Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 10, 1995, Winnipeg, Manitoba Brian Cole 6977044 focus Winnipeg free press i 7 Lon term vision needed on sprawl by Elizabeth Fleming to the free press in the upcoming municipal an Issue every candidate needs to address is that of suburban sprawl and the Drift of population from the City to the commuting is Winnipeg ready to be part of a metropolitan government or an inter municipal planning authority with its Rural neighbors if who will determine the direction of such a body and show the leadership its a question with profound implications for the Way the City acts Over the next generation and for the Way it Dis tributes hundreds of millions of tax Dol a planning and decision making body should perhaps be Given authority to address regional services and in a recently published for Mer mayor Bill Norrie says there has to be some kind of metropolitan govern ment in the next seven to 10 this is he because we Are see ing an exodus from Winnipeg to areas of suburban sprawl outside the for the same Tom director of the Institute of Urban and for Mer councillors William Neville and Peter Diamant have All written about the urgent need for a regional authority to take charge of the larger area before its too late to Check the the provincial government has been thinking regionally since 1989 when it created the capital Region com this committee includes the ministers of Urban and Rural the mayors of win Selkirk and plus the Reeves of 13 surrounding Rural municipalities with boundaries from 24 to 70 Kilometres from the City reach ing North As far As Lake the committee provides a forum for the Dis Cussion of regional issues but has no authority to implement its there is More evidence that the province is taking a capital Region approach before the fall municipal approval is expected for the capital Region a joint Endeavor of the Manitoba round table on the Environ ment and the Economy chaired by pre Mier Gary Filmon and the capital Region a regional water Supply and distribution system is being undertaken jointly by Manitoba Rural the fed eral Prairie farm rehabilitation administration and a consortium of Rural municipalities in the a solid waste management system will be the subject of Public hearings before the clean environment commission in mid a Long Range transportation strategy by transplant 2010 is under Way and due to be published next these initiatives could Lead to a Region Al Utility a metro government or tax the draft capital Region strategy contains Many worthy which would curtail suburban sprawl outside the it fails to designate which level of government will be the strategy offers an ominous vision of no appreciable population growth for the City compared to a More than 30 per cent increase in neighbouring municipalities Over the next 20 at 90 per cent of the capital regions popu lation lives in the City of the draft strategy cites some disturb ing increasing proportions of seniors and Low income residents live inside while higher proportions of Young family households with school aged children Settle in municipalities out Side the is City Hall going to maintain the sophisticated Infra Structure that supports jobs in the provinces capital on a tax base that is steadily being eroded within the last x the province has approved develop ment plans for East Paul and heading Ley As Well As the Palliser subdivision in East Selkirk and District Are in the process of amending their plan to allow for the creation of new residential lots Between Lockport and the vast majority of new residents will be from the City of win All these plans would replace prime agricultural land with fragmented and dispersed residential and commercial the cry for provincial subsidies for new capital including and schools has already in the Long the More sustainable planning decision would be to encourage development around existing centres such As Birds Hill and the Hamlet of As suggested in the govern ments own land use the political or Lack of favors Raissez Faire development regardless of the Long term economic or environmental via Bili a key Issue in the capital Region is a a regional water Supply and Distri system which includes developments outside the City bound a vigorous water conservation pro Gram is under Way in the the Shoal Lake Aqueduct is gradually being refer the planning implications of extend ing the water Supply Are bedroom communities like Oak Bluff and la Salle in the of Mac Donald grew rapidly once municipal water from the Assiniboine and la Salle Rivers came on the Manitoba water services Board has earmarked million for a consortium of the Rural municipalities of Francois Xavier and half the estimated total Cost of a regional water Supply and distribution As the sources of water have not been Over development will change the Agri cultural and sem Rural residents taxes will be affect a fatal flaw in the draft strategy is the recommendation that the capital Region committee will be responsible for its the regions municipalities Are competing for new they have no reason to consider the associated costs to the Region and the province As a with 90 per cent of the has Only one of 16 in about 60 per cent of the popu lation of Premier Duff Roblins newly created metropolitan corporation lived in the City of 40 per cent in the surrounding in the new capital Region those proportions Are 90 per cent and 10 per cent the province ought to be taking the reins and encouraging environmentally and economically sustainable growth within the so far it has opted out of leadership in this the capital Region committee is too parochial a body to make decisions in the wider any mayor or councillor at City Hall has scores of competing priorities in running in this election we must seek candidates who Are knowledgeable and who will look beyond the perimeter High they will need to know How to act in the larger and Long term interests of the the same is True for voters who live in the Region outside the cites bound Public discussion and debate on the pros and cons of regional initiatives and a possible metro form of government and equalization is needed before the municipal