Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 30, 1997, Winnipeg, Manitoba A 1d 3 free june 1997 3rian Cole 6977044 editorials Freedom of Trade Liberty of religion Equality of civil rights trembling at last tremble intensely tremble read the note to the British Monarch from the chinese China had previously invited Britain to become a Vassal state of the celestial and the contemptuous tone continues in this delivered to lord Napier in Canton by the Imperial la Kun the chinese ideograms chosen to spell Napiers name translate As laboriously it was Imperial chinese but it was All it was China that would tremble and part of its Hong that would become a Colony of Britain under the treaty of banking that culminated chivas humiliation in the opium wars in it was not until in that Britain eventually As British prime minister Margaret giving in to Beijing agreed to restore Hong Kong to China on july when Britain lease without Ever once asking its Citi Zens whether they wanted to be at Midnight Hong the jewel in the Crown of passes into communist the people of Winnipeg have a special relation ship with the Hong Kong that will vanish into history at the stroke of in the Winnipeg along with the Royal rifles of were sent to Hong Kong in a hopeless attempt to reinforce the British troops already the Colony fell to the japanese and the survivors spent the rest of the War in the hell of the japanese prison the Hong Kong veterans Are cherished As symbols of the horror of War and of the courage and heroism of the Canadian Winnipeg still have a special relationship with the new Hong Kong that will emerge from history at Midnight it is too much a part of this cites soul for that to be changed by any change in govern the eyes of Winni Eggers will be More closely on Hong Kong in the weeks and months to come than they have been for Many they will be watching to see what happens to the former Colony under the Rule of the nor will Winni Eggers be alone on the in a the whole world today is not out of any particular fear of chivas but out of fear for Hong Kongs Beijing has made Many offered Many about How Hong Kong will be its Freedom the rights of its citizens pro it has also taken Steps and made statements that cast doubt on the value of those there is much at stake Here for China in the Way that it treats this lost child that has been restored to Hong once the Symbol of chivas Humilia Tion by the will now be the measure by which it is judged in the Community of peopling Portage summer has brought the customary crowds of Winni Eggers out on the sidewalks and benches of the cites most dignified Street becomes a Daylong Block party every working Portage with its office could be As attractive and As densely thronged with it is it has been stripped Bare and turned into a High volume corridor for traffic heading from one Side of the City to the Portage Avenue has As Many employees As Broadway and More but there is no agreeable place to sit on the Portage Avenue sidewalk and watch the world go As a storefronts stand empty from main Street to Donald Portage Avenue has been made into a corridor to pass not a place to High crime figures for the Core area police districts reflect Many including deserted a crowd is a Good defence against assault or the Lack of crowds in the evenings leaves the few pedestrians relatively humanizing the Street should reduce Portage Avenue has been made so unattractive that the people no longer want to use it except As a traffic fifty four per cent of respondents in a recent free press poll opposed reopening of pedestrian Crossings at Portage and since the great majority of people use the intersection to drive somewhere they want it to be an efficient traffic to reclaim Portage Avenue for the City and the property owners should keep Broadway in they should improve other routes for the Benefit of Crosstown they should show the Public How pleasant Portage Avenue and its hand some buildings can then the need for the curb Side pedestrian barriers at Portage and main will the sidewalks will be filled with people and the criminals will Slink Winnipeg free press Winnipeg free press est 1872 Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 Rudy Redekop publisher email Nicholas editor Brian Cole editorial Page editor directors Harry Brown circulation sales and marketing 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 problems with no fault if Only half of the aut Opac horror stories that must be pouring into Sam a skins office Are then it is Clear that Manitoba no fault personal injury insurance scheme needs a major a Small Sam ple of what Yuskiw must be hearing was evident when he appeared on a local radio talk show this past callers reported everything from unfeeling and callous treat ment by aut Opac employees to one instance where an aut Opac worker was reported to have told his Barber How easy it was to Slough off personal injury claims because most people had no idea of what they were entitled the it turned considered himself to be a victim of Auto acs unfeeling attitude toward Manitoban who dare to claim for personal we have had no fault personal injury insurance in Manitoba for two and a skins review is part of a required for the past two years Manitoban injured As a result of an automobile Accident have been prohibited from going to and have to Deal with aut Opac adjusters the fact that an aut Opac victims sup port group has been formed since no fault was introduced indicates that the troubles Fred Cleverley involved in substituting civil ser vants for courts go beyond Sim ple growing we got no fault we were to a save us All a Bun dle of Money and b insure prompt and adequate compensation for automobile related regardless of As a sort of icing on the cake we were also told that we would help stomp out Money grubbing on the part of lawyers associated with Accident with two years of experience under our it appears that a the lawyers we rent All that when compared to