Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 19, 1992, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press 355 Mountain Manitoba r2x new papers dision of Thomson newspapers company muffed a6 Winnipeg free press september injustice prevails editorials Freedom of Trade Liberty of religion i Equality of civil rights Maurice Switzer publisher John Page editor Bruce director David Lee managing editor Craig Barnard director Stephen Ray marketing director Stephan Majorki production manager a mom Bytof foe Manitoba Prass Cornol a year after the aboriginal Justice in Quiry report was Manitoba has not reached even minimal Consen sus on the existence of an aboriginal Justice problem that needs the reports quasi historical account showing that native people in Manitoba never surrendered their right to including their right to administer has proven unpersuasive to observers outside the native reluctance to accept that part of the argument May have drawn attention away from the stronger parts of the the strongest parts Are those rooted in documented recent the shoot ing of Harper on Logan Avenue in March 1988 showed one kind of weakness in the jus Tice weakness of another kind appeared after the murder of Helen Betty Osborne in the Pas in 1971 by a group of one of whom went to prison in Harper was stopped on the Street by a police officer who was pursuing an Auto theft he resembled the suspect in Only two particulars he was male and nothing else in his conduct or appearance gave grounds for connecting him with the automobile the encounter ended in harpers death with the officers Bullet in his the police department immediately exonerated the four and a half years after astonishing the Law enforcement review Agency found that excessive Force had been the circumstances allow Indian people to conclude that Harper was shot by the police because he was an Betty Osborne was grabbed off a Street in the Pas by four Drunken White men and savagely her body dumped by a Lake ramp efforts to investigate the murder were systematically obstructed by the de Fence lawyer the murderers immediately consulted and by a conspiracy of silence in the the persistence of one ramp offi cer and political pressure by Indian leaders kept the investigation alive so that eventually one of the men was charged and convict Indian leaders have sound reasons for saying that Justice was not done because the murderers were White and the victim was in these two which have been Exten sively reported at several were also reviewed by the aboriginal Justice the Aji recommendation of a separate native Justice system has not been accepted by the Filmon it has also been criticized by Appeal court Justice Charles Justice Huband said in a recent speech throughout the entire the commissioners cite not a single complaint by an accused person who says i was treated unfairly due to my race or indeed any other to be has not said that since he did not live to complain of his treat he was not strictly speaking accused because he had not been arrested or charged when he though he was told he resembled a Justice husbands observe while disregards the Harper Justice Huband also denied that native people Are imprisoned merely because the police go after them More disabuse yourselves of the head Vised his that people end up in prison because they Are picked they Are imprisoned because a crime has been re ported and evidence Points to a specific accused and that person is arrested and charged and either pleads guilty or is so found after a fair and when a group of White men kid napped and murdered a Young native woman in the Pas in nobody was arrested or charged for 15 by that one was Able to win immunity by fingering the Osborne Case seemed like a dramatic example where White men were not picked up when they should have Justice he bands severe strictures against the Aji re port would be More convincing if they took account of All facts the report feeding an addiction what delightful news for Manitoba the Filmon government has again broadened the scope of gambling chances available to Rural hotels were Given the Green Light first in november 1991 to install video lot Tery it was part of an attempt to stimulate economic activity outside the City of then the government allowed the struggling Assiniboia Downs to install 40 volts a few months Back to help perk up Busi Ness at the this a commitment was made to per Mit electronic Slot machines to be played in hotels and bars inside the perimeter High the new devices will be ready for action by next even More exciting is the news that two state theart Bingo Halls will be opened next in Case anyone is tired of the Crystal the Assiniboia lotto Nevada tickets or the Hospital lot the Manitoba government is addicted to gambling like All it cant resist the kick in the governments its not or but the Money they generate through enormous levies of direct and indirect the government has now deepened its dependence on the Gam bling milking it for All its Worth More than million dollars is wagered by Manitoban every mostly by people who can least afford the moral arguments dont carry weight any the nip used to Mouth Nice words about the immorality of the Transfer of Money from the poor who Gamble to the Rich who buy Ballet but in gov even they shelved the rhetoric and grabbed the at least governments can be lotteries Bonnie Mitchelson extended the hours of the Crystal Casino so gamblers could indulge their habit on Sun Days until two in the the argument was made that families will decide what activities Are important to them and gambling on sundays was just another of you can play Black Jack on sundays in Manitoba but you cant buy childrens cloth if the decision to Dot the City with gambling terminals is designed to attract tourists