Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 9, 1994, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press january editorials editor John 6977044 peace talks need a push in Israel and the Palestine liberation organization signed an agreement in it was a positive confirming israeli recognition of the Plo As the official representative of the palestinian peo ple and promising it control Over the City of Jericho and the Gaza strip As a preliminary step towards eventual autonomy in the West in return the Plo agreed to end palestinian attacks on it was a historic event and there was widespread rejoicing Over this tentative but still major step towards peace in the Middle there was also gnash ing of Teeth and tearing of hair among those on both groups such As Hamas which reject any com Promise with Israel israeli righting groups who reject any diminish ing of what they see As a greater there was another symbolic a More ambiguous at that ceremony in washing when israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin Shook hands with Plo Leader Yasser it appeared As if Rabin had to be physically pushed by president Clinton to do Rabin still appears to need some signing the agreement required great courage on his part seeing it through will require not Only courage but and so far he has not demonstrated when the negotiations to implement the Accord broke off in in reference to the let them a dangerous and shortsighted on the plos Arafat conduct has raised Seri Ous doubts As to whether he can deliver what he has prom ised and even his closest allies within the palestinian movement have publicly expressed doubts about his be All of this is fuel for those on both sides who reject the last week Binyamin Leader of the israeli opposition liked said he would have no hesitation in tearing it up should his party form the gov Hamas and other islamic extremists Are actively recruiting palestinians to scupper the time is in the Side of the extremists and the longer it takes to effectively implement the the stronger the wild ones the Deal satisfies no but Marks a major breakthrough in the Middle East neither is there much of real importance separating the two a great Deal of the bickering is simply poster but the danger in that is that postures can become this week the two sides resume it is imperative that they talk in Earnest and with As much Good will As longtime enemies can improve assessment Winnipeg property assessments should be getting better and better each year As the assessment department uses More recent sales data to set a value on each there is no sign yet that this is the new assessment notices sent to property owners this using 1991 Market May stand up better than those of past years to challenges before the Board of that will Only appear in coming months and years As the 1994 appeals Are heard and the revision Board last week was still preparing to hear several thousand appeals from past a backlog of appeals arising from changes in provincial Law that affected the 1990 assessments is still delaying the boards neither City assessors nor taxpayers can Tell yet what principles the Board will apply in settling 1994 values based on 1991 Market data until it starts hearing those a the City has to write a budget and make some assumptions about the Revenue it will collect in 1994 property tax and the amounts it will have to pay out in refunds to taxpayers who win before the Board of because the Board is still working on past those assumptions Are mayor who has often complained about surprises in City should prepare for More of the the City administration Hopes that the million the Council budgeted for refunds to the end of 1993 will be but since the interest costs of delay Are adding to the costs of the City May run Over budget on that one unofficial estimate pegged at million the extra Cost arising from delay in strengthening of the Board of revision would reduce the scope of surprises and allow for More solid assume strengthening the Board does not mean Tilting it More toward the assessment department nor More toward aggrieved it Means giving the Board the Means to decide appeals swiftly and predictably Accord ing to Well understood the better and sooner the boards principles Are the easier it will be for the assessors to produce values that will withstand Chal Lenge and the fewer challenges will have to be while the Board remains weak and everybody involved is flying Winnipeg free press Winnipeg free press esl 1972 Winnipeg Tribune esl 1890 Maurice Switzer publisher Duncan Mcmonagle executive editor John Dafoe editorial Page editor directors John Bardawil marketing Craig Barnard circulation de Belhumeur human resources Bill Burns advertising Brian Stephan Majorki production Winnipeg free a division of newspapers division of Thomson newspapers company limited published seven Days a week at 1355 Mountain Manitoba r2x pm 6977000 a member of the Manitoba press Council surviving without hockey people tend to blink in disbelief when i mention that i have never seen a hockey impossible Uncan Adian disloyalty verging on treason my assertion that i have never seen a hockey game May not be technically i took part in Many hockey games As a child in the House league at the River Heights Community daydreaming in the net As pucks whizzed around me and my feet it is a As far As i can recall and surely i would remember something like i have never taken my seat in an Arena and watched a hockey game from face off to fist the reason for this Lack in my life is quite i hated playing hockey so much that i have never been tempted to spend time and Money watching other people looking Back to those cold saturday mornings in the 1940s i can Only re member How Boring it All was and How ridiculous the those big shorts and Woollen the the the Jock the the a hockey player in full regalia presents such an absurd figure to the world that it is difficult to understand Why anybody takes him seriously pays him a Cool there of no question of Money when i was playing goalie for the Bruins on that cold open air rink Back in the i was playing by the because i was not a Good skater and if i held on to the net i was less Likely to fall there were Dis of boys on the other teams the the rangers and the canadians kept shooting the puck at it was safer just to step aside and let the puck go into the a boy on one of the other teams lost his front Teeth when he didst get out of the Way fast there were no masks in those we of a couple of real keepers on our team As you might they took it All very seriously and had no sense of their fathers attended the games and Christopher