Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 14, 1984, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free april 1984 3 real estate analysis rebuts opposition to proposed group Home by Paul Moloney backers of a group Home for the retarded at 181 Oxford Street shot holes yesterday in an opponents argument that the proposal has already Hurt property win serv which is seeking approval for its proposal from the Munici pal produced an expert witness rebutted claims made by real estate agent John Don free press appraiser Edgar Cooke was Ted to disclose the rebuttal evidence after Board chairman Leifur Hallgr Irum son noted Laurence did not comply with a request to provide information to Back up his opponent who lives 180 had testified March 27 that a House at 184 Oxford sold for Ain unusually Low Price after the group Home application surfaced last while the owner of 184 Oxford had wanted to sell the Low Salie Price was at least partly due to the win serv he who handled the Sale last said the House sold for nine per cent below asking Price but the spread for properly priced and marketed houses should be no More than three per testified his sales analysis showed it is Normal for Selling prices to be at least three per cent lower than the asking Cooke said the spread was three per cent or greater for per cent of the 287 houses sold in River Heights since the beginning of on the Sale prices were per cent below asking he added that his study revealed that Laurences real estate firm handled 35 of the 287 sales and posted an average of per cent below asking he said Laurences personal average covering four sales in River Heights was per who was also asked by Winn serv to study property values around an existing Ebby Avenue group found that House prices on that fort Rouge Street have risen just As quickly As prices on nearby the proposed Home for eight mildly retarded adults received City Halls approval last year but opponents went to court and obtained a ruling that a 1913 caveat restricts the House to single family double parked when texan Jeff Dane wants to Park his truck King nothing gets in his Way not even two the four wheel drive truck is at the world of wheels show at the convention Centre until court rejects lawyers bid to challenger ape victim questioning provision by Murray Mcneill lawyers for two rape suspects failed to convince the Manitoba court of Appeal yesterday to hear their Chal Lenge to the constitutionality of new criminal code provisions which severely limit questioning of rape Vic Tims about past sexual lawyers Randall Janis and Norm Cuddy contend the new rape Laws con Travene provisions of the charter of rights because they infringe on an accused persons right to a fair trial by denying him an Opportunity to mount a full the lawyers took their Challenge to Manitoba court of Queens Bench in but Justice Vern Simon sen rejected then they appealed his but before they had a Chance to raise the Issue the Crown objected to the Appeal Crown attorney Stuart Whitley con tended the procedure the defence Law yers had followed was and that the Appeal court did not have jurisdiction to hear the after listening to arguments on that Point the Threeman Appeal panel concluded that even assuming they had this is not the appropriate Case in which to exercise that they did not elaborate on their Rul saying their written reasons will be released at a later but during yesterdays hearing Justice Gordon Hall asked Janis Why the Challenge was launched in the manner it the lawyers launched the Challenge prior to the rape Case going to Ratter than raising it during the Jariis explained that because the Issue was a Complex they wanted to Deal with the matter in Advance to avoid a drawn out jury he also noted that if the trial judge rejected their Challenge and his ruling was overturned on then the Case would have to be tried judge Hall agreed with Whitley that the accepted practice is to raise such issues during the have them dealt with at that and Appeal once the trial is if we allow these cases to be adjourned to allow appeals to this court then the whole Justice system would bog judge Hall it would not Janis said later that in View of the Appeal courts ruling the defence had no Choice but to proceed to trial at the next which begins april he said it is unlikely they could raise the Issue again at the trial because it had already been ruled upon by judge Simonsen and another court of Queens Bench judge Likely would be reluctant to Deal with the same motion the two accused both residents of the Little Black River Are charged with sexually assaulting a woman last year on the Penner seeks hate literature crackdown by Fred Youngs attorney general Roland Penner has asked the Federal government to toughen provisions in the criminal code to give the Crown More ammunition when prosecuting distributors of hate citing a recent spate of hate literature against catholics and the said portions of the criminal code on hate literature make it difficult to gain convictions against its the province has asked Federal jus Tice minister Mark Macguigan to alter a Section of the code which requires the Crown to prove wilful intent to spread hatred when a person is charged with distributing hate Penner As it has suggested removing the provision which requires an attorney generals approval for a prosecution to earlier