily the fuzzy thinking espoused by creationists should be Don Mcdonald ads associates environmental consultants Lake not scientific the Media attention received by the recent lectures on scientific creationism by Duane Gish and his associates requires some the advocates of creationism Al ways seem to raise the Refutable arguments in favor of their Posi evolution does As they violate the Law of disorder increases in closed but the Earth is not a closed system it has an external Energy the while evolution produced increasing Levels of order on the Energy source to sustain this has been the where disorder has increased As required by Thermo the geological record does not contradict evolution it strongly supports transitional series of Fos Sils Between earlier and later groups Are known from a variety of inverse As Well As among in which the Mamma like reptile to mammal the Rise of mod Ern and the Dinosaur to Bird transition Are particularly Well documented by there is no disagreement among biological scientists that evolution of there is just no other Way to construct a rational explanation of the observable the similarities and differences among living organisms and the existence of fossils which often closely resemble living than to conclude that organisms change Over some going others giving Rise to new there is considerable debate among scientists about the mechanisms and rates of evolutionary As there should be in the process of developing and refining a Model which has been very fruitful in explaining the Workings of the use of the term scientific creationism is a contradiction in science is founded on the As sumption that the processes of nature have always and the same in All parts of the the task of a scientist is to propose a testable explanation for the Phenomena he if the Laws of nature vary from place to place or time to All science is without and science As a whole has been too successful in explaining nature to conclude that it is base any form of creationism requires that the rules be suspended for one or a series of Points in time during which occurred by mechanisms which Are outside the Normal Laws of this not Only violates the Basic Assumption of Sci but it also is not a testable cannot be Scien and to Call it scientific is not intellectually 1 Stewart associate professor department of zoology University of Manitoba Winnipeg not absolute the letters under the heading co Lution called not fact five March 24 on the subject of creationism require a the writers appeared to be making two Points that the theory of evolution is based on unproved and unprovable which must be taken on Faith and that there is no scientific evolution is a not a theory As should not be taught in Public schools since other faiths Are not the reason evolution is not a whereas creationism is that the former does not pretend to be an absolute Phenomena have been observed and an explanation put Forth which suggests ways to test if it is True or no observation has Ever invalidated the Basic tenets of although mysteries re creationism on the other explains How can you test the statement that everything was created at once Many Fossil forms have been found see Richard Leakey books and examples of natural selection have occurred in our creationists offer no All they can do is Point out differences of opinion among perhaps the writers would care to comment on the fact that there Are at least 40 Christian sects in Winnipeg one accepts with respect the sin Cere beliefs of but there is no Choice but to demand of the Garden variety creationists that they submit their Faith to the same standards they demand of As they they Are at Liberty to run their own we should have evolutionary scientists preaching from the pulpit at the same time As clergy expound the Bible at John Lacey Winnipeg opium All our experiences Are gained through our senses smell and these Are registered in our we have an inborn this fear acts As a reflex for our we create heaven and god and in our own we Are Only Able to picture a god or a creator because we have been taught that such entities the person who has not been taught that is a creator does not form this picture so if at but both Are Only used to Comfort ourselves and overcome the fears and anxieties of living that Man has known since his appearance on Man has a fear for any unknown Stone age Man Wor shipped the Sun and the Moon because of this unknown compared to Stone age Man we have changed Only in our appearance and not in the Way we think or we still kill to eat and find Comfort in the notion of something greater than does teaching our children about a creator change the path it Only causes them to be biased in one Way of religions have been the cause of much much spilling of human blood through the years of mans by continuing to teach we continue to Foster conflict and the greater the number of religions and Deomina the More divided we it is time for us to teach our children to not Laxman Winnipeg a mockery i am disturbed by the recent creationist letters in the free their Content and style Are rhetorically but factually attempts to dismiss evolution As having no factual basis must comple Tely ignore the Fossil record and Many other lines of compelling it is easier to listen to the glib and often misleading assertions of professional creationists like Duane Gish and Richard Bliss