Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 15, 1995, Winnipeg, Manitoba A cd Winnipeg free press january monetary turmoil a month of turmoil in North american Money and capital markets has shown up a weakness in the North american free Trade the weak Ness is that Naftal does not provide for wide enough co operation among the governments of the United states and prime minister Jean Chretien should ask president Bill Clinton and mexican president Ernesto Zedillo for negotiations leading to a wider the three governments have been talking about Widen ing the agreement to include Chile and perhaps other South american coun and this should happen in but nothing in the first years experience with Naftal suggests that it is weakened by covering too few there is plenty of evidence that it covers too few indigenous people in Mexico Chiapas state Rose in rebellion against Naftal a year ago and their rebellion continues on a modest Cana Dian and lured by promises of High poured Money into mexican projects in bidding up the value of the but be Gan pulling their Money out in the mexican Central Bank bought pesos to sustain their for Lack of Reli Able statistics about the mexican Economy and Money investors and governments were unprepared for the drastic results that ensued when the mexican govern ment ran out of Dollar reserves and was unable to continue its support for the the National currency lost a third of its value in currency markets Over a few weeks and interest rates in Mexico Rose much the same thing could easily happen again and again unless the three governments review the facts to Gether and look for joint the Central Bankers of the three countries should meet regularly and publish shared information about capital Market conditions and Money they need not adhere to a uniform but they should All make their Best information available to each the National statistical agencies of the three countries should develop uniform standards for reporting production and official information fails to capture activity in the informal which is Large in All three countries and very Large in the poorest people in the three Many of them indigenous Are not always willing to wait for naft induced Prosperity to trickle Down to fail ure to meet their needs can upset the whole the three governments should tackle economic development of poor regions and strengthening of indigenous Peoples on a Continental the mexican government is asking Canada and the to Send Money to Deal with the merely sending Money will continue the closer collaboration in economic and monetary policy is More Likely to Deal with the so this is Tough Manitoban Are proud proud of the harsh conditions they you hear it when we Tell visitors about the cold Winters and the vicious we speak dismissively of Lotus land on the West coast and Lack of moral Fibre in people who prefer the soft life in Florida or Southern just our claim has been wearing a Little in its been raining More or less continuously since january three thousand flooding victims were still out of their Homes late last crops had been washed out of the mud was spilling Down the Hill roads and Bridges needed extensive repair in the usual Winter crowds of Canadian and european vacationers were staying canadians have heard about the weak Dollar and the expensive health care and everybody has heard that they shoot in the first seven months of this the number of foreign tourists in Florida among whom canadians Are the larg est National group was 11 per cent below a year and that was before the latest drop in the Canadian in the weather was Fine but nobody knew what a Dollar could the Exchange value of the peso changed dramatically from Day to Day so that nobody could be sure what the right Price was for goods or Servic especially for Dollar bearing in warm moist air blowing in from the South blanketed Toronto in fog and interrupted service at Tor onto the visiting mexican foreign minister was unable to Fly to in a few centimetres of fresh Snow covered the dirt on the older Snow and tempera Tures hovered in the mid teens below the Canadian Dollar was accepted at medicare covered necessary health services in full and visitors drove rented cars about in Public without being none of this prevented Manitoban from boasting about their hard but had to work at tit they Winnipeg free press Winnipeg int pass f w Winnipeg Tribune Rudy Duncan Mcmonagle executive editor John Dafoe editorial Page editor directors John Bardawil marketing Stephan Majorki operations Perry Glenn Winnipeg a division of do Toton of Thornton company limited published seven a week Mountain Manitoba re pm 6977000 a member of Council editorials Freedom of Trade Liberty of religion equally of civil rights there 40ldit editor John 6977044 Baade Post the great ca9le to Price increase revolt of Street beggars need a King the City Council will not get far with its attempt to curb begging by use of its bylaw Power and curbs on free since the registered charities on their tag Days ask for Money on the streets and the licensed hawkers with their Wiener wagons ask for Money on the it will be pretty hard to show that others who want to finance an afternoons drinking or other such projects should be stopped by the police from asking for Money on the but there is a panhandling problem to be a problem that anyone can recognize after a stroll Down our major downtown that is the problem of ill mannered pan handlers with no class Are Horning in on the territory of the gentle panhandlers Winni Eggers have Long been familiar they Are rude and some times they give panhandling a bad name and they discourage some Winni Eggers from using their own downtown the police have had no Luck Correct ing their but the competing beggars might have More Success in running them off the As Long As no one asked too Many questions about How it was the solution May lie in the system recently proposed by the Manitoba Law Reform commission for regulating professions and a great Long list of occupational groups have provincial organizations with Powers granted by the provincial legislature to choose who