Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 16, 2000, Winnipeg, Manitoba Focus a13 Winnie my Orff May 2000 nigerians must take control of nation Many nations increasingly View Nigeria As the Lead coun try for coordinating peace keeping efforts in a continent frequently embroiled in tribal conflicts and in recent the International Community called upon Nigeria to once again Send troops to Sierra Leone to prevent rebel foday seizing Power in while Western including praised the nigerian deployment to Sierra All but Britain declined to Send their own despite its own greatly appreciated peacekeeping Nigeria itself has spent much of its modern history mired in communal strife and military including a full scale civil a few months Nigeria was engulfed in tribal and religious resulting in Over nigerians killed and count less thousands fleeing for Safe in Nigeria is a Case study of the inherent and seemingly intractable problems plaguing Many african having played a major role Over the years in denouncing human rights abuses in Nigeria by Mil itary Canada should under stand the nature of those longstanding especially if Ottawa is to become More involved in development As seems Likely following the visit to Canada last week of Nige Rias Olusegun president Oba Sanjo said he found it difficult to understand Why with its Long and proud role in peace was declining to Send Canad an troops to Sierra others have suggested Western Canada among Are practising racism toward Nigeria is not one it is the Hausa and pastoral Fulani people of the most converted to islam several centuries have tried to dominate mostly and the ibos of the both predominantly christians or such inherent tribal and religious differences have sparked numerous confrontations in the these intrinsically antagonistic groups were welded together into a single nation by Britain when it took Over most of the territory in the late but it was always an artificial nation at the Best of especially since northerners had been slave traders for centuries who regularly abducted southerners and sold them As far away As the Middle even to this southerners mis Trust who look Down on them with scarcely concealed super until the Only centralizing Force was the normally dominated by since Independence in they have ruled directly or indirectly for All but a few even president elected last is a former the loyalty of the officer corps has been traditionally maintained by allow ing them to enrich themselves through various illicit having become accustomed to their leaders looting the nations Oil wealth for Over 95 per cent of Export Many nigerians have acted on the premise that corruption and cronyism Are the not the to promote stability for the Long the government in Abuja must give its 110 million citizens compelling reasons to support the Rule of Law and respect for the rights of different trib Al and religious until the country institutionalized corruption is particularly the diversion of Nigeria Petroleum wealth into the hands of venal there is Little reason for average nigerians to give loyalty to a state that has been simply a convenient vehicle for parasitic Preda tors whole regarded Nigeria As a fat Cash cow to be milked utilizing the country Oil revenues to promote National economic develop ment is essential to give nigerians a greater investment in the stability of their Commonwealth including should assist this process once authentic reforms Are being if Nigeria is to have a meaningful its Long suffering people must take Back control of their own country from those whole used its institutions for their own this Means establishing previously unthinkable alliances Between the country Parade religious and regional interests to promote National Unity Ana respect for the Rule Law and democratic an almost insurmountable Hwy a former is w he served in i1 v Crown corporation versus private company car jumps onto Success track As private sector Railroad it is one of the Chretien governments least talked about policy the Renaissance of the Canadian National railway offers a unique object lesson in Good Public taking the car out of the Public sector allowed it to jump onto the Success once regarded As the sad sack of Continental rail the car is now on the verge of becoming the largest rail company in North it is already one of the most a few Short years the company ranked seventh in cobbled together out of several bankrupt railways and set up As a Crown it consistently lost Money infusion of lion in Federal subsidies Between 1945 and like most government it was sheltered from accountability and the need to perform Well Bent Down with old riddled with inefficiency and beset by labour it seemed an irretrievable Basket what happened Doug then Liberal transport decided enough was enough and put the car on the he scrapped the 100yearold railway act and replaced it with the Canada transportation legislation that deregulated our airlines and it allowed rail companies to rationalize their to play to their strengths and trim their at the same it opened the Market on abandoned track to Shoreline which have much lower operating most it allowed the car to run As a business instead of a National employment it steers More traffic with less than half the staff and reduced its costs As a percentage of Revenue from 95 per cent to 72 per the remaining who have racked up enormous gains in make More and annual losses Are a thing of the first Quarter earnings for 2000 will top these results also Shat Ter the myth of the no Talent civil service since the ceo behind the Handiwork is Paul a former senior Federal it is regarded As one of the most successful privatizations in Canadian history the Sale of shares returned billion to the governments the original Stock routinely trades above and shares split two for one last no longer exempt from income taxes As a Crown the company now pays hundreds of millions in the car is its acquisition of Illinois Central augmented the company South Ern a smart move considering that North South rail traffic is growing Between 10 per cent and 15 per cent a while East West traffic is increasing at a rate of Only four per it Hopes to merge with the Burlington Northern Santa be the most efficient Carrier in the this Marcos Townsend Canadian press cars planned merger with railways will continue its Success As a private will make the whose corporate Headquarters and identity will remain the largest rail Way in North America and make the combined