Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 26, 2000, Winnipeg, Manitoba A12 Winnie fax theh May 2000 editorials Freedom of Trade Liberty of religion Equality of civil rights kleins Experiment it is a neat conceit that the first ministers of Western Canada meeting in Brandon this week should have had As their first priority what All the polls indicate is the first concern of canadians everywhere health it is a conceit because the idea that the first ministers Are concerned about health care in any Way beyond its effect on their chances of reelection seems it is neat because it pits one conservative government Alberta against three new democratic governments Saskatchewan and British Columbia in an Issue on which the nip is usually consid ered to have a a handle that it now seems to have there no neatness and no conceit to the concern that canadians have about health what is curious is that Alberta Premier Ralph whose government has offered the Only innovation in healthcare delivery on the table should be under attack by three other provincial governments that seem to have no clue about How to remedy the problems afflicting in its budget presented on May Gary doers new democrats promised Manitoba an infusion of an extra million into the healthcare that is a Welcome injection of but it is being injected into a system that remains essentially unchanged in the Way it will deliver its Canadas premiers speak with one voice in demanding More Federal Money for health few of offer any ideas on How More Money could be better spent for better with his infamous Bill has at least offered an alternative that does not require any More Money and that he Hopes will offer albertan better and More easily accessible health if he is he will have paved a path that other provinces can if he is if the opening of Albertas health services to a very Small degree of private sector involvement does not there is nothing to prevent Alberta from going Back to the rules Alberta applied until whatever eventually evolves from the Alberta it will not change the fundamental nature of Universal Access to health care in canadians have made it abundantly Clear that they will not tolerate what is equally Howe is that medicare in Canada is suffering in a Way that even huge infusions of Cash cannot there need to be changes to the system that will not diminish its but that can make it More efficient in delivering benefits to Klein is launching a instead of blindly condemning the other doer among should be watching to see How Well it Council spends in a rare display of 12 City Council lors this week acted As one to ram through ram through an initiative at City no it want what to do with the Canada packers that will languish for Many More it was not a move to Stop housing at the Forks or big Box retailing in the it was not a move to reduce to improve to attract Indus make a decision about Winnipeg Hydro or any of the other things they were elected to what the 12 councillors did was debate and approve an increase in their office allowances by to at a total unbudgeted Cost of this was accomplished in less than 24 hours and without the Benefit of Public second Reading or second imagine in one bold gave themselves More Money to communicate to taxpayers what they Are doing than they Are paid to do it mayor Glen Murray and councillors Bill Al Golden and Peter de Smedt were not part of the dynamism that on this rare occasion infected their colleagues Lead by coun Mike who by All accounts needs help to return phone Clement was intemperate enough to say the 50 per cent increase was greedy and which surely was an excessive use of adjectives but not far off the councillors know what the procedures Are at City too in this Case they ignored proce walked the initiative on at the last minute and approved with if it has those merits Are we know that the Money is to be used to help councillors communicate with voters should ensure that they receive value for the the 12 have decided to voters might begin by attempting to communicate with their councillors to learn just Why it is councillors need to spend a year on offices and office sup the 12 councillors with whom voters might communicate Are John Angus Jae Eadie Jenni Gerbasi Harry Lazarenko Mark Lubosch John Prystanski Mike Oshaughnessy Harvey Smith Shirley Timm Rudolph Garth Steek Lillian Thomas Dan Vandal of alliances foreign values prime minister Jean Chretien is in Prelec Tion Mode test driving themes and messages in a series of Campaign style barbecues and fund in Montreal May he told peo ple at a dinner that the liberals will be battling to save Canada from assault by the Canadian alliances foreign values that i dont that what the next debate will it will be with people who want to talk about values that Are foreign to but refuse to talk about refuse to talk about who refuse to talk about dig Protection of who Ana Lyme All values with a Pencil and try to put a Price on the liberals record in government has Fol Lowed the neoconservative blueprint of Small reduced Public privatization and deregulation to the As a Campaign based on a defence of Canadian values is a bit of a stretch even for a party historically skilled at campaigning from the left to govern from the the prime minister is on to some thing when he says the Canadian Alliance has foreign if it wins it will rep resent the ultimate Triumph of free Trade the american not just of Canadas econ but also of its cultural and political values and the Canadian Alliance is an attempt to marry English predominantly nativism with Bay its not the unlikely match it Western nativism has always preferred american individualism to Canad an and Bay empowered by the bord Erless world of is deter mined to escape its responsibilities to the National polity and the Public while american nativism is territorially English Canadian nativism has always owed its not to its own coun but to the Anglo Saxon Britain was looked to As the repository and defender of Anglo Saxon but Britain has become too so homage has