Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - December 2, 1987, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press december paged jockey jailed year on driving Board reinstates sex abuse local press Homes pay extra drug fees to avoid cuts classic confrontation a coca cola truck heading Over the Nairn Avenue blocking the Slippery Accident caused overpass skidded at noon yesterday and was wedged a traffic lineup almost a Kilometre the whistle Blower former employee drops receives about in Deal by Radha Krishnan Thampi the Man who blew the whistle on financial abuses at mix telecoms services has agreed to drop a lawsuit against the Parent Manitoba Telephone system in return for a settlement of about Gary minister responsible for confirmed yesterday that he Max headed by Deputy finance minister Charlie and former Max employee Ian Ferguson reached an out court settlement that involves Between and in damages and court he said who dropped a Bombshell in 1986 when he filed an affidavit with a legislative com Mittee claiming Max wrongdoing in saudi had claimed in the Range of for alleged breach of contract and nonpayment of promised doer said Ferguson also wanted its to pay for mental anguish after saudi police publicly flogged him for allegedly violating certain mos Lem religious an its source said the settlement contains a clause barring Ferguson from speaking about now working for digital in could not be reached for comment doer said the settlement is written in a Standard i insisted there be no clause in the settlement which prevents the government from making the Fig ures doer promising to release the figures As soon As he receives the final settlement from the Max doer said the government settled Terwins after Loi by Liana Simon a father won custody of his two children almost a year after he complained to a Childrel fare Agency that his son was being sexually and physically abused by his last the Man told a court of Queens Bench judge that his four year fold son told him of the abuse last 8 couple of months after he separated from his com Mon Law but Crown attorney Heather Leon off said 9 report by Northeast and family services in february found the allegations to be false after social worker and police four months later on june a psychologist treating the Mother wrote Northwest child and family services to warn of the woman potential for court the Case had been transferred to the Northwest Agency in March because the Mother lived in the North Joanna senior instructor at the University of Manitoba psycho logical service testified the who said had been abused As a had unrealistically High expectations of the boy when disciplining Wersh also said the Mother had disclosed she spanked the children two or three times a and on one occasion hit her son with a Leonoff said Northwest did not act on Werths letter immediately be cause while the Mother was thought to be potentially she was not shown to be Leonoff added the Agency believed the Mother was doing Well at tins time because she was seeing a psychologist and receiving the help of a parents Flung against Wall court was told that in the first week of july a neighbor who lived in the mothers apartment Block reported to Northwest that she had seen the Mother fling the baby against the the baby girl received a bump on the forehead the size of a 50cent the neighbor told she said the Mother didst pick up the child but went and she was left to Comfort the after this the Northwest Agency apprehended the children and placed them in a Foster Home for three Leonoff the potentially abusive Mother was then shown to be abusive and the children were in need of protect she the father and his Fiancee were Given temporary custody of the Chil Dren because the Foster Home arrangement was not working she a Northwest Agency worker told court that since the children went to live with to Weir father on he had never seen them in better Leonoff told the court that North West would ask for a temporary six month apprehension order if the Mother was awarded but would withdraw the request if the father received Madam Justice Myrna Bowman said there was no evidence the Mother had taken any significant Steps to address her while the Mother loves the Chil Dren very she is unable to Cope with has personality and emotional and has limitations in parenting she the children will be in a Safe Well clothed and stimulated in Day care and through family she after getting Legal advice that Fer Guson had a Good Chance of winning damages from he said it would have Cost its and Ferguson at least each in Legal fees alone if the matter had gone to there were also some unique circumstances that necessitated a settlement with doer referring to the flogging incident and the Prospect of a higher court we Felt there was a legitimate ground for a doer said the Deal also recognizes there was some disruption in Fergus sons he quit his 000ayear its Job a few weeks before filing his affidavit with Las in the summer of but the minister said the Crown Utility is settling Only with despite facing four other possible lawsuits Over the Max former its president Gordon Holland and Maurice former Vic president of have indicated their intention to sue its Holland for his forced retire ment and Provencher for wrongful doer said a third lawsuit is Possi ble from Vince a former Max employee currently working for he didst name the fourth person who might doer said its lawyer believe who was in saudi Arabia with Doest have a Case because the Utility paid him under in 1984 toward settlement of outstanding claims for Holiday pay and release disputed the minister said Opston issued a written release in 1984 absolving its of future but yesterday Opston denied signing a release or receiving any he said the matter is in his lawyers a few minutes he said he had checked with his lawyer and had no doer said Ferguson settlement Money will come from million its has already earmarked to pay for Max losses and warranty com by Kathleen Engman Many Manitoba nursing Homes have agreed to increased fees for drugs to avoid the service cuts that pharmacists threatened in response to deadlocked fee negotiations with the were going to have to find the Money Maryann to head of the Manitoba Odd Fel lows said she said her will pay the difference Between what druggists want and what they get per resident per month from the province for their Roberts said her Home will pay about per resident to cover the extra dispensing Cost of drugs for her Homes 43 government May later reimburse the or the Home May have to Cut other areas of its budget to pay for the extra she druggists want an increase from a month per resident to or which they say they need to turn a profit on the service they provide to nursing Home residents in the province has suggested a Cut to the fee agreement expired the impasse caused druggists to threaten a service withdrawal which would Force nursing Homes to get residents drugs from instead of from monitored dose cards that let nurses see at a glance if a patient has had that Days Roberts said the move would have caused too Many problems for her not As precise the vial system would have taken nurses three times As Long to give residents their daily As it int As precise As she she said the move would have forced her to hire More which she