Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 8, 1990, Winnipeg, Manitoba 101a07 guaranteed investment 1 Viiar certificates pm Standard 241 Portage to Trust 9433874 Winnipeg free press 1990 pages Chuck features editor news review Manitoba party leaders sound off on the Pashe future and themselves Manitoba three major party leaders All agreed to head Ohead interviews with free press reporter Patrick Mckemey in the Days leading up to tuesdays provincial Here Are their edited responses to questions on the issues facing Manitoba and the leaders q in this election is about whether Manitoba could have continued to function under a minority do you think the next government requires a majority of seats in the and Why Caret airs i think there Are advantages to minority government in that it keeps everyone quite frankly cognizant of the views of other political the minority government in Manitoba was working very so that there was no necessity for an election the voters will determine if its going to be a majority or a a majority government can also find itself in a situation where it can be bolder then a minority because it does not have to pay attention to the other two so there Are some strengths and weaknesses to a doer Well were the Only party that consistent on the minority government Carstairs criticized Filmon for calling the election in the debate the other she in fact threatened to defeat them four times in the last year and followed through so the nip is the Only party that i think has any legitimacy with the Public on making minority government i would like to see a minority government after this i think that in some ways were going through a very difficult time in our country and our and when you look at the autocratic behaviour of the majority government in Ottawa i think people want some checks and Filmon i think the next government needs a mandate to proceed on a new list of programs and basically we have fulfilled most of the commitments that we made in the 1988 and we did so in a minority situation because at least one or another of the parties supported the things that we had put without having the Assurance that either one of the parties would be prepared to support a whole new slate of initiatives in a throne we Felt it was better for the Public to rather than have political parties make the decision on what should be the program and new Agenda for Manitoba Over the next number of q what is the single largest achievement your party has made in the last two years Carstairs Well i think it would be to present a very knowledgeable team to the in 1988 there was Only one known Liberal because i was the Only sitting but in 1990 there Are 20 additional Las who have proven themselves in the House in a variety of doer Filmon i think we restored the Confidence of people in the province and in they were very upset with the events of the previous number of years under the Pauley government the fiascos in Crown the huge increase in debt and taxes and were really not feeling Good about themselves or their i think a lot of that has changed in the last two years because we have stabilized the and More people Are employed today then were when we took Crown corporations Are All being their rates have been their reserves Are being and people Are feeling much More i think that has been the biggest q what was your party biggest failure Carstairs i quite think there was a i think there was a growth in two years from inexperience to experience that May have been perceived in the first while As what it but i dont think it can be considered doer not having enough time to i think our candidates Are just tremendous and i say that in a very self serving but sincere when you lose i think you need some time to put your roots in the ground As deeply As i think weve done that compared to the who dont have deep roots but id have liked to have spent More time doing Filmon probably the fact that we were not Able to carry through with a number of things that we thought were including the reduction in the size of City Council and the repeal of final offer q have you changed As an individual since the last election Carstairs about two years but essentially what i have had to do in the last two years is to develop a spirit of collegiality with other caucus As a single member you tend to work on your once you have additional members you can no longer do and i think it took some time and adjustment to realize that decisions that you formally made All by yourself now had to be reached by consultation and cooperation with doer in the last election i was defending a record of a government that didst in the last two years Ive tried to make the transition to looking at issues that i feel strongly about in terms of where Manitoba should go in the even though i still have from time to defend the in trying to get policies in place for Manitoba in the that where Ive changed from defending the past to moving to the Filmon i dont think s How do you think Gary Hilmons e has influenced the operation of the premiers office and government As a whole Carstairs i think Filmon has played a very interesting role As a minority Premier who has consistently failed to consult with opposition leaders and then with great that they wont work with the Only Issue on which there was any significant consultation was the whole Issue of the Meech Lake and that was because it was imposed upon with other pieces of legislation which he chose to he didst work through any form of and that Why he had some difficulties with doer Hes got a much More closed i than Howard Pawley much More i think the advantage of that for him is he is trying to set the the disadvantage is you know he is not As accessible As people would and he be As open on its a very controlled a very secret operation even to the Point of changing the party name on their ballot without telling Filmon its difficult to because i cant really know How it operated under Howard Pauley or under previous i suspect i take a much More Businesslike that i Delegate responsibilities to a great that i respect the views of All of my senior staff As Well As my Cabinet and i am always willing to but in the final i take responsibility for the regardless of whether they Are made by senior staff or Cabinet so i guess in and yet q what political past or do you most try to Model yourself on Carstairs i dont try to Model myself on any one political i would say that there Are a combination of leaders i find particularly certainly Chretien has a warmth with people that i find very Pierre Elliot Trudeau understanding of the Constitution is something also that i hold in very High