Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 5, 1990, Winnipeg, Manitoba 11 Call for details special rates May apply to seniors rates subject to confirmation certain Man mums conditions apply no fees i Winnipeg 7884040 Brandon 7284640 i toll res 18003921388 Winnipeg free press january 1990 pages 1726 Philip business editor Gary Jim and Sharon Carstairs Are divided on it a findings Tsa Nung jury by Murray Mcneill lose or draw its been one year since the free Trade agreement came into but there Are differing Opin ions on How Manitoba has fared so far under the controversial some observers insist the prov Ince has benefited from free others maintain it has been Hurt and still others say it Hast had any significant in one Way or the a series of studies released last year by the Federal department of science and technology predicted that some key Manitoba industries could be hard hit by free they said others stand to Benefit and that the remainder will see Little or no change As a result of the the studies listed furniture and clothing manufacturing As two industries that would Likely have to scramble to stay on their Oil seed crushing and computer and electronics manufacturing were two industries that were expected to Benefit from the Trade while bus manufacture Dairy products and agricultural feed and malting were expected to feel Little or no Impact from proper perspective the president of the Manitoba division of the Canadian manufacturers association is one of those who feels its still far too Early to deter mine what kind of Impact free Trade will have on but Wayne Stewart said he sus a year after first of a series 1 marked the first anniversary of the controversial Canada free Trade a number of Federal studies released last Spring suggested some Mani Toba industries stand to Benefit under free others will have a Tough time and still others will see Little or no change in their this series takes a look at if Impact the Deal has had so far on some key Manitoba pets it Hast had a major one Way or the As yet be cause the average Tariff reduction in the first year was Only about one per the fat Only affects about 27 per cent of All goods that pass be tween Canada and the United Stewart previous Trade agreements Between the two countries had already eliminated tariffs on the remaining 73 per i dont think most people Are aware of he so i think its important when you try to do a article on what happened with free Trade that you put this in its proper perspex its Alse he to take into account the Rise in the value of the Canadian Dollar in relation to the he noted a higher Canadian cur Rency makes goods More at Tractive to and makes Canadian goods less attractive to so the Rise in the value of the Dollar Likely had a far greater Impact on trading patterns Between the two countries than an average one per cent reduction in he provincial Trade minister Jim who is among those who contend Manitoba has gained More than it has lost since the agreement came into effect last agrees with Stewart on a one per cent change in free Trade tariffs is really not that Sig the minister the change in the Exchange rate has a whole lot More to do with he said there Are indications that Manitoba has accrued benefits from the Advent of free he for that there was a 105 per cent increase last year in the amount of Money in vested in manufacturing facilities in the and the As near As we can is they Manitoba manu7 fact users Are gearing up for free he As the province recorded a 21 per cent increase in transportation shipments last Ernst and he believes much of that increase was due to More goods being shipped Between Canada and the United although he admits he has no firm proof of so i think there have been some pretty positive not the least of which was the 105 per cent in crease in investment he the business people Are build ing new plants and investing in new machinery and getting ready to and that the Way it should on the other Manitoba two opposition party leaders and a spokesman for a group of local University professors which has been monitoring the effects of free Trade on Manitoba All contend that the province was harmed substantially during the first year of the Liberal Leader Sharon new democratic party Leader Gary and University of Winnipeg professor James Silver All pointed to the planned closings of three Manitoba plants the Ogil vie Mills and Molson breweries plants in Winnipeg and the Camp Bell soup Plant in Portage la Prai As evidence that Manitoba has been Hurt by free a three maintained free Trade played at least an indirect role in last years decisions to shut Down the three facilities Point that Ernst hotly these Are All signs of the free Trade agreement having the effect we knew it would have that is Canadian companies hav ing difficulty competing with Carstairs she said those Plant combined with last years loss of the Westcott fashions Plant in win will result in the loss of close to 700 manufacturing jobs in Mani so i dont think weve benefited at All from free she doer said while Hes not surprised that Manitoba is losing plants and jobs under free he is sur prised that it is losing them to Central rather than the United he noted that Ogilvie Mills decided to build a new Plant in Southern Ontario rather than up Grade its aging Plant Here in Winni and Campbell soup said it was closing its Portage factory so that it could concentrate its soup manufacturing operations at its Toronto farm marketing threat but we dont know if that Mani Toba jobs shifting to Central Canada is just the first doer maybe the second step is a further shift doer also pointed to the massive sellout of Canadian natural Gas to the United states in the last year As another sign that Manitoban Are being Hurt by free i think were going to have a doubling of Gas prices within five years under free he predict and that prices will be triple what they Are today by the year the nip Leader also expressed concern that the fat is posing a