Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - November 21, 1996, Winnipeg, Manitoba A14 Winnipeg free press november Eltoria 6977044 doer is new democratic party Leader Gary doer argues Telephone particularly in Rural will increase because a privatized Manitoba Telephone system will incur costs it did not face As a Crown doer is doer says its will face higher borrowing costs and new tax to support his argument he Points to an its submission before the Canadian radio television and telecommunications the submission says its wants to have an Opportunity to come before the crts at some future Date if privatization results in unforeseen costs to the doer believes this is the smoking doer is the reality is its was simply cover ing itself in Case of future the bigger sur prise would be if its did not hedge its the fact is the Docu ment before the crts is already out of the Crown corporation received written confirmation last week in its borrowing costs will be less once it is Pri As a Crown Cor its could expect to pay per cent interest on a 10year As a private Compa the Cost would be per doer also argues that Telephone rates will go up because its will be required to pay taxes that it does not pay As a Crown once doer is its officials confirm the Crown corporation currently pays Grants in lieu of taxes and that any new taxes will be covered by the amount earmarked for in the corporation expects to take advantage of substantial tax deductions in the future that it has not benefited from in the further shielding its from tax the conclusion to be drawn from All this is contrary to the assertions of doer and his col leagues in the privatization will not drive up that is not to say particularly in Rural wont pay More they the driving Force behind these rate is deregulation not whether it remains a Crown corporation or its must continue re balancing its rates and reorganizing its operations in order to compete in the competitive telecommunications this is something who served As communications minister in the former Pawley adm Nistra understands very rather than acknowledge the truth about the doer continues to argue against the privatization of suggesting that somehow Rural Telephone rates could be kept Low if its is maintained As a Crown the truth is doer is wrong about the sad part is he knows classic Rock to neanderthal people of who became extinct about the time Homo Sapiens arrived from May have been a great Deal brighter than their reputation the discovery of a Bone flute among neanderthal belongings in a Cave in Slovenia seems to show the supposed to be hopelessly made music and May also have used violinists should restrain their sarcasm jibes to the effect that everyone knows neanderthals play the flute will have to be the discovery that music was part of life at the most primitive age of humanity shows the depth of musics Power and makes those dim and Distant neanderthal figures a Little a Little More a Pale oncologist from digging among Cave sediments last found the femur of a Young Bear with four evenly paced holes in line along one it resembled Bone flutes other diggers have researchers at Mcmaster University in dated this one to years in the time of the Long before the More advanced Cro Magnon people arrived in the neanderthals had they had simple Stone they they buried some of their there is no sign they tilled the they lived in by the standards of the statue ornament shaping Cro Magons who took their they didst have but they did have before humans tilled before they minted before the before writing and before forged humans made we still make music and that is one Way we know we Are still palaeontologists debate the causes of neanderthals extinction How did the Cro Magons wipe them out orchestral musicians can guess at the answer the Cro Magons must have had trombones always drown out the Winnipeg free press Winnipeg free pcs est 197 Winnipeg Tribune eat 1890 Rudy Redekop publisher email Ca Nicholas editor Brian Cole editorial Page editor directors Harry Brown circulation sales and marketing Ian Laurie Verne Kalichuk human resources Glenn Williams finance and administration Winnipeg free a division of newspapers division of Thomson Canada limited published seven Days e week at 1355 Mountain Manitoba 6977000 4 member of be a Nioba Council vol 124 no 331 when in conceal a foundation Stone of a democratic society is the free flow of this is recognized in Manitoba Freedom of information act which states every person has upon application a right of Access to any record under the control of a this is subject to certain the act is very Clear and it is aimed at the penchant of government to keep Public information from the pub a damning report from Barry provincial delineates How the provincial government violated the act in refusing information to the free press revealing How much tax payers Money was involved in retaining the Winnipeg it took 13 months to obtain information from the govern ment which stonewalled and even denied records the government came Forth with More information Only after intervention of the this is the most flagrant Case to come before the ombudsman on the Freedom of information act since it was introduced in and it transpired despite a warning by the ombudsman in 1994 that the government was not living up to the spirit and letter of the in Premier Gary Fil Vai Werier Mon sent a memo to All Deputy ministers that