Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 9, 1997, Winnipeg, Manitoba A14 Winnipeg free september 1997 Brian Cole 6977044 editorials Freedom Liberty of religion Equality of cml rights response in Calgary Quebec federalists need a sign from the non Quebec premiers to show that Canada is still still capable of they do not need the in their Calgary meeting next sunday and to Frame a completed constitutional they do need something constructive beyond National Unity prime minister Jean Chretien in recent Days met most of the premiers who will attend the Calgary meet he directed their attention to the Quebec problem and the Steps they might Alberta Premier Ralph Klein reacted by saying publicly whatever comes out of this process will simply be an expression to Cana Dian including the people of of How we feel about this Quebec Ontario Mike Harris said if anybody is Sug Gesting that we should be trying to Frame a constitutional amendment without the involvement of the duly elected government of i think there making a kleins simple expression of How pre Miers feel about this coun try will Cut no ice if it amounts to vague a statement along those lines would provoke cynicism among Quebe cers who know How hard it is to move from theoretical Goodwill to Concrete Steps useful to Harris is right that a group of nine premiers should not presume to write a constitutional Amend since the Constitution can be amended Only by parliament and provincial the premiers Lay some ideas on the table and invite Quebec into a discussion whose end results might include amendments to the Premier Lucien Bouchard and the ruling Sovereign lists have repeatedly told Quebe cers that Canada is incapable of changing to accommodate they Point to the failed Meech Lake and Charlottetown exercises to help prove their those failures contributed to the Strong support for sovereignty shown in the Quebec referendum of october parliament has already recognized the distinct society of Quebec and granted the province a de Facto veto on some constitutional it would Cost the premiers Little to Welcome those Steps and say they Hope to Harden them into constitutional since october Quebec separatist fortunes have waned and Reform has emerged As the loudest voice in the West and the second loudest in Parlia the premiers should show that they Are listen ing to Quebec that they do not endorse reforms hostility to Quebec and that they wish to keep searching for if Premier Bouchard spurns such he will have to show his people what Good that does make him squirm snakes at Narcisse Are once again reminding us of the Low level to which the imagination of government ministers can the resided Garter snakes have begun their annual fall migration from Marshlands North of Winnipeg to the pits where they Winter in the tens of their paths Cross Highway where they Are squashed under the tires of cars and this is not surprising a Snake out of the grass and on the Road might Well be expected to get what is surprising is that this stupid waste of a world wildlife treasure is allowed to go on year in and year the problem is As old As Highway but very Little has been done about ministers can be expected to insist the Snake pits be listed in tourism and they can also be expected to tout spin of f s from scientific research and demand pay ment for Snake picking but preserving the snakes takes although not very natural resources workers three years ago tried erecting Little fences along the Highway in Hopes they might Corral the snakes and Herd them through a Culvert under the the Culvert was dubbed a Nunnel after the it was a Little As was the which has not now there is a plan to try to raise to build the kind of tunnels commonplace in the and where there seems to be an appreciation that killing off natural wonders is the Filmon government planned f Josh ladders on the Remote Nelson River to save fish species threat ened by the construction of the Conaw Apa Hydro that was a project the government desperately wanted and the ladders were a Way of fending off outraged naturalists might be Well advised to let the world know How concerned this government is about the welfare of snakes that it touts to tourists and certainly someone should make the minister flattened snakes Winnipeg free press Winnipeg free press 991 i Winnipeg Tribune 9su990 Rudy email Ca Nicholas editor Brian Cole editorial Page editor directors Harry Brown circulation sales and marketing Laurie advertising Verne Kalichuk human resources Perry Nixdorf technology Glenn Williams finance and administration 1997 Winnipeg free 9 division Al qty Lujan Seth Simsw Canada United published sewn mss Teto Man Tejw b2x pm a member of the Manitoba press Council vol 125 no 241 premiers plan less of same lets Hope that the nine provincial premiers who Are heading soon to Calgary to talk about the Constitution know something they Are not telling surely they dont intend to spend their Days in Calgary admiring the scenery and indulging in yet More circular and unproductive constitutional yet to hear them talk in Advance of the that could very Well be the some of the including our own Gary seem a Little bemused about the whole like Premier Mike Harris of who claim to have a Clear idea of what the meeting should be All insist that it should not be about very above they Are Clear that it should not be about amendments to the prime minister Jean who initially seemed to be taking a dim View of the whole has More recently appeared to be urging the provinces on to More substantive even to the Point of agreeing to a constitutional veto for the official View of the pre Miers if they can claim to an official that the Pur pose of their meeting is to Dis cuss ways of consulting canadians on proposals for the John Dafoe constitutional amendment that might surface sometime in the what were really interested said Premier Harris last is looking at How we can How we can engage it is in my View first and above the prime minister and All of the the Constitution belongs to the these Are worthy sentiments no Canadian Democrat could disagree so How can governments consult canadians engage them they might hire Keith Spicer to roam the country using state theart techniques of communication to probe the very soul of canadians coast to they might set up a parliamentary