Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 25, 2000, Winnipeg, Manitoba A12 Winnith Fri Sipi 2000 editorials Freedom Oft Yade Liberty of religion Equality of civil rights lonely struggle aboriginal visitors from Manitoba and other Western provinces have turned up in Burnt new in recent weeks to support native lobster harvesters in their conflict with the department of fisheries and these visitors should try to steer the lob Ster War toward a peaceful they should use it to Advance the native not to discredit it or to isolate native the Burnt Church harvesters set lobster traps in Miramichi Bay without seeking licences from the Federal fisheries department because they believed they had a constitutional right to take lob sters without government permission and to regulate their own chief Stewart head of the Union of British Columbia Indian chiefs and chief of a Penticton was one of the native leaders who turned up at the embattled he explained this affects not Only Burnt Church but it affects native people across this its a struggle for recognition of aboriginal and treaty economics Lay at the Root of the he until such time As we have an equitable Access to land and resources not Only Here in new Brunswick but in there will be continued con recognition of aboriginal and treaty rights should be demanded and should be but they can not be isolated from the rights of other and these too should be the weakness in the Burnt Church up to has been a seeming disregard for the rights of neighbouring lobster who also count on taking a share of the and of other who believe that Canada is still a Sovereign nation responsible for the Good management of chief Philip of Penticton is perfectly right that the Burnt Church dispute evokes echoes in other Hunting rights of natives Are a constant source of friction in where natives have a right to Hunt for their own food on unoccupied Crown land but where the practical applications of that right Are hotly native leaders often regard the treaties As affirmations of the sovereignty of native the Canadian government More often regards them As deeds of the recognition of which chief Philip spoke will not be achieved by turning the majority of lobster harvesters or the majority of canadians against the claims of Burnt it May be achieved by showing to a court of Law or to Public opinion that the fisheries departments rules Are arbitrary or that the department is not carefully preserving the lobsters or that it is allocating fishing licences chief Philip and other sympathizers at Burnt Church should Call for an Independent investigation of the departments resource management plan and of the plan prepared by the Burnt Church Community they should invite lobster harvesters from neighbouring communities to join in challenging the departments up to the Burnt Church Community has been treating the rest of new Brunswick and All the agencies of the Federal government As their ene this is a Blind they cannot win nor can they win if the Only people who agree with them Are native they must take a position that judges and other lobster harvesters can agree if chief Philip and the other visitors can per Suade the Burnt Church leaders to press their Campaign along those it May become a Means of strengthening aboriginal claims in All counter kiss Texas governor George Bush has spent a difficult september trying to counter the effects of the the Republican nominee for presi Dent of the United was clearly ahead of his democratic Vic president Al until Gore was shown on National television planting a passionate kiss on his wife Tipper during the democratic National since that Gore has been ahead in the polls and Bush has not found the key to both party conventions were highly scripted affairs intended to put across a political message to the the republicans tried to put detailed Content into Bush claim to be a compassionate the democrats tried to show that they were the Friend of Stu women and All other identifiable constituencies in the the scripts were tires Mely predictable and had Little evident effect on the was never in the Gore had to banish the Cloud of president Bill Clin tons Dalliance with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and he had to overcome his own reputation As a cold number Cruncher and policy the kiss seems to have done the it suggested that he was unashamedly passionate and that passion was directed to his especially Ameri can who wanted to like Gore were reas in Gore they might have a Leader with feelings who also respected the institution of marriage Clinton without the Bush has yet to come up with his counter he has to overcome his party reputation for Loving the wealthy More than the Middle class and he has to overcome the impression that he is neither As Bright nor As articulate As americans usually want their presidents to l old fashioned Cut those gasoline taxes sometimes its difficult to know when High ways minister Steve Ashton is being a Good example is his excuse for not attacking the very real problem of High fuel prices by Cut Ting provincial gasoline Ashton says he wont reduce the cents he collects on every litre of gasoline sold in the province because Manitoba spends 97 per cent of the Money on Highway while this May be a perfectly Good reason to complain about the fed eral tax on not one cent of which has been available for Manitoba highways since it is a pretty thin excuse on which the minister is trying to hang his hat for refusing to Cut taxes at a time when Manitoban Are paying the highest gasoline prices in no one will quarrel that spending Gas tax Revenue on roads is a Good it is How a reason to keep taxes High when the Price of taxes threatens to put a real Brake on the when taxes account for nearly half the Price of gasoline these taxes become a significant Factor in the effect Energy prices have on the Economy if the Economy takes a the Money collected from gasoline taxes will be dwarfed by the Revenue losses there is Little Ashton can do about the world Price of this is set by organizations Well outside Ash tons sphere of the amount of tax levied on gasoline by Manitoba is directly under Ash tons it