Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 9, 1990, Winnipeg, Manitoba 11 Call Fob details special dates May apply to shims rates subject to Confer Nafton certain minimums conditions apply no fees i Winnipeg 78m040 Brandon i Winnipeg free press january pages 1322 Philip business editor business it a Job Impact open to dispute by Murray Mcneill prior to its the Canada free Trade agreement was being touted As both a creator and a killer of and one year not much has proponents of the historic Deal Are still predicting Over the Long Manitoba will show a net gain in jobs As local manufacturing firms expand to take advantage of lucrative new markets available to them South of the and opponents of the fat Are still forecasting significant Job losses As Manitoba companies either get squeezed out by their american or move their operations to Central Canada and the United states in order to be closer to the larger Canadian and so has anything happened in the last 12 months to indicate which prediction will prove most accurate the answer to that de pends on who you talk according to opponents of the including the Canadian labor Liberal Leader Sharon and new democratic party Leader Gary Manitoba has lost hundreds of manufacturing jobs since the fat came into effect last but according to proponents of the such As Manitoba Industry and Trade minister Jim most of those Job losses had nothing to do with free and although Ernst and other fat proponents Point to any specific instances where jobs have been created in Manitoba As a result of the the minister said there have been developments that suggest that new manufacturing jobs will be created within the next few almost impossible while an official tally of Job losses and gains due to free Trade might help clarify some of the its difficult to find anyone who is keeping such a led spokesmen for the Federal and provincial the Mani Toba division of the Canadian manufacturers the Confer ence Board of Canada and statistics Canada All said their organizations and that they dont know of anyone who Christine Deputy director of Media relations for the Feder Al department of external affairs and International and Paul press Secretary for Federal Trade minister John said the Federal government Hast been keeping a tally because its diff if not almost to do that because there usually Are a year after one of a series a number of reasons Why compan ies expand or Cut Back their opera like shifts in con Sumer buying escalating production changing interest and fluctuations in the value of the Canadian they one would have to go to every Plant and ask the managers for the reasons for the Benoit in sure that in nearly All of cases there were Many and in sure that in some of the cases free Trade want even a particular Ernst and Wayne presi Dent of the Manitoba division of the Canadian manufacturers Assoc a Plant closing figures questioned the two said the Sharp Rise in the value of the Canadian Dollar in relation to the Dollar and ongoing High interest rates Proba Bly had a bigger Impact on Canad an manufacturing operations in 1989 than free Benoit noted that the Federal government last year commissioned an Independent study into what Cri Teria could be used to help track the Impact of free Trade on employ ment and the he said Crosbie is expected to publicly address that and other free Trade re lated issues sometime within the next couple of one group that claims to have been keeping a tally of Job losses is the Canadian labor it estimates there have been at least jobs lost in Canada As a result of Plant closings that were linked either directly or indirectly to free including at least in its list of Plant closings covers the period from the 1988 Federal election which it says assured the ultimate passage of the fat to the end of among the 14 announced closings it cites in Manitoba Are the West Cott Ogilvie Lipton and Canada packers Plant losses in Winni the Toro Plant closure in the Marrs Leisure products Plant shutdown in bran and the pending shutdown next year of the Campbell soup Plant in Portage la proponents of the fat question the Validity of the Clos and officials for most of the companies involved in the Manitoba closings have said free Trade had nothing to do with their and even those that have admit Ted that free Trade did play a role have insisted it was an indirect at Csc economist Bruce Campbell said in a Telephone interview from Ottawa that Hes not surprised by he said most of the companies who announced Plant losses last year in Canada denied there was any link to free but in most cases you can say free Trade has a he if its not a direct its an indirect for some losses were As result of government economic policies which were implemented because of the he so while the link to free Trade May have been an indirect it was still a he doer and Carstairs also dont buy the claim that free Trade had Little or nothing to do with recent Plant closures in particularly the decisions to close the Campbell Ogilvie and Molson in absolutely convinced they Are All tied to the free Trade Carstairs said in a recent doer said the president of Ogilvie Mills even admitted the closing of Ogilvie Plant was linked to free albeit their View is shared by James spokesman for Manitoba a group of local University professors which was established last year to Monitor the Impact of free Trade on Silver also Points to the Campbell and Ogilvie Plant losses As examples of where Manitoba has been Hurt by free he admitted that its often difficult to prove beyond a doubt that free Trade has played a role in a decision to shut Down a Plant be cause there often Are other factors but in most cases one can see it is at least indirectly or partly attributable to free he Ernst said in an inter View that he met with senior officials of All three companies cited by doer and and was assured that free Trade was not a Factor in their decisions to close their Manitoba he said Ogilvie Mills had to rationalize its Canadian operations in order to remain and that would have happened with or without free Campbell soup is consolidating its North american soup Carstairs and doer link