Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 21, 1994, Winnipeg, Manitoba A6 free press editorials editor John 6977044 Farmers need a vote agriculture minister Ralph Goodale should talk to the free traders among Western Canadian Grain growers and work out terms for a plebiscite on the Export monopoly of the Canadian wheat until a plebiscite is conducted and the monopoly the fair Ness of enforcing it against the free traders will be increasingly most Grain growers fully understand the logic of the Export monopoly All producers share in the aggregate Price the Board achieves in Selling their crops in a free a few producers would be Able to sell at the highest those Selling through the Board would then receive an aggregate Price without those to Price those who believe they will make the to Price sales favor removing the the Mulroney in its last months in responded to the wishes of free traders by trying to re peal by order Council the wheat boards legislated monopoly on Barley that move was struck Down by the courts and the monopoly free traders have been ask ing for a plebiscite that might give them a Sec Ond Chance to break the wheat pro have been trying to truck Grain to at a Public demonstration at the wheat Board offices last free traders demanded a plebiscite on the wheat Goodale hesitated last Winter Over holding the producers plebiscite on Barley that liberals had demanded in it would be he to word the question fairly and draw up the voters list reasonable people can Over come those the greater damage is done by rigidly enforcing a state trading Agency monopoly whose legitimacy is in doubt in an Era when free Trade is sweeping the by negotiation with the free Goodale should be Able to come up with a suitable question that would fairly put to producers the Issue of the Export to if the Barley question and the wheat question can be lumped into one then much Effort and con fusion can be in the course of these the minister May find that improvements in wheat Board methods will Deal with much of the As Long As the Board is willing and Able to adapt swiftly to changing conditions in the Grain the minister should not doubt that a plebiscite will uphold preservation of the he should be trying to hold it As soon As to strengthen the governments authority to come Down hard on free traders who defy the How he is in doubt about the outcome of a he should be responding to the pressure for change and plan Ning reforms of the Canadian Grain Export a place for an Arena anew Arena will be built in Winnipeg if the private sector finances most of the construction if fans and corporations buy enough season tickets and luxury boxes and if the National hockey league makes it possible for smaller markets to compete in the big those Are a lot of while All of those ifs Are being sorted the private sector consortium dedicated to saving the Winnipeg jets wants the three Levels of government to sooner rather than where a new Arena be should built if a new Arena is to be built anywhere at the consortium itself claims no preference Between the site just North of the Provencher near the Corner of Portage and and the parking lot across from the convention Centre on York the spokesman for the John says his group can live with either although he is Quick to Point out the advantages of the Provencher Bridge the advocates who favor that site Are up against some powerful the first is that All governments Are on record supporting the York Avenue the second is that two one chaired by Arthur the other by Jim opted for the York Avenue site a third is a failure to describe exactly where the alternative site is and where it is it is not part of the it is not that Green space which ought to be protected against the encroachment of a Large scale it is mostly scrub Well situated near bus routes and right next to a future terminal for the Southwest transit it is close to retail and commercial All minds should stay open As engineering architectural drawings and Cost factors Are this will require some time for councillors and senior Levels of government to the consortium wants a Quick decision but it should be it should also be yet that no Arena will be built anywhere until everyone can see the of its until any decisions by govern ments Are purely hypothetical Winnipeg free press Winnipeg free press est f 872 Winnipeg Tribune Ett 1990 Rudy Duncan Mcmonagle executive editor John Dafoe editorial Page editor directors John Bardawil marketing Craig Barnard circulation de Belhumeur human resources Stephan Majorki operations Perry Glenn Winnipeg free a division of a Zvulon of Thomson company Umstad published seven Days a 1355 Mountain Manitoba Rex pm Chretien still Calls the shots o Ottawa in politics or athlete it is referred to As the called even no baseball fans can envision the now famous image of babe the Heady braggart who stood at Home plate before a pitch had been pointed to the Section of bleachers where he would soon Deposit a Home As a the called shot is a brutal mix of Confidence and intimidation that often produces As much Dis Dain As it does fear even More rare in professional the called shot has Arisen Many times when is the stuff of leg negro league Pitcher Satchel through More than 50 no hitters in his occasionally Send ail his fielders to the Bench and face the batters alone without anyone behind Boxer Muhammad a frequently predicted the round in which he would terminate his opponent on sometimes actually Ful filled the in the called shot is a rare overconfidence is a strategy few politicians seem inter ested in using for fear Public a fickle commodity at will evaporate like a Trail of former president George Bush made the mis take of asking a nation to read his lips when he promised no new taxes and by the end of his was probably nauseous from being reminded he Ever uttered the there is no Federal election forecast in the near and perhaps with that thought in prime minister Jean Chretien is indulging in his own version of the called the Only Dif Ference is that instead of a gleaming wooden Chretien is wielding the now infamous Liberal red a neatly bound volume of Campaign promises that the prime minister wears like a breast As Canadas parliament