Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 23, 1997, Winnipeg, Manitoba A14 Winnipeg free May 1997 Brian Cole 6977044 editorials Freedom of Trade Liberty of religion Equality of civil rights scrap the tax lawyer Harold Buchwald and his colleagues on the cites culture review committee make a Strong Case for abolition of the municipal amusement they fail to draw the conclusion their logic but the Public and the Council Are free to follow the argument where it the amusement tax is a constant source of resent ment because some amusements pay and some Are exempt and the Council awards exemptions without discernible rhyme or Many taxable amuse ments escape taxation because they Are not publicly the councils declining Revenue from the tax dropped below million in no other Canadian City known to the committee and few in the charge Munici pal amusement the Buchwald commit tees sole reason for fail ing to recommend abolition is in these difficult fiscal the removal of a Revenue no matter How Small in relative is the Revenue thus lost to the City would have to be found from another As an alternative to the committee proposes widening the tax to cover movie video game Home Box office sales and other forms of the Council May need an amendment to the City of Winnipeg act granting it Power to extend the amusement tax in this Way but the provincial government would be politically unwise to authorize new taxes on entertainment for the councils Cove the government was unwilling to permit new City taxes on gasoline sales similar objections would apply to a new tax on video rentals and on newer forms of How would the Council Stop the movie rental shops from moving to Lowe tax locations in Headin East Paul and Ritchot How would the councillors compel operators of direct Home satellite services to charge tax to their Winnipeg customers and remit to the City this solution is utterly Winnipeg enterprises corporation earns about a year by charging amusement tax that is never turned Over to the removal of the tax would allow enterprises to maintain or reduce the Gross charge to users of its according to the economics of each the amusement tax causes More trouble than the million a year it is the Council should can fair compensation some uncertainty at All Levels surrounds the question of compensation for damage caused by this years flood in from the extent of the Federal governments assistance to the province to deciding a fair Standard of compensation to flow from the province to the it is a question complicated by Many not the least of which Are political and one that Calls up Strong in the end it will be Best resolved by seeking the most generous Solu Tion within the context of what can reasonably be flood victims this week received some reason to Hope that the provincial government is moving towards that Premier Gary Fil Mon had taken a graceless and bureaucratic approach to the the maximum allowable individual claim was raised from to but this carried a rider of a 20 per cent deductible As Well As a depreciation Many flood victims thought this was inadequate and unfair but Filmon dismissed their concerns by citing issues of precedent and he also indulged in some blame shifting by suggesting Resi dents had to take a chunk of the responsibility for building their Homes on a flood even though these Homes were built with the approval of Munici pal and provincial this the Premier and government services minister Frank Pitura began to show a More compassionate the they has not ruled put More assistance for individuals and will reconsider the matter of the we continue to evaluate the circumstances that people Are Filmon we continue to evaluate the losses that people Are bearing and we continue to evaluate the various sources from which Relief can that is a More reasonable position for the govern ment to it is difficult to see How a final Posi Tion on fair compensation can be reached until the extent of those resources and the Cost to individuals is the decision should ultimately be made on that not by concerns for Prece dents in an unprecedented Winnipeg free press Winnipeg free press est 1872 Winnipeg Tribune est 1880 Rudy email Nicholas editor Brian Cole editorial Page editor directors Harry Brown circulation sales and marketing Ian Cummins technology Laurie Verne Kalichuk 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 140 Quebec Quebec Quebec Quebec Quebec Quebec Quebec Quebec Quebec Quebec Quebec Quebec sub bbl Quebec Quebec Quebec Quebec Quebec Quebec Quebec Quebec medicare under attack the mid Campaign dust up Between Federal health minister David Dingwall and Alberta Premier Ralph Klein Over a proposed private for prof it Hospital in Calgary Demon Strates that medicare future is very much at stake in the june 2 the recently closed by the Alberta will be operated by org health resource group and will provide no insured medical ser vices to individuals and organizations wishing to pay for Dingwall called on Klein to close saying it starts Down a Slippery and dangerous slope towards two tiered health appearing on stage with fed eral tory Leader Jean Charest this the Alberta Premier called Din Walls suggestion Charest would make a Good prime minister because he respects provincial autonomy in health subject to Federal Klein the conservative and the Reform parties on the right have almost identical decentralise positions on health and social they would effectively terminate the Federal govern ments role in social the liberals Perch in the mid they Promise to maintain the Canada health act at the outset of the rescind Frances Russell de their planned further Cut to the Federal Cash leaving it at the liberals kept the automatically Esca lating spending cuts billion cumulative by the year 2000 for health and higher education introduced by the Mulroney government and added another billion of their they Are promising More Money Down the for National Pha Macare and Home but Only when the fiscal situation the new democrats on the left offer stable funding for with a Federal floor of at least the nip also pledges to abolish the 20year Patent Protection for prescription Institute National Pha Macare and Home care and enforce the five