can practise the profession or use the professional title and some times with Power to regulate the con duct of practitioners or kick them out of the doctors and lawyers have had these Powers for Many land surveyors and cosmetologists acquired similar Powers More it May be time to create a professional order of Manitoba panhandlers pomp and make the hoboes clean up their own sometimes at Portage Avenue bus stops you see male beggars accosting female pedestrians who Are obviously nervous about the a Well trained beggar knows not to approach anyone who is Likely to be a Terence Moore on summer afternoons near the Cotingame you see strapping youths in expensive clothes who have come slumming blown their whole allowance in the Arcade and Are trying to cover their losses on the Side they win Little sympathy from the but they try the patience of the Public and make things tougher for the regular panhandlers who do not have a Large suburban Home and a parental allowance to go Home ignorant panhandlers think it is smart to Post themselves near an Auto mated Teller machine and approach a pedestrian who is still pocketing the Money just this can be a Way for a transient beggar to try for a big but the Lon term effect is to make people nervous of using the downtown banking this is harmful to the work of the committed full time a Friend of mine took a Short Cut through the ground floor of a Down town Winnipeg Parade unwisely late one recent evening and was approached by two inebriated who wanted five dollars from him and were not impressed by his reply that he did not have five one of them pulled a knife but was dissuaded by the other from using the one with the knife then said he needed a gave my Friend a Beery squeeze and let him this sort of thing gives Rise to de mands for an anti begging bylaw and action by the police which hurts All the a professional licensing system is the Quick Way to Deal with All these it is the usual method in can Ada for suppressing Freedom of speech and Freedom of association through a Legal backdoor that escapes judicial make the beggars get together and appoint a King of the Manitoba hold that King responsible for Licens ing the approved panhandlers and for harassing and persecuting unlicensed hold the beggar King responsible also for laying Down a code of professional the governments of Canada and Manitoba and the City Council Are cast ing about for ways to improve Winni let the order of panhandlers apply for a Grant to run a training pro Gram on dress and deportment for be ginning with advanced courses in choosing a sob Sto humorous gambits for Grad uate postmodern Pathan at any Given there Are More panhandlers than police on the streets of downtown the full time panhandlers feel much More strongly than anyone else about the ill mannered the Council should ask the province for a licensing regime and make the beggars police each professional licensing and a training program might raise begging standards in Fie photo federalists feud in Brome by election by Stewart Macleod Thomson news service Ottawa anyone needing proof that the Quebec referendum Campaign dominates All political thinking in the province these Days can just look at the Federal by election Campaign in brom missis in its difficult to know whether that will be an actual by election or a this is one of three by elections being held on 13 the other in Montreal and being foregone Liberal it by the most you can Tell this by the fact that highly placed Federal very close to prime minister Jean suggesting that the to for the Good of should stay out of the there Are those key provincial liberals who Are openly supporting the tory when you mix up a referendum with a simple things do go a Tad what both the liberals and tories want to is defeat the bloc quebecois both fed eral parties agree that would be a splendid coming just As the referendum Campaign gets into full trouble they cant agree on who should do the no the by candidate is getting immense enjoyment from the Little federalist that candidate is for Mer parti quebecois Cabinet minister Jeanfrancois son of a for Mer Union National theres no shortage of High powered candidates in this Eastern townships the liberals have nominated lawyer Denis former head of the Quebec bar association and brother of former provincial Liberal minister Pierre the conservative candidate is 35 year old Guy a colleague of National tory Leader Jean who holds a neighbouring Riding and is a prominent face in lever is getting support from the regions Liberal member of the Quebec National Robert and his entire Riding they feel the tory candidate has the Best Chance of defeating the to the Surprise of no Doest and virtually every important Liberal in Ottawa is of like they with unconcealed in that a Victory for the Chretien party would be an absolute god Send for the forces of they would Send the clearest possible message to but one can easily understand Cha rests reluctance to embrace this quite Hes a Man with his own Charest Heads a conservative party that was the Vic Tim of a political holocaust in 1993 a governing party reduced to two parliamentary Hes bravely dedicated himself to rebuilding this once proud political and where better to Start than in his nextdoor rid one with a Jong conservative Trade it elected a bloc quebecois candidate in 1993 Gaston who was killed in a car Accident last summer and the Liberal candidate came but Down through the years it had Long been a tory remember conservative Cabinet min ister Heward Graff Ley that was his personal and since Only divine Providence could wrest the other two by elections from the is the tories Only one can understand How Charest would feel on 14 when tories Ham mered in All three on the other a win would in crease his parliamentary caucus by so per that would make a much bet Ter the worst headline Chretien can expect liberals win two of three a sweep would be but on a purely partisan Cha rests needs Are clearly great we must avoid splitting the federalist says in suggest ing the tory candidate Charest is in full they the liberals Are the ones who should its a Din Dong ;