Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 18, 1995, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press january tories together it Doest take much to transform a Canadian politician into a fiscal conservative these a month bearing the responsibilities of office will do in most that is How Long it takes them to understand that the problem of the National debt is not something cooked up by righting governments As an excuse to grind the faces of the poor but a looming threat to the Well being of All Rich and Jean Chretien is clearly a believer these with the Canadian Dollar interest rates soaring and for eign investors tending to sniff Ever More suspiciously at the books of Canadas Federal and provincial govern he has no a growing Economy has Given him a break this buoyant reve Nues will ensure that the deficit is significantly lower by the end of this fiscal year than finance minister Paul Martin predicted in last years that healthy econ is not enough to keep the value of the Dollar from drop Ping sharply or to pre vent interest rates from rising even More sharply the Bank of Canada rate Rose yesterday by a full percentage those events invested Chretien monday press his first in eight with More than the usual Chretien promised that his government would meet the targets of deficit reduction that were set in last years just How he would do so was no clearer after the press conference than it was but the prime minis Ter stuck to the position that most of the deficit reduction would come from cuts in though the share generated by higher taxes might be bigger than once Antici both the prime minister and the minister of finance agree that some tax loopholes should be closed in the interests of the new financial Challenge posed by higher interest rates May Force the government to rely More on tax boosts that it originally but Chretien left no doubt that spending cuts will still Bear most of the Burden of deficit the problem is to Cut spending without cutting the heart out of Canadas system of social not afraid to Cut programs but at the same time we have to maintain the level of decency and dignity in this the prime minister told the press while he was pondering this he got some free advice about How to do it in a Telephone Call from another recent convert to fiscal British columbian nip Premier Mike Harcourt suggested that the Federal government could save billion a year by ending overlap in Fields such As worker training where both Ottawa and the provinces Are and by put Ting an end to regional development that the sort of advice that might have been expected 30odd years ago from Harcourt social credit predecessor in today fiscal oddly some of it makes some after Filmon fridays allowing Bill 22 to lapse on March 31 kills Filmon Fri Days but there is no certainty that another version int on the the difference this time should be that it comes from an agreement negotiated by the provincial government and its without government imposing a mid contract change of the Manitoba government employees Union negotiated a three year contract with the Filmon government in Good that contract called for wage increases of three per cent in each of the first two years and a Cost of living increment in the that Deal was Filmon fridays were a Clever Way for the government to trim its wage Bill by per cent without being seen As it was the easy Way out because no Tough choices had to be made among programs that were still useful and others which had run their asking every Public servant to take 10 Days off without fridays during the summer and three Days Between Christmas and new the employees didst like the smaller pay Cheque much but its hard to scream too loudly about summer Long weekends and a Long break during the Holiday institutions which rely on government funding will be in an awkward their Grants Are not Likely to go up without the limitations of Bill their wage Bills universities and school for will be forced either to Cut programs or continue sending employees Home for an unpaid a better Way is for the government to negotiate an agreement that it can afford and to make hard decisions about what programs should be sustained and which should that takes More courage and More Public servants know that times Are they know that no government is going to Settle for anything More than a Token wage increase next an honest agree negotiated in Good Faith is a much better Way for the Filmon government to treat its Winnipeg free press Winnipeg free press est 1872 Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 Rudy Duncan Mcmonagle executive editor John Dafoe editorial Page editor directors John Bardawil marketing Stephan Majorki operations Perry Glenn 91995 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 Vanl Toby press Council f editorials Freedom of Trade Liberty of religion Equality of civil rights editor John 6977044 Stop picking on the poor the Story of the harassment of people on welfare accused of cheating by informants is a re sult of the provincial tack on those on the the province asked people to come Forward and reveal information anonymously on a hot line about any one defrauding i for one found it offensive when the provincial government splashed 18 billboards across the City this past summer to ask people to Snitch on Wel fare i resented the idea of placing Bill boards at approaches to Bridges telling visitors we were a City of i found those notices a Nasty re Flection on the City that it Doest de it was a cheap of the Vintage of the bitter depression of the thirties when people on welfare were reported for owning a radio or buying telephones were disconnected to qual Ify for sure there Are people who abuse the the Rich As Well As the there Are people ready to rip off the program and the City has had a special investigation team for it has found most complaints i dont see the provincial govern ment paying for billboards to Corral corporate big corporations can take taxpayers for a As revealed recently in the Globe and mail they Are getting tax credits for re search and development on systems they would have required for their nor Mal among them Are Canadas largest which made record profits last and yet have filed million in mostly for developing computer software meanwhile in the and Canada those on welfare Are under greater at tack suggesting they