principles of medicare acres comprehensiveness and Public administration under the Canada health the conservatives election platform promises to secure health care into the future by replacing the Canada health and social Transfer with provincial tax since Ottawa would no longer have any Money in the the tories would negotiate a Canadian health care guarantee with the provinces that would become part of their proposed new Federal provincial Canadian pc 1 the Feder Al and rial governments will agree on common standards for health commit to achieving those standards and measure their the platform the guarantee would con Tain a mutually agreed upon practical and binding enforce ment if the provinces and Ottawa cannot find common the Cost would the Charest plan attempts to address the problem of tax Points being of unequal value by offer ing either Federal Grants or increased equalization to poorer reforms position on health care is More nuanced than the in its 20 proposals for a new released in the party forecast the tory position the Federal government should Fos Ter cooperative inter provincial agreements on National Stan Dards for provincially adminis tired social services like education and health rather than continuing the unsustainable practice of imposing unilateral standards by with holding Federal in its fresh Start election Reform pledges to increase Federal spending on health and education by billion but it notes that Canadian social policy has been most effective when action has been taken by a single level of government and least effective when Federal and provincial governments become involved in the same policy polls continue to find that canadians do not Trust the provinces on medicare and want to keep a Strong Federal presence in social the new democrats a framework for warns that Canadas right Hopes to end medicare through decentralization and funding the Fraser which Calls medicare five principles five Handcuffs on provincial gov says creative changes wont happen until things really go the nation Al citizens with close ties to says medicare is the last and toughest nut to Frances Russell covers politics for the free her column appears on wednes Days and porn scandal rocks City Library the Winnipeg Public Library pornography scan dal is the answer to the librarians the Library is a Centre of controversy and a subject of investigation by the vice nothing As exciting As the controversy Over women on top by Nancy Friday has happened at the Library since Paul Martin took the get off Library there was a time when pub Lishers could attract attention to their books by including some thing naughty enough to offend the delicate sensibilities of the District attorney in Massachi then they could emblazon on the dust jacket the boast banned in the same Dodge was used with stage pro it was the last resort to boost a Book or a show that was not meeting sales in today More relaxed Atmos it is harder to get a Book bookstores Cater ing to homosexuals occasionally complain that the customs departments keen eyed smut detectors seize their imports before but apart from that most people understand now that the books they do not want to read Are easily recognized and easily if you dont like the dont read most that outside the Winnipeg police service and the Manitoba Justice the Winnipeg vice squad and the Manitoba Crown attorneys believe they know better than the Book pickers of the Winnipeg Public Library what standards the Winnipeg Reading Community wishes to apply to sexual con tent in Public Library if this keeps publishers will soon be boasting that their Book is banned in this cites name will be celebrated in the annals of Terence Moore since Samuel Freedman was chief Justice of it has been recognized that Community standards affect the limits of obscenity in the eyes of the the Winnipeg vice squad and the Crown on their next tour of adult movie outlets and Magazine can freshen their knowledge of the Community standards that currently apply in in cities where women on top by Nancy Friday has not yet been demand will suddenly pick prices will reflect the sudden remember what happened to prices for tickle me Elmo dolls last Christ Mas the Winnipeg police vice squad and the Manitoba Crown attorneys May have touched off a similar Price escalation for women on top by Nancy i myself wrote a Book a few years a biography of a distinguished teacher in the faculty of Medicine of the University of i thought it was a Good piece of As did the but it must be admit Ted that the demand for biographies of medical school professors is slim to sales have been soft a solution is at next time the Winnipeg police appear on a local open line show i shall Call in anonymously and complain that my Book is disgusting pornography that should be pulled from the shelves of the University Bookstore and the Public i shall take care to give the title and author i want them to ban some one else Freedom to read week was a bit disappointing when it was celebrated from 23 to March 2 this Book enthusiasts earnestly assured each other that the free circulation of ideas was a precious feature of an open society and that it was under threat from the enemies of free it was hard to say this with much since people were Drifting calmly in and out of Public libraries All Over Winnipeg with no sign of a threat to their Freedom to its hard to feel like a victim when no one is abusing the vice squad and the Crown attorneys have solved that prob Winni Eggers have been reminded that the Public libraries we take for granted actually can come under not just from the budget cutting councillors but also from the stampers out of other cultural institutions in Winnipeg May envy the Library publicity the Ballet and the Art gallery should have no difficulty presenting spectacles that will spark vice squad i Vestiga its a Little tougher for con Cert societies and will the philharmonic choir have to do Beethoven ninth symphony Stark naked will the Manitoba chamber orchestra players have to simulate copulation while they perform what depravity is will the artistic Community have to invent to arouse the vice busters interest 7 Terence Moore is a free press editorial his column appears on ;