to and to keep our own people away from the Neon it emporiums of Northern then the same arguments surely apply to sunday shopping As the hypocrisy is a taxing time the organization for economic cooperation and development has news for canadians our taxes have gone up a whopping 20 per cent since but if it is any Canada ranks somewhere in the Middle among the industrialized countries of the world when tax Levels Are last cents of every Dollar produced in Canada went to we pay More than the japanese and but less than the who pay the and the most recent japanese and Fig ures available Are from 1990 when their tax payers paid cents and cents respect a Safe spot somewhere in the Middle of the pack would suit but just we fall to the Bot Tom the place to debate Premier Filmon and the other party leaders in Manitoba must decide whether to suspend the rules of the legislature and waive the requirement to con duct Public hearings into proposed Amend ments to Canadas they should do Public hearings have already played a valuable part in determining Manitoba position on constitutional two full sets of hearings were held across the province once in response to the Meech Lake Accord in and then again in 1991 As part of the deliberations of an Al party task Force on the those hearings helped form the recommendations ultimately agreed to by Conser Liberal and nip Las they gave Gary Filmon important guidance As he negotiated a final agreement with the other pre the Federal government and native Many of the recommendations inspired by the hearings have survived the twisted Road of constitutional Reform and can be found in the document canadians will be asked to accept or asking Manitoban what they think of the latest package of amendments after the vote on october 26 is useless and potentially Divi the final word from the people will have been recorded and it makes sense to eliminate the necessity of holding Public hearings for this package of Amend that requires unanimous consent from the Premier Filmon should ask for doer and Carstairs should a give it to a full scale debate will take place during the referendum just now getting the with the cooperation of the opposition could use fully organize informational meetings across the province so All Manitoban will have the necessary facts to make an informed Deci All members of the legislature have the time and the resources to Call Public meet Ings in their Ridings to make the documents available to their to answer questions about the most in to Tell the people How they intend to vote on october Manitoban already know the position of two of the three party Premier Fil Mon supports the Deal he helped negotiate Sharon Carstairs rejects nip Leader Gary doer wont say How his members will vote until after a meeting of his provincial Council scheduled within the next two he has an obligation to Tell Manitoban where he stands and uniquely in the Manitoban have taken full advantage of the Opportunity to express their views on constitutional they will have one final Chance six weeks from no useful purpose would be served by organizing yet another set of for Mal Public a spirited Public de facilitated and encouraged by Mem Bers of the legislature from All political Par will do still waiting for the fat lady to sing the constitutional is it actually a plebiscite seems Likely to add a new measure of confusion to an already discombobulated Canadian political the question itself is simple and the possible an Swers yes or no seem perfectly but astute canadians Are be ginning to see that there is far More to All this than meets the who would have supposed that two Little words could cause so much Trou ble four if you include oui and strange bedfellows As the tired old saying makes strange and the referendum Bat with its queer real and seems Likely to Delight Only the nations Politi Cal cartoonists who love to depict ill assorted bed mates and who will undoubtedly take great Joy in presenting us with Jacques Parizeau and Preston Manning under the same like Laurel and Hardy tucked up for the of is the Root of the there Are Many Good reasons for voting no and while both Manning and Parizeau have indicated that they will be in the their reasons for being there Are not exactly attempts have already been made to show that Man rings followers May want to hive off certain parts of the but there is no indication so far thai Manning himself favors this even though some of his remarks tend to give that opinions on the question of constitutional Reform Are passionately some actually think that the beloved nation will vanish in a Cloud of dust if the no forces others Are passionately bored with the whole dreary debate and would gladly hold their noses and vote yes for anything Short of making mul Roney prime minister for there Are Christopher Dafoe even a few who actually believe that the prime the premiers and their minions Cre ated a document at Charlottetown that makes the declaration of the rights of Magna Mills representative government and the declaration of Independence look like pretty thin stuff in a further complication has been added by those who have indicated that those who really love Canada the the mighty the Fertile the great will vote without pausing Only to wipe the tears from their those who vote no will join Benedict Arnold and Jack the Ripper in the notion that a yes vote is a vote for Canada is spreading As the govern ment probably hoped that it once this View is there is no further need to actually discuss the merits and shortcomings of the constitutional document the referendum question might just As easily read do you love this wonderful country or does your heart sing when you hear the geese flying North put that who could possible say Complex tangle Canada has not often