Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 2, 1987, Winnipeg, Manitoba 6 Winnipeg free july Winnipeg free press Freedom of Trade Liberty of religion Equality of civil rights published seven Days a week at 300 Carlton Winnipeg r3c 3c1 by Canadian newspapers company limited Telephone 9438331 Winnipeg free press est 1872 Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 Arthur Wood publisher John Dafoe editorial Page editor Murray Burt managing editor Rudy Redekop controller a member of the Manitoba press Council editorials rejecting the death penalty including this who thought no Good could come of a new parliamentary debate on capital punishment were in the revival of the Issue has performed one great service it has knocked on the head the peddled zealously by William Domm and some other conservative members of that canadians were clamouring for a return of the death what maps Learned during the course of this years debate is that the Canadian majority in favor of capital punishment is not very Large and not very in their relentless Campaign for a return of the death Domm and those who shared his views were fond of quoting selective surveys to on various that 80 per or 87 per cent or 92 per cent of canadians wanted the state to execute if that had truly been the it is a Safe bet Given a free vote in a majority of maps would have bowed to Public opinion and supported the capital punishment in polls indicate that Only a minority of canadians Are strongly in favor of capital punishment and the majority of those either firmly or shakily in favor is slim at of the taking of by the state or anyone should not be the subject of a popularity it was wrong for the Liberal government of Pierre tru Deau and the conservative government of Brian Mulroney to abdicate their own responsibilities in the killing a human being is the most important act a government can it is not something that should be left to the individual decision of members of parliament and to their perception of Public if it is to be done it should Only be because the government can demonstrate that the highest considerations of Public safety demand no Canadian government can do that because All the evidence Points the other Canada is not faced with a dangerous growth in the number of there is nothing in recent experience to convince any reasonable person that of capital punishment would mean fewer murders in in the murder rate has been going Down in the 10 years since the death penalty was it is More than Likely even if parliament had approved the capital punishment Resolution tuesday a Bill restoring the death penalty would never have made its Way through it is even More Likely had the legislation finally no govern ment would Ever actually have carried out an knowing the would have done what they did for years before the death penalty was abolished and commuted every death this years debate has helped More canadians to learn the facts As a the supposed massive support for a return to the death penalty has eroded dramatic Al canadians who value their country peaceful and humane traditions have Good reason to Hope that the capital punishment Issue has finally been put to specs shouting match feuding inside the International Oil Cartel was responsible for this weeks Odd Compromise that is unlikely to have much effect on current world Oil on Canadas beleaguered Oil Industry or on the Price paid by canadians for Gas at the As has become Normal in the politics of the Organiza Tion of Petroleum exporting Iran played a Central role in the shouting matches Between member states Oil ministers behind closed doors in saudi shorn on iranian orders of an Oil minister with ability and was again playing its new role of responsiveness to iranian interests but less slavishly than Iran was still throwing its weight around but with diminished credibility at this meeting because claimed Battlefield successes in its War with Iraq seemed to have been won entirely on Courtesy of government Public relations this was important because saudi arabian earlier decision to fire Oil minister Ahmed Zaki Yamani and to abandon its Market flooding strategy was based on King fads Craven fear that Iran would carry out its threats to unleash shiite moslem terror in his sunni Iran dominance at recent open Market rigging meetings had ensured the upward move of the per barrel Price to about at which level it has been holding steady on the basis of current open production of about million barrels a at this Iran wanted production Cut Back to million barrels in the Hope that this would push the Price up to or saudi Arabia timidly proposed a new level of million barrels so that it and other members could Rake in More at a this led to snarling exchanges later described by an open shill As a remarkably harmonious show of the meeting broke up quickly when it became obvious that the balance of iranian and saudi forces on the production Issue was roughly paralysis produced Compromise on million barrels daily until which both sides called Victory and hopeful International Oil companies interpreted As a decisive move towards higher prices later this since specs chief Price gouging North America and Western now Are More concerned about keeping Cool than keeping optimism of the multinational Oil companies and those holding their shares seems demand will certainly Rise in the late fall but that is no guarantee of new riches for open because it no longer dominates the world Market and because Oil supplies available to consumer countries remain fairly one continuing wild card in open calculations is the tendency of some member states to sell secretly More Oil than they have agreed to pump and to sell it at prices below the agreed another wild card is the Frank refusal of Iraq heed open production iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein will soon be getting a visit from a open delegation that will Tell him off for failing to toe the since Iran venomous Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini has sworn to see Hussein hanged in there is Little incentive for Hussein to restrict the Oil Export revenues that finance his Effort to keep the ayatollahs legions at Hussein is also Likely to be amused by open Tutt utting at his plans to ship More Oil abroad through pipelines via Turkey to the Mediterranean and via saudi Arabia to the red Iran is engaged in a