Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 17, 1997, Winnipeg, Manitoba Brian Cole 6977044 focus Winnipeg free press a 4 13 october m i mayor wants to ram through Power civic Reform needs close look itts report will not take a year to will pass Oft 29 Politi Cal Structure will be changed by thus spoke mayor Susan Thompson on the draft report on organizational review by consultant Geofge on its release last of the mayor has been quoted correctly and truly believes that the report should and will be implemented she is display ing an attitude that has characterized and in some Mea sure bedevilled her since she entered Public the mayor has never understood that a democratic process and a pluralistic Community rest on the existence of a diversity of nor has she conceived of leadership and due process As being Means of reconciling or accommodating a Range of her Way or the doorway has been the watch an attitude All the More strik ing Given How inarticulate she has usually been about both Means and a mayor capable of articulating such things might have been a great in the absence of that bullying has tended to be a preferred her person al with the cites senior administration and with enough of her political colleagues to sustain it has not been without effect during her tenure there have been record turnovers in the staff in the mayors office and she has cowed a number of councillors and bureaucrats who once had some reputation for Independence of mind and judg the atmosphere has been Poi the recommends sweeping changes in Struc Ture and organization among which would be the abolition of the Board of commissioners and its replace ment with a single chief administrative equally it recommends significant increases in the Powers of the including the Power to make Council appointments an orwellian phrase since Council would no longer make them to roughly 20 boards and commissions and All and hoc commit tees of Council and the Power to suspend the new chief administrative one says predictably because the mayor herself was a prime mover in the selection of this consultant and in shaping his terms of As Dan Vandal consultants Are like statistics you can arrive at what you depending on the with ample time for review and Council and the Community might Well conclude that a number of these changes Are Desir Able in any it May for that the Board of commissioners has had its Day in cuffs if the horse is if it is Dis mounting is an imperative but if it is dead it might be appropriate to ask did it expire of natural causes or was it poisoned the after is delighted to have someone else pronounce that the horse is dead for she has indeed flirted with if not bloodier for some which is to say she has had a vested interest in this in what position would she have been placed if cuff had concluded that the cuff recommended drastic changes to civic though could with appropriate medicines be Good for another 20 years though some of these changes May represent the direction in which change should there is something rather mindless about with minimal Public to embrace the report As a solution to All the cites we have been offered not so very Long politicians of both the municipal and provincial variety and a Host of other armchair experts concluded that the biggest problem at City Hall was that the Council was too Large and the mayor too in Gary Filmon reduced the size of Council and increased the Powers of the have you not noticed How much bet Ter the City is run is life not sweeter on every Street wherever two or three Are paeans of Praise Are regularly offered to the Beneficence and wis Dom of Filmon and his colleagues for liberating Winnipeg from the shackles of an oversized Council and an underpowered the notion that the existing civic system May be gutted and a new one established instantly implies that civic government is the person al plaything of the mayor and her Council acolytes and that no one else Council of in the has anything to say about the mayor find the votes to ram this report through with Little Council examination or Public her Normal allies include several who share her Cal several who Are in Thrall because their jobs and extra salaries Are the mayors and several others whose capacity to Analyse the reports implications verge to put it yet the mayors existing which have allowed her to silence some councillors and exclude Many others from effective would be greatly enhanced under these she or her successor would enjoy Many of the prerogatives of a Premier without Many of the conventional checks and cuff says these new Powers do not preclude the mayor from seek ing the input of All we would expect that to be the clearly cuff does not know the present mayor As her Council colleagues know it is who have seen the present mayor at close who will be asked to approve this some of them by virtue of the offices to which she has appointed effectively bought and paid but even they May want to having seen her operating whether they wish her or some future mayor of similar style to have the array of Powers that cuff they May also wonder if this is such an excellent set of it can not withstand some extended scrutiny and William Neville is a Winnipeg his column appears every other letters to the editor Unicof donations Benefit children in the 5 Church gives advice on Pat Soenen from the league for life Manitoba suggests that we Boycott Unicof this year because of their supposed ant child the Contention that Unicof is anti child is based on the fact that Unicof provides information to women in developing countries about the Spac ing of the primary reason for teaching families about birth Spac ing options is to increase the Chance that All children in developing coun tries will have Access to adequate food and other necessities of and to optimize the health of Unic efs is ant child if is Soenen lived in a developing country and spent most of her Energy on any Given Day worrying about whether her children would get enough to i hardly doubt that she would Label Unic efs work As thanks for putting your views forms your limited View of the world has ensured that this my family and i will continue to sup port the work of