used a referendum or a plebiscite to Deal with a National one reason for our reluctance to go to the Plebs May be that it is such an inane and simple minded Way of facing up to a political ques a simple yes or no to an equally Sim ple and often silly question hardly does Justice to the important matter under people might want to say but or but but there is no provision for those who Are not for the question Are against even though the simple question stands for a Complex tangle of other in the it comes Down to the level of the question posed in Gulliver travels which end of a boiled egg is it proper to the big end or the Little end a crypt commie for those who feel that a yes vote will finally put an end to the tedious constitutional operetta there is fresh bad the fat As they is not about to the Premier of Quebec has already indicated that the Accord is just a a fair but really just a first step toward finding new ways of making his province when the vote is stand by for acts and meanwhile the frenzy leading up to the great poll has already All the wonders of advertising will be employed to bring out the Patriot in every one of school children will be seen lisping their Way through 0 Cana beavers will build their geese will honk their Way patriotic pop tunes Are already being if you have reservations about the worry about How effective the new Senate will really wonder Why Senate seats cannot be equally divided be tween men and women or if you simply feel that the proposals Are All too vague or Likely to further Divide the be prepared to be called a crypt commie or a Toady of Parizeau and this used to be such a quiet tall grass Prairie thrives in Transcona when glacial Lake Agassiz began melting some years the native Prairie slowly began to a creation diverse and won but in the course of settlement and Agricula Man destroyed a rare habitat the tall grass Prairie which once stretched from Texas into featured by big Bluestem reaching five to six feet in a Good Only about one per cent of the tall grass Prairie environmental Triumph by a a 20acre remnant remains in Transcona off Bradley and Regent and it is Good to report that it will be saved from devel the City works committee has decided not to allow a major planned Roadway to Cut through the the Story of the Bradley site is a Triumph for the it also illustrates the Neces sity to put Teeth into plan the cites blueprint for the plan Winnipeg Calls for an inventory of such heritage resources and asian to conserve but there also need to be changes in the Zon ing bylaw to allow designation of special places for and above All there need to be politicians who will carry out these the Bradley site unquestionably qualifies As a heritage asset in the new plan soon to be adopted by the had the plan been in it would have been of great assistance to they had to fight to save this rare piece of a sad commen tary on the value placed on our the background of the Bradley Battle reveals a growing awareness of the riches that need to be preserved in our com two years after considerable Dis Cussion with naturalists and other it was agreed that the Roadway would be altered to save half of the 20acre now the entire site will be preserved As a re sult of the efforts of a group of dedicated per sons and a dramatic change in Public among those who participated in the fight were Andrea and Doug the Transcona horticultural the Winnipeg Presby Tery of the United councillor Terry Duguid and la Marianne there was also Strong opposition to the idea of a major thoroughfare cutting through the Doug a deserves credit for discovering the one late summer of Tendon in on his Way to visit his inlays Val Werier in he observed a flush of tall Bluestem he checked it out later and was elated to Dis cover that this stretch of tall grass Prairie was relatively undisturbed for it had escaped development and the Collicutt persuaded the City Weed control Branch not to mow this his thought was to use the site to Harvest seeds for Restora Tion projects of tall grass Prairie but an inventory showed this to be in the a category because of the diversity of now listed at about 100 or so he set the Ball rolling to save the the Bradley site has another it is a moist Type of Prairie and contains differ ent species of plants than the living Prairie museum in the native Prairie Flowers Are adapted to the vagaries of our climate and some set their roots Down 10 or More feet in drought to reach the water some grasses like the Blue Gama take a different abandoning their deep Root system in drought to spread lateral roots to take advantage of any surface Mois As Collicutt most of the for age crops used today Are not native but come from eurasian a native the Pur ple Prairie is now being examined As a potential forage it is productive in the hottest period of the offering an additional crop to the traditional Cool season grasses which mature in Early Spring and the tall Bluestem reveals the resourceful Ness of the sturdy for was too Tough for the Buffalo so they remained intact through the a source for natural fires which rejuvenated the there is so much to be Learned about our tall grass which because of its rarity has escaped the attention of botanists and specialists in this the Bradley site can Tell us some of the mysteries and wonders of our who was brought up in a House in the extreme Eastern end of Transcona by the will continue to work for the Bradley he Hopes to attract funds to put up a brochures and a for the City is strapped for the City purchased the acre site in de Cember 1967 for for a future North South it is Worth Many times that amount that Worth is far greater As a preserve of tall grass Prairie rated the most endangered space in tall grass Prairie grows along Regent and Bradley Transcona f ;