Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 17, 1997, Winnipeg, Manitoba A12 saturday free May Brian editorials country Berty Oft Equality of civil rights example when Izzy Asper stepped Down As Leader of the Liberal party in Manitoba in he said he intended to find ways to influence Twenty two years he has proved him self a Man of his he has found the Best Possi ble Way to influence events by Aspers political career was relatively Short and not especially five years As Leader and three years As la for which he first won in a by election and then held with a four vote plurality in since Asper has built a global Media Empire and May very Well be Manito Bas newest Back Asper said he wanted to encourage risk taking As the engine of economic his example Speaks and one can Only wonder what might have happened to Manitoba if voters had been More receptive to his ideas when they had the Back he spoke of the proper role of gov any govern ment that is big enough to give you everything you he is usually big enough to take away everything you have and generally it is a theme he has returned to Over the years and a theme he addressed again this week when he was Given a standing ovation after announcing he is donating million to create a charitable foundation and promised More to Asper told the Winnipeg chamber of com Merce audience that government has grown smaller As he believes it but in doing so it has failed to pass responsibility to other sectors of the Economy to pick up the he said one of those sectors must be the corporate Community and he admonished Winnipeg business leaders to make their enterprises caring Compa Nies by give on per cent of pre tax profit to philanthropic it can be argued there must be a line Between corporate and Public we would not want to create a situation in which corporations through their largess control what is perceived to be in the Public Asper is aware of that he properly made it Clear the role of government is to provide essential elements of the Community and for the corporate Community to be civic Aspers is a Fine he is again the lib eral Leader in flood Relief who feel that enough politics has already been played with their almost got a Nasty Little Jolt this Lloyd Axworthy appears to have been Able to deflect the news reports suggested Federal flood assistance to the province May be predicated on what is Best for the Liberal party political fortunes in Quebec rather than on what is Best for Quebec according to the insist that Relief for Manitoba not go beyond what was Given Quebec after the floods in the Saguenay last summer because it would not sit Well with voters the situations in the Saguenay and Manitoba Are completely and Manitoba representative in the Federal was Able on Friday to offer assurances that Ottawa will not be influenced by he announced a fund to give immediate Cash advances to flood affected businesses and Farmers and indicated that other Relief measures would be announced the Canad Manitoba agreement on red River Valley flood disaster assistance signed by Axworthy and the province earlier this com mits the Federal government to go Well beyond the scope of disaster financial assistance arrange ments that normally govern such the May 1 agreement includes not Only Relief measures such As Aid to Farmers and most import it promises permanent improvements to Manitoba dikes and flood prevention at the signing of that Axworthy said we realize we cannot simply go Back to the status we should take what weve Learned from this lesson and find out what the holes the holes that most concern Manitoban Are the ones in the provinces system of permanent dikes glaringly revealed in this Summers this years disaster made it Clear that a Lon term Solu Tion to the problem is the Only practical the May 1 agreement promises permanent flood proof ing that should be the subject of the announcements we have been told we can expect in the by providing Quick Cash for businesses and Farmers Hurt by the Axworthy has taken a step in the right Winnipeg free press Winnipeg free press est 1872 Winnipeg Tribune eat 1890 Rudy email Nicholas editor Brian Cole editorial Page editor directors Harry Brown circulation sales and marketing Ian Cummins technology Laurie Verne human resources Glenn Williams finance and administration 1997 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 125 no 135 a Little please Ever since Rene Levesque startled the coun try by gaining Power and staging the first referendum on Quebec canadians have been struggling to come up with a solution to the so called Quebec what do they want we asked during the 1960s and 70s when angry francophone expressed their discontent with the nature of the political that was shortened to an incredulous what when we found out in the late 1980s that the answer was to restructure the federa lost in the translation was the thing Quebe cers really the thing that or any group of really wants the country leaders have had difficulty coming up with a consistent definition of what respect Means in que becs relationship to we rent we showing Quebec respect when we made French an official language of the fed eral government and began Send ing Pur children to French immersion schools the answer is but Only As it turns a significant number of francophone have a deep yearning for another kind of the kind that was like it or not embodied in the Meech Lake Accord of it is a desire for a signal that we As canadians not Only accept Quebec for what it but that we respect it for what it is a distinct society within Canada in which francophone form a majority of the Many canadians have no Trou ble understanding the same sort of desire being expressed in their ancestral Homeland for analysts have noted the interesting parallels Between Quebec and Scotland both Are undoubtedly distinct both Are frustrated partners in a larger Community dominated by unlike Quebec does have the Powers and privileges that go along with being a province in a Federated country As opposed to a unitary Scotland some thing that Quebec does not something it