reconvenes for a frantic fall there is a great Deal of anticipation about National reporter whether the liberals will finally put their legislative machinery into gear and fulfil some of the larger promises included in the 112page party plat form that was a major Point of interest for the Media during the 1993 Federal election some of the promises would be familiar to most people replacing the investing in Job creation through infrastructure restructuring of social cancelling the he 101 helicopter reducing the the red Book is unique be cause governing parties rarely record a Complete list of promises made Dur ing the heat of an election for easy reference later in their although the liberals have not suffered because of their volume of promises one year into their Politi Cal and Media critics have used the red Book As evidence that Chretien first year has been relatively in Only a very few of the promises have been fully realized while Sev eral others Are still being studied and despite these shortcomings and some uncertainty about How close to the Mark the liberals will come on important red Book entries such As so Cial program Reform and deficit reduce Chretien continues his Flirta Tion with the called in mondays question Chretien was pressed about the Progress his govern ment has about his commitment to live up to the red Book Reform party Leader Preston Man fighting his own War against an image of put the question to Chretien when he noted that governments that get have a mandate and do not use it to make fundamental changes in the first never end up getting the Job Manning then challenged the govern ment benches to raise their standards and expedite several important initiatives so the Canadian pub Lic could judge More objectively the Worth of a Liberal Manning is surely concerned about the Public opinion which show the liberals with More than 60 per cent of popular support despite having done very Little in their first the honeymoon is obviously still going Strong and in his role As an opposition has been unable to produce a leak in the overinflated Liberal although Chretien used the Humble posture of the Little Guy from Shawinigan that has worked so Well in the his words betrayed the language May have suggested quiet but the tone was that of the called it is written in the red Chretien said to shouts from the it will be Chretien surely remembers that for every babe who reportedly fulfilled his called there is a mighty Casey who failed in his at Ruth is clearly revered for his accomplishment but they wrote a poem about the pathetic refrain of which still rings sharply in the ears of anyone who Falls Short of a Lusty Jean Chretien with the red Book will he be babe Ruth or mighty Casey in the end fear creates a silent civil service Imp new Hon Toto of tit Caunce there has been a curtain of silence on the illegal destruction of about Cormorant nests and Pelican nests on two islands on Lake Winnipegosis earlier this sum thousands i am have been destroyed in other it was known by officials in the Natu ral resources department but this massive destruction want investigate i find it disturbing that Bureau apparently fearful of arousing the displeasure of the did not pursue this the it is didst want to put the Finger on those who have destroyed the Birds because it Doest want to Rock the boat with an election in the in the fish Ermen have destroyed nests because they maintain the Birds deplete the fish a fact disprove by people in natural resources know about the destruction of the nests but when i contacted a senior official in i was told the matter didst come to his others say he is aware of the he stated that such inquiries were initiated at the regional off i contacted the regional office and so i called Back two weeks later to learn whether anything had developed in the the answer was i Haven spoken with the i normally get a report unless i specifically asked for no one apparently wanted to get the one bureaucrat told me people in the department Are furious but there told not to say 1 asked about the reluctance and fear to talk about for he employees Are concerned about the Secu Rity of their the department is being run on the basis of he decisions Are made on How they Impact on the political this is a corroboration of a senior official who left the department for an other position a couple of years he told me decisions that should be determined on natural resources factors were made to satisfy political cons Titu this same whose integrity i told me that certain political aides would look upon him with Dis a Vor if seen in my at that time i had been critical of the govern ments policies on Bear Hunting and other its a form of an ugly trait in a i was told of a similar experience a couple of years ago of a director of cultural affairs who was seen talking to the nip cultural affairs critic in the legislative build the director was told the minister want sometimes civil servants Are timid about speaking to the me not Only because of the present it is not unknown for the Media to emphasize a Point that distorts the Issue and so once stung civil servants May Clam the Media Are not free of but whether driven by a feeling of caution or a civil servant May not respond but refer the matter to government Tad the experience this past i called a Man in a professional capacity in gov i left a message and was called Back by the communications was the professional nervous about speak ing up or is it the policy to Clear state ments through communications and give it the proper spin i wanted to speak about the Forks and apparently that was of and he was Given approval to speak to a disturbing i am not one to Carp against civil ser who Are much most do a conscientious Job and i find them anxious to serve the but there is a climate of anxiety and apprehension and a fear of saying something that May displease the there is nothing new in political partisanship influencing decisions of gov no matter what the All governments try to score Points with their but there is another element that has crept into the equation an element of fear because of possible this apprehension has been confirmed to me by a number of its a form of an odious practice in a ;