Are sponges and should pull up their if there is any More startling exam ple that people want it is in the lineup last week of people at just to have the oppor Val Werier Unity to make an application for wow that almost twice the Popula Tion of Portage la standing around for hours in the cold in the Hope of a Good these Are High paying but people on welfare Here scramble for the poorest during the 1993 sum Mer flood Only 45 jobs were available at an hour to do the dirty work of cleaning up without a doubt we could have employed hundreds on says Joe employment last year for an about 800 were employed for varying periods to help seniors and the the number could have easily been tripled if there had been enough there is a direct correlation Between the number on welfare and the state of the observes Russ Sim Wendell Philip Winnipeg free press Frank Ribarics City Job gave him a Way out of the welfare director of the cites social ser vices in the past year welfare cases were at a Peak of cases in the unemployment rate in Winnipeg then was also the highest at per by october the unemployment rate had dropped to per cent and along with it the welfare Roll to it constituted a decline in the welfare caseload of 13 per the first major drop since by the years end the caseload had risen to there Are Many with a lot of work ing experience on particularly in the construction says the Range is enormous teach computer Carpen labor there is another picture among those on the average Educa Tion level is Grade not considered sufficient for the the fact remains that Many with wide experience and training can not find in a time before the the City caseload stood at by it had climbed to and has kept rising since because of restructuring and relocation of in these figures represent peo suffering a loss of jobs and Ridenti there is clearly something badly Askew in our society when there Are so Many unemployed while cities across the country desperately need new and improved water and sewer streets and its so unproductive to pay people not to work when there is so much to be people insist in polls that More than Are the major con Cern and that jobs will wipe out the deficit and assuredly reduce the welfare its unfair to Point the Finger at those on gun owners ambush Allan Rock Ottawa its a variation on the tale of David and with a Small but determined band struggling against an overwhelm ing Only this there is some question about who is fighting on the Side of for More than a month Justice minister Allan Rock has been dodging verbal missiles launched by the nations gun infuriated that Ottawa has dared to further restrict the ownership of rocks gun control package includes an immediate prohibition of most automatic and assault style stiffer penalties for Crimi nals who use firearms and a National registry for every Hunting Rifle and target pistol in the the registry would be at and then charge what Rock could Only describe As a nominal fee of or per Given that recent Public opinion polls show More than 80 per cent of canadians support stiffer firearms you would think Rock would be basking in the Success of having engineered a political Howe gun owners dont like the Laws and they think the registry is an affront to every la abiding citizen in the since the new proposals were an gun owners have utilized their jargon by threatening to take i National reporter out politically of they have threatened to target individual liberals who vote for rocks package and ensure they Arent nominated in the next and they have promised to hold More of the boisterous Public meetings and demonstrations that have won Over the Media to show their int there something Terri Bly amiss in this Story line minister of the Crown introduces measures sup ported by Large majority of minister Steps Forward onto the Palace Balcony to receive minister is stoned to death by angry gun own with his last bloodied min ister asks where it All went Rock travelled the country this consulting with gun target shooters and after this thoughtful Rock consulted with his own which contained More than a few friends of legitimate gun eventually toning Down his proposals to help backbench ers sell the package Back sensing that he had achieved a politicians greatest the Rock walked into an the key Issue of concern for gun owners of the they will Lead to confiscation of in their most salient gun owners contend the registry Only hurts legitimate owners be cause registries dont have an Impact on whether criminals use Rock by All successfully refuted most of these arguments but it has not resulted in a Mut ing of the gun on the at least once a week Rock faces threats from a Spittl spraying gun while for the most part Rock has been methodical in his approach to the he May have made a serious tactical Rock has spread out the registration process Over eight years in the Hopes it would Calm the gun but in trying to soften the blow for gun in he has blurred his most com Pelling what Rock should be Tell ing All canadians More clearly is the Mere presence of legitimate or poses a threat to Public according to figures readily supplied by the coalition for gun there Are genre lated deaths in Canada each year and while the great majority Are v there Are an alarming number of Mur Ders from Domestic disputes and deaths from accidental the gun control lobby further argues that stricter gun Laws introduced in 1978 have contributed to a steady de Cline in firearm related whether or not it is accepted by gun tighter restrictions on legitimately owned firearms do seem to Lead to greater safety and fewer deaths by promoting greater awareness of the threat posed by at the very it does not make the problem by trying to soft pedal the Legisla Rock has allowed the gun lobby to promote misinformation about his telling gun owners the registry will Cost per weapon and that it will Lead to confiscation of both of which have been denied by the Federal govern Rock has allowed the firearms registry to be manipulated by gun owners who equate it with the More common sentiment that says government has become too big and too invasive in the lives of Rock has the support of most canadians but unless he is firm in his stewardship of the gun control he is going to spend months dodging pot shots from lobbyists who no doubt Are aware like one Well struck blow can dramatically alter ;