simply Roberts said pharmacists Bill the Manitoba health services commis Sion monthly for service to the and would Likely continue to Bill their Roberts said she Doest blame pharmacists for their our pharmacists do not make enough Money in terms of service they she a spokesman for metro Geri the company supplying Odd Fel lows with said its 12 other nursing Homes also opted to pay the extra Sam Metros pharma said he is pleased the move has been avoided for his the idea is they dont and we dont to Hurt the people in nursing Doherty but the government has to come to grips that if you want a Good system you have to pay for Louis pharmacist Man Ager for which also supplies 13 City nursing said fewer than half have opted to pay the extra Blanaru said the rest have not yet been deprived of dosage you cant withdraw that service in one it takes about a week to get he the company last week started a system to reduce the amount of but it has not yet affected his he Stephen of woolco phar the third drug supplier to Winnipeg nursing said All nine of its Homes opted to pay an extra per younger said his Homes Range in size from 22 Beds to Jack executive director of the Manitoba society of professional said late yesterday he had just received the govern ments and will comment after it has been taping legality raised by Jane Armstrong although Premier Howard Pawley was apparently monitored at the first ministers conference in Toron to last it didst appear to bother him at the he was bugged at being in a Pawley aide went so far As to say Ottawa Bir dogging of the Manitoba Premier could be construed As there is some question As to whether or not it is a criminal of Fence to secretly tape third parties without informing an irate Cliff Scotton said when first asked about his Federal Shadow last Pawley said he was not bothered by the civil servant who seemed to appear at his Side with a tape recorder at nearly every but after thinking about it Over the the Premier appeared to have a change of heart on the ques Tion of How Large a Federal Shadow should be permitted to loom Over a first a spokesman for the Federal provincial relations which ordered the said Only Hawleys Public state ments were recorded not his Pri vate Dan Gagnier said department staff were assigned to record the statements of All the As Well As Media doubts expressed Gagnier denied the Federal employee assigned to Pawley taped two of his private Scotton said earlier that the Feder Al official Marie Forti Erba log followed the Premier to a private informal session thursday night and eavesdropped on a Friday strategy meeting with Manitoba members in the delegates police and Legal officials expressed doubts whether a criminal charge would Winnipeg lawyer Hymie Weinstein said 178 of the criminal which deals with invasion of privacy and the interception of Communia does not prohibit the taping of a Public even if the recorded conversations were intended to be Weinstein if a third party is aware he is being taped and does nothing to Stop his in implies agents Call strike Nightmare As travellers ride buses Winnipeg travel agents Are Call ing the air Canada strike lockout a Nightmare and say it could ruin their biggest we have to refund a whole pile of said Rod owner of Goliger Are that an understatement we must have had literally hundreds of Calls a spokesman for Marlin travel called fhe strike a weve had Calls from everyone booked on air Canada Between now and even flights in he the travel who would not give his said the travel Industry would like the government to legislate the workers but the government does not believe the airline is an essential perhaps when some members of parliament Start getting inconvenienced themselves it will be a National some air passengers have Given up on planes and flocked to buses and a number of weary travellers arrived in Winnipeg last night aboard via rail Canada transcontinental run from one woman said she had kept her Mouth shut whenever fellow Pas sengers talked about the strike Dur ing the my husband works for air Cana an aircraft said the i didst dare Tell they would have killed me business booming spokesmen for via rail and greyhound lines of Canada estimating their business was up at least 10 per said they Are adding extra buses and they Are All picking said greyhound spokesman lome Anth noting six buses have been added to routes leaving Winnipeg in every few of last nights weary via rail travellers said they were angry at air Kevin who caught the last air Canada plane out of Halifax Friday but found himself stranded in was you cant blame its going to he its an inconvenience certainly and some body always in this Case its the Mary of said she would have moved heaven and Earth to be with her son on his wedding Day this saturday in win so she boarded the train on its but its she since strike began seven Days courier firms and other Busin esses that rely on air Canada have scrambled to make other arrange Winnipeg Canada Post spokes Man Monica Feist said the company has agreements with other air lines during the strike and the mail is moving on courier companies have suffered some Canadian airlines International Doest offer As Many flights and Doest have As Many air freight said Scott de manager of Federal express in Murray spokesman for the Winnipeg jets hockey said the team made plans in octo Ber with the strike in although the team has to charter a plane to return from Edmonton the rest of its flights until the end of december Are on other air Canada strikers fear Christmas Cash crunch strikers face Cash Cut striking air Canada ground workers say Christmas is a bad time of year to be earning a week in strike but local pickets interviewed at Winnipeg International Airport yesterday said they Are firmly behind their unions demands for wage increases and indexing of pensions to the rate of most of the Guys Here have kids and families and they Are concerned about said a baggage the Mem Bers of the International association of machinists and aerospace Are paid from an lion International strike Winnipeg Union president Ray Green ing while strikers worried about Liv ing on a Many of air Canadas Laid off employees were preparing to line up at unemployment insurance offices across the country victims of the shutdown of the notices went out yesterday to most of the company ticket on its pilots and flight attendants were Laid air Canada locked out the Mem Bers of the International association of machinists last Friday after rotating strikes hit Mon Vancouver and local All of whom re fused to give their said Many employees saved up in anticipation of the but everyone will still feel the they seventy dollars a week is enough to pay your Gas out to the Airport and Back every one picket now people Are talking about picketing until Christmas and even into of course we would like to see this end the who have been without a contract since last Are seeking a wage increase of per cent in a oneyear con As Well As pension Index they have rejected an airline offer of increases of four and five per cent Over a three year the average hourly wage for the entire ground workers group is representatives for the striking ground workers held regional Union meetings yesterday in Montreal and Toronto to discuss the dispute with there Are no plans to resume talks with the ;