aut Opac b no fault compensation Falls far Short of what Many people believe to be either prompt or adequate and c we dont appear to be saving much to Deal with the last Point lets take a look at this past aut Opac told us it was increasing rates by per Charles writing in the Motorist Magazine going says the Canadian automobile association figures the increase was a whopping per in reaching its per cent Fig ure aut Opac said its rates had increased per cent and in addition it was charging an extra two per cent to build up its the Caa pointed put that in addition to these Manitoba Drivers licences jumped each a 30 per cent increase and aut Opac got the deductibles increased by a 25 per cent jump and the option of buying a Zero deductible add in these Caa and the increase this year for car insurance is not per but per current Law requires that the Public Utility Board consider Only actual rate increases and Reserve Caa argues what Many Manitoban will that the Law needs to be if Only to reflect the True increase it is far too Early to suggest what Yuskiw May find wrong with no fault it is pretty Clear that part of what he should find wrong is the thinking that exists in the executive offices of this thinking is already raising questions in Many Manitoban for Auto acs Deci Sion to give dollars to the City to hire Auto theft police men needs to be reviewed by the if a private insurance company such As Wawanesa made such a gift and passed the Cost along to its those customers would have the option of dealing with another insurance Manitoba motorists have no Choice about the insurance Money they Are required to pay aut Opac since aut Opac is a perhaps in the minds of aut Opac executives their mandate includes subsidizing police but few Manitoban will then there is Auto acs think ing about no fault aut Opac continues to charge Dri vers Over 70 the same rates As anyone but has decided that they cannot receive compensation for injuries because of their too bad Revenue Canada Doest have the same Revenue Canada Doest care if you Are Over 70 when you earn it collects taxes just the at least Revenue Canada Doest discriminate on the basis of age like Auto acs no fault Fred Cleverley is a Winnipeg his column appears on tory health figures ring false its one of the provincial conservatives proudest repeated from every platform since they took Power nine years they spends the highest percentage of its budget health care among the figures released by health Canada show that this boast has a hollow Only three other provinces Nova and Saskatchewan spend less per capita on health care than Manitoba Manitoba eight place finish among the 10 provinces and two territories was pointed out to health minister Darren Praznik by representatives of the Mani Toba medical association at a special meeting March reporting on the Exchange in its june the Mma states much of the meeting was devoted to an with both sides exchanging Back ground documents and having an Opportunity to give their general perspective on health care in in some it appeared Praznik has been Misin particularly regarding different payment modalities and delivery systems for health As he incorrectly stated that Manitoba has the highest per capita health expenditures com pared to other provincial gov that is Only True if private expenditures and Feder ally funded programs for aboriginal patients Are for provincial health spend ing Manitoba actually ranks seventh or according to the january 1996 health Canada publication entitled National health expenditures in Manitoba paid per person on health in this Fig i i excludes direct Frances Russell health spending by the Federal municipalities and workers this was Well below the nation Al average of the High est health spending occurred in the at even Canadas poorest put out health expenditures among the provinces alone Range from a High of in to a Low of in Nova the health Canada report also shows that Manitoba sustained one of the largest per capita drops in health spending in while the National average declined by per Manito Bas dipped per tied with Nova Scotia for the biggest decrease among the 12 govern ments outside the per cent decline in in an Praznik said the Mma was misquoting he never referred to per capita expenditures on Only to the percentage of the total budget devoted to he said the reason Manitoba per capita spending appears Low is because Manitoba has a Large aboriginal population and their health costs Are borne by the health minister said he want trying to Duck the fact that there Are areas where the province could be spending Darren Praznik claims Are called into i think they have misquoted my comment was not in respect of per my com ment was in respect to Pur Bud Manitoba was the in not saying that we dont have i have acknowledged that in some areas of physician we Are at the lower end of the Praznik argument that Ottawa pays for aboriginal health care is at Odds with his govern ments repeated complaints that Ottawa is offloading the costs of health and other programming for aboriginal Manitoban on to the the health Canada publication makes the governments boast about its health spending hollow for another in its historic review of per capita the report shows that Manitoba has been consistently below the National average since that Manitoba increase outstripped the National eight per cent compared to per but in it was per cent compared to per cent in per cent com pared to per in minus per cent compared to minus per Manitoba fiscal restraint Over the last nine years writes these numbers in even starker in his 1997 budget finance minister Eric Stefanson made another Manitoba Cost of government is now the lowest in he thirty four per cent of a Bud get that is shrinking steadily in relationship to the Economy is a 34 per cent that is shrinking All in the tories health boast is becoming not just hol but finances Russell covers politics for the free her column appears on wednes Days and ;