Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - March 11, 1987, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press March Page 3 Fortes Lack Pawley arcades ban prompts Legal action local fireman chops through attic roof of Rooming House where Earl morning fire at 62 Walnut Street sent five to five taken to Hospital after fire five including a Tyr Mont hold were taken to Hospital Early today after fire in a Rooming House at 62 Walnut a received firsthand second degree Burns to his Back in the fire which broke out about said assistant Deputy fire chief Elmer sly said a 32yearold Man has Back and ankle injuries received when he jumped out a second Storey a third As Well As a woman and her Young were taken to Hospital with smoke the Trio escaped the two Storey building by climbing Down a ladder from an attic the five people were taken to Misericordia no names were no damage estimate was Avail but sly said the which began on the second heavy Lyda Maged the tenant Sandy who has lived in the Rooming House for about two said he disco Vered the Blaze about i just walked upstairs and i saw smoke coming from an electrical circuit at the top of the he Menlove said he then raced Back to his apartment to Rouse a Harry who was staying with him at the then i ran upstairs to the Sec Ond floor and screamed theres a prostitutes rights group fails in bid in 32 finance committee members yesterday upheld a recommendation that a Grant to prostitutes and other women for equal rights be n the group serves As a resource and counselling service for women in but councillors rejected funding the Agency when they Learned it already received from the Manitoba Community services councillors also asked for More information from the Royal Canadian legion who asked for to offset the Cost of bus passes during a National darts tourney to be held Here in committee members voted to increase the cites annual Grant to the Winnipeg visitors and convention Bureau from to after hearing that Winnipeg pays the lowest per capita Grant in the country to groups fostering tour visitors Bureau chairman Robert Ballantyne said the Bureau was pre pared to coordinate tourism promo Tion in but would face shutdown without More Money from the a Strong vibrant tourist Industry Means Ballantyne by reducing the bureaus funding level the City is inviting the Bureau to close its doors before the end of furthermore it is encouraging the end of All tourism servicing for the City of making our City alone in North America in this the Bureau operates a visitors Booth at Winnipeg International air runs a computerized hotel space produces information brochures and and promotes Winnipeg at conventions and Ballantyne finance committee yesterday also contributed funds to the age and Opportunity Centre the association for Community living the Canadian National Institute for the Blind Heri Tage Winnipeg planned parenthood Winnipeg pregnancy distress service la attacks labor relations act Manitoba labor relations act contravenes the Canadian charter of rights and freedoms and scares away business a tory la said tory labor critic Jim Mccrae Brandon West said he wants a Section in the act repealed which forbids an employer or anyone from speaking to workers about what might happen if they join a Mccrae said the which covers people outside the employer worker is clearly contrary to the Freedom of speech guaranteed to All canadians in the other sections allow the Manitoba labor Board to Deal with interfere intimidation and harassment and therefore make Annec he the whole labor relations act weighs against business and should be completely he he said a recent report by the Canadian federation of Independent business painted because of its taxes and labor As the least Friendly environment in the country for but labor minister Al Mackling said business investment in the prov Ince is Good and Manitoba Laws dont vary much from those in other he rejected Mccrae belief the Law contravenes the i think that the legislation is designed for specific purposes to prevent an employer from frustrating the rights of workers to Orga in a Resolution before the Mccrae has asked that the labor relations act be referred to the legislative standing committee on Industrial relations for study and to allow the Public to make their views known on Manitoba labor the salvation army Villa Rosa and the Volunteer Centre of Winni Peg As versa tech industries a sheltered workshop for the disa received an annual Grant of but councillors recommended that the cites contribution to this program eventually be phased the Winnipeg Hawk eyes football club also received to help offset taxes on their bringing the total amount dispersed by finance committee yesterday to a number of other groups who applied for funds were either flatly turned or had their applications Jocelyn a privately run hospice for the terminally had asked for from the commit but councillors deferred the re quest saying funding for health care is a provincial committee members recommended mayor Bill Norrie write a letter on behalf of Jocelyn House to the Manitoba health service commis the big Brothers ital Manitoba league for the physically disabled and Community education develop ment association