Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 11, 1994, Winnipeg, Manitoba Franr focus 1 a 7 warm Western hospitality serving As publisher of the Winnie pm Farr press was the crowning achievement of my 29 years in the newspaper Field for one it afforded me the Opportunity to work at one of he most respected newspapers in this country equally it provided Mary and myself the Chance to experience the warm Western hospitality for which Manit ohans Are we have made lasting friendships during our time in this exciting City to those who opened their hearts and their Homes to a pair of trans planted we thank and wish you Well in the Maurice Switzer Winnipeg christians must learn to accept a recent letter by Harold Jantz of Christian week claimed to represent the Christian response to Homo i too am a Christian but i have a different it appears when this subject arises we always hear from the evangelical and other conservative thinking the and others in any Way associated with the Gay Community Are expected to remain apologetically is Jantz appears under the illusion that those in the Church Are Loving and caring people with respect to their attitude to the Gay there has been Little evidence of let me put to rest a few sexual orientation is not something consciously no one is attempting to make converts to this those of us in the straight Community would never think of asking our friends about their sexual practices As a condition of yet Gays Are expected to reveal their private lives and then be looked upon As so Cial we simply cannot accept them As same gender sex is condemned As a yet i am old enough to remember when opposite gender sex was considered a this puritanical attitude appears to have developed in the last two centuries with the Rise of the evangelical churches which claim to be reformist but will accept Gays Only if they the mainline churches will even ordain them if they Are otherwise qualified and the lord said if you love Only those who love you those the same As you what have you done More than others do not the tax collectors do likewise i am becoming bored with those who appear to be remaining in a spiritual kindergarten they refuse to educate themselves and they refuse to recognize that growth comes Only through it is time that As re late to those in to recognize we Are not All and to realize that those who Are different Are no less human than we Pau Klassen Winnipeg letters review criticized reviews Are like they often either Revere or criticize but rarely do they Jim mams hens review of my april 17 recital for the women musical my first in Winnipeg in 14 smacks More of an attack than an account or an analysis of this even the involvement of Jean the musical clubs program As narrator in Grant beglarians of foibles and fancies which was performed after intermission is completely Over in no mention is made about any repertoire contained in the Sec Ond half of this concert and one won Ders if the reviewer stayed for the whole it might be revealing to seek the opinions of the distinguished and musically Active members of the april 17 women musical club of Winnipeg the likes of Leonard Isaacs or Ada to see if Manis hens opinion is representative of Winnipeg informed listeners and the majority of those who attended this my guess is that Manisher might find himself quite alone and out on a limb in his world of destructive in the reason for my writing this let Ter is to say to Manisher and to the Winnipeg free press that if nothing informed can be critical or it might be Best to stay the free press welcomes letters from readers letters must be signed and should include a clearly printed address and Telephone number names will be published but not addresses All letters maybe edited for style and length Short letters Are less Likely to be condensed please address letters to letters to the Winnipeg free 1355 Mountain Winnipeg r2x3b6 letters can be sent to oui fax number 6977344 letters maybe submitted through the internet at Ca letters sent via the internet obviously cannot be but must include Home address and Telephone away from writing concert if a critic needs to bang his own drum to achieve recognition for its Shock then your newspaper should not be subjecting others to his inane and Unen lightening Denis Brott Quebec Money Doest buy elections those who claim that Money buys elections will have a hard time explaining the most recent elections Canada the which reveals How much the various political parties spent in last years Federal showed that the elections biggest losers were also the elections big Gest the pcs spent ten million dollars and won Only two seats which works out to five million per on the other reformers won 52 seats after spending million which works out to Only per it seems fairly obvious that Money does not buy Canadian voters Are smart enough to base their voting decisions on what is said by not How much Money a candidate or party May spend spreading that that Why Laws which restrict what political parties or Independent citizens spend to spread their message not Only violate the free Doms of speech and they Are simply not its time that the politicians Learned to Trust the Davi Somerville the National citizens coalition Toronto teachers honoured quietly on May the University of Mani Toba students Union and the University teaching services sponsored a reception to Honor 38 teach ers chosen by 19 outstanding graduating students of the University of All Winnipeg even though informed in chose to ignore this human Good news what a for this which is unique in each of the out standing chosen by 12 participating was asked to select one teacher from his or her kindergarten to Grade 12 years As Well As one professor from the univer sity of Manitoba teachers who had made a to be chosen As the teacher or pro Fessor who most affected an out standing students life is indeed a feat and for a profession teaching and an institution the University under heavy Public the event was one to truly i was privileged to be in Atten dance As a spouse of an honoured faculty of engineering professor but once i found the ceremony was also honouring a faculty of Edu cation professor who had a great in fluence on my own professional As Well As a High school teacher who had also made a difference in the jives of my children when they were in Public if the Winnipeg free press had chosen at the very least to publish the list of honoured Public school teachers and it would have shown support for the University unique and commend Able program to recognize educational the newspaper article would also have allowed current and a Well