principles of the act be he stated that replies from some departments for information were reflecting poorly on the the jets Case reveals a Lack of commitment to the act and an arrogance in refusing information that should be in the Public says who Speaks in polite and restrained language some people did not seem to be aware of their obligations under the the free press was certainly aware of these it per severed in a Fine exercise of journalism in the face of the obstructionist tactics of the gov in one episode in the ombudsman he sent a let Ter to the Access officer of the finance department on asking direct questions about the location of various records in departments and he did not receive a writ ten response until March the delay itself a violation of the says Tuckett in his annual report on the Freedom of information act the letter stated the applicant the free press had received Access to All records coming under the request from Treasury this we knew to be inaccurate As by that time we had been advised that some records were in fact the letter also said there were no records relating to the subject at executive Council the we were aware was not the the letter stated that All related records were in the custody of Manitoba which again was not the in Plain the government was not telling the it said it had provided All the information the ombudsman found to the tune of hundreds of relevant records numbering thousands of the conclusion can be drawn that the government was trying to hide its role in the jets fiasco prior to the provincial elementary provisions of the Freedom of information act were ignored such As the require ment to provide reasons when refusing Access to for it disregarded the 30 Day deadline to reply to requests for obviously the government didst take this act seriously an act that is an important Prin Ciple in the conduct of our gov the heading of the ombudsman report stated Access rights the act was thrown overboard in the course of the jets in another information was requested on the differential in gasoline prices in Rural and Urban data which the government had gathered for there was nothing secret about it prices Are clearly Dis played at service the government refused to provide the information As recommended by the it was Only when the Case was appealed to the court that the government provided the this authoritarian Streak persists today and has contributed to the controversy Over the Manitoba Telephone the government has not been open and forthright and has refused to release studies on it has transgressed the Peoples right to All the Val Werier is a Winnipeg his column appears on France leads in Defiance of by Bernard Kaplan Hearst newspapers Vris the veto of fun Secretary general Boutros Boutro Shalis re election brings Back memories of the notorious yet that the Sovi ets resorted to so often during the cold War when they found them selves alone and friendless at the United for american officials had worked behind the scenes to round up support in the in Secu Rity Council to get rid of Boutros but the worlds most powerful country persuade a sin Gle one of the 14 other members of the Council to join in rejecting a second five year term for neither americas allies nor governments that depend on it economically were the Wrangle Points up Ameri Cas creeping estrangement from the rest of the including some of its nominally closest even normally prompt to fall in step behind Washington on matters of this could not be induced to help dump at the end of the cold fears were frequently expressed that the United states might turn what is actually Hap pening is that the United states is being which is not the same other always resent Ful of Power even when sheltered behind Are seizing every Opportunity they can these Days to show that they dont intend to let the americans Tell them what to there after very Little risk in defying the United states now that the soviet threat is his the complain of a Lack of leadership but dont want it when Washington tries giving it to the Boutros Ghali affair fits neatly into this its not that the Secretary Gen eral elicits wild even among his his in record is generally considered spotty at officials regard him As As Well As a Rotten administrator of the unwieldy and costly world but Boutro Shalis competence or Lack of it int the Issue for Many in there for him simply because the United states is against thumbing their nose at Washington has become a popular Pas not just at in Headquarters in new but in Many world for the Boutros Ghali episode follows the recent out raged refusal by Western euro Pean governments to cooperate with America in penalizing companies doing business with Libya and in the forefront As usual in ing jabs at the United states is the French government responded to Washington veto of Boutros Ghali by issuing a faintly ridiculous communique pointing out that France also possesses a an apparent hint that it might Wield it against America in the president Jacques Chirac has been on a visit this week to where he told local officials and business Lead ers that americas global Hege Mony will prove the French newspaper be Figaro quoted president Chirac As advising the As Well As other to prepare for a Multi Polar world by moving politically and economically away from the United states and closer to for of read in Secretary gerneral Boutros is not 8 Favourite of the 7 ;