sys tem even More the expansive Pace of Trade under Naftal makes the efficiency rating even More Trade Between Canada and the has grown almost 10 per cent a year since while the Economy has averaged Only four per cent since Peregu Canadian freight rates have declined 35 per cent and Are the lowest in the about two cents per lower shipping costs make our products More competitive and that makes us More there is a although the car expected a degree of political opposition to the merger in it never anticipated that an american regulator would interfere with the and that is what the surface transportation Board denied a request for speedy approval of the the Agency put it on hold for 15 months while it studies the the subs concerns Stem from the rapid Pace of rail company integration in the since the provider Pool has shrunk from 66 major carriers to with Only four servicing most of the the car had counted on the Quick action the St has demonstrated in the the company is now challenging the delay in the subs worries seem unwarranted because falling rates and much greater operating efficiency have accompanied the pattern of railway mergers since the real Check on any efforts Large railways May make to gouge their customers comes from their most rigorous the trucking the railroads share of the haul ing Market continues to even As they Spruce up their More Canadian exports now move by and that switch Only took place Over the last our provincial and Federal governments have spent a lot of diplomacy and time dealing with minor threats such As the worry about devils Lake spilling into the red the future of the rail line that runs right beside that River should receive some the car has come a Long for and especially Winnipeg it is important that it be allowed to Peter Holle is president of the Frontier Centre for Public d see letters to the editor the free press welcomes letters trom they must include the authors address and Telephone letters May be letters to the 1355 Mountain r2x fax email . Day care should be societal Cost As a father with two preschoolers in Day i would like to comment on your recent Edito rials calling for increased fees to Par let me first say that i fully support increasing wages of childcare work they Are too Low and have not even kept Pace with Howe your assertion that parents costs should go up to remedy Low wages is totally out of step with the reality of parents ability to pay and the reality of what is happening in other Canad an Parent fees Are unaffordable for this fact is being realized by other provinces such As que Bec which now has a Day or less Day care and which is starting a similar program for a Day or you suggest that we increase fees in where i am currently paying a Day per last our family spent Over on child that even in House holds with two Good Day care should be a societal just like education and health lets pay our childcare workers a Liv ing wage for the most by tax its time governments acknowledge responsibility for uni Versal child along with its Many including lower spending in future years in the social and family and education Marty poker Vort Winnipeg new Arena could provide Winter jobs a Strong Case can be made for government contributions to the Cost of a new Arena Fer ii the As in the a goad Many of the cites construction workers will Likely be unemployed during the win Ter a construction project that generated Winter m Nipes would cancer final Dpi Fos Nofte on the Federal govern meat would not have to pay Oyt As much ii and would collect More income tax and get the provincial government would collect More income tax and the net Cost to both governments of contributions to a project that provided Winter jobs to workers who would otherwise be unemployed could be the Arenas architect should estimate what amount of the work could be scheduled during the Winter months the promoters should request contributions from both governments corresponding to the financial Bene fits that building the Arena would bring Ruben professor of economics emeritus University of Manitoba will nursing plan Benefit patients Maureen Hancharyk and the Manitoba nurses Union leadership Are to be congratulated shortage of nurses training Issue int free May their lobby of the new nip government for a return to diploma nursing has paid govern ment policy has now been could someone just explain How it is that All those diploma pos ing nurse educators and managers have come to believe that a University nursing degree is required to prepare today beginning nurses Are they onto something in nursing education that the menu and new government perhaps missed but most How will we know if patients in Manitoba Are benefiting from this new nursing Educa Tion policy Veryl Tiliski Winnipeg homophobia disgusting Giesbrecht god dear on sex prac free May 8 wrote that god instituted marriage Between Man and not Man and Man or woman and and that christians should not condone homosexual but what this person failed to state is that god also judge not lest be be and let thou who has not sinned cast the first i am a roman Catholic and frankly i think that those who condemn and say that homosexuality is bad Are the ones who Are i personally am not homosexual but i say that All those who Are openly Gay should be proud of and what about no christians you cannot say that it matters if a Christ Ian god approves of them because they Are the Only ones who need to i have seen so much Homo phobia that i am we Are living in the year not in the so Why dont people just Start acting like it Kyla Bishop fort Engineer entered Queens during War Tough skating in University league free May 4 by Norman Cameron says Queens University admitted a German chemical Engi Neer right after the second world who did so Well and was so Ful for the education that he later gave Queens Herst Montean i doubt that Alfred Bader will see that so Felt that i should clarify a Point or two i was a contemporary of his at Alfred was a 17yearold jewish a internee when he entered he had applied to several major Canadian universities but Only Queens would accept he became a chemical Engineer there and graduated in May Don Mathieson phone users pay its taxes those who cheered when exp remier Gary Filmon told us a privatized its would pay taxes have now discovered it is not but who pay its its income plus about million dividends to mostly out of province through user Herb Schulz Winnipeg Doones Biry by Garry Trudeau you packing near might now ;