Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - December 8, 1998, Winnipeg, Manitoba A3 free the Saadi beast flow Brian editorials Libert try tire of spec inquiry the ramp Eoff plaints cannot stand the pressure applied to it by parties concerned about the police operations at last years Asia Pacific Summit in because the parties have paralysed the to such a Point that the panel chairman resided last a better Means should be found for bringing to Light the facts the Public deserves to the govern Mem should launch an inquiry of another kind that will get to the political heart of the a full dress judicial inquiry of the classic Type will be neither Quick nor efficient and May never get close to the the parties who paralysed the ramp complaints com Mission if they once again have standing before judicial May defend their private interests in the same manner with the same canadians do not need an endless exhibition of squabbling attorneys trying to get their Bills they need Clear answers to a limited number of without those the Public cannot make the political judgments it is entitled to make about the governments use of the Royal Canadian mounted the inquiry panel had been obstructed by some of the complainants who for a while refused to appear because Ottawa was refusing to pay their lawyers Merer recently it was obstructed by the lawyer for some of the policemen because he thought Ger Ald the inquiry panel had been overheard in a Prince Albert Casino prejudging the outcome of the Morin Felt his work was obstructed by Shirley chairwoman of the complaints when she directed him to read a statement to the hearing and when she refused his expense claims for investigative since the parties Are eager to obstruct and the inquiry panel proved unable to overcome the there is Little Hope it will find the answers the Public needs in a reasonable a judicial inquiry modelled on the Letourneau inquiry into military operations in Somalia or the Krever inquiry into tainted blood would be even More inefficient and More vulnerable to obstruction by the parties whose interests Are at the Canadian Public needs to make an informed judgment about the governments use its Power to direct police operations during the Asia Pacific a complaints commission of a judicial inquiry Are at Best indirect Means of finding those facts and making those political an inquiry by a parliamentary committee would have More Freedom to sidestep the private hear the necessary witnesses and debate the political this would take some of the political heat off the complaints prime minister Jean Chretien and the opposition parties should bring the political debate into where it blowing smoke there Are some Good reasons to doubt whether a proposed 50centper Carton tax on cigarettes would be the useful thing its proponents Heath minister Allan As vigorous an anti smoker As he is apparently not too enthusiastic about but its supporters argue that it might raise millions of dollars that could be spent on Edu cation to prevent Canadian Young people from Tak ing up although apparently supportive of the Bills has refused to take up its cause in the House of tobacco company supporters suggest the Bill is one More punitive measure aimed at cigarette Mak argues that the govern ment already has in place an important and effective action to deter Youthful but antismoking groups Point out that it has not yet found the will or me Way to spend this ample anti youth smoking and there is no proof that the Little it does seem to spend is spent very whatever View one takes of the it is unlikely to affect ones conclusion about the governments behaviour toward the private members Bill that proposes the Bill originated with senator Colin Kenny in the it received presented in the House by Liberal my Carolyn Ben it was killed on procedural Rock could have outflanked the procedural problems by assuming the Bill As his own putting it to the where elected politicians would have been compelled to take a stand on a Seri Ous Public Rock did and because he refused the Bill whether or not that death was a Good thing or a bad thing depends on which Side of the debate you but from whichever Side at there can be no question that it died for All the wrong reasons that As health has yet to Winnipeg free press atm feel few Pratt we winning of Tui it my email Nichaus Cole editorial Page editor directors Harry Brown Circy lotion sales and marketing Perry Nixdorf technology Glenn Williams finance and administration that elusive social Union having once again dodged a Canadian federalists Are launched in Giddy Pursuit of the formula that will defeat separatism in Quebec and once and for the Canadian Federal and provincial politicians significantly not including prime minister Jean Chretien Are telling canadians that there is an urgent need to agree on a so called social which would significantly limit the Abil Ity of the Federal government to initiate programs in or about areas of provincial we would All be Wise to slow Down a the federalist cause has enjoyed some Good news Over the past week but a lot of barriers stand in the Way of a new balance of Powers Between Ottawa and the most notably the Good news is not Only the fact that Jean Charest and his Quebec Liberal party averted humiliation in won More votes than Lucien Bouchard parti quebecois in the recent provincial equally significant in the eyes of some federalists was the fact that Bouchard expressed his willingness to sit Down with the prime minister the other provincial leaders to work out a John Dafoe re balancing of federalism the so called social Union spelled out by the provincial premiers in Saskatoon last those events inspired Saskatchewan Roy to Hope that a new agreement on the social Union could be reached very Early in hold on a its not that to begin Bouchard has not abandoned his party separatist he clearly has no mandate at the moment to pursue sovereignty but he will continue to strive for his winning if the social Union talks Bouchard can claim that Only sovereignty can assure the Protection