craves recognition As a nation of the respect that goes with no one in Britain seriously questions that Scotland is a distinct society with its own political and economic no one seriously questions that it is a nation or a or that it will have any difficulty preserving or promoting its most Quebe cers Are not seek ing nationhood in the sense that Scotland is a separate nation or rather they Are seeking to solidify their position within Canada As a distinctive Compo nent of this a develop ment that can Only better define and strengthen the not weaken it was the rejection of this request in the form of the Meech Lake Accord that has led to the situation canadians face today an official opposition in Ottawa committed to breaking up the a que Bec provincial government intent on avenging its narrow loss in the 1995 sovereignty referendum and a general economic malaise East of Ontario that is hampering Canadas rebuilding the mood in the country is a number of Public opinion polls Over the last few years indicate canadians Are More prepared to accept Quebec As a distinct society today than they were 10 years in Alber Premier Ralph Klein signalled recently that he does not share Reform Leader Preston Man rings View that the concept of provincial Equality is at Odds with recognizing Quebec Dis in mean a recent poll conducted for the free press showed 41 per cent of those surveyed Felt comfortable with the Liberal party approach to the Quebec which includes recognition of Quebec As a distinct Only six per cent supported the Reform party which does the june 2 election offers canadians an Opportunity to build on these National Unity May not be the Issue in the but it is almost certainly the thing that will be most affected by the outcome of the a Strong showing by Reform and the bloc for will Only reinforce the notion that canadians Are not Able to find Compromise on the question of accommodating que but should the tories and new democrats make gains in Quebec and West at the expense of the bloc and Reform the political dynamic will change and for the Brian Cole is editorial Page Edi Tor of the free the singers Lead the leaders r two events planned for tomorrow evening define Canada in two remarkably different in the party leaders will pick up where they left off last finish ing off the aborted French Lan Guage debate on National Here in thousands of Manitoban will gather at the Forks to raise Money for flood cheering Tom Burton Cummings and an impressive cast of generous and talented Canadian the Csc will broadcast the concert live across the in English and on radio and the leaders debate might be Lively if rising Decibel Levels and jabbing Fin Gers Are the measurement but it is bound to be caught up in stale language of distinct constitutional vetoes and who has the Power to do what to Quebec continuing Humilia Tion at the hands of Canada is the separatists manufactured by leaders and ideologues whenever a rhetorical flourish is on theres nothing better than a fresh humiliation to Stoke the nationalist what Are the chances that bloc quebecois Leader Gilles Dueppe will mention the outpouring of support for Manitoba that came from the people of the Saguenay Region of or the fund raising efforts of Montreal radio English and or the taped performance of Celine Dion at tomorrow nights con Cert the folks at the Forks wont have humiliation on their they will be celebrating Cana Das people they will be Cele Brating a National Community brought together by the ram paging Waters of the red River in the Middle of a country that stretches forever in every direct bound together by buckets full of history and geography and by National canadians were attracted to Manitoban like a brother to a sister in the plight of homeless canadians produced clothing and tears in record who in Mani Toba Doest feel a Lump in the Throat every time another heroic Story is told the leaders debating Tomor Row night have either chosen to stay out of Manitoba for fear of being accused of crass political or have put in Token appearances Only to say they didst want to be seen using the flood As a photo none of them saw this crisis As a Way of pulling the country together behind its wounded Sis the Csc seized the Peter Gzowski and the morning Side Crew raised More than by dipping into the Tal ent Pool of Canadian artists and by tapping the human instinct to help fellow citizens in Csc radio played out its mandate who would accuse Peter Gzowski of opportunism the abcs coverage of the Forks Benefit rally demonstrates How a National broadcaster can erase who will accuse the Csc of taking advantage of this flood to Advance its prime minister Chretien is expected to visit 1 corporate Agenda it is advancing its corporate Agenda by doing its if the Csc shared the timidity of the political it would conclude that it is better to leave Manitoban alone during this unfortunate lest they be accused of taking advantage of the situation for crass corporate the Canadian military benefited enormously from its contribution to floodlighting in this flood was head unsent for the forces Public relations by rolling up their these men and women from everywhere in including hundreds whose Mother Tongue is Laboured alongside Manitoban in work that could hardly be described As who will accuse the military of coming to Manitoba to enhance its image its image was enhanced because it came to Manitoba to do its it be refreshing if one of the party leaders said in the debate tomorrow on the subject of National that Manitoba flood is a metaphor for Canadas prime min ister Jean Chretien has already hinted at a Small province suffers from the effects of a National National institutions and the peo ple of the country pitch in until the crisis has none of this has anything to do with constitutions or linguistic distinctions or racial its just a group of people bound together by shared values and sense of Community helping each maybe next week the country leaders will come Here and Tell us Why they stayed silent so Jim Carr is the free press Fea Tures his column appears on i ;