Dafoe shouted encouragement and threats from the they represented the prototype for the sports the athletic equivalent of the stage but More they hated Here they grooming their sons for the and the future Max Bentley and King Clancey found themselves landed on a team with weak ankle duffers who refused to take the game seriously and a goalie who left the net every time a puck came too it must have been heartbreaking for it is generally assumed that every Canadian possibly every Ca Nadian girl lives to play hockey and dreams every night of one Day starring in the this is a part of the Cana Dian National the sports daddy is certainly seen in larger numbers than he was 50 years ago and More tots then Ever Are being groomed for the whether they want it or but there Are still plenty of boys who would rather play the violin or get their exer file photo theres More to life than tending goal Cise in a warm Pool hockey mama is not the current Shakedown Over a new Arena for Winnipeg build it and pay for it or the jets will leave town has revealed various aspects of hockey the chief of which is the Curi Ous notion that hockey and hockey alone keeps Winnipeg on the the mayor herself has expressed the View that the City at the Forks would be a pretty empty and hopeless place without its own team in the As we All cannot even afford to shovel off the sidewalks or fill in the pub Lic Money is being showered on the team and there is talk of spending pub Lic Money on a new after what would Winnipeg be without the jets the answer is Winnipeg without the jets would be Winnipeg without the life would go just As it did before the jets were Ever dreamed come to think of the in its most prosperous and successful had no nil team and yet life somehow taxes were roads were repaired and people were Able to keep argument has been made that top business executives will not move Here if the City lacks an nil the of is that the City of Winnipeg is such a mean and miser Able place that Only the Solace of professional hockey makes life Worth Liv i suppose reluctant business executives could be lured Here with offers of free it might be cheaper in the Long the fact is that Winnipeg has much to offer with or without a professional hockey All it really at least at the official is those who feel that life will fall apart if the Shakedown Doest work and the jets leave town can take com we survived without the nil be we can do it As one who has lived without the jets for i am qualified to testify that the Lack can be there is a life after projected deficit a Seesaw affair the adage about the Only certainties being death and taxes comes to mind when looking at the governments six month financial it indicates absolutely no certainty when Money is in the last the government projected a deficit for the 199394 fiscal that projection was repeated in the first financial re but Ottawa then announced cuts in Transfer payments to have not prov Manitoba would lose Mil since spending plans had been based on the original the Cut was according to the latest financial the Impact will not be As bad the province will Only be Short but the figure can go up or Down before the fiscal year ends March the books May not even be closed but that is another chapter in the Saga of Federal Transfer pay they cause severe problems for provinces which Are dependent on the the sum includes Bil lion for 50 per cent of provincial and municipal welfare and daycare pro billion in established pro Grams financing for health care and pos secondary education and Bil lion for equalization payments to the seven poorest provinces to help them operate programs without charging at the legislature Arlene Billinkoff unusually High when spending plans Are prepared on the basis of that fund a sudden reduction makes taxation an unwelcome when Mani Toba Learned of the finance minister Eric Stefanson indicated the province would try to make up some of the loss by seeking Settle ment of claims for fiscal stabilization for two years and timely processing of recommended changes to the property tax but he admitted even if such action was the province would still be million therefore he warned about spending cuts and the possibility of increasing although our final course of action has yet to be he it is abundantly Clear we cannot afford to leave any Stone the latest report indicates or at least tries to give the impression such action is under it shows reduced expenditures and indicates the yearned deficit will Rise by merely i million to that is based on the expectation of Ottawa providing million to meet the fiscal stabilization and property tax equalization while that May be is it a fact Stefanson we Are very satisfied with the stability around these but the report notes these estimates will continue to be revised prior to fiscal the govern ment is not naive enough to think oth As the minister the True facts will not be known until the end of the fiscal therefore restraint will when a government has prided itself on fiscal Man deficits approaching the Hal billion Mark do not fit the desired therefore the minister warned that the coming estimates process will include a review of All spending and development of innovative approach among the innovations is the advice to All those who receive government support to develop financial plans based on the possibility of a a reduction or elimination of provincial everything is on the including raising even though Stefanson admitted Many believe taxation has reached the saturation if taxes Are it will not occur until the Spring which is Likely to be the last one prior to the election not the most opportune time for any govern it is being admitted the albeit As a last the approach is understandable since it would undermine government efforts to bring Down provincial in come tax rates Over the last five years although Manitoban Are paying Mil Lions More through other How such action May be required to achieve the goal of a balanced budget by meanwhile the government will continue calling on All provinces to act More cooperatively to eliminate Over lapping of programs and will urge Ottawa to remove the Cap on equalization payments and provide More predict ability in Transfer until that the volatility of equalization adjustments will continue to plague All provinces and hamper attempts to achieve specific there is Hope that goal will be achieved following prime minister Jean Chretien commitment to work with provinces to develop a new re formed Transfer payment process which would provide greater the Issue will be discussed when finance ministers meet later this it sounds but As there is no ;