Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 20, 2000, Winnipeg, Manitoba A12 Winnipeg september 2000 editorials Freedom of Trade Liberty of religion Equality of civil rights Martins billions Money has been pouring into Federal coffers faster than the ruling liberals have spent steady economic growth in the sparked similar growth in Canada so that Federal tax designed to produce a Small Are rapidly filling the finance minister Paul Martin and the country must figure out what to do with All this there is no shortage of women services for the advocates for the organizations of aboriginals and an endless queue of other recipients of Federal funds can easily show that the pay ments they receive should be increased Many times Over in order to alleviate distress and Benefit the most deserving the Cana Dian forces can Point to their antique equipment and ill housed Western Grain growers can Point to the terrible disadvantages they prime minister Jean Chretien and his govern ment moved health care to the head of the line at the demand of provincial the result was a Promise of billion Over five this will drive up costs in Canadian health it May also Lead to improved it will certainly whet the appetites of other the International monetary this advised Canada to bring Down its tax rates and its Public the ifs advice echoed that offered two weeks ago by the organization for eco nomic cooperation and which urged Canada to step up its Effort at debt economists expected that today scheduled sum Mary of the Federal finances would show the Feder Al surplus for the past fiscal year at Well above the billion forecast in the budget for that at the end of the Federal government was reporting its total interest bearing debt at in that a billion reduction in the while Worth leaves a lot of Mountain still to reduced debt will reduce debt service Cost and give the government lasting Freedom to reduce taxes or launch new spending this is a difficult Case to make to University aboriginal the homeless and others who want their Jam it is also unwelcome news for taxpayers eager for Quick it the advice Canada is being offered and it makes Excel Lent enforce the Law Justice minister Gord Mackintosh thinks that there ought to be a Law that would make it illegal to belong to a gang or criminal that there ought be a Law is a sentiment commonly expressed by citizens outraged by one thing or but one expects a More reasoned response from the minister of unfortunate Mackintosh is not alone in his fed eral Justice minister Anne Mclellan also thinks that there ought to be a or another to break the Back of organized crime in this coun As it there is a there Are in ranging from the straightforward sanctions against drug dealing and murder through the longstanding Law against criminal conspiracy to the ant gang Law rushed through Parlia ment in 1997 by Mclellant Allan rocks Law was Hasty and a political response to pressure from Quebec result ing from the Bike gang violence in that its Only test to Date has been in where it proved disastrously ineffective in the fiasco of the Manitoba warriors again the pressure preceding a Federal election is from where a popular crime journal Michel was shot last the it is widely of organized whoever shot Auger can be prosecuted under existing no new Law is needed for that or to break the Back of gangs in Mackintosh with Manitoba still smarting from the embarrassment of the warriors trial should not be encouraging the Federal government to pass dedicate Gas taxes Liberal finance minister Paul Alliance Leader Stockwell Day and conservative Leader Joe Clark All agree that there Are votes to be gained by rolling Back gasoline taxes to reduce the Cost to Consumers outraged by increases at the it is a Good thing to see such unanimity of too bad that it is focused on the wrong Issue political expedience rather than Public since All three agree that More Revenue than Nec Essary is going into general funds from they should now agree to dedicate the excess to a Trust fund to build and maintain it is what is done in the United where gasoline taxes Are dedicated to in Gaso line taxes Are collected for redistribution according to the pressures of the the has a High Way system that is the envy of the Canada has a Highway system that is not Only but falling foreign policy dont ask hanging on at City Hall Thomas Friedman lets get crazy for a moment and imagine that the two presidential candidates Are actually going to devote one of their debates to foreign policy what would they talk about would Al Rick thrust upon George Bush a map of the world with the country names spelled out phonetically would Bush ask Gore to give viewers his insights on Buddhist temples doubt Gore ask the Republican candidate to explain How is it that his foreign policy advisers say the be the worlds glob Al fighting wars around the while his Vic presidential Dick says troops Are woefully underfunded and under re put it together and the Bush position is that the military should be better prepared to do nothing and better funded to go Gore could also ask Bush if the republicans Are so serious about foreign they allowed both the Senate and House foreign affairs committees to be run by Republican Law such As Jesse who had so Little clue about the world that these two once great committees have become More irrelevant than at any time in their for his could press Gore to elaborate on his Call for More Forward engage ment in foreign to quell crises before they for Bush could ask Gore for a single example of where the Clinton team successfully the asian economic crisis Haiti Kosovo Russia Cuba Iraq other than in North where the Clin ton team deserves credit for defusing a very dangerous this would be a Short but this Forward engagement concept actually would be a Good place to Start a where would each candidate be working right now to defuse a crisis that could require costly inter and what tools would he use right answer the most Likely places for intervention in the next four years Are five islands North Korea and Iraq the latter two being islands unto on eventually Fidel Castro is going to pass and when he does there will be enor Mous pressure from Miami cubans to intervene in Havana when a Power struggle Breaks out now is the time to be preparing a soft Landing for regarding chivas Jiang Zemin is expected to step Down at the next party Congress in 2001 and he will not want to leave office without having at least resumed the dialogue with or be seen to have taken some unilateral action to press because a War Between China and Taiwan threatens so Many the next president should consider