Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 7, 1996, Winnipeg, Manitoba A4 Winnipeg free press id August 1996 common sense anyone with a lick of common sense knows that society must do everything in its Power to ensure a pregnant woman does not Poison her self and her fetus by sniffing solvents for the Sake of her unborn child if not for the question is whether society can enforce its will under the Law if the woman in question refuses to voluntarily accept treatment for her Justice Perry Schulman ruled that it ordering a 22yearold pregnant woman into treatment for solvent abuse at the request of Winnipeg child and family the which already has three of the woman children under argued in court last week that it could not stand by and let the woman further damage herself and her unborn the Case is attracting National attention because it touches on a number of controversial groups on both sides of the abortion for wonder whether the Case could affect the right of a woman to have an under Canadian a fetus is not a per son As has no rights under the if the court ordered a 22yearold Winnipeg sniff addict to undergo treatment to protect the would the in be conferring rights on the fetus that do not exist would such a ruling standup on Appeal and then there is the question of individual the woman lawyer argues cos has no standing in the Case because the woman has not Given he argues the court can not order her into treatment because she has not been found mentally incompetent under the mental health this is a Case that presented the presiding judge with a serious in arriving at his Deci Justice Schulman has clearly concluded he could not stand by and allow the woman in question to continue destroying herself and her unborn but he also knows that he faces a tremendous Chal Lenge in trying to write a Legal decision that supports his ruling Given the current Law on the whether he of remains to be but one thing is Clear the Issue before Justice Schulman is a political one As Well As a Legal there Are jurisdictions in Canada and the United states that have passed Laws that clearly define when the state can effectively intervene on behalf of a fetus without violating a woman right to an Schulman has demonstrated a great Deal of common sense in his approach to the Issue before Manitoba politicians should do the same and begin examining whether provincial Law should be modified to avoid similar court cases in the cynical Laws the United states has not had the soviet Union to kick around since the end of the cold with the collapse of the evil As former presi Dent Ronald Reagan dubbed it and which generations of americans believed it to be the United states has lost its what is the Point of being a superpower if you dont have anyone to compete with and if you refuse to take on the real responsibilities of being the worlds Only giant so what is the Lone superpower to do in Days like these the answer that Washington appears to have come up with is if we cant kick our enemies Well kick our As a president Bill Clinton has signed into Law two pieces of Legisla Tion aimed at unpleasant Little nations that the does not like Iran and the effect of these is to Hurt Only americas closest both pieces of legislation attempt to extend the jurisdiction of american Law beyond americas Bor the Helm Burton Law penalizes foreign Busi Nesses that do business with the Law signed monday penalizes foreign companies that invest heavily in Iran and neither of these Laws is Likely to affect the supposedly targeted these countries Are obnoxious irritants in the International but they Are hardly More than both Laws Are profound irritants to americas both Laws Are also politically popular in the United states and Are so obviously presidential election year ploys that they should be Clin ton stooped so Low As to have relatives of victims of the 1988 pan am Lockerbie bombing and hostages from the 1979 iranian embassy incident attend the signing this in politics always plays a part in Deci has it been so so so obviously ineffective in achieving its purported goals and so dangerous to the International order As what the americans have done in this elec Tion editorials Freedom of Trade Liberty of religion Equality of civil rights Brian Cole 6977044 Winnipeg free press Winnipeg free press esl 1872 Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 Rudy email Brian Cole editorial Page editor directors Harry Brown circulation sales and marketing Ian Laurie advertising Verne Kalichuk human resources Glenn Williams finance and administration 1996 Winnipeg free a division of newspapers division of Thomson Canada limited published seven Days a week at 1355 Mountain Manitoba r2x pm 6977000 a member of the Manitoba press Council vol 124 no 281 cubans turn to religion by Art Babych Cuba the order to appear at cuban police Headquarters is handed to the fireman Church delegation staying at a Church run after a sleepless the including this arrive at the offices of the Ministerio Del there warned that As tourists a special permit is needed to stay anywhere other than at a tourist they also need a permit to take part in religious there the hand of the communist government can be found almost everywhere in in sports and in Complex rules and regulations that Many cubans dont even know Are you allowed to fish Here a cuban casting a line into the Ocean just off the one of havanas busiest is i dont comes the the government constantly promotes the revolution on stat owned radio and in the stat operated newspapers and on billboards and Graffiti scrawling throughout the coun slogans such As socialism o Suerte socialism or death and la revolution is siem the revolution is always Are All Over the the Dele gation no dissenting voices Are permitted anywhere in unauthorized gatherings Are forbidden and Public signs remind cubans its their duty to report anything that said or done in opposition to the revolt but while the communist party in Cuba has its grip on virtually All facets of the country 11 Mil lion the Only Force it has been unable to control is the one institution which is growing and in Par the Catholic which represents 47 per cent of five years ago less than 50 peo ple attended sunday masses at the Santa Rita Parish of father Jose Felix Perez Beira in havanas Miramar Between 400 and 500 people turn out each week and most of them Are and this is the same All Over he the Church is evidence of the growth can