with a Clear and decisive and the backing of a Well briefed a mayor can stand up for the wider interest in a much More Public Elizabeth Fleming chairs the Urban and regional issues committee of the councils of women of Winnipeg and Gunlaw critics defy logic letters to the editor gun owners often like to exclaim the yet faulty adage guns dont people this is a statement that defies All we could extend the How about cyanide Gas Doest people we could then freely sell this toxic sub in enthusiasts might collect the not to but just to have and proudly it is used by certain peo ple to the cyanide collectors could simply wipe their hands of the whole and claim that any number of toxic substances could have been used in the Why then Are we singling out their pre Cious Hobby the next time someone says guns dont people make the leap of those peo ple would not be Able to kill so freely without the Aid of such a deadly guns May in themselves but they certainly expedite the Steven Kohm Winnipeg make the nil pay the free press has shown its True colors this time by ridiculing Council members who rejected further gifts to the jets tentative silly games at City free july your editors and columnists claim the City had nothing to lose by approving charitable did anyone ask the United Way and other legitimate charities that help provide much needed social ser vices for the City perhaps Many of the individual donors who would have Given to the endowment fund do not con Sider giving to meaningful Chari but surely we would see businesses cutting Back or eliminating their donations to charities in order to help sustain operations at the the spirit continues to make More demands while forecasting no profits and possible Sale in five years or ticket prices Are fore cast at a steady which correctly reflects nil now averaging Winnipeg is not a big nor is it a wealthy at Only a mediocre team could be its the nil that should Start com promising salary not taxpayers in smaller Gordon Mcintyre Winnipeg prescription for confusion concerning your article about the Minnesota seniors who come to Winnipeg to get their prescriptions it seems that Cross order shop Ping is free to out Ocanada prescriptions but inter provincial shopping is still we moved from Ontario to Man 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 r2x 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 Ito a last May and brought one unfilled prescription with us to be filled Here in Winnipeg in this was prior to us being covered by Pha Macare since we had not yet been Here the required three month waiting we had a Manitoba address and phone num we were not asking for phar Macare coverage just to have the prescription the druggist refused to fill an out province How come they will fill an of Toscana a prescription but not out of province prescription i guess free Trade is Only Between countries and not Between Len Robb Adolphe a quiet idea for Winnipeg Beach in his silence that infer Nal noise free july Val Werier refers to certain infernal personal water Craft which Are seemingly very i is a sum Mer resident of Winnipeg As am he complains about the infernal Craft and yet seems to have no objection to the noise of nearby Highway Here we have trucks roaring by starting about 5 contributing to noise poll air pollution and the danger to much of the problem could be alleviated by Angling Highway 9 to the Northwest and terminating it at the Bend in Highway 8 just South of Winnipeg the province could probably not afford this expense but can inexplicably afford to maintain two provincial trunk highways at times within sight of each other Only metres with an environmental disaster Only a Block or two Werier worries about something As trivial As these infernal personal water the Sanctity of silence and Joh Pritchard Winnipeg Reader suggests Werier worry More about the noisy highways near Winnipeg Beach than personal water Craft on the heavenly music on the radio have i died and gone to heaven what an absolute Joy to turn on the radio these past few Days and have a station with music and Pat Ter to relate what a pleasure to have an alter native to All the hard Light country and All talk dribble we Are subjected Day in and Day How Many of these similar for mat stations do we need in this or for that How Many can we take thank you to radio station for providing our if Only for a Short with a format of easy Broadway tunes and music Many of us can identify a format enjoyed in every major City in Canada and the United states of in these the station will be on the air Only until at which time i am certain to go into a withdrawal Al Lucas Winnipeg Rural Folk fire Back in really annoyed Over Curry Rural Folk feed off City free although i live in and thoroughly enjoy i was raised in a Rural and really enjoyed it As when i first moved i was worried about and How i would Deal with it when i encountered i in i named a new because of the misconceptions of City life held by some Rural not any with one one moment with pen to paper and brain in has probably set Back these relations 50 i would like Curry to answer these questions for and for countless others who read the letter do you think Only City people shop in the City and pay these taxes you were referring to who have you compared our civic administration to enable you to Label it one of the most where did your last Steak and loaf of bread come from in regards to the use of the term do you think the image of the dressed in the jets holding out its hand for millions of Rural perhaps might represent the biggest Para site of All Rinn Winnipeg bring Back red Box i was outraged when i read the articles about the new comprehensive recycling program to begin in i am a red Box Cus Tomer who does not mind paying a Mere per month to have them pick up our i live in a townhouse and if this new program puts red Box out of business i will not have Access to recycling because the new program will Only service single family in my this is a step Back wards and another example of the government helping big Winnipeg doonesbury by Garry Trudeau Tosh our 5urb what when i took the i pk36y9ackih6 on we pint you mean i in of to map Pup Ucan ;