were among those organizations who had applied for funding but were Rural residents lash politicians Over assessment by Aldo Santin residents of fearing massive tax lashed out at City mayor Bill Norrie and the4 provincial government last More than 100 people crammed into the vital Community committee meeting room to hear their spokesmen accuse government leaders of duplicity and mayor Norrie has supported the requests of the Golf courses and the condominium Jim Shapiro the mayor is a mayor of All of Winnipeg and not just limited inter est groups having political influx the Germain residents live on a serviced land South of the perimeter Many fear the recent property reassessment where their land assessments in creased by As much As nine times the previous value will mean huge tax increases when new Mill rates Are Shapiro said Rural residents Are willing to pay taxes but refuse to subsidize intercity Rural residents enjoy few of the services provided to intercity Resi Shapiro yet they Are expected to pay the same level of the residents appeared at the committee demanding the City insist the provincial government create a new assessment classification for a serviced land outside the prime Urban affairs minister Gary doer has said the province would not create a new tax Shapiro said Rural residents Are being treated like aliens because both City Hall and the provincial government acted quickly on similar requests from owners of Golf courses and condominium yet they have refused to meet with Rural committee members deflected much of the residents anger when they endorsed their but they pointed out that it was a majority of councillors protecting their own interests who had singled out the Rural area for unfair its a numbers game on City Council and you will always Doreen Demare Seine Val Ley there Are 29 councillors but Only six councillors with Rural the others will look after their own the committee made up of councillors Louise Lacquay Lange Bob Rose Gle Lawn and de Mare passed a motion urging the residents to bypass Council and meet directly with the and hoc com Mittee of the executive policy com Mittee next week to press their con Cerns with the provincial you cannot win at City de Mare alien president of the John Bruce Road said Many residents May lose their land because they cannot afford the High Demare said residents have been misled by Norrie and civic finance committee chairman Harold Mac Donald who had promised to get some Type of Relief for the Rural senior officials have ruled out a new assessment de Mare but held out the Hope that tax increases might be deferred for Rural by Julia Necheff Winnipeg division school Board began the task of completing its 1987 budget last cutting eight teaching jobs Worth trustees reversed an earlier decision cutting out a sexual abuse prevention a majority on the nine member Board placed funding Hick into the budget for feeling feeling performed live by actors showcase in the divisions elementary trustees bickered Over other deletions and additions to the lion draft budget As they went Over the spending estimates line by they made cuts totalling but added in other items totalling the eight teaching positions in Junior and senior High school will be reduced through Board chairman de Kowalchuk and trustee Irene Haigh said before the meeting they were determined to reverse All budget cuts and fee in creases approved earlier by this and the previous Haigh claimed a Victory after a slim Board majority went along with her motion to restore to feeling feeling keeping the program alive until she lost her bid to re store funding for a division wide violin program when trustees voted Clown her motion to put Back for trustees had dropped the violin program for elementary Stu dents from their draft budget ear Kowalchuk attempted to put Back into the music budget for hiring professional musicians to give special but the Board approved Only for special music Kowalchuk later succeeded in making a new addition to the music trustees passed his motion to increase funding for purchasing musical instruments to from about trustee Mario Santos succeeded in getting Cut from the heritage language program but a majority of trustees Defeated his motion to fund the musical instruments by deleting the amount from another program called summer offered to intercity Ward 1 trustee Elizabeth Jones said she objected to horse trading by taking Money from one program to fund trustees debated the budget in committee of the All of last nights decisions must be rubber stamped when they reconvene As a regular Board members Are discussing school tax increases Between two and four per taking into account projections for staff salary increases which still must be added to the the two and four percent tax Range amounts to Between and More on the average Home owners property tax based on old assessment values for the average Kowalchuk said if the Board restored the enabling the Divi Sion to offer the same programs and services As in 1986 and included provisions for salary it would result in a tax increase for homeowners of about four per Ward 2 trustees Mario Enid Gillespie and Jim Frey and Ward 3 trustee Isobel Sudol have consistently urged spending Gillespie