rather than undertake a study of biology adopted the theory of evolution by natural selection because a critical evaluation of the mountains of information showed it to be this conclusion arose from rational thought and critical which Are the Cornerstones of scientific in creationists viewpoints Are underlain by articles of Faith invoking miracles which is Fine for religion but is anathema to the scientific the teaching of religion based ideas would make a mockery of the principle of secular Public schools and is As absurd As scientists de manding that biological evolution be preached from the Tim so puck Winnipeg Turner gets onside with language policy Liberal leadership candidate John Turner has a lot of but language is no longer one of after an ambiguous the former finance and Justice minister is clearly on All fours with current Federal Liber Al language if he goes any he will place himself beyond Pierre Elliott Trudeau and Federal tory Leader Brian in a scrum with the Winnipeg Media Turner was once again asked to explain himself on fundamental language rights in the legislature and statutes entrenched in Section 23 of the Manitoba act and the charter of rights and freedoms Are a matter not Only of provincial concern Here in but Are a matter of Federal commit ment to National Turner if those rights Are Turner then the courts Are Avail Able to remedy the the Federal government May have a duty in certain instances to intervene to protect those rights whether in Quebec or Frances Russell Turner went on As regards the Extension of second language services in Manitoba or in any those Are clearly matter of provincial initiative and a matter of provincial jurisdiction under our Constitution h May be that the Al government can exercise a moral but the fundamental prerogative is my commitment to bilingualism in this country is firm and Turner said he preferred a political rather than a judicial settlement to Manitoba he acknowledged that if the political process failed to protect constitutional rights in a the Federal government May have to governments have a duty to uphold if the political process Hast resolved the then perhaps there is Little alternative left for the Federal government or the courts to become both then and again after his meet ing wednesday with the society fran Turners refusal to say the Federal government should somehow impose provincial services in the French language prompted speculation about his commitment to Federal Liberal Sam president Gilberte Proteau believes services Are an integral part of Section 23s language she refused either to endorse or to criticize Turners but when Turners comments Are there is no difference be tween his position and that of the current government and the official opposition the Federal and provincial govern ments and the society franc Manila Baine also wanted a political Only he provincial tories preferred to take the court the decision to Exchange the trans lation of 90 years of unilingual English Laws for the provision of some limited provincial government services in the French language was made by the in consultation with the Sam and its two partners in the constitutional amendment when the negotiated settlement first appeared to be in trouble last the Federal parliaments Only initiative was a Turners moral Sua the same moral suasion was used by parliament when the Bells were ringing in Manitoba in late Gebru when the legislature prorogued after 263 hours of tory Ottawa still did Ottawa delayed for Over a month before deciding to make a Broad refer ence on the Manitoba language Issue to the supreme it was hotly debated in neither the Trudeau government nor parliament has done anything More than Turner says he Turner is Correct when he says the Federal government lacks the const Itu tonal Power to require a province to provide its government services in one or the other of the two official Lan the Only constitutional author Ity affecting language services deals with minority language education not with languages used in provincial the supreme court May find Section 23 of the Manitoba act requires govern ment services in the French but no one knows what meaning the courts will give to Section Given this Turner is both constitutionally and politically onside with Liberal he has not gone he can be criticized for but not for backing the real Gulf Between Turner and the liberals May be in other two cases in Point Are his equivocal statements about changing the nation Al Energy policy and reducing the and Turner has yet to make any comment at All on other burning National issues such As the Canada health universality in social pro the new Federal Competition the status of women and Many when Turner As he did in that he would shift the focus of Energy development from the Froid where Federal jurisdiction holds Back to the conventional Fields in Alberta and does he favor forgoing Ottawa hard won right to some rectum from resources when Turner says the deficit must be reduced and pledges that he wont do it on the backs of the the Unzem the the old and Small whose backs will it be on when he talks about slicing which ones when he skirted supporting compulsory affirmative action programs for does that mean he rejects them the to Date is that Turner is onside on but possibly off Side on other social and economic its time the Public heard about the ;