is not enough for him to argue because he thinks the Money is Well it needs to be collected it would be easy to blame International Oil companies for our present the prob Lem in doing this is that while the taxes on Canadian gasoline have increased by 10 cents a litre during the past the Canadian Petroleum products Institute claims that wholesale Oil prices have dropped by the same amount in the same the Institute has a on of Mak ing extravagant it once argued that gasoline was actually cheaper in Canada than it was in the United it would be reasonable to believe the institutes claim on the wholesale Price of gasoline because the figures Are so easily the Bottom line is that canadians put up with High Levels of taxes on gasoline in the past partly because they Felt guilty about using so much of the worlds now that the Overall Price of the product has become the guilt has Federal which finance minister Paul Martin is hinting Are about to be have been quite the feds increased their excise tax on gasoline by cents a litre in giving As a reason the need to eliminate the the deficit was eliminated two years ago and since then the Federal govern ment has been swimming in so much surplus Revenue that the Money has become an Embar the deficit cutting gasoline tax has remained in taking its place As a temporary tax alongside our income which was introduced As a temporary tax to pay for the first world War More than 80 years to Martins he is suggesting that the 1995 excise tax increase May be eliminate to canadians facing pump prices in the mid 70cent and who knows How much for heating this is not Energy could carry a 40 per cent tax when it was abundant and it is no longer and forces far beyond Canadas control Are making sure that it is no longer abundant some such As one whining East Ern commentator on the have called for Alberta to share its wealth along the lines of the ill conceived National Energy program of a few years Why should it its resources Are and its people deserve to Benefit from world conditions even if the rest of us have to punishing Alberta is not the Solu Tion to High gasoline the most readily available solution is a reduction in taxes from 40 per cent of the Cost to 15 or 20 per Martin is not Likely to do this because he Doest think he has an election May change his Ashton has three More years before he needs to begin Fred Cleverley is a Winnipeg his column appears on Clinton put Friendship up for Sale by Maureen Dowd Washington an opulent mansion drenched in sex and where business and bedroom adventures the Over the top Saga of a dysfunctional its not the new Aaron spelling soap opera on its Clinton in the White House finally released the list of overnight guests at the White House and Camp David since Hillary Clinton began campaigning in new York in july and no Surprise a Herd of Hillary donors has been stampeding through the White House in pjs and calling friends from the Lin cob Why should she care if people trample the place she Doest even live there any its a National embarrassment to have a pres Iden tand first lady who never Stop rattling their tin the first couple have not repented for their 1996 fundraising when they sold air Force the Lincoln bedroom and lots and lots of past presidents were Content Selling Ambas the Clinton May As Well have listed the Lincoln bedroom on they have packed state dinners with donors and journalists they Hope will boost Clinton Senate they even put up circus tents on the Lawn for the India state din they have to Jam them in fast Only 118 Days left to peddle the Peoples How can they can spend so much time in this awesome blessedly haunted by the highest class ghosts in american and have none of it rub off they do not grasp the notion of the White House As a hallowed place where hustling is there More into a titans philosophy if you had and still wanted More Clinton gives a whole new meaning to the term hostess guests at Motel who sometimes even stayed when Hillary was out of gave to her Senate Campaign and to related fundraising commit All in they gave nearly million to the democrats in this election campaigning in Westchester on Clin ton defended the oldest established Perma nent floating slumber party in calling overnight ers friends and the Clinton have slowly and steadily Rede fined the nature of Friendship so that its High est expression becomes the writing of a How could someone who wrote a Check for Hillary and a Check for the As Daniel the billion Aire slim fast not be considered a Friend some of the were listed under the category arts and letters and there were no unless you count for Mer can executive and Clinton sympathizer Rick and the arts were represented by Kenny g and Chevy the Clinton made friends in Hollywood because Hollywood gives the Clinton a lot of Terry Mcauliffe was listed on the longtime friends for the first time in the presidents Best fundraiser became the presidents Best Mcauliffe has raised Money for Bills Legal defence fund and presidential and Hillary Senate Cam the Clinton barely knew him before coming to but Mcauliffe was will ing to write a million Check so they could qualify for a mortgage in when the president strode on stage at the following the transcendent ally cheesy Gladiator the Only person he hugged was his pal although Bill Clinton Calls Public service his Only that Bear hug with Mcauliffe illustrated How the president has mixed Money and after the lawyers and pollsters and admin and even plaintiffs like Paula Jones need to get the Clinton complained during the Lewin sky scandal that their critics did not appreciate the difference Between Public and but they Are the ones who relentlessly blur Public and their donors Are their friends and their friends Are their they used our capital to accumulate their Harry Truman if you want a Friend in get a the Clinton have changed it if you want a Friend in washing get a Maureen Dowd is a columnist of the new York Winnipeg free press Winnipeg free press est 1872 Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 vql129 to 279 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 pure Manitoba press Council Rudy email Nicholas Patrick Flynn ;