in the Penner said he has asked senior officials in his department to see whether charges can be Laid against people responsible for distributing ant Catholic and anti papal hate literature in Winnipeg re vocal protester gets Tongue lashing Jake who used a bullhorn to voice his displeasure with the workers compensation Board out Side the legislature last was reprimanded yesterday after being found guilty of violating the cites anti noise you have the right to protest but i dont think you have the right to in fringe upon other Peoples comforts and judge David Man told the too much noise is not very the judge could have fined Kehler or jailed him for up to six months but opted to give him a simple telling the accused i Admire your persistence to a certain Kehler carried out a Oneman pro test of a compensation Board Rul ing against him with the help of an electronic he was angry with the Board for refusing to award him compensation for a Back injury he claims he received in 1972 while working for a City trucking his shouts of Ripoff and kick backs disturbed Manitoba court of Appeal chief Justice Alfred As Well As others judges in the Law courts building across Winnipeg police Robert Gill testified yesterday he received information directly from former police chief Ken Johnston about the judges complaints and was told to invest the officer said he could hear Oehlers shouts two blocks from the the ignored police cautions to Stop making so much noise and was he when Gill told the court Kehler was then handcuffed for his own the judge questioned How it could be for his own Gill said it was routine police pro Medure to handcuff All arrested peo ple in Case they resist and officers Are forced to restrain the judge then pointed out the accused had invited them to arrest him most enthusiastically and had offered no Man hit by falling tree compensated a Winnipeg Man has been awarded for damages and injuries he suffered when a tree being felled by his Friend acc Dently landed on in a judgment handed Down yester Justice Scott Wright of Mani Toba court of Queens Bench awarded Bobby John German in general damages for the injuries he received and in special damages to cover his lost wages and dental and medical judge Wright said in the judgment the award assessed against germans Donald would have been 25 per cent higher were it not for the fact that he found was partly to blame for the the mishap occurred in november 1979 while German and Welyki were cutting firewood near a tree Welyki was Felling with his Chainsaw struck German on the Shoul Der and then on the pinning him to the ground and knocking him when he was his Chainsaw flew up and Cut him on the top of the the judge in addition to the Scalp Ger Man suffered a concussion and Back and shoulder although he was in Hospital for six weeks in skeletal he recovered from the head and Back injuries and was Back to work at Manitoba Hydro within two judge Wright concluded that Welyki was primarily responsible for the Acci Dent because he did not Check before hand to ensure German was out of Range of the falling but German was aware his Friend was Felling a tree the judge and had a responsibility to take precautions for his own Penner said some of the Materi Al he has seen would really Shock the the attorney general vowed that if i am satisfied that we can reason ably bring a charge and bring a prose that will be done to indicate if nothing else How this Community feels about that kind of Penner said current criminal code provisions Are not adequate to Deal with this kind of he said there Are very few successful prosecutions for hate and the criminal code Section requiring the Crown to show wilful intent to spread hate is a Little too difficult to if we can get rid of the wilful Well have done a rather than having to prove wilful which is included in the Defini Tion of hate the province suggested charges could be Laid when material was found to be racist and intentionally that would be a somewhat More objective removing the Section that requires the approval of the attorney general was recommended because it was Felt prosecutions for hate literature should proceed like any if a Crown attorney feels there is sufficient Evi charges should the ministers involvement should be the exception and not the said adding the Section tends to politicize it a bit too As the province asked Macguigan to remove the Good Faith Penner that provision provides a distributor with the defence that the material was and not really in tended As hate but Penner said it is a Refuge for scoundrels that offers too Many hiding too Many places for racists to Macguigan response to the propos als was he and the Federal minister is soliciting other suggestions for the material found recently in Winnipeg claims there is a Catholic conspiracy to take Over the one of the Wayne testified yesterday that the affecting about 60 houses in the was designed to ensure there used As private single family dwell in opposed to what i perceive to be changes in the character of the in concerned and afraid that the value of my property will the municipal Board will hear final submissions worker ignored Power inquest told by Glen Mackenzie an electrician killed in a fire 30 at the Norquay building apparently ignored his immediate supervisors verbal warning about working on live the supervisor testified Jack Russell told