secret crash program to build an Oil pipeline from its Oil producing area at the top of the persian Gulf through its own territory to a port in the Gulf of Oman beyond the narrow Straits of it will be far enough Inland to be beyond the Normal Range of iraqi Jet Iran also is negotiating secretly with what the Ayatollah has called the satanic soviet Union to extend and change the use of a pipeline built in 1970 to ship iranian natural Gas to the Southern soviet which closed the pipeline in 1979 after a squabble Over now wants the pipeline converted to carry crude Oil All the Way to Black since each pipeline would increase Iran secure Export capacity by one million barrels Hussein is Likely to Send the open delegation away with a Flea in its until open can resolve such internal arguments and make the world Oil glut dry its efforts to Force prices significantly higher will a new army once the postal service settles Back into its usual the government May want to have another look at one of the ideas that took shape Early in the contract Winnipeg my Dan Mckenzie suggested Early on that the army should deliver the his suggestion was not but Only because it was not fully thought defence minister Perrin beattys strategic advisers must have spotted the fatal Law in the Mckenzie Canada would be in danger if All the soldiers were delivering mail and there were none left to shoo All those foreign nuclear submarines out of the Arctic someone else has to take Over the military work while the military Are on postal is the solution not obvious the letter carriers Union of Canada can be hired on a contract basis to fight Canadas wars for it while the army is otherwise they May not be perfect for the but at least they can probably find escaping from poverty trap by Wilson special to the free press Ottawa if a group of humane and thoughtful canadians were asked to consider the single social of Gojich goal most important for the country in the years what answer would they be Likely to re turn after careful reflection they might conclude that it was to help As Many As possible of their most unfortunate Fellows to escape permanently from poverty into economically rewarding if that aim were clearcut permanent escape there would be Strong implication that the group had consid ered and discarded some variations on that no real help among the first worthy of discard would be approaches that Only help the poor live in less disagreeable through such devices As higher welfare even More generous unemployment insurance and so underlying the approach to per manent escape would be an under standing that welfare does not help people into More rewarding economic circumstances it traps people who stay on welfare for Long periods Seldom escape from poverty themselves and they Are very Likely to trap their children in the same miserable that is of to argue that welfare systems Are since the alternative to them often would be the Case is that by themselves they Are often pitifully inadequate and that after decades of experience with handouts we should know that More must be added the Means of some interesting statistical re search on this has been done in the United the researchers aim was to locate the factors most often present when individuals or families actually do Rise above they found some to be quite one was that couples married and stayed avoiding transitory housekeeping arrangements that Are easily ended and the obvious result was that their Chil Dren were brought up in a family atmosphere not one of irregularity and absent another Factor found to be com Mon was that children were kept in school and prevented or dissuaded from becoming half educated drop ill prepared for working these Young people with at least a Basic education then found even at miserable and stuck with rejecting the to slide into a welfare in the steady work and some education tended to pay off with More Reward ing the researchers also found that if the escape from a poverty pattern was to be it was important that single parents even if they also received some social Assis sets example the significance did not arise from any moralistic View that they ought to it Lay in the fact that when the usually a had a Job her children grew up in an environment where not was the Normal that helped them avoid a welfare life in their these findings do not seem sur prising although they May involve old fashioned values and Are in Stark contrast with some of the or that characterize this if we assume that they Are Well what would we look for in to improved Job opportunities All poverty does not disappear even when employ ment Levels Are More important in the Case of the single Mother it seems to me reasonable to conclude that affordable Day care would be far More important to her than family allowance cheques to a two earner family with both parents this country resources Are badly strained and canadians fall far Short of paying in full for the existing social policy that suggests that a comprehensive review of social policy should be a matter of great priority for All three political not with a View to tearing holes in the net by Sharp cos cutting but with the determined aim of making it much More helping people escape the poverty trap should be right at the top of the priority list along with Good medical care and decent provision for elderly people in need of it also seems to me that the review should include a hard second look at the recent studies which have shown the frequently negative Impact of the present unemployment insurance politicians have fled in terror from that problem but if we stopped paying people to live in Deaden or work at Deaden Par time we could afford real boost Manitoba May i commend you on publishing Wally Dennison article a bids chief raps tax Load free june he mentions the false impressions that exist about Manitoba outside the most of these impressions Are engendered by and through our news in our papers one reads that the Moss on the North Side of the Trees indicates the worst Winter in 100 the abundance of acorns indicates the heaviest snowfall in 80 and that the mosquitoes and fish flies Are so thick you have to plough them that which is unpleasant is enlarged upon and that which is Good is rarely it makes me ill to listen to our radio commentators detailing our cold weather and saying How Terri ble the windchill is and that we should All