but i also Admire very much the conciliatory attitude of Lester doer i respected Schreyer a tremendous certainly Tommy Douglas is another one that i have a lot of respect so those would be leaders that stick out for Filmon that would be Duff q if the three Federal party leaders were running against each other in your which one would you vote for Carstairs id vote for Jean doer Audrey Filmon i guess i would have difficulty voting for any of and that the honest i have some difficulties with the priorities and principles of the prime but 1 dont think Jean Chretien is any i believe that he is As concerned about his own political future and would probably give the same kind of attention to Quebec above the rest of the i was disappointed during the leadership when he say where he stood on the renegotiated Meech Lake for and after being such a Strong spokesman on the Meech Lake Accord he ducked reporters and said no comment for i know his history with the Trudeau so i dont see that Hes really the answer that were looking i just dont think Audrey Mclauglin has enough background and capability to Lead this country in so i really would have difficulty q ranked from one to what Are the three most important issues facing the next government Carstairs i think the top Issue is getting the Economy moving the second Issue is ensuring that health care is adequately funded and and the third Issue is ensuring that our children receive adequate education not Only at the Junior High and senior High but pos secondary education and doer the crisis in our healthcare the stagnant Economy and the need for major tax Reform in this country to make sure that it is a fair system in the Filmon rebuilding a stronger in talking about economic foundations and the jobs and the investment that we need to insure that we Are protecting our vital services health social the environment and we will need the revenues from a Strong Economy to do and protecting our Way of life having to take Tough stands against those few who would spoil it for the rest of whether they be abusers or q do you agree with the handling of the situation in Oka and and if a similar situation arose in Manitoba How would you handle it Carstairs i dont agree with the Way it was i think the negotiating process should have begun much and i think the Federal government should have been there from Day the obligation for native affairs lies with the Federal but they appeared willing to allow that to be handled by the i didst find that i certainly did not find it acceptable when Robert Bourassa ordered in the doer Well i believe that an hour spent before an incident happens is Worth 55 to 60 Days of confrontation that happens i believe in negotiating ahead of Ive been to 20 native communities since Ive been elected Leader stayed overnight in some of them and i believe Filmon is wrong not to spend time with the i believe he is wrong not to even go to their Friendship ceremonies instead of going to the Richardson so i would Deal with things completely i think Filmon is following the same path As Robert Bourassa in terms of so i would think Hes got to change his open it Filmon i can Only judge from third party i am not in the Middle of it and so i cant give you advice on specific but i do say this in disturbed by the decision that caused confrontation and the death of a police i cant for the life of me imagine Why youd cause an armed confrontation Over the expansion of a Lousy nine Hole Golf in concerned that there seems to be again a desire to bring it to a confront Tive head and to show Force rather then continue to my View is that everything possible should be done to avoid to avoid aggressive confrontation that they should keep talking until they have exhausted All possibilities to keep the negotiations q in recent years we Are seeing More people going to soup kitchens and food and we see evidence of drug use and prostitution among in Light of these kinds of is it reasonable for welfare rates and other social service funding to Rise at the rate of inflation Carstairs i think we must investigate just what the funding rates All too often people Are spending too much of their Money on decent they Are therefore cheating themselves of an adequately nutritious its not a Choice that should be its part of the reason we see More people turning to food ultimately this country must look toward a guaranteed annual income in order to ensure a decent Standard of doer i think we have to first of All look at a number of factors dealing with the weve already made a commitment to raise the minimum i would want to look at some parts of social go to a single tier system Over and More importantly keep the Economy moving and create jobs As the first priority in any social service beyond the soup kitchens and child poverty i think we have to address in a number of different i think we have to look at greater abilities for especially at to have nourishment something we Are working on right now in terms of specific Filmon 1 think that is an evaluation that you have to make very carefully and with a great Deal of compassion and concern for the people who Are dependent on when we evaluate these decisions we look at them from several one is the inflation second is what they Call the Basket of needs that a person living on welfare if the Basket of needs is going up More quickly than then we will choose the higher weve always been sensitive to the effect of that decision on the lives of the people who have to live on and weve always opted to ensure we meet the needs that Are identified by All of the reviews and analysis we can q Why do you think we Are seeing people leaving and what would you do to Stop it Carstairs the vast majority of people leaving Manitoba Are Between the Ages of 19 and 34 and they Are leaving because they dont think they have a future they dont think they can get a Good Job that Why we have outlined a Serios of initiatives to bring research and development Here to the to develop Homegrown to promote appropriate training at All Levels of the Job we believe we have to have a lean and clean government in which spending is based on need and practical solutions to doer there is always going to be out migration and there is always going to be the question is do your population numbers add up to More people at the end of the Day per or you know every politician is going to give you a reason or give you a the Bot Tomline is in the 80s we were growing at persons per year on average and we Are now at Zero population we would use the same kind of measures to stimulate our Economy and bring our children Back to Manitoba As we did in the see where Page 21 ;