Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 17, 2000, Winnipeg, Manitoba B2 Magazine i Iii Shiv Nihin 2000 smiles belie health deals precarious prognosis Ottawa they were All smiles last week As they emerged from behind the closed doors of the first ministers the premiers had just been handed a big fat Federal Cheque for their healthcare sys the prime minister was Able to say there would be medicare peace in our even que Bec Premier Lucien a Man who usually stomps away in anger from any Federal provincial had Good things to say about Jean but behind the there was a much different Story being played it was a picture of a not cosy con a family portrait still racked by a deep rift Over How Ottawa should Dole out health and this rift will Likely flare up again before you can say magnetic Reso Nance hours before Chretien and the pre Miers took Centre stage to announce they had a which would pour billion into the social safety net Over the next five the Federal spin started to kick into out of the senior Federal officials came scrambling Forward with a five Page handout for reporters to prove How generous Ottawa really growth they had charts showing How the Cash in the Canada health and social Transfer would grow by 35 per cent Over the next five they had graphs detailing How much better this new system was compared with where we would have been under the old funding arrangement which died in the Only problem was the fact sheets the feds were handing out haunt been shown to the Guys on the other Side of the negotiating they Are producing stuff for the Media which i dont think the premiers have complained one member of the Ontario the Federal spinsters also conveniently forgot to mention to waiting reporters that the billion they were prepared to put into health care also included billion for Early childhood the childrens funding was originally supposed to be a separate but lumping the kiddie Money in with the funds sup posed to save medicare made for a much bigger and better health head which was All that Chretien really it seems truth is always the first victim of first minister not to be Ontario Premier Mike Harris machine moved into High gear with its own charts As soon As Ottawa had finished its spin according to the Federal funding proposal meant that Ottawa share of medicare Burden would actually fall by the end of five years As the systems costs continued to sky rocket at a rate of about billion a Ontario wanted the Federal trans fers to return Ottawa contributions to about 18 per cent of medicare the level it was in 1995 before slashing funding to the by Ontario Ottawa contribution would Only cover about per cent of the systems costs in to pay its fair Ontario Ottawa needed to come up with an additional Bil number crunching Manitoba has also gotten into the under the the province will receive about million More for its health care system and programs to help but provincial number crunching shows that the total increase Over its 2000 budget is actually much after onetime payments previously received from Ottawa and already spent Are factored into the base fund that million number Falls to the message behind Manitoba math is Clear we didst get near As much As we so dont go expecting Miracle cures for the parting smiles of Chretien and his premiers were supposed to have been captured in a theatre which had a stage specially built to accommodate but for some there would be no formal news conference to show How Well cooperative federalism was there would Only be a disorganized quickie in front of a waiting the premiers had the but not nearly enough to pay for medicare rising Chretien had his but not the reforms of the system he said were a classic Canadian Compromise or maybe a Lessith unsatisfying attempt at nation building covered up by forced Paul Sanin in the free press National his email address is Jeff of body Winnipeg free press grand chief Dennis White Bird of the Assembly of Manitoba chiefs says Only by working together can aboriginal self government become grand chief Calls for Unity achieving self government requires United White Bird says by Paul Mckie the new grand chief of Manito Bas aboriginal people warns that infighting plays into the hands of a Federal government that wants to delay first nations self gov grand chief Dennis White of the Assembly of Manitoba said Only by working together can aboriginal self government become we fall into the Federal game of Divide and conquer when we identify ourselves from a particular Region of the White Bird but am critics say the umbrella organization Doest represent All aboriginal is fiscally irresponsible and has done nothing to create self government in another problem is the organization that represents Northern Manitoba Keewatin now recently toyed with the idea of breaking away from the am to better Deal with Northern Francis the current Moo ran against White Bird in the am election As a Way to merge Northern issues with the Overall am but White Bird said am has moved past those in not disputing the fact there Are what in saying is at least the organization and the first nations we represent Are that Hast always been the Manitoba aboriginal people have come together and divided several times Over the the Manitoba Indian brotherhood of the Early 1960s morphed into the first nations but that body dissolved in the 1980s under the weight of emerging regional regional political organizations such As Moo and various Southern chiefs organizations worked together the am was born in 1988 to unite the interests of the provinces 62 first its a political we must remain said White who was am vice chief for two and a half years before winning the top Job two weeks he sees am continuing to fight provincial and Federal moves that encroach on treaty and aboriginal White Bird argues self gov Ern ment remains elusive because of the Federal the Only reason its behind is the minister is neglecting the neglecting the agreement that been White Bird but As a free press investigation last month the feds have Given almost million to the self government process since even after negotiations Between am and the Federal government on what the Money should be spent on where did it go critics charge that the Money flows and no one has to account for Leona president of the Manitoba chapter of the first nations accountability has asked Federal Indian affairs minister Bob Nault to audit amps am initially received million to dismantle Indian affairs in Manitoba and create another million was demanded by said id like to know what happened to the where did it go she but freed wants More than an she wants to dismantle an organization comprised of chiefs of the various she noted that three of those chiefs Arent even but Are hereditary am is there to funnel Money into their i dont see them doing anything for aboriginal White Bird has heard the criticism and what has been allocated is a drop in the he he noted that the Federal government has spent to million on other self government initiatives that involved Only one first not the expenditures that have taken place Are White Bird but he promised to look at the allegations of fiscal irresponsibility