further threat to agriculture marketing boards in Manitoba and the rest of Canada a concern shared by James spokesman for Manitoba the group of local University professors which was formed last year to Monitor the effects of free Trade on cited the in creased threat to Canadas marketing Board systems As one of the three areas where the group feels Manitoba is being Hurt by the Plant losses and the increased threat to certain social programs Are the other he Silver said pressure from both producers and Canadian food processors to disband marketing boards has increased since the fat came into and will Likely continue to escalate in the years one prominent local businessman and outspoken advocate of the fat remains unwavering in his belief that Manitoba firms will Benefit in the Longrun from free Jack chief executive offi cer for Federal industries and for Mer chairman of the now defunct Manitoba committee for free conceded that the Trade pact May have had some negative Impact on the province in its first 12 but said its really too Early to i think its very important to emphasize that the full Impact of the free Trade agreement wont be known for perhaps 10 Fraser it really is a Long term change in the Way Canadas Economy we always said that there would be some some he we just Over the Long term the positives will far outweigh the Fraser said if Manitoba firms can penetrate the Large and lucrative Market and he firmly believes they it will mean More increased production and More and that will be very Good for he More Hong Kong residents looking to Manitoba Jeff free press Canada continues to be the most popular destination for Hong Kong residents looking to leave the British while Manitoba presence in Hong Kong is Small compared to other Canadian its Market position is getting Manitoba agent in Hong Richard says that surveys indicate about on third of the Resi dents there would like to leave the last year about of the million Hong Kong residents did and about on half of them came to in two speeches in Winnipeg this to the Hong Kong business association and the Canadian Walker said the events in Tianan men Square in Early changed the attitudes of Hong Kong when the chinese army opened fire on demonstrating Stu dents it encouraged Many who May have been thinking about leaving Hong Kong to Start making plans to do political and administrative control of the Colony reverts to the Peoples Republic of China in the number of inquiries at walk ers office about emigrating to Manitoba increased dramatically after those june Walker says he also is convinced that the investment Market in Southeast Asia is what he would like to see Howe is More private sector presence Martin Cash in asian markets like Hong Taiwan and South we can Only go part he says of the activities of his own he figures it is an important step for Manitoba business people who Are either looking for invest ments in or looking to raise Money for a Blind that they get an understanding of what kind of investments Are Market while there May be a growing there is also growing com and Walker says the nature of the Competition in Southeast Asia May not be quite As genteel As it is for an he says the promotion of certain types of invest ments in Taiwan usually takes the form of slamming the As opposed to singing the qualities of ones own advertising contains what would be considered libellous editorializing in Walker also says interest in the investor immigration program has perhaps because of the claims in some quarters that visas have not been now his office is getting More inquiries about the business where potential immigrants gain landed Immi Grancy status after agreeing to opening a business that would employ a certain number of after 4vj years of managing the investment and immigration inquiry office in Hong the first two of which were admittedly in product Walker is about to hire a Resi Dent commercial that will increase his staff to counting Odd the Toronto Stock Exchange put out a publication before Christmas called Canadian it follows similar surveys the Exchange published in 1986 and though it lumps information about Manitoba share owners in with those from the Story it tells is not surprising for those who have had anything to do with the equity markets in Manitoba investors have Long been known to favor guaranteed invest ments and real and to shy away from the equity especially High risk the exchanges publication bears that of the 13 types of investments broken Down to show regional ownership of Manitoba and Saskatchewan were above the National average in Only three categories Home ownership Canada savings Bonds and registered education savings As a percentage of the adult population owning certain types of Manitoba and rank As the smallest ownership group in nine in Many cases tied with Atlantic Jerry chairman of the Manitoba chapter of the investment dealers says that Mani Toba investors have always been Bednar says that the Ida has a Challenge to increase the level of awareness in Manitoba of Safe investments that Are Avail Nan the acquisition of Merrill Lynch Canada retail operation by Wood Gundy is expected to have a minimal Impact on the Winnipeg managers at Wood Sundys and Merrill Lynch Winnipeg Gord Wimble and Darcy Are surprisingly optimistic about the with a total of 11 brokers at Merrill Lynch and eight at Wood the size of the combined firm will put it in the neighbourhood of the average sized Winnipeg brokerage under the terms of the sales agreement announced earlier this Wood which is 62 per cent owned by the Canadian Imperi Al Bank of will get 685 employees of Merrill a Cana Richard Walker we can Only go part Dian subsidiary that is 100 per cent owned by its american Mer Rill Lynch will retain its corporate and institutional and Wood Gundy will use merrills re search for 18 then Pur Chase that research on a contract basis after the local firms will operate Paral Lel offices for about six months be fore any physical merger takes ;