and Frey previously said they wanted no increase in school but now say they Are willing to support an increase to a Maxi mum of two per to achieve a two percent in the Board would have to Cut about million from programs and Santos conceded the tax increases being considered Are not Large Dollar but he said the Board must Start controlling its spending now to avoid larger tax increases next she said she Learned last week that City officials never approached doer for any special consideration for Rural Rural residents beyond the Perim Eter have been singled out by the provincial she be cause of a belief they Are wealthy and can afford higher tax in we Are now having to pay the Price for electing a socialist govern ment who wants to make the Rich deadline will be extended by Patrick Mckinley the province was to introduce legislation today giving Winnipeg property owners until 12 to Appeal their new the legislation would also allow the City to phase in tax increases Over three years for those hardest hit by the first citywide reassess ment in 25 Urban affairs minister Gary doer said yesterday he Doest want to raise false Hopes the Bill will offer Large lot suburban homeowners any apart from the three year phase in reassessment will mean Sharp tax increases for some such Home he its time we started telling people owners of Large residential hold Ings in South vital and South heading Ley have complained they May be looking at tax increases of 70 per cent As a result of reassess doer said the City May offer assessment reductions to areas that Lack full City the City also has discussed the possibility of de Ferring taxes until the properties Are doer didst Rule out the possibility of later legislation to enable such he said residents whose property values have risen sharply have to recognize their taxes will go up As a Many of these people were really under paying for doer recently refused to create an additional assessment category for Large lot suburban properties to allow City councillors to set a lower Mill rate on such tree Crew banned by Farmer a vital Farmer says the prov inces dutch Elm disease control program does More harm than Good and has refused to let work Crews on his As a the provincial forestry Branch has been forced to get a court order to enter the Peter Meyer said Crews Are destroying healthy Trees in attempts to rid his vegetable located just South of the perimeter Highway on marys of the the dutch Elm disease act says they Are supposed to remove elms and nothing Meyer he said the Crews drove equip ment Over smaller Trees and other Trees were damaged when the elms were i think this is unfair and absolutely he in the cure is worse than the a department of Natu ral resources spokesman said it is not always possible to remove the diseased elms without damaging surrounding we cannot just snap our fingers and have the Elm Trees said Geoff the provinces chief of Forest Protection and dutch Elm disease Munro said he would be meeting with Meyer next week to map out a strategy to Complete the City policy costs school division group says a committee claims Winnipeg Schigol division has lost million through added debt charges since 1980 because the As tax controls the Public spokesmen for the coalition for Quality education say they want the City to turn Over division funds in a Lump sum annual payment rather than in four stages As it has increased the costs to Winnipeg division 1 by millions of Dol Lars Over the last number of spokesman Jany Keenan said yes adding the City earns inter est on the Money before paying it out in november and because of the staggered payment the division must borrow Money to finance programs and the resulting debt charges Are passed on to ratepayers As higher school she these funds would be much better utilized providing educational programs and services rather than in interest payments to financial Keenan told civic finance several Winnipeg division trustees supported the including Rookie trustee Elizabeth weve got Winnipeg homeowners after us because of tax Jones Keenan said the extra financing charges Are hard to accept when valuable school activities like the nutrition English As a Sec Ond language and sexual abuse coun Selling Are jeopardized by budget she said direct costs to the division since 1980 arising from the Stag gered payment schedule include million in interest charges on Short term borrowing and the loss of millions More in potential interest last the division received at it million from the the school division in subsidized the operations of the City of she taxpayers have a right to know Why their school taxes especially if part of the Bill is directly attributable to a payment schedule the City Keenan finance committee referred the coalitions request to City administrators for a the which wont be ready in time for the 1987 tax will show How much it could Cost the school division to Bill and collect its own Keenan said if the coalition int satisfied with the cites it will ask the province to Amend the Public schools act to relieve the City of its responsibility to col Lect school the coalition is a group of about 50 Community and other organizations lobbying for bet Ter Quality education in Winnipeg she i ;