be found in almost every diocese on the Island standing room masses where the pews were virtually empty a few years overflow crowds in churches and chapels almost beyond even the Vatican own statistics show that the number of newly baptized catholics in Cuba has tripled Over the past a major cause for the dramatic increase in Church attendance in recent years has been the demoralizing effect of the col lapse of the soviet bloc and the Berlin disenchanted Marx along with a new Breed of risk taking have turned to the Church for new meaning and purpose to their the fall of the soviet Union produced a great ideological emptiness and people Are look ing for said archbishop Pedro Claro Meurice of the diocese of Santiago de deep within they have a remnant Only a remnant of their Catholic the is intent on curbing the growth of the churches through a series of stifling rules and regulations that include a ban on the Sale of printing presses or photocopiers to the a printing press sent by the German Bishops conference to the cuban Church was ordered returned and a dealer who sold a photocopier to the Church was expelled a limit on the number of priests that can be ordained each based on the government keeps the number at Between 210225 continuation of the 1959 ban on the building of new the government seized most of the Church land and property following the in the Eastern City of with a population of Only two Catholic churches Are allowed to operate and there but a Block away from each other government restrictions on renovations to Church Many of which Are on the verge of it can take decades before repairs Are approved by the despite the sources say the Church is gaining we take three Steps Forward and the communist party tells us to take one step said a Parish Lay we Are making but along with struggling to meet its own pastoral the Church in Cuba also comes face to face with the human needs of Many of whom live in abject some parishes and Church organizations Dis tribute offer Basic medical treatment or provide food and care for the but these Are unauthorized activities sometimes performed under the frowning eyes of communist party we feed about 200 people a said a Parish but the government has told us we cant continue to do so we have to be Art Babych is a contributor to the issues Montreal needs not ads Ottawa faced with the possible separation from the rest of Canada and chronic economic the City of Montreal responded this week in the Best tradition of politicians from coast to coast they launched an advertising Cam Over the Long Mon Treal mayor Pierre Bourque unveiled a Campaign to help bolster the sagging spirits of entitled Mon West Toi Maville or Mon youre my the Campaign will feature some 425 750 bus shelter radio and television spots and Lapel of the total Bill for the million is being paid by the City of million will come from the Federal govern ment and another million from corporate television and radio stations will con tribute million in free Bourque was quoted in Montreal newspapers As being convinced the advertising Campaign would give our Montreal ers some we have to make people aware that they live in one of the most Beautiful cities in the Bourque said one of the first direct benefits of the Campaign was that Montreal ers would certainly make More Effort to keep the City clean of i dont know about but i feel better Montreal advertising Campaign is certainly not a new Phe Many of the country Best including have dabbled with mass psychology on a after who can forget the emotion and wit of 100 reasons to love Winnipeg or last Winters testimonials on Why Winnipeg is a great place to live its too bad the Montreal City Council did not research the experience other cities have had with feelgood advertising if they they would have Learned quickly that there is Little to be gained beyond the salaries paid for the pasting up of the Bill the chronic malaise gripping this country is no Small fear and despair about dwindling lost economic crime political uncertainty in the Case of the loss of a beloved hockey can do no Good for a the by products of this malaise Range from a Lack of support for local charities to hatred and eventually government does have a responsibility to service the Community How can advertising campaigns do the trick do they actually boost spirits and make us More charitable and less tolerant More do they Actu ally improve life in cities feelgood advertising campaigns Are the last Refuge of the unimaginative and spineless who cannot summon the creativity or the spirit to Deal with the real problems behind their com munits the Montreal and Winnipeg advertising campaigns Are strongly reminiscent of the same tactics used by City fathers in when they watched their working class town slowly destroyed by the withdrawal of general Flint was the Birthplace of pm and it was the company main Centre of production until the when the automotive giant began Clos ing american plants to take can a multimillion Dollart advertising Campaign save Montreal advantage of cheap labour in More than jobs disappeared from As documented in the 1989 film Roger and director Michael Moore reported on the efforts of Flint to bolster sagging spirits by turning Flint into a tourist Mecca with a new luxury hotel and a theme Park that captured the cites place in automotive Histo the theme Park among other a reproduction of flints main Street in its hey unfortunately in this when they built people did not Moore noted in his film that in the face of a decaying Flint leaders spent All their time and Money building a replica of what their Community used to i guess its the thought that one is left to wonder about whether cities like Winnipeg and Montreal Are treading Down the same path As instead of dealing directly with the real issues behind the malaise that grips a politicians will cover them up and build up All kinds of amusement Parks and other distractions to hide the real advertising campaigns May boost but they do not slow economic degradation or crime nor do they boost Job num Bers or housing these campaigns May cause some of the provinces Young people to reconsider leaving to pursue a but it wont Stop them unless there Are jobs at Home for them to Montreal is on the verge of finding out what other cities should know by investing Public Money in feelgood Adver Tising campaigns produces Only one thing Nice Dun Lett is National reporter for the free his column appears ;