Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 13, 1994, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press january editorials editor John 6977044 an exotic specimen Daniel Johnson is an exotic specimen in the Canadian political Quebec Premier who believes wholeheartedly in Canadian this rare Bird has just a few months ten months at the very persuade the Quebec electorate that he should be Given a full term to govern As a who turned 49 on december took Over from Robert Premier for 15 of the last 24 Bourassa wound up firmly in the federalist Camp at the end of his but had of ten toyed with other visions of Quebec parti quebecois pre Miers Rene Levesque and Pierre Marc Johnson the new pre Miers younger brother led a party dedicated to Quebec though that dedication had weakened by the time Pierre Marc Johnson held office in the Johnson Brothers became Premier in 1966 using the slogan equal Ity or flirting with separatism without Ever spelling out the not since Jean Lesage has Quebec had a Premier who was unreservedly opposed to Quebec Lesage watched Rene Levesque and others quit the que Bec Liberal party because he would not steer the party in a separatist Frank endorsements of confederation were unfashionable in Quebec for the last 25 years and until the ambiguous Bourassa settled into federalism in the Twilight of his if enthusiastic federalism is a recipe for political Sui As Quebec conventional Wisdom has held for a Quad then Daniel Johnson is not just a rare Bird he is a dead he used his Swearingin speech to say what he has often said that Quebe cers Are conscious of being canadians and that their Best interests Are served within the polls Are against Johnsons Liberal party at the the latest surveys giving 40 per cent support to the liberals and 51 per cent to the separatist opposition parti with the help of the Federal Liberal gov Johnson May be Able to Chip away at Feder a provincial duplication of a favorite subject of separatist with the support of he May be Able to Point to improving employment and if he does manage to win a Quebec election after openly defending he will prove that Quebec Politi Cal culture has changed and has left the separatists be it looks like a desperate Gamble at the but he has not lost shaky breakthrough the agreement announced by president Bill Clinton at the nato meeting in Brussels this which would see Ukraine give up its nuclear Wear May be the hopeful and historic breakthrough that Clinton and then it May the Deal struck by Russia and the United states would see All former soviet nuclear weapons in Ukraine shipped to Russia Over a period of seven years where they would be in Russia would offer debt Relief and uranium fuel for civilian the United states would provide several Hundred million Dol Lars in Aid and both would respect ukrainian the Deal was signed by ukrainian president Leonid and if it holds it will be an important a com preventing the emergence of another major nuclear it will also allow the at whom most of the missiles Are now and the who suspect that the ukrainians would prefer to target them on to breathe a Little Kravchuk has signed such agreements How Ukraine accepted the Start i which would give it nonnuclear the ukrainian the walked at that and has never done anything about Kravchuk also signed an agreement with Russia that involved giving up its nuclear weapons and its claim to the former soviet Black sea but the fractious Rada wanted nothing to do with that the details of the agreement reached in Brussels Are but they appear to be a Good Deal for the Ink was hardly dry on Kravchuk Nyhen he was being denounced in Kiev by opposition politicians who argue that he has no authority to make such a Deal and by nationalists who want Ukraine to remain a nuclear Power As a defence against it is possible that Kravchuk will be Able to carry parliament this it will not be elections Are due in the Spring and Ukraine Economy is in worse shape than its people Are demoralized and fearful of russian particularly since the emergence of the Ultra nationalist and imperialist Vladimir a Mirinovsky has spooked the ukrainians even More than he has spooked everyone else and the cry to keep the country nuclear shield May find sympathetic ears in and out of the parliament in Winnipeg free press Winnipeg free press est 1872 Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 Maurice Switzer publisher Duncan Mcmonagle executive editor John Dafoe editorial Page editor directors Joi in Craig de beli1umeur Lunan resources Bill Brian Cottom finance 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 a lot of cant about rights James in his famous life recounts an both amusing and Between Johnson and Boswell had been musing about being in but reflected that he would be vexed if things went Johnson that sir Public affairs vex no Boswell Public affairs must have sometimes vexed even Johnson to which Johnson an swered i have never slept an hour nor ate an ounce less i would have knocked the factious dogs on the to be but 1 was not vexed my dear Clear your mind of you May As other people do it is a Mode of talking in society but dont think i am reminded of Johnsons words this after hearing anew round of talk about the Public right to the precipitating local event was the Over an internal radio Sta Tion at red River Community of some of the details of the Karla Teale manslaughter trial that trial of been subject to a publication ban based on a concern that Dis closure of the details in the one Case could prejudice the outcome in the other the trial of her estranged Hus band which will take place later this it was illuminating to listen to a Csc radio interview with Neil one of the students involved in the red River Hieberto justification for violating the Media ban was that there was a great Public stir Over but when the interviewer gently suggested just some of the stir was Media Hiebert seemed his primary in any was that people had a right to know what had occurred in the Teale a was that he had the right to determine what peo Ples rights and the right to de Termine when Peoples rights had been abridged having made that deter the further right to act accordingly though As to How lie came by these he did not it May be that possessing Access to a live microphone is thought to be right William Neville