shifted to the Carl author of the 1976 the sense of Power studies in the nature of Cana Dian says Canadian nativist see Canada As a cultural Extension of the and regard annexation As inevitable and i William Ted Byfield and Peter frequent speakers at Reform Gath extol the natural superiority of All things Gairdner has written about the silent destruction of English Canada by Immi welfare and Byfield praises the Virtues of the political system and scorns Canadian Brimelow bemoans the eclipse of Anglo Saxon All express extreme Faith in unbridled individualism and the free a Survey of delegates to reforms 1992 Assembly conducted by Keith Archer and Faron Ellis found they Are distinctively and unanimously antigovernment anti social welfare and they also Are in almost unanimous agreement that family and social disintegration and excessive leniency towards criminals Are the cause of All social Reform support for continent list policies is significantly elevated by male Gen Der and residence in Alberta and in their storming journalists Don braid and Sydney Sharpe link Preston mannings intense dislike of All forms of Community to his fundamentalist christianity and its focus on individual the Canadian alliances purpose is to bring together those who embrace extreme individualism and Continental ism out of ideology and religion with those who embrace it out of a love of their own pocket Alliance leadership candidates Tom Long and Stockwell Day Are out bidding each other to Cut income and corporate taxes Long not Only supports reforms Flat but says i also want to see significant cuts to corporate significant cuts to capital significant cuts to payroll Day says we have a tragic situation in Canada right now where Many people feel they Are compelled to leave because of excessive Chretien Doest go far these values Arent Only they Are Radical and Frances Russell is a Winnipeg political her column appears on when in the King of the Castle by Terence Moore i hate to see the Manitoba conservative party in this sorry this is the party of Duff Roblin and Sterling the party that ran Manitoba continuously from 1988 until last yet this party cannot come up with More than one candidate to be its while i mean no disrespect to Stuart Mur who i am sure is among the finest gasp line retailers who Ever aspired to High office in a Canadian the tories should have More Bench strength than at the end of Sterling Lyons for it was heartening to see Brian Clayton Man Ness and Gary Filmon All coming Forward to offer their services As something has definitely changed since those this time the one caucus member who entered the Darren has dropped out because he could not raise enough Money for a Campaign and the one remaining candidate who can raise enough has never been elected to far be it from me to try to figure out who is to blame for the Way the conservative party has changed from Sterling Lyons Day to the fingerprinting can solving the prob cannot this is an emergency for Manitoba system of democratic the Public needs a government to carry out the Public will and it also needs a Strong opposition which could move into government at a moments notice if the government of the Day proves whether one likes the tories or they Are a vital element of the sys a leadership race and a leadership Conven Tion should be exciting milestones on the Way to rebuilding the Clearing out its dead Wood and reaching out to its new with no leadership the party will lose that precious Opportunity for free i am so troubled by this problem that i have to help solve i am therefore willing to make the sacrifice myself and step into the shoes recently abandoned by Darren i am willing to offer myself to the Manitoba tories As a leadership i of need in order to give the tories the horse race some of them have been counting i shall need to see a Large sum of Money deposited in my Bank the sum will have to be Large enough to cover my Campaign including Purchase of party memberships for busloads of new party it will have to be Large enough to cover my own salary during the leave of absence i will have to take from my work at the it will have to keep me in reasonable Comfort during the quarantine period after the Campaign before i can take up my journalistic work the sum will not be the tories Howe Are not Small the same tories who ponied up to finance fake candidates in inter Lake and Swan River in 1995 should be Avail Able once again to help finance my leadership i recognize from the outset that my role in this will be to put up a Brave lose and then move that the Choice of Murray be made i shall rehearse that part with great in the unlikely event that i conservatives should expect some changes in the they should expect a party that is run by the elected not by Back room characters with open they should expect a Strong caucus most of whose members would be willing and Able to run for party Leader As soon As i lose the magic they should expect an Welcom ing party constantly on the prowl for new recruits and new not a Oneman band with a praetorian guard of personal loyalists isolating the Leader from the other conserva it May seem presumptuous of me to use space in the newspaper to announce my own candidacy for party but i have to make my move promptly and i am getting reports of tory operatives skulking about in the Beer Halls and in the lineups at Wel fare offices trying to scrape up someone who will Promise to go into the ring against Murray and take a if i dont get my bid in i May find the party has already found its bogus awarded the slush filled Praznik shoes and left once dreaming of the Brilliant political career i might have Terence Moore is a free press editorial his column appears of Winnipeg free press Winnipeg fee press est 1872 Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 vou28h01m 2000 Winnipeg free a division of newspapers division of Thomson Canada limited published seven Days a week at 1355 Mountain off Litobar r2x pm 6977000 a Eltibi pcs comm Rudy email Nicholas Patrick Flynn Deputy editor ;