free Trade to Ogilvie and Molson Plant making operations in response to changing consumer buying Pat he the soup business has been Static or and As a result consolidation and economies of scale Are he in the Case of which merged last year with Carling okeefe Ernst said Mol son had Only an 11 per cent share of Manitoba and its local brewery was losing the Molson Plant would have closed without the amalgamation and it would have closed with or without free he Ernst is one of those who believes Manitoba has been rather than after one year 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 manufacturers Are gearing up for free he he said firms have to invest More Money in their facilities in order to expand production and Cre ate new were very hopeful that that the increased investment in 1989 is going to translate into More jobs next year and he free Trade Deal working very Well in settling disputes by John Valori Washington up de spite some lingering Trade Canada and the United states have done a remark Able Job of settling commercial Dis Putes under free says Trade representative Carla i think the free Trade agreement West Hawk Marine ski Doo sales service rentals 44 wast Hawk Lake rent a ski Doo and snowmobile the Beautiful White Shell for reservations Canadian cancer society take notice that the annual meeting of the can Adian cancer society will be held at the Novosel Toronto Ontario on february at local time to receive the reports of the directors and the auditors and to trans act such other business As May properly be brought before the by order of the directors Barr Secretary 4th 1990 Why Settle Lor lower rates offered by one Bank or Trust company we give you Complete rate shopping 24 hours a Day 7 Days a for Long term Security growth today highest rates rates subject to confirmation shop Canadas highest in Terest rates at the on Estop financial Over 80 companies founding member brokers 24hrrateilm 942info wih Yipu 491 Purow a 7814040 Rice Inan Cim 113 uhf strut 72iw40 is working very Hills told reporters yesterday during a news conference to assess International Trade weve done a remarkable Job of settling the differences Between our selves and our largest trading part the Bush administrations top Trade dismissed suggestions the Trade agreements dispute settlement mechanisms a key demand by Canada during negotiations for the pact had so far failed to resolve Cross order free Trade critics Point to linger ing disputes Over ply Wood West coast fishing durum pork and other agricultural products As evidence the agreements dispute mechanisms Haven lived up to expect Hills argued that in an annual two Way Trade approaching billion there Are relatively few unresolved Trade disputes Between the two and the High profile ones that remain West coast fishing rules for example will be settled by continuing Nego she Hills remarkable Job when you total All of our Dis they really Are very said a 56year lawyer who keeps a crowbar in her office near the White House to symbolize american efforts to pry open protected foreign Hills said she is confident Canada and the will soon Settle the longstanding dispute Over West coast a lingering irritant that a free Trade panel ruling last fall did Little to at Issue Are Canadas fishing regu lations that require All West coast Salmon and herring to be landed and for conservation in British Columbia before being sex the United states has said the practice is a thinly disguised Trade Barrier intended to protect fish processing jobs in authorities have threatened to retaliate with higher tariffs on other Canadian seafood including exports from the hard pressed Atlantic in a related Hills also said the has no intentions of cutting Back on a controversial american farm program used to subsidize wheat sales Canada has Long criticized the multimillion Dollar Export enhancement program for depressing world Grain prices and reducing Export earnings for Canadian Farmers who sell their wheat Hills said that while the opposes Trade distorting agricultural subsidies in it wont re Duce its own programs until All major farm exporting countries agree to an International curb on such i am absolutely against Trade distorting but we will not unilaterally Hills she said that eliminating agricultural estimated to Cost governments More than billion us a year remains the top priority in global talks to rewrite International trading the talks under the Geneva based general agreement on tariffs and Trade Are due to be completed by the end of this but stumbling blocks remain Between the United Australia and Canada on one Side and the 12country european Community on the other Over the question of farm West european countries Are re sisting pressure for a commit ment to phase out All Export based farm subsidies and they oppose american proposals to replace cur rent subsidies by import tariffs that would eventually be phased indicator shows Economy on knifes by Larry Welsh Ottawa up an important sign of future growth Rose during statistics Canada said yes but that did Little to reassure analysts who believe the Economy is slowing the composite leading measuring 10 signs of economic activity ranging from furniture sales to Stock advanced per cent in october after smoothing out statistical but economists warned that the Economys last checkup is of Little use when the patient is on the critical the Economy is in such a delicate state in terms of whether were simply in the midst of a slowdown or getting close to a and looking at october numbers be comes much less said George chief economist at Montreal the leading indicator Rose in octo Ber to Points from Points in the previous the october level was unchanged from last showing that the Economy has come to a said Doug chief economist at Toronto Dominion it tells you that were balancing on the knife the october Advance in the Lead ing indicator followed a slim cent gain in september and three declines during the although the leading indicator Rose in statistics Canada reported previously that the econ oms Gross Domestic the total output of All goods and services fell per cent during the same month after adjusting for ;