and Check the financial accountability of am during his three year his greater is to get self government Back on track through recognition of treaty that has to be done through the am with All Manitoba first nations work ing weve agreed to work with one another despite our White Bird the treaties were signed in Good Faith by our he we didst give up our right to govern the Ace continued from Page b1 fifty years Kent and several other including Al Bocking of made their Way to London to join the Royal air my father wanted me to go to col but i had enough of school with Junior i wanted to it took a bit of but my father saw the although not of polish Kent later picked up the nicknames Ken ski and Kentowski during his stint with 303 Johnny Kents introduction to the world of flying happened when he was Only five years he was sitting at the very top of a Ferris wheel in River Park when he watched in amazement As a plane landed on the from that moment Johnny Kent read every Book he could find about flying especially those that were Well illustrated with pictures of there was a sea plane Dock not far from the family East Kildonan House on Castle Johnny spent a lot of time there admiring the Vedette and Varuna flying it was a base for Royal Canadian air Force pilots who flew on forestry Johnny want shy about asking and the More he the More he he had convinced himself that someday he would be a and perhaps even a famous As the years his interest in the winged machines continued to his head was full of dreams of a flying a dream that came one step closer to reality the Day his father took him to the Winnipeg flying it was johnnys 15th after inspecting several Johnny was More than a Little excited when he was invited to climb into the securely strapped his eyes Cov ered with goggles attached to a leather flying Johnny sat not knowing what was going to happen he was just a bit startled when the engine turned Over and the pro peller began to the Pilot was in the rear seat and expertly manoeuvred the Small aircraft to the end of the unpaved Johnny could now see the but there was no time to ask about within minutes they were airborne and headed though tall for his Young Kent could barely see Over the top of the As they flew Over the City the boys imagination took Johnny could clearly see himself someday holding the stick the Pilot manoeuvred to control the planes flying Over East the Pilot asked Johnny whats the name of your Street Castle he nervously when the Pilot pointed it Young Johnny shouted Down he knew she hear so he waved just in Case she could see the plane flying to the excited the 30 minute flight seemed an moments after Landing he regaled his anxious father with the most colourful description of Winnipeg from the this experience totally consumed the boy from he got his pilots licence and was acclaimed the youngest registered Pilot in the the future air Ace was forever but at the time he never thought hed be a fighter Pilot so was the Date of one of the worst air raids on London during the Battle of it was also the Day Johnny Benzie bought across the English on the coast of Herman Reich Marschall of the had just arrived to take direct charge of the Days at their base in members of 303 polish Squadron of the Raf were scrambled to head off an enemy air Armada headed for As they flew their Hurricane fighters into 303 Squadron was joined by several air Craft from 1 fighter commanding a combined Wing of nine was Squadron Leader Johnny former test aircraft reconnaissance photographer and vet eran a spitfire As his Lead Hurricane reached a height of the former student at King George v and lord Selkirk schools saw his engine suddenly explode and burst into since there were no enemy fighters in the Kent concluded that the explosion was caused by Lack of proper As the flames engulfed the canopy of his Johnny switched off his ignition and then the fuel intake in an attempt to prevent the fire from reaching the Reserve petrol seven of the pilots in his Wing shot but one came up alongside flying in tight the Pilot gave a hand while at the same time speaking to the Squadron Leader Over the Kent was not the least bit surprised to hear the voice of a fellow Hilly you getting hot in Bud quipped who was still recover ing from Burns that hed received under similar a few Days Brown was shot Down in flames but bailed out and was now Back in the thick of Kent was More he actually made it Back to base to await the return of his fellow several of whom claimed credit for shooting Down enemy two Days Johnny Kent got on the scoreboard by out shooting a German by the end of the Battle of Britain he had increased his record to four confirmed victories and several damaged Ger Man on one a Luftwaffe Pilot whom Kent shot Down bailed out Over the English instead of Fol lowing the questionable practice of some fighter including a few from his own of shooting at descending Johnny did just the he actually provided cover for the German protecting him from both the Raf and the Luft after Landing safely the Ger Man was had to face the Wrath of some of his col leagues who believed that the Only Good German was a dead in the latter part of Kent returned to Canada on a six month lec Ture he was no longer the Young boy who been so excited the first time he watched an aircraft land on the hed seen More than his share of such often under some rather grim he was a persuasive urging canadians to increase their War on a Side trip to Johnny and other members of his group received a Chance invitation to a unknown to the Fri suspected that his hosts were German Johnny was saved from any embarrassment As hed already declined the invitation because of pre Vious before returning to Johnny paid a Short visit to hed Only seen his family once since going overseas in and he made the Best of this second it was not Only a Chance to catch a bit of but also a great Opportunity to renew his close relationship with his his departure a few Days later was very emotional for he had no inkling that it would be the last time he would see her alive and shortly after his return the Johnny received the sad news that his Mother had the East Kildonan native survived the War and in his Book one of the he estimated that hed destroyed More than 25 enemy Hes credited with 18 damaged or Johnny Kent remained with the Raf for some time after the end of the during which he served a Brief stint with the army air he was awarded the air Force Cross in an investiture at Buckingham Palace during the he and a fellow flying officer later group George Forbes of Cal and flying officer later flight officer Noel Mudie Henry of received the medal from King George after retiring from the Raf with the rank of group Kent spent some time in working on a project for the Kevin Hughes aviation a British Floyd Williston is a freelance writer and journalist lining in a native of lie is the author of several books Johnny Nova Scotia Marathon through footless Halls of air stories of a few of the Many who failed to he is completing the first of the a major work on canadians and americans in the Battle of this article is partially based on research he has done for this ;