leave Winnipeg and head South every they project fishing at Lockport their feelings so Well that one is fearful of even venturing All these derogatory remarks Are glee fully picked up and repeated world wide and Manitoba is described As the Siberia of there Are Many Fine things in Manitoba to write and talk As Dennison there Are Lovely Good recreational facile wonderful fishing areas to add to there is Rainbow the biggest Bonspiel in the Voyageur nil Fine world renowned Beautiful Parks and grand Manitoba has enough problems with those myopic incompetents in the legislature wrecking its Economy without having to contend with the belittling of the province by our own news Swartz Winnipeg stupid Drivers i do a lot of driving and it never ceases to amaze me How stupid some Manitoba Drivers can recently i was returning from grand Beach on Highway 59 and came upon Many Drivers travelling at less than the Speed limit of 100 Kilometres an they were not passing other cars but were driving in the passing As i approached these i would Flash my lights at them in an attempt to get them to change lanes but this was usually of no i then had to pass the cars on the inside As far As i am con is a dangerous these Drivers do not seem to real ize they Are a Hazard because other Drivers must keep changing lanes Back and Forth to avoid slower if All the slower vehicles would travel in the slow Lane except when our highways would be much Paul Croft Winnipeg letters the Winnipeg free press welcomes letters from writers must give their name and names will be used and letters Are subject to West fair wages Bernard Christophe has said that the Issue in the West fair strike is not he is the Issue is wages but in a different form from that usually the wages of the employers Are about an this is in drastic contrast with the to an hour of most Par time workers and even with Many in full time West fair employees can earn considerably More for a fraction of the hours than they would had they worked else for this reason they would rather strike than seek other employment with longer if any striking workers in any Union find their employers so Dis tasteful and working conditions so they Are free to seek other Why remain under such abominable conditions if they Are so valuable As they should be Able to sell their services almost violence on the picket line is tolerated and even appears to be acceptable these same acts Are punishable with imprison Why Are there two sets of Laws i wonder How the strikers would react to physical and verbal abuse and to having their vehicles damaged if the situation were re versed Kozak Winnipeg two tier system i have been prompted to write this letter because i feel the Media has failed to explain what is behind Many of the labor disputes in this wage concessions or the two tier wage i am now retired but because my expertise lies in the Field of labor i feel i am qualified to speak on this in each of the labor pm Ployer Sare demanding that employees agree to a two tier wage present employees will maintain their existing wage Structure but new employees will receive a lower the employers Are trying to get agreement to this by telling employees that their wages will not be i cannot fault the employees for rejecting their there is Only one Way that the employees can be assured that they will not have their wages reduced at some future Date and that is through Job when there is no agreement con Taining Job Security an overzealous management will be encouraged to Lay off workers and then bring then Back at the lower Roy Mcgregor Winnipeg responsible residents of Gilbert livens and visitors Are the ones responsible for the Wal Towall Glass covered Concrete Jungle free june they Are the ones after consuming the smash Beer bottles on the while their unsupervised left to their own destroy playgrounds and commit other forms of mindless until some attempt is made by the adult population of this Community in regard to their own and their childrens conditions in Gil Bert Park will not looking for scapegoats is a very simple Way to try to deflect Osta Shower Winnipeg agape table Over the past few weeks the soup Kitchen where i work agape table has received considerable attention in the Media following its eviction from the Broadway Optimist Community in this Many misleading and inaccurate impressions of soup kitchens and their guests were As soup kitchens and the people they serve Are often the Centre of i feel it is important to respond with a few facts about agape in some of the news reports the impression was Given that agape tables typical guest is a chronic alcoholic who spends the Day pan handling and sleeping on Park Many i have believe this is the Only Type of person some soup kitchens while it is True that some of our guests Are alcoholic and can frequently be seen in City this description does not fit the majority of agape tables As a matter of it is not possible to describe the typical agape table a diverse group of people that generalizations Are almost the one thing our guests have in common is most receive some form of social assistance but Are unable to make ends meet with that income they come to agape table primarily to supple ment their food budget with one substantial hot meal each they come also to visit with friends and Many Are lonely people without the network of social contacts that come with family and agape table is a place to go not Only for soup but also for conversation and social in apart from the need for food and human our guests share Little else in agape table serves native unemployed and physically disabled de institutionalized psychiatric Payoung people with minimal family support and single mothers with mentally handicapped recent Immi Grants and Many agape table also serves the rub Bies whose alcohol prob Lem is so severe that they resort to drinking rubbing most of these Are sleeping in on riverbanks or in overnight during the Day they roam the inner City trying to get enough Money for food and it is a hard the fact that so Many come to soup kitchens reflects the increased inability of our society to provide and care for All its i wonder if we Are not turning our eyes from what we would rather not see when we dismiss All those who use soup kitchens As drunks and panhandlers Ted Wood outreach coordinator agape table Winnipeg our feet Are killing do you have a no eating Section ;