committee to travel across the country listening to canadians in their towns and Vil Lages and they might set up committees in each of their to hear the opinions of Ordinary citizens and special interest groups about How the Constitution could be they could take All the Wisdom and knowledge generated by that massive exercise in citizen engagement and wrap it All into an agreement an and they could take that Accord to the people and ask them to approve it in a referee the trouble of that they have tried All that a substantial majority of canadians hated the Accord and voted against it in the far from bringing canadians that massive exercise in consultation helped increase popular alienation from coast to the other premiers barring Lucien Bouchard who wont be there undoubtedly agree with Premier Harris that there is no Point in repeating past doing nothing would be better than but doing nothing led to the near Victory of the sover eight is option in the last Quebec the Federal governments most recent response to this conundrum has been to push the so called plan which emphasizes the Legal problems that stand in the Way of Quebec and to urge the provinces to push plan the warm and fuzzy approach aimed at making que Beers feel wanted above in the Canadian that approach will not go Down Well with All the premiers con in British for attempts to recognize Quebec distinctive Char Acter Are routinely described As appeasement with All the Nasty overtones of Munich that phrase impatience with the whole constitutional and with Quebec in is widespread elsewhere As so if Many of their voters Are at Best indifferent to constitutional if substantial constitutional changes Are if a discussion of the process of constitutional change without the substance seems just do the premiers think they Are going to accomplish in Calgary of course political leaders Usu ally dont get themselves involved in this kind of discus Sion unless they have some idea of How it is going to come they May astonish us John Dafoe is a former editor Ial Page editor of the free his column appears on tues province still tolerates violence waiting for the body of Carol Meredith 19 be found was like waiting for the provincial government to release the report of the inquiry into the murder of Rhonda Lavoie you knew what the out come was going to but you still needed to hear Meredith was the cold woman whose body was found on a week after she was dragged screaming from her Sisters Home by her former Hus Rhonda like had been abducted twice by her former both women were killed Dur ing the second there were other the Mur Der of is Meredith inflamed Alberta women groups just As the killing of Rhonda Lavoie became a Touchstone Here in in both the jus Tice system has come under fire for not doing its for allowing violent offenders Access to their As in Albertas conservative government stands accused of Dill dallying on changes to make the Justice sys tem work for women trying to escape abusive especially during the critically dangerous period after the woman leaves the the delayed Alberta changes would have seen measures introduced to take some violent offenders out of the instead of forcing women and children to take Refuge in the changes would also have improved Access to restraining an Issue which has been frequently raised in according to Justice Perry Seoul no author of the Lavoie the provincial govern has 91 opportunities to improve the Way the Justice sys tem deals with the safely of wife abuse Page after in the Wowe Elwald report details Penni Mitchell All that went wrong in the Lavoie and will continue to go wrong until the provincial government takes responsibility for making sure lawyers and police have the tools and training needed to enforce the for using risk assess ment reports during bail applications is a relatively doable Way to prevent potential killers from having Access to their Vic Roy Lavoie was out on bail when he killed there was plenty of testimony at the Lavoie inquiry and in the pages of the Dusty six Earold pedlar report on wife abuse to suggest that the provincial government knew what needed to be done Long before Rhonda Lavoie was but that it has repeat edly chosen to slash budgets during the Lavoie it was revealed that the training of Crown attorneys working on wife abuse haunt been though politicians regularly said it bizarre events like Roy Lavoie seeking and being granted a no molestation order against his wife shortly after he abducted her Are juxtaposed with the failure of Rhonda lawyer to ensure details of her rape and attempted murder that occurred during the abduction were reported to despite the rhetoric of Zero Tol the conservative government continues to tolerate violence through benign the Lavoie report is an insightful Toews response to refit try was devoid of document that shows How easily administration of Justice could be improved if Only the will existed to change anger dissipates into anticipation Reading the an anticipation of what Justice could look like if every person involved in the Case of Rhonda from her friends and to Crown prosecutors to the Justice minis Ter had taken responsibility to prevent her men who provide therapy to abusers will Telf you that violent men rarely take responsibility for the punches and kicks they inflict on their they either blame the or re Frame the events to convince others that it didst which gives them permission to minimize their responsibility and maintain control in the Power the two Lead ministers in the area of wife abuse also appear to be adroit at refraining the Issue of wife abuse upon the release of the family services minister Bonnie Mitchelson responded by trying to credit herself with restoring in Domestic abuse programs instead of taking responsibility for making changes in the areas her department has failed Justice minister Vic Toews also missed an Opportunity to Demon Strate leaving Many Manitoban stupefied by his response to the Mammoth criticisms documented in the Manitoba is a Leader and when you Are a Leader in this where do you go for advice in terms of improving the system he prompting one feminist advocate to you dont have to a Wile abuse victim to realize youve been slapped in the face Penni Mitchell is coordinating editor of he Moos Hep column appears of tues ;