let there be no mistake about the Point at open with their attendant Are an important dimension of our system of criminal jus Tice of the rights and free Doms we associate with a democratic they should be lightly suspended or tampered with indeed they should not be tampered with at All unless there is some compel Ling reason to do in the Teale the argument for a publication ban until Paul Teales trial has been concluded is that in formation in her trial might prejudice the chances of his receiving a fair without knowing what that information it is obviously difficult to assess the Force of the argument but it is not hard to imagine in related evidence Given in one might appear to implicate someone in and what would the position be then that Paul Teale is guilty of the charges against him but let us further suppose that in formation arising from Karla Teales trial was to prejudice Paul Teales trial and As a he were to go Many of those now muttering vaguely about their rights would be Yelling Marc free press Neil Hiebert right to know loudly about the failures of the judicial system and complaining bitterly about How the system protects the rights of the accused rather than the of course the system protects the rights of the and if any of us Ever Are the we shall be thankful for that that is one reason in the Normal we should All of us want open trials and not some kind of court of Star Cham ber not for the rights of the Public or for the but for any of us in that position would want the Assurance openness provides that the system will function impartially and As part of that we not want our own trial tainted by the proceedings of it says something rather interesting that no to my is pro testing the publication ban on behalf of Karla Teale or on behalf of the families of the victims no one is suggesting that the ban has violated their All of which is to at very the real issues Here Are neither simple nor Given and having listened to an earlier round of radio interviews on Peoples reactions to the publication it is hard to escape the suspicion that Many of those interviewed and perhaps even a few in the Media Are driven by essentially prurient inter the accusations against the Teales after strongly redolent of sex and violence and both of sell newspapers More draw viewing and listening audiences to television and the viewing and listening habits of North americans suggest the existence of vast audiences for stories True lurid sex and violence yet in the Many Manor interviews i no not even hinted at simple curiosity As a Factor in their they assumed the mantles of Public watchdogs and of civic virtue and gussied up their inter est and concern in the language of theirs and to know what was going As Johnson would have is now a Mode of talking in society but it is cant when youve consume Dally on can used to be a great fan of consumer reports since the Consumers Union of the United states has been subjecting popular bran name products to rigorous test ing and publishing the results in its monthly for Young people buying All the furniture and appliances you need to set up a it was a faced with a bewildering array of claims by the manufacturers of stoves and cars and they could turn to cars relentlessly objective and practical assessments of those assessments were a potent antidote to All the manufacturers they offered potential Pur chasers a valuable support and Engen dered a certain smugness in those who were in the know about the mechanical flaws which lurked beneath All that Glossy i am still a fan of the Magazine but in a different it is still rigorous and practical in its it is no doubt still a useful guide for Young families who have to watch their pennies while equipping their Homes with the vast array of appliances that Are now regarded As for the magazines tests Are mostly Aca Demic these i find that i Jont John Dafoe want to buy any of the products that they test any the magazines circulation depart ment tried to persuade me to subscribe the other Day by sending me colourful brochures about All the thousands of bran name ratings and recommendations it could provide in its 1994 buying none of them proved Large screen color thanks but we dont want the latest news about the one weve got works the Best compact disc the one we have now is As Good As we electric weve got the most reliable we Haven owned a car in 15 years and dont Ever expect to own one cellular god the astonishing fact astonishing to me at least is that my wife and i have ceased to be at least of most of the things consumer re ports advises people about there May be a few appliance Pur chases in our to sets do Wear so we May one Day have to get a new compact disks May go the Way of so we might have to buy whatever replaces the cd but we have probably purchased our last stove and our last we dont own a deep freeze or a Micro wave oven and probably never there is no room in the House for any More in there is no room in the House for any More stuff of any we dont plan to take up ski ing or Riding exercise bicycles or sweating on step so the invaluable advice we might get about the proper equipment is of no use to the fact that we have dropped out of a Large portion of the consumer society would not be very significant except for the fact that there must be a lot of families in a similar situation these Days and there Are certain to be a lot in the that is bound to have an effect on the Economy and May Well be having one As Canadas population an in creasing proportion of Consumers will be people who have Long since made their last major expenditures on Furni Ture and not to mention that is going to mean less Busi Ness for furniture makers and stove manufacturers and builders of re Frig these old of will continue to once they reach pensionable in they will tend to spend every Dollar they get As Well As dipping into their but they will spend it on other rather than on All those durable goods which have Al ways been seen As the foundation of a healthy people who dont have room for any More stuff in their houses Are going to become an increasingly important fac Tor in the Canadian we like it or one of the causes of the wrenching restructuring that is taking place in the Economy of and of All the other industrialized in i would like to but we just dont have anywhere to put an other ;