of Quebec if the talks should Suc he can Promise to gain even More with a favourable referendum in there is a Strong Chance that the talks will not because of any deviousness on the part of Bouchard but Sim ply like other Quebec he approaches the Issue from a different perspex most of the premiers who signed the social Union Declara Tion last August regarded the document As a basis for Neotia open to amendment in talks with the Federal Bouchard clearly regards it As a final immune to change and the in requires significant amendment because it would impose restrictions on Federal social policy that most canadians Are Likely to find the premiers position does not differentiate Between two types of fed eral initiative like that require the provincial governments to com Mit to major expenditures and to follow Federal and like the millennium scholarship that involve payments from Federal government directly to individual the provinces have a right to claim More of a say in the first Type of Federal program they have no right to interfere in Deal Ings Between the government of Canada and its if the provinces were to Stop fussing about the millennium scholarship Type of program and concentrated on the problems with share Cost programs they might be farther giving them the right to opt out of those share Cost programs not be As dramatic As it after is not run by the Federal government but by each individual with a contribution of Money from Ottawa and according to Princi Ples set by according to the premiers pro a province could opt out of that kind of program and receive a full Federal contribution As Long As it established its own program which met the National object there is clearly a difference Between Federal principles and National but it is not one that appears impossible to there is room for fruitful negotiations Between Ottawa and the provinces but whatever they achieve is not Likely to deter Lucien Bouchard from pursuing his winning conditions for Sov John Dafoe is a former editor Ial Page editor of the free his column appears on the social Impact of shopping t t there does Money exactly now that my Holiday shopping has i have an acute awareness of Money exiting the precious folds of leather of my but what happens to it after that some goes to the to the shopkeeper or and then theres the the transportation not to mention the advertising Agen cies and the factory workers who sewed that pair of jeans i am about to by the time Ive shelled out Money and left the Howe the Odds Are Good that i Haven Given a second thought to what happened to that thirty years the sure sign of a Dollar Well spent was a Label that said Union the idea that our spending choices can reinforce a decent Standard of living for factory workers and employees fell out of today we Are More Likely to be fastidious about Price comparisons and shop at huge discount stores our Bottom line being that the More Money that stays in our wallets the bet but Ive been wondering Tete whether there might not be other ways of calculating the value of our spending the Christmas presents i bought from a local Ceramic for example will that Money enrich other producers a Little closer to Home or will it end up in the coffers of the 12th biggest corporation in the world i will probably never Stop to consider the Impact of every Dol Lar i out when i buy a pair of jeans Mads i at i know that the working conditions under which they were Are Turner than those Penni Mitchell making its and clothes using sweat labour in countries like China and where workers were reportedly paid 25 cents us per hour and required work overtime which want necessarily following a North America wide publicity Campaign Howe Nike fired some of its indonesian contractors who were skirting minimum wage ments and has sponsored Educa Tion programs for some indonesian it seems far removed from until you recall that one of the most successful Boycotts was the one that turned off the investment taps to South in the the apartheid regime was brought to its Knees in part because the International Community was convinced to use foreign Trade policies to sup port the demands of Blacks for democratic Many human rights activists believe that it is possible to piggyback for better working conditions into the language of Trade the United nations has calculated that achieving and main Taining Universal Access to Basic Basic health reproductive health care for adequate food and Safe water and sanitation for All of the worlds workers and their families would Cost billion a or to quote from the 1998 in human development less than four per cent of the combined wealth of the 225 Rich if Soju Poog Qumy shopping wants a pair of the has come user criticism for est people in the in the labour behind the Label coalition lobbying for a Federal task Force to find ways to make sure cloth ing manufacturers in Canada who contract out piece work ensure minimum wage it is also encouraging retailers to ensure their products Are produced under fair working conditions should i buy those Calvin Klein a clothing designer known for some of the most sexually risque ads on the As Long As the Label says made in Canada perhaps i should Check out the jeans sold at my neighbourhood Environ mentally Friendly store the ones made from organic i decide i dont like the but i pick up a few gifts while in there and i Stock up on Bridge head decaffeinated an organic Java that is not Only Deli but is grown on Farmer owned Winnipeg North end has established a Community economic development corporation that encourages us to see Commerce As Community devel following a Dollar along Selkirk Avenue might mean it travels from a bakery to a cloth ing an aboriginal Art Down the Street to the quilt to a food to local wild Rice and into the local credit Union where it is loaned Hack to the who May hire More staff when Ness picks supporting local producers is two sided if we Are not simply giving our Money playing a Small part in deciding who receives then aware that our Money can mate a Small difference of Christmas Sho ;