Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 27, 1987, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press june Page the free press welcomes letters from writers must give their name and the authors name will be used and letters Are subject to readers forum Gas company takeover opposed responding to Media comments on the Manitoba governments Pur Chase of intercity Gas pre Mier Pawley defended the Purchase by stating that it was done with the interest of Manitoban at heart Manitoban Are not second class citizens he How right he is we under his governments feeble Steward Long since ceased to have even that status in one wonders indeed How Meny further class Levels we much descend through before the Manitoba electorate finally comprehends the economic devas tation that has been wreaked upon us and upon our children for generations to How Many More financial fiascos similar to those witnessed Over the past year it must we witness again from these inept economists and All of this from a government which professes to act in the name of ask for the Manitoban who supports this mismanagement of our inheritance to step Forward and there will be few today who will rejecting opposition demands for a Public inquiry into the intercity Gas Premier Pawley further stated that his government believed that a failure to act on this Issue would have been a betrayal of the Trust which Manitoban have placed in this to that i would respond that Manitoban everywhere have Many times already had their Trust betrayed by this incumbent gov we daily Hope that this government will fail to for Only by such inaction Mayr we be assured that this government is not further damaging our already endangered John Wimsey backwards the announcement for the Sale of intercity Gass natural Gas distribution system to the provincial government smacks of Thadda Fresque nationalization of big Oil in Libya some years politically promoted As being for the Benefit of Mani Toba natural Gas our socialist provincial government is showing More of the backward judg ment for which it is granted intercity Gas in this a Manitoba and perhaps prices As Wilson Parasiuk has pointed lower in the United for Gas which is piped through but is it a real concern to the Public at Large if no one is complaining it appears that the Cost is the govern ment has promised a fairer read lower does this mean that the managers appointed by the government will be Able to recover this huge investment from smaller reve and without the usual tax hike to cover losses Given the fiscal management record of our Provin Cial Consumers will just begin glowing from their Sav Ings in Winter heating costs when the minister of finance will make his own announcement a new tax pro Gram to subsidize the new temporary losses arising from this new Public another purpose of the Purchase is Cross subsidization using revenues gained from present customers to provide service to More remotely located this is ostensibly to provide the Public with a Choice of heating methods a Choice of one government controlled service or the provincial government will have monopoly Power Over the sup ply of heating during a cold Manitoba this can be an extremely powerful position to find when vote loss is a Small and the Public once again gets accustomed to rising this monopoly will be the ticket to bleed the Public it is simply a question of whether to pay a higher Price now to an efficient capitalist business or both now million and later in the form of an eventual rate hike even More to the provincial govern in a broader the provincial government does not have a very Good track record in its Crown in the governments planning and spending patterns seem to hardly take note of the Long term implications of present the Best example of this is the extravagant Meg project at not Only have our Brilliant governors spent a Fortune of tax revenues on what is essentially a make work but they appear to have not Given any consideration to the future demand for hydroelectricity for the duration of Limestone payback period a Factor of major importance to the Price of hydroelectricity in the Good intentions pleasing to the elector no substitute for effective planning or especially when they Are sinfully expensive and if we allow the nip or any other government to continue amassing these a Hydric Public Mani Toba will be Able to lament More such and we shall surely be Manitoba will be the most socialist province in and perhaps the Only province to go Timothy Demkiw savings i was distressed to find that the nip government is again embark ing on a venture to save Manitoban i wonder when Manitoba will Wake up to the fact that this govern ment and All nip governments do no know what financial responsibility since the nip have been elected in they have saved Manitoban millions As Fol lows million lost in the Chi fiasco which was under control of the first nip Dover million lost in Saunders Dover million lost in flyer in Dover million lost by the Mani Toba Telephone Dover million lost in the Manitoba Public insurance company in 1986 allowing the workers compensation Board to run up a deficit of now the nip government pro poses to spend another million to million on a Gas company to again save us this Type of mentality reminds me of the joke about the shopper who continuously bought things on Sale because of All the Money the shopper whether the goods were required or i ask the where is All the Money you have saved us so far Randie Kushnier Winnipeg arts Grants cause debate i can forgive Barbara Robson for irresponsible journalism in her article the Grant system free june 13 but shame on Tony Tascona for turning his Back on the plight of fellow no artist in Canada is asking