Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 14, 1985, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press May Page 7 focus nuclear arms ban is a step Forward Pawley Resolution is valuable Symbol by Martin Zeilig special to the free press when Premier Howard Pawley introduced his Resolution to have Manitoba declared a nuclear weapons free zone into the legislature on May he was doing More than just expressing the deep personal commitment which he and his govern ment share for the future of our and the entire in this world of nuclear escalation Premier Pawley was also giving voice to the collective con Cerns of hundreds of thousands of his fellow citizens who have demonstrated in Many ways Over the past four in unprecedented num their deep concern with the threat posed by the nuclear arms peace rallies and How have these deep seated concerns been manifested since the annual june walk for peace has brought out to people onto the streets of Winnipeg this years Satur june promises to be the most successful yet this is the second largest annual peace demonstration held in other towns and communities in Manitoba have also organized successful peace in the fall of referendums on balanced nuclear held in conjunction with local civic received overwhelming majorities throughout in Winnipeg 77 per cent voted yes on the last Spring and a nationally coordinated the peace Peti Tion caravan Campaign collected Over signatures in Winnipeg one of the Points on the petition called for Canada to be declared a and just the fact that there now exist groups such As the Winni Peg coordinating committee for disarmament athletes against the educators for social arts for peace and numerous other recently created peace organizations along of organizations like the Manitoba peace Council and the world which have been in existence for Many gives unmistakable indication of the urgency with which the present tense nuclear situation is viewed by the general during his presentation of the Premier Pawley quoted from the final document of the 1978 United nations special session on which said that the process of establishing such zones should be encouraged with the ultimate objective of achieving a world free of nuclear the concept of zones Nofz is one that has Prece Dence in the world International agreements provide for the absence of nuclear weapons in certain areas and environments the Antarctic treaty the seabed and Ocean floor 1970 and the treaty of Platel Colatine Ameri Ca As International proposals have been put Forward to have the the the Northern and Cen trial the Middle East and the South Pacific declared nuclear weapons free courageous in the fall of Greenland announced its Nofz and let us not forget the courageous exam ple of diminutive new which earlier this year reaffirmed its position of not being a part of the anus nuclear there Are in fact about 500 areas in the world All of for example that have declared them either through popular action or in 64 towns and other communities including to Vancouver and Hamilton have proclaimed themselves thus the declaration of Manitoba As a nuclear weapons free zone is consistent with similar proposals largely symbolic even though the premiers proposal is largely it still nevertheless can provide much needed impetus to ongoing prov inc wide peace and disarmament some of the educational objectives which local peace activists Hope to gain from this process include increased awareness of the role Manitoba plays in the nuclear arms race increased awareness of the threat posed to Manitoba by nuclear weapons d identifying areas of jurisdictional control that the province exercise when enforcing a Nofz a significantly symbolic act which encourages the developing of Canadas peacemaking role in the world d developing increased Trust and Confidence in the world for disarmament there is no doubt that the introduction of the Nofz Resolution comes at a crucial time in world total world military expenditures Are approaching trillion while Basic human needs for vast numbers remain the current world stockpile of nuclear weapons most held Pawley has proposed that Manitoba be declared to be an area free of nuclear by the and the escalates at an alarming it is known that it would Only require a Small percentage of that deadly Arsenal to put All life on this planet in jeopardy due to the phenomenon known As nuclear and our Federal government gives Omi Nous hints that it will probably become a participant in some capacity president Ron Ald reagans dangerous Star wars these factors combined with the general situation of International unrest underscore the necessity for enlightened initiatives such As Premier Hawleys Nofz this is not an Issue of Mere parti san it is literally a of the survival of our Beautiful and precious planet Manitoban As a whole All canadians should been courage and give their full support this province becoming a farm woman makes Mark among Alberta pcs Lougheed hangs on Edmonton women dont fare very Well in Alberta Only six sit in the 79member Legisla of the lowest ratios in Canada no woman has Ever held a top Cabinet so its hardly surprising that when Alberta tories talk about who will be the next they hardly Ever mention female until that several conservatives have quietly asked Connie the consumer and corporate affairs to run for the tory Leader ship should Premier Peter Lougheed if she were to shed be the Only Alberta Leader in a while who is proud to i do my Best thinking at the end of a Osterman is a farm woman who never went to but talks and dresses like a modern Urban professional without Ever sounding in a province where the Rural Urban balance is still roughly these Are major the approaches have been very Don braid in Alberta because Lougheed Hast said hell and makes it Clear that anybody who starts running before he drops the Flag wont be his favor Ite various conserva Tives Are lining up at the Gate very they include for Mer la Ron a Calgary lawyer Jim Lougheed for Mer who now practises Law in red Deer and Dave the education minister from because none is a Clear nearly everyone agrees that the race for Lougheed Job will be As a Osterman could be a serious since with out any apparent she has steadily improved her standing with in the one thing tories like about her is her which she showed recently by resisting any urge to laugh off questions about leadership a the Confidence shown by a number of people is certainly she said very the Job is not and All of us have a lot of work to she didst throw the doors but didst slam them Osterman never sounds like a Fem Inist another plus in the male world of Alberta tories