Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 31, 1995, Winnipeg, Manitoba Editor John 6977044 focus Winnipeg free press May gun column fear mongering Fred Cleverley column gun control in a police state free May 15 closely Borders on it would have been More useful if he had examined ways in which the govern ments proposed legislation on gun control could be amended so that we could truly control the violence that is All too evident in our the editorial Page in a major newspaper should be used to discuss major issues that affect our when governments propose Legisla Tion that will affect our lives in a cer Tain the editorial Page should be used to discuss both the Virtues and the weaknesses of this Legisla the editorial Page should be re served for writing that is thought perceptive and discern ing not narrow in self serving and certainly not fear the gun control Issue is one that deserves our and we should hear from those who support this Bill and also from those who object to i heartily support any legislation that will make our lives safer in our Homes and on our no la abiding citizen should really object to registering his he been courage to resist registration by columns such As the one written by in the ongoing Public debate on gun the opponents of this new Bill have never made it Clear Why they oppose having a tighter control on guns and other dangerous weapons that Are too often used to suggestions of taking away our rights and governments using such legislation to create a police state Are tactics used to Cre ate fear and stir up Clev Erlys column does nothing to enlighten Public perception on this is Bill Lassen Winnipeg refuse to pay for stupid Law i got my first Rifle for Christmas when i was eight and have owned firearms for the last 62 years without Ever being accused of mis use of firearms or any other now Alan Roch insists i Register my guns or become a maybe i what i will not do is pay a special if registering without paying is also a i suggest Rock Start now to construct his debtors Pris Inwood saving the spirit As a person who no longer attends jets games because the ticket prices Are too i still support the build ing of a new Arena and keeping the jets in i was one of the Many people who contributed to the save the jets not for my own personal satisfaction but so that this City and province would not lose a Little More of its Quality of its reputation and mostly its i recognize that Money spent on an Arena and the jets could go to in crease services for the build new roads or expand Public ser the reality is that the poor will still be a new Road will fall to and Public services will be reduced in the next tax the building of a new Arena and the retaining of the jets is an expression of a City saying we Are not giving up any it represents something very rare in our world people who came together and ref used to let events take their own people who through their Hope and commitment refused to let our City and province give up some thing that we could never get As previously i cannot afford to attend Many i sup pose if there were enough people like we could be in serious Trou i Trust that the Mec can do whatever is necessary to keep the jets in even in a worse Case with no jets and a bankrupt we can always look Back with Pride and it was the Best of times As we reflect on How we All came together for a Brief to Eugen Baron Winnipeg the madness of crowds in Charles Mackay wrote a Book which should be required read ing for All the title extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of the title tells it one of the Odd est stories he and the one that remains in my mind after observing this City for the past is the Brief history of Tulip mania in about three centuries for unknown Europe went a frenzy Over dutch buy to the editor the free press welcomes letters from letters must be signed and should include a clearly printed address and Telephone names will be published but not All letters May be edited for style and Short letters Are less Likely to be please address letters to letters to the Winnipeg free 1355 Mountain Winnipeg letters can be sent to our fax number letters May be submitted through the internet at . Letters sent via the internet obviously cannot be but must include Home address and Telephone ing them up at astronomical so every dutch person with an Inch of soil planted As Sud Denly As it the Tulip buying passion died leaving All of the dutch Tulip planters for tunes were in the Middle alchemists tried to turn Lead into it never if Charles Mackay were writing his Book in he would have Good reason to include Winnipeg in the onslaught of is really no other word to describe what has occurred Here recently would make a perfect chapter on popular delusions and the madness of people have gone into a frenzy Over a game which is played solely for Money by million Dollar players and backed by wealthy All depending on tax Money from people who Are already taxed to the when future tax Bills will real Ity sink in the one thing Charles Mackay did not include in his because it was not relevant at that is that governments do not have Money when you shake a what Falls Down Are not Dollar the Money tree is the Lee Schacter Winnipeg a few thousands Earth calling Winnipeg a child needs lifesaving but expensive which the prov Ince will not provide the North my Owca is closing because of Lack of neither requires millions of but each is a con Crete investment in our no no no no out of their seemingly very deep could our Politi and Media Powers hate and Wannabe find a few meagre thou Sands of dollars for More realistic medical and social needs of really needy but deserving people Winnipeg its not but what when will you get it right in a Canadian press piece Hemo Philiaus not told product came from a hotbed of aids free May 17 it is essentially stated that Gay men polluted the blood Supply com ing from the infamous Irwin memo rial blood Centre in san it is assumed that these Gay men Are among the highest risk for Why cant the free press get it straight that not group