Unicof and other organizations who similarly work toward ensuring the maximum Well being of children and their and come my daughter will proudly collect change for Unicof Laura go sen Winnipeg catholics Back Unicof being both Catholic and an Active Unicof supporter and incidentally there Are Many Catholic Unicof i would Miketo share some information regard Gre 3 Church gives advil on 1 Unicof is and never involved with abortion or family planning projects that contravene Catholic this is not due to pressure from the Catholic Church but because it is not Unic efs mandate to engage in such 2 i am surprised that league for life would take a stance against when Unic efs policies Are in accordance with league for lifes 3 Catholic priests and nuns Are involved in numerous Unicof Field projects in developing Many times i have Beard of visiting priests describing the Good work a Necef is doing 4 Earmar jag of funds done by Piny it is 3 very efficient and satisfactory method of reach ing a kiwanis International a Rucks All of the funds it raises Foj How to reach us the free press welcomes letters from letters must be signed and should include a clearly printed address and Telephone names will be published but not All letters May be edited for style and Short letters Are less Likely to be please address letters to letters to the Winnipeg free 1355 Mountain Winnipeg r2x letters can be sent to our fax number letters May be submitted through the internet at . Letters sent via the internet obviously cannot be but must include Home address and Telephone the Unicof iodine deficiency disorder program and has collected More than million to the catholics have chosen to support the water purification project m this is an equally important project to help improve the lives of children in the 5 i will choose not to have my tons to Unicof Exten Sive research in the work Unicof does has shown that Unicof is very sensitive to helping children where the need is most its goals Are geared to providing sustainable devel Unicof projects Are air tale rented with the input of the local Community and Are sensitive to their religious and ethnic my efforts for Unicof Are to give the children of this and their future who suffer from Maln utri abuse and Lack of health care and clean a Chance at a better of e Money placed in Unicof halloween boxes will achieve not 6 perhaps some corporation would like to match any tokens Dol Lar for to help ensure Tion of the water purification project for children in Mary Carter Winnipeg editorial misplace blame your get 7 passport demands a you state that israels use of forged Canadian passports Okay we canadians travelling in Unicof donations Are for a Good readers Hamas and other Arab terrorist the goals of Arab terrorist groups Are perfectly they Are prepared to do anything to sabotage the Middle East peace process and to destroy the state of the fact that persons other than israelis May be among the victims of their terrorist activities is seen As an acceptable and even Desir Able there is nothing in a Canadian passport which renders canadians invincible to Arab terror ism in the facts Are that canadians for some been at risk of terrorist attacks have been victims of terrorism while trav Elling in the Middle the free press published a feature article on Edwin Megger and Canadian Citi Weiss while visiting was severely injured in the Hamas suicide bombings on Jerusalem Ben Yehuda mall this attack took place in Well before the forgery your characterization of israels attempts at combating the terrorism that impacts not Only its citizens but also As unconscionable is particularly nowhere in your commentary is there any condemnation of the terrorist activities that precipitated the israeli counter terrorism responsibility for terror past and and any result ing endangerment or loss of Canadian jives should be placed squarely on the shoulders of the actual Arab terrorist not the israeli also ironic is your failure to censure Foreit affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy in an attempt to mollify has been meeting with some Arab governments who knowingly pro vide Safe Haven to and even finance their with a logic that is As be fiddling As any found in Lewis Carrolls mad Tea you applaud Axworthy for wisely proceeding with caution in assessing Canadas relations with Israel the free press has consistently demonstrated a Clear ant Israel Bias in its reporting and this editorial is no exception it serves Only to inflame some of your readers and its calculated to turn Public opinion against a country and a people fight ing for their it both saddens and angers me that your newspaper is among the ranks of those who seek to undermine that great Leigh halpr1n Winnipeg business owner laments Bank fees regarding Keith Dycks question wheres the nearest credit Union free the of is readily but the truth is they should be the obvious Banks mysteriously continue to hoodwink a Large segment of the pub As the owner of a Small i can Tell you first hand the difference Between dealing with both and much to my that i cannot do business without a Bank debit cards and visa cards Are the curse of Small the Banks control the systems and charge fees coming and going in they have their own private tax every time a Tomer uses their Bank debit card i am charged a swipe fee and Many peo pie now want to use it for items As cheap As then later a fee to Deposit these charges to monthly rental on this machinery and other statement of charge cards take a Dis count of my profits and further fees for a Manitoba government employee purchased local products from Ray business great used a government american express card to do this card takes the highest discount from and out of our its not feasible for me to try to Dis Suade customers from doing business the Way they see but i think Many less the Banks Are laughing and growing More my Bou Rhood Bank has reduced its hours to the Point where i cannot get my credit Union remains Content to serve me with Long hours that Are convenient for and minimal and i know i have a share in its Tim Brandt Winnipeg doonesbury by Garry Trudeau it i is patently ride flies in face it also in wrest ;