secret mediation Between the two As soon As Hes sworn North Korea is a Small Basket whose hard headed regime is also desperately in need of a soft which the Clinton team has been working and Indonesia is a Large Basket whose soft headed regime May be incapable of keeping Indonesia from splitting Indonesia is a Long Way from but if the worlds fourth largest which sits astride the key shipping lanes of Southeast comes America will get drawn fighter planes Are in action Over Iraq every it will take just one plane to be shot Down inside Iraq for the next president to have his foreign policy Agenda immediately dominated by what to do about Saddam As for new one place the next president could Start is by revamping foreign by both greatly expanding the foreign Aid so that America is no longer the worlds and by making All nonmilitary assistance or debt Relief the condition would be that the recipient country put in place Basic anti Rule flaw measures and institutions that will attract private who have replaced governments As the key source of Capi Tal for growth in the Aid or investment will not work in countries without As i just some crazy no doubt the presidential candidates and get by without discussing any of the next presi Dent wont be so Thomas Friedman is a new York times columnist Palace intrigue fells Fujimori the new York times said in an editorial yesterday after a wave of mass Street demonstrations and diplomatic protests failed to persuade Alberto Fujimori to Call new presidential elections in Palace intrigue has apparently caused his the manner of Fujimori demise is for the aide who helped keep him in Power Vladimiro the chief of Perus intelligence police seems to have played a Central role in the presidents decision to Call new elections and renounce his own this happened Over the week end after a peruvian television Channel broadcast a videotape that apparently showed Montesinos bribing a member of Montesinos is the presidents chief it is not Clear How the videotape got and Why it led to the presidents peruvians speculate that Montesinos could not be fired because he has compromising information about the there is nothing about what must happen new elections should be held within supervised and monitored by the organization of american opposition politicians in Peru face pressure to Grant amnesty to Fujimori and his top officials if they return to private this would Only allow the rot inside Perus government and Security forces to Contin Montesinos has managed to quash various investigations of his he was expelled from the army in 1977 on charges of Selling secrets to the he then became a lawyer for drug tray he became Fujimori and got prosecutors to drop charges of tax when Fujimori was elected Montesinos quickly became his chief adviser and took charge of Fujimori contacts with and appoint ments of military peruvian and american human rights groups such As human rights watch accuse him of creating death he is widely believed have instigated Fujimori 1992 Assumption of dictatorial and newspapers published evidence this Followill linking him to dirty the Surprise Csc first resignation of Perus opposition and proc Rint the Oas have made Mon res Iceni Tesino removal a top Pri Peru but the Clinton should have new administration has still Uii thin not settled a Long internal elections within debate about How to treat Moni tar Fri Hutha americas Antidrug lore Loyine Barry organization of praised the effectiveness american states the intelligence polices drug fighting work in a visit to Lima in and a Small program of Aid to the unit was ended Only there were conflicting reports on Mon Day As to whether Montesinos had been his supporters in the army should allow his Long overdue and it is also time for the free elections that Fujimori so arrogantly blocked earlier this do you remember George cuff Hes the consultant whose 1997 report led to wholesale changes at City including the elimination of the Board of commissioners and strengthening the position of in a previous cuff was the mayor of an Edmonton after 12 years and facing another election in which he expected to easily he asked himself whats left to accomplish and i think of if you have no fresh then you Are running to sustain a Liveli i called who makes his living advising governments on ways to improve to see where he stands on term which City Council is to discuss he said few people have the ability to stay current and fresh for than a couple of especially today when the demands Are growing and change is the Only he believes that what typically Hap pens is that elected officials arrive in office with the purpose of accomplish ing something and then become accustomed to their it is impossible to believe that they remain current about or at least As current As they were in year what they become Good at is finding their ways around the corridors and they become much better at being most City and he has met a great Many of them Over the tend to Burn out quickly its a exhausting and then they get into a survival role rather than a role producing they get stale when its fresh people and ideas that Are he thinks that the two term limit set for presidents of the United states has the effect of focusing the and thereby the entire government Struc on accomplishment rather than and that term limits would do the same at City he thinks some kind of award mechanism should be created that would recognize accomplishment in civic government and would diminish the cur rent system in which longevity becomes the measure of he noted that he had a hard time three years ago convincing Many of the sitting councillors of the merits of his recommendations to Reform City one in a second vote for the mayor which would end the current practice of initiatives being lost on tie was resisted because councillors could not separate the idea of a Strong mayor from the idea of a Strong mayor called Susan whom Many of them disliked and worked feverishly to that observation struck me As most is Thompsons for the most Are still going through the motions at City Susan Thomp on the other transformed City Hall and made financial rectitude its Hall she did it despite incredible oppo she did it in six years and then she got Gerald flood is a free press editorial his column appears on Winnipeg free press Winnipeg free press est 1872 Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 vol 128 no 273 2000 Winnipeg free a division of newspapers division of Thomson Canada limited published seven Days a week at 1355 Mountain Manitoba r2x pm 6977000 a member of the Manitoba frets Council Rudy email Nicholas Hirst Patrick editor ;