As professional col leagues to celebrate the Job Well done by the outstanding students and outstanding teachers and pro Jean Swiff Winnipeg Winn pfc Rwy press photo the Justice system belongs to our entire society and not just to the professionals who work in and around rights must be balanced court of Queens Bench chief Justice Benjamin Hewak recently released his annual report to the in this chief jus Tice Hewak discusses the conflict Between due process of Law and the Public right to news should be a com and easily understood account of an there is an obligation upon those disseminating information to do so in a responsible irresponsible reporting in a sensational Way is capable of producing unfortunate or even devastating rather than perform ing a valuable informational ser just the opposite is a com most often it does a Disser vice to the and to the More regrettably some disseminators consciously and openly flaunt and disregard the Laws of the land and the rights of on occasion it has happened that they have even encouraged a form of civil there Are those members of the Community who believe that such reporting is synonymous with the truth and rely on such stories to judge the merits of a Case based on the Angle or spin that is put on the facts by the the danger is that this May pre vent or impede accused persons from receiving fair depend ing on the method and style of re and the degree of specific Ity of particularly horrific facts re ported in a Given Case justified by the Media under their principle of the Public right to know the Easi est conclusion and most popular View the Public May adopt is to denounce and condemn an accused Well in Advance of Legal principles prompted by such the Public May have a tendency to ignore such Legal principles As the presumption of proof beyond a reasonable doubt and other rights As guaranteed under the charter of rights and free it is the fear of this result that sometimes leads to court or Ders which restrict for several months ago a judicial pronouncement was made in the province of Ontario Banning publication of apparently gruesome facts disclosed in open court during a sentencing the reported purpose of the ban was to protect the right of a coach used who has yet to be tried to a fair the ban was imposed by the judge presumably after careful and full it should not go unsaid that if there was an error in the reasons of the judge for making such an his error could easily be corrected on a it seems that every form of news Media has been highly critical of this the criticism is founded on any one or More of the following re the Public right to know j since the United states Media which is very close to the Border of Canada is not bound by such a ban and therefore can ignore the ban and Why not the Cana Dian Media 3 there should never be a publication ban under any circumstances j Freedom of expression is guaranteed in the charter of rights and such criticism implies that in a free and democratic society the in formation relating to this particular Case is so important to every citizen of the country that any de Lay in disseminating that information to the Public in some Way Vio lates their right to the very charter on which the Media relies to make their argument for Freedom of the press and other Media of communication also provides that persons accused of crime have the right of Liberty and Secu Rity of the and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental premature publication of events that May adversely affect an accused right to a fair trial surely interferes with due process and the Protection of constitutional these rights have been granted and guaranteed by Parlia ment and our legislature to protect citizens from unfair Legal How unfortunate it is that those at seem to interfere with the manner in which the me Dia would like to the of is Able to focus on their perception of the harm and danger of prohibition or Ders and that View sometimes overtakes the principle of pre sumption of Media focus it is More than slightly curious that a great number of cases seem to be of Little or no interest to the they appear to focus More on the sensational cases usually involving criminal matters or High profile members of the commune yet there Are Many other cases that deserve to be brought to the Public attention since those Deci Wayne g Tiff a kiss irresponsible reporting does a Hewak Sions often represent interpretations of the Law which significantly affect each of unfortunately they May be neither dramatic nor one cannot help but wonder whether the Public right to know is based on the medias altruistic desire to provide useful in formation to the Public or whether it is just commercially As opposed to hearing the cry you have a right to some Day it might be heartening to hear the Media say with Pride that our society As Are committed to the principle of innocence until proven guilty by due process in a court of Law and to the preservation of an accused right to a fair trial by impartial every Ca Nadian citizen has a right to the Justice system belongs to our entire society and not just to the professionals who work in and around society has an interest in the Early detection of crime and timely prosecution of Early detection gives Law enforce ment the Best Opportunity to bring accused persons before a court of Law to answer for their timely notification of the Public ensures open and Frank disclosure of the facts free from hysteria and prejudice and from the risk of pre judgment or unfairness to those accused of Public right the Public right to know must be balanced with the rights granted to All citizens by the Char when those rights Are in conflict the courts Are called upon to decide the priority of those and then clearly the rights of Citi Zens guaranteed by the charter should while it May be that no one is Happy with nonpublic cation in an attempt to guarantee these rights in appropriate court orders of the Type i spoke of Are sometimes today the Public seemingly is taking a greater interest in court proceedings and my colleagues and i Are pleased with this growing of Paramount import is that the courts will continue to act in a Way that will protect constitutional Guaran tees because it is the sworn duty and obligation of the judges to do As quickly As the Media has developed and the Public has been saturated with the catch phrase you have a right to it is hoped that just As quickly we will one Day hear such catch phrases matched with reporting that is and perhaps even bal doonesbury by Garry Trudeau Cap imply the Cummy to aeon wrong tuition taken everyone with any ;