an inquest into the death of George that he had told Sedun not to work on any Genera Tor bus bars without having the Power shut off the on Day inquest was told Sedun worked on the equipment about when most employees had left for the but the building also houses Mani Toba data a 24hour government computer Russell said Sedun was monitoring the operations electricity consume a chore the Veteran electrician had done he said any government worker involved in such including could ask that the operation be shut Down while he Russell said he knew Sedun was doing the but didst know exactly Derry an assistant Provin Cial fire testified that Russell told him at the time Sedun didst have the Power shut off because Sedun apparently didst want to disrupt the computer Newton also said Russell didst appear surprised to learn Sedun was working on live Paul the Manitoba labor departments inspections said electricians sometimes leave Power on because of peer pressure that somehow youre not As Good an electrician if you dont work on live Hagen told provincial court judge Robert Trudel that the decision on whether to shut off Power should be made by management adding there Are very few situations where Power should be kept on while an electrician is both Hagen and Russell testified that the Short circuit inside the Generator which caused the fire apparently occurred As Sedun removed the trans former hed used to measure the cur Hagen said the provincial govern ment has ordered some permanent current transformers when in stalled on will allow an inspector to get readings without shut Ting the Power William a Winnipeg fire fighter who found Sedun on the floor of the buildings testified that Sedun told him he had been resetting the current transformer on the Genera Byers said Sedun apparently Stag gered about a dozen metres from the basement Generator before who sustained Burns to about 70 per cent of his died the next Day in Kim an ambulance Atten testified that Sedun told her he had been checking some there was a Flash next thing he he was on the judge Trudel reserved safety Law changes queried workplace safety and health minis Ter Gerard Lecuyer was told yesterday his governments initiatives in occupational safety May not be As Good As they in a speech to about 30 delegates at a workplace safety Lecuyer talked about changes to the workplace safety and health act de signed to protect he said changes to the act strength ened workers rights to refuse Haz ardous work and set up More labor management safety committees to identify and resolve health questions at the but one Garry questioned whether the legislation could protect him should he exercise his right to refuse hazardous if i Tell my Foreman i refuse to Hes going to go up and Down my he told the Lecuyer said the Gui Tiest people Are those workers who dont concern themselves with safety in the work place and dont take advantage of the Protection they have under Legisla he urged delegates to the sponsored by the Canadian association of Industrial mechanical and Allied to use the legislation to protect but Tony an employee at the provincially owned flyer Indus tries told the minister legislation that looked Good on paper offered no guarantee that its provisions would be used on the shop he said flyer had a history of being unable to cooperate with workers to eliminate workplace he reminded the minister that flyer was owned by Manitoban through the government and it was one company that should set an Lecuyer agreed flyer should set an example and promised to raise the Issue with his fellow judge forbids action against Bateman a court of Queens Bench judge has prohibited the association of professional engineers from taking disciplinary action against former Manitoba Hydro chairman Len in an 11page judgment released Justice Scott Wright ruled the association does not have authority under the engineering profession act to take the disciplinary action it the association was considering action against a professional for misconduct or unprofessional conduct As a result of his admission in 1978 before the Tritschler inquiry into the development of the Nelson and Churchill Rivers that he had provided inaccurate information to a legislature committee on four Occa Sions Between 1973 and judge Wright noted that the com plaint levelled against Bateman by the association does not state the nature of the alleged misconduct or unprofessional As required under the engineering profession for he the Crown cannot simply charge a person with committing a criminal it must identify what criminal offence was an allegation of unprofessional conduct should indicate in what Way the conduct is in breach of professional standards As they May exist perhaps by following the word ing of one or More of the Many rules of conduct listed in the professional Engi neers code of the judge because the complaint against Bate Man does not do it is invalid and in effect a nullity and thus not capable of he judge Wright also accepted Bate mans argument that because the associations bylaws give its Council the authority to Levy costs against him should he be found the Council has a pecuniary interest in the outcome of the disciplinary although Bateman was fired from Manitoba Hydro after he testified be fore the Tritschler neither the legislature committee nor the inquiry took any further action against i ;