put people at risk for aids if the concern is unsafe or misuse of medical then state that instead of Breeding fear about certain sectors of the after when it comes to its not who you but what you Elizabeth Carlyle Winnipeg Gas prices fuel demand for curbs in response to the article by Medel Gas hikes a rite of Spring free May i strongly agree with the View that there is absolutely no reason to in crease the gasoline Price three times in two from a business Point of Oil companies have to keep up the but there is a the de Mand for gasoline did not increase there is no world shortage of Supply nor is there a sup ply interruption due to War or conflicts in Oil producing Oil company claims that increasing processing and crude transportation costs do not justify such a hefty in what it boils Down to is government should bring in legis lation to regulate the Price of Gaso line and curb the profit of Oil Compa v m one question not being answered by politicians is what is being Given up to finance construction of a new penalty whistle sounds Over Arena funding by Errol Black and Joe Dolecki special to the free press Brian Coles defence of the use of Public sector funds to construct a new Arena for the purpose of keeping the jets in Winnipeg Arena demons raise free May 24 is misleading and transparently this is especially evident in his answers to the questions he in the interests of Well restrict our comments to a few of the question 1 How can we afford to spend million on a new Arena when we Are the child poverty capital of Canada Cole answers that it is not an this is an when Public sector funds Are used to construct an pay the losses of the clearly those resources Are not available for other including the introduction of measures intended to reduce the incidence of child and family be they Cash Job creation housing or the is what is being Given up to accommodate construction of an Arena which will Cost the Public sector a minimum of million and probably much More too High the politicians have refused to address this they have an obligation to address especially during the recent Premier Filmon indicated that a provincial contribution of More than million was out of the question because the terms of what else would have to be Given be too in his answer to this Cole also suggests that if million would wipe out the poverty mayor Susan Thompson and human resources minister Lloyd Axworthy would have no hesitation in signing the an additional expenditure of million wipe out the but it would help to alleviate of this Cheque want on the basis of what Thompson and Axworthy have done to there is no sign that poverty figures prominently in their the Impact of losing the jets May be much less than on the the bulk of the tax changes and cuts to expenditures instituted by the provincial and civic governments have adversely affected people in Low income about the Only thing Axworthy has done As minister of human resources is to Institute cuts to unemployment insurance and labor Market both of which have a negative Impact on Low income individuals and question 2 Why should the taxpayer bail out millionaire hockey players Coles answer is that Public monies Are being used to build a new Arena not pay hockey because most Community leaders believe Winnipeg needs a new Arena to keep Pace with most major cities on the even if the jets do in the evidence suggests just the opposite that the Only reason Public funds Are being used to fund a new Arena is to keep the jets in in any Why would Winnipeg want to keep Pace with most major cities on the continent when it comes to which As the bulk of the research has what Public sector financed sports facilities for professional sports franchises have turned out to be in most existing Arena Cole also suggests the Only question remaining is the appropriate Arena convention Centre or the Forks Hes what about the lowermost options that have been proposed by other and what about the question of what happens to the existing Arena question 3 int the team a Drain on the taxpayer Cole responds by trotting out the numbers produced by the Coopers Lybrand thus he says these studies have shown the jets Are Worth about million to the local this is a Gross and inflated As opposed to a net the same one John Douglas and Scott Taylor have consistently to suggest this would be the value of the economic activity lost to the Winnipeg Economy if the jets the economists who argue that the loss to the local and provincial economies would be because Money would be spent on other Are As is acknowledged implicitly by Coopers Lybrand Cole is wrong to suggest that everyone agrees the loss of the jets would mean a loss of at least million to 10 million in income and payroll taxes and jobs for about 900 Winni Eggers and indirectly for about not available since these Are based on the Gross estimates compiled by Coopers Lybrand although the Coopers Lybrand study on the Revenue Impact is not available for Public it follows that the critics would that the total revenues of government and total jobs would not be much affected by the loss of the because of substitute even Coopers Lybrand acknowledge that 50 per cent or More of these tax recoveries might be replaced by other activity if the jets we would also question whether the Coopers Lybrand studies regarding the Revenue Impact took into account the tax write offs associated with corporate its unlikely they factored in the roughly million that taxpayers will pick up if a Trust fund is approved for future team we would note that Cole Doest ask the most important question of namely who benefits and who loses if a new Arena is built on the Forks site and the jets remain in the time being at least Ross Dobson and Ken Emberley ask precisely this question in the current Issue of new City Magazine Spring their article is required Reading for anyone who is serious about puzzling out exactly what this whole controversy is All Errol Black and Joe Dolecki teach at Brandon doonesbury by Garry Trudeau Angelant Winnipeg he just love a Down to making Whiz House Cauffm Bupane ;