for a artists Are beginning to demand recognition As profession als other professionals in Canada such As lawyers and doctors have established themselves in a variety of groups and societies to Foster their profession since the country they stick together on issues confronting their profess artists organizations Are new on the Canadian artists representation is now entering Only its second decade and does not yet have the full support of the artistic it is facile for an artist like Clarence who works with imagery and subject matter easily accepted by the to speak on a situation which he is safely out Side the article does nothing but polarize Public Why not provide readers with a More accurate View of the arts of which the Grant system is an Inte Gral component society stands Only to gain from the valuable contributions which its members can make in the a thriving Art scene is essential to the develop ment of society and integral to the maintenance of our Canadian Cul Tural statistics show that All artistic disciplines on average earn Well below the poverty there is a crisis situation in terms of artists How can an artist find affordable living and studio space when the average income barely exceeds most visual artists earn Only 50 per cent or less of their income from their artistic profess their incomes Are 37 per cent below the National artists Are forced to subsidize their work for the same in terms of Long training and discipline which other professionals there Are very few rewards for visual there Are no charitable benefits for until the myth of the starving artist is allowed to some it will continue to play the game of cutting each others throats for the throne at the top of the let us be realistic the Grant system is not neither is our Ide the visual artist must be a free the one with a Clear and open the one with a creative vision to work the energies of this unless this the creative spirit will Wither and without i see Little Hope for the let alone the Graham Asmundson executive director car fac Manitoba worthwhile the Manitoba arts Council is charged by its legislation to pro Mote the production and performance of works in tha arts and has developed a wide Range of programs to do our latest annual report reflects very Broad to some 80 Organiza for operations and and to More than 150 individuals Many of whom Are Young and emerging in making its funding decisions in the coun lining up at the gallery Art stimulates and cil sought the advice of More than 80 assessors and Barbara Robson article the Grant system has taken a very limited and As such does not serve the Public understand ing nor does it reflect a fair profile of the artists the article fails to present the benefits the Community derives from its and in this Defini Tion 1 include All categories of artistic not Only the visual artists who Are the focus of the these Are men and women with special Talent and advanced education who live among participate in Community they give of their Energy Talent As volunteers to support these the work created and produced by Manitoban artists is presented and performed for the Benefit of the Public in concert the libraries and other their Art stimulates and amuses and provokes a Range of responses depending on the viewers taste and the Grant system is Only a Small part of a larger system which enables artists in our society to prod uce and present their work and which judges the Merit of what they artists in our society Seldom have the luxury of living solely from what they have been trained to do produce Many Are self employed individuals whose income is derived from various including the practice of their As a group their in comes Are Well below the National and few receive employee benefits which most of us can de Pend the status of the artist is a significant indication of a society can be proud it has a vigorous arts com and the work of Many of our artists is seen across the coun try and also not Only the four individuals profiled in the a but Many other Manitoban artists in All Are Well known and respected beyond their place of residence for their contribution to this cultural Marlene Neustaedter executive director Manitoba arts Council lottery credit it is frontage news when a for Mer cleaning lady wins million in a i refer to the article exc leaning mops up million lotto win free june but Barbara Robson article the Grant system else where in the same edition does not give credit to the lotteries foundation for its support of the the error is compounded when she gives the impression that the Manitoba arts Council Grants come out of taxpayers pockets in 75 per cent of these monies Are lottery Dave Leland Winnipeg an obligation commenting tin Barbara Rob sons article the Grant system in which i am quoted an additional observation would be that the artist who repeatedly begs from the taxpaying Public this financial support in the form of Grants should also be accepting the implied obligation to produce Art these patrons can find meaningful and in half a Century of painting and visiting the great Art collections of America and Europe i observe Little to recommend Canadas Grant system in the Quality of the Art the Quantity is that a needy student of Promise merits encouragement in the form of a study Grant May be conceded i myself when requested have on several occasions endorsed such Grant applications for talented students but surely a sense of dignity and personal Worth ought to keep repeating Charity cases As Tony Tascona quote characterizes them from filling the vaults of the Canada Art Bank with the thousands of works to be seen there unable to win Public to Robson query Why i had not applied for an arts Grant i sup pose my answer could have