but Shes devoted to the fight against Dis Crimi one suspects that if she were the shed be a bit More outspoken about women she was a human rights commissioner for five years in the and today Shes pressuring the car insurance Industry to Stop charging Young men the highest her usually quiet Job became very Public recently when some of Alber tas credit unions nearly went Osterman announced measures to guarantee deposits and assume some bad although few observers believe the crisis is most were impressed with the ministers Cool per apparently she did Well in the problem caused some tumult in the tory caucus More so because a woman was handling a Money problem but Lougheed reportedly told worried Las that she alone was in the Premier has shown great Confidence in Osterman since she first won the Riding of three North of in he at once made her co chairman of the caucus and party whip jobs that demand the respect of other in he gave her the Tricky consumer Lougheed was apparently impressed by her remarkable career As Mother and Champion of the Rural she and her Joe Oster started a farm from scratch in they built everything on planted thousands of and raised five an Alberta farm Magazine says they were so Busy at times that when one of the infants got her husband would Flag Down her com switch places with and shed nurse the when Calgary Power tried to Annex some of their land in the Osterman was so appalled at the private firms High handed methods that she rounded up group of Farmers and fought partly be cause of her Farmers can now plead their cases before a sur face rights throughout her she she has brought to Public life the common sense she Learned As a Farmer and the results impress some Alberta tories including big City fans who dont often go near a and certainly wont be there All Don braid is the Edmonton Jour nals political changes in role of speaker Are a Long Way off to be a speaker requires stamina and a thick the Job demands an understand ing of the parliamentary system and a willingness to Analyse and often regarded As a Consolation prize for an individual who does not receive a Cabinet the position provides addition Al an elegant numerous social events and an Opportunity to meet other speakers at various in the speaker must be prepared for isolation from previous political col leagues and participation in he or she must work behind the scenes to Deal with issues which concern cons Titu that person must be constantly acting As a guardian of rules and traditions and a referee of while the role requires the appearance of the party from which the speaker originally under the dome Arlene Billinkoff Little More to lose May account for his recent statement about the need for change in the office of the the seeds were planted during an earlier news conference when he released results of a questionnaire which had been sent to his vital of the 310 who 55 per cent considered that having a speaker As their la was a liability and were concerned about their representation in the that response disturbed noting several had suggested alternatives to comes expects that individual to ultimately the present system of appointing a reflect its he believed a formal study was James Walding is particularly aware of with that his statement about what can occur when the speaker does his investigation of parliamentary proce not obey government attempt dures and the office of the speaker was no ing to play an impartial role during the there was an inherent French language he did not Ness when a member was expected to immediately Cut off tory filibustering and support the initiatives of the government refused to intervene in the lengthy while at the same time was required to act despite messages and furtive visits with fairness and he from nip Walding would alluding to what had occurred during the not summon the members Back to the language he recalled Sugges House and eventually the government sup Lions had been made both implicitly and explicitly that a speakers political Alle such action has placed Walding on the glance should supersede the requirement of nip hit although isolated in the the expectation of partiality he now is in a political never never with and impartiality at the same time is clearly an indication that even if he seeks reeled impossible and has caused me considerable his nomination May be personal for anyone concerned about the it he was equally concerned because the can be the fact that Walding has speaker is the Only la who cannot take part in debate or except in the Case of a tied residents in that persons constituency did not enjoy the same rights As those in the other 56 he therefore he urged consideration of a change in the appointment of the one proposed by former my Stanley was the creation of a special constituency for the who would be appointed from the Las before an election and would not despite some Walding believed that proposal was better than the current situation and intended to meet the party leaders to discuss and propose specific now is the time to do while this speaker May believe Previ Ous ones new Democrat Peter Fox recalled with Pride his attempts to do a fair and impartial he believed constituents had been Well served and did not want to see a person who is not responsible to the electorate in the if you dont have the feel of the you lose your sense of tory Harry Graham was equally opposed and even More indignant about the manner in which Walding had introduced the it was an abuse of the privilege of the he As far As the alleged problems were he did not recall any difficulties in serving his in he believed ministers had gone out of their Way to respond to the needs of his in regard to the Issue of a non elected Graham was totally what would happen if the House overruled that person he did not believe the current speaker should use his personal problems to bring about changes that affect a position of which he is Only a temporary the party leaders expressed similar Atti while Gary Filmon acknowledged that Walding was under pressure from the he saw no urgency for a change in the process because it had worked Well for More than 100 Howard Pawley also said it was understandable that Walding May find himself in a difficult but while he was prepared to he believed the current system had served them there was Little need for those reactions did not negate the merits of Walding the Issue has concerned parliamentarians for Many but As no easy solution has been a possibility remains that the system May eventually be but it is not Likely to occur during the current speakers doonesbury by Garry Trudeau what 4 Nice 9 o i 514 against it at ;