Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - December 11, 2000, Winnipeg, Manitoba A6 Winnipeg Frky 2000 editorials Freedom of Trade Liberty of religion Equality of civil rights dog and Pony show the dog and Pony show that once marked City Hall budgets refuses to although eight years have elapsed since Council automatically increased spending by the rate of although it has been a couple of years since Council ceased the annual charade of threatened cuts to wading pools and and although it has been a year since Council adopted a three year budget so As to better allow for planned expenditures and tax some City Hall functionaries still dont get Paul president of the largest civic perhaps cannot be expected to get which May explain Why he appeared before Council to complain last week that personnel cuts Are forcing City workers to work with the effect that Many Are feeling moist of is to abandon tax cuts and use the Money to hire More civic work ers to join his taxpayers working in the private where restructuring is May be forgiven if they laugh out moist complaint is not so the complaints of Doug head of the cites property and development Kalcsics showed up at the last minute to complain cuts Are destroying his where Kalcsics had been for the past year and Why he did not take these allegedly serious problems to the cites top is anybody the cites chief administrative Gail was forced to contradict Kalcsics publicly and remind him of what he should already know in a million budget and within an operation that employs about it is not necessary at the last minute to shovel More Money at it is necessary to make adjustments in accordance with not More was the reaction of Dan chairman of the committee to which Kalcsics Vandal swallowed whole Kalcsics complaint and demanded be added to the budget to hire five people that Kalcsics at the last he had desperately needed for a Long Vandal should have been asking the obvious Why now in others should be asking Vandal if the problem is so it has escaped the Atten Tion of the oversight committee he surveys consistently find that who elected mayor Glen Murray on a Promise to slash Are satisfied with the services the City pro they Are not clamouring for More they Are clamouring for reduced Liberal Surprise less than two weeks after winning prime minister Jean Chretien is once again Demon Strating Why it is that polls find 60 per cent of canadians think he is without Campaign ing on Chretien has embarked on a course to develop a guaranteed annual income to replace a Hodgepodge of government social support pro the idea has been around a Long time in and it has instead of child employment insurance and old age pen government could simply ensure an income level that accomplishes the same thing but in a More transparent Way that could reduce the Cost and confusion of administering programs to those who need in the idea is some thing like what Ordinary canadians do when they consolidate Loans and make a single payment rather than a raft of it of from a similar problem debt does not reduce it simply makes it easier to Deal it also makes it easier to acquire More in the Case of a guaranteed it makes it easier to constantly Ratchet up Levels of a debate Over a guaranteed income would have been a Good thing during the Chretien chose to deny canadians that debate until he had secured reelection on a platform that already is proving to be As reliable an indicator of the Liberal Agenda As was Chretien election Promise to step Down once sixty per cent of canadians believe Chretien is its a wonder the number int Best insurance it is Good to know the doer government is taking the prudent step of examining the possibility of Pur chasing natural disaster insurance for such a policy might prove a Good investment should the province be hit with a flood on the magnitude of the flood of the better than spending million to million a year for such would be for the government to get on with the task of increasing the size of the red River More than years have elapsed since the earthing that was the 1997 that was not time wasted in that there was a lot of work and study required to determine How to especially when the Cost of proceeding could reach As prudent As an examination of disaster insurance May More prudent would be for the government to declare the parameters of the project and set a timetable to get it a bigger flood Way is the Best Cantu Ank liberals for this sudden increase in Speed open those spending taps Penni Mitchell when you give big tax Breaks to the they just save the prime minister said to students last when you give Money to the they spend on another he told a business audience that it was time to do something about the Liv ing conditions on native reserves and child and then there was the he dropped into the cup of a Home less in the first Public addresses since his re Jean Chretien appears to be signalling a new direction for gov after seven years of Penn pinching Canadas social his critics May Well be asking whether Chretien has seen the like Ebenezer Chretien past will no doubt come Back to haunt him before the final chapter on his career is Chretien legacy to Date has left Canadas social fabric in canadians of limited Means largely financed his governments reelection spending spree