been my ancestors came to Canada As Pioneer they coped with enormous hard with tragedy and Heartbreak in making their Way unaided by government should their As an artist Dishonour their example there exists throughout North America and Europe an intelligent and discerning Public hungry for Art that Speaks to them of a world they feel kinship with and respond their support and enthusiasm has Given me a livelihood and that is All i have the arts Grant system As it oper ates in Canada undoubtedly sup plies to needy people an income which they might not by their own efforts whether it produces Art meaningful to the Public whose taxes generate that income May be in any the exhibitions of such work that have come to my notice Over the dec Ades have not Given me great Confidence that the system is a Good Clarence Willenius Winnipeg right to know i would like to congratulate you on Barbara Robson article tin Grant artists who accept Public Money should have no quarrel with the Public knowing who they How much they receive and How it is the article was Well written and thank Bonnie Hamlin tories use Doublespeak to confuse the Public like big the Mulroney govern ment is setting out to confuse in George Orwell the government attempted to convince citizens that everything was the opposite of with its ubiquitous Decima research polls always at the Ottawa is employ ing capital punishment is being denounced As repugnant by the very prime minister who revived constitutional amendments providing for a major devolution of Power from Ottawa to the provinces Are being promoted As forging a United the bargaining away of Independence in the few key economic and political sectors still left to Canada is being peddled As free Trade no tariffs with the the refusal to appoint a mediator in the letter carriers dispute with Canada Post is being marketed As respect for free collective bargaining when it is calculated to intensify confrontation and pave the Way for a assault on the right to free collective a further shift of taxation from the Selloff to the Low and Middle income is being sold As tax the following has a familiar twelve million taxpayers will pay less Money this an average of Only will pay a senior Federal official said the aim of the massive overhaul of the tax system was to make fairer a system which saw the wealthiest canadians getting undue tax Breaks and misusing incentives the wealthy were the the official this newspaper report not finance minister Michael Wilsons White paper Frances Russell on tax but Allan Maceachen Bud get of the Maceachen budget produced howls of rage from so the same people have reacted with mild criticism ranging to enthusiastic endorsement of Wilsons tax John president of the Canadian federation of Independent who called the Maceachen budget a blatant attempt to subvert the parliamentary sys bubbled happily june 18 that Wilson had finally got it there Are a number of reasons for the vastly different reactions to what appears to be the same Maceachen introduced his budget when Canada was slipping into the worst recession since the not a propitious time to change the tax he stepped on some powerful he didst tax Reform haunt in what is done is less important than who is doing just As left Wing governments can Cut social pro Grams and righting governments can nationalize conservative govern ments alone can redistribute wealth without ruffling the feathers of the All this would be True even supposing Wilson had actually reformed As tax experts and social policy analysts probe into Wilsons five Pound pack it is becoming obvious that the finance minister Hast really changed for those hoping for greater there is the government has trumpeted loudly about closing loopholes for the wealthy As a smokescreen for a major Cut in the marginal tax rates for the Bill a professor of taxation at the University of Manitoba faculty of Man says there we rent Many loopholes in the personal tax system to begin with and those that existed capital gains and resp for instance Are still the Federal marginal tax rate for those earning a year and Over has been slashed to 29 per while the bulk of canadians at the Middle of the income scale have a 26 per cent marginal tax the simplified three bracket tax system Means people will pay 17 per cent on income up to jump to 26 per cent on further income up to but pay a modest 29 per cent on All income above that in Canada will have a modified Flat income tax with just two that Why the governments own progressivity tables look like a the smallest savings per cent of earnings go to the Middle income slightly More per cent Are realized by Low income Canad the largest savings per cent of earnings Reward those at the very top of the that Why there is nary a Peep from the people wealthy enough to hire tax Consul Tants and powerful enough to have their complaints Terence Hunsley of the Canadian Council on social development agrees with Buck Wold that the White paper was Par fact and says Hunsley the White paper and he Way Treyve presented their budgets make it very hard for anyone really to know what this government is they provide no Lon term projections or that up to us to try to figure its a Good marketing Job from what we have been Able to establish so they Are wasting a lot of Money giving a big tax break at the top end of the this contrasts to the enormous fuss Over family it is one of the lasting ironies of tax Reform if the elite is the Public thinks the changes Are Good but because the elite is the changes Are probably bad for the average Welcome to the world of after this government was elected in doonesbury by Garry Trudeau insure n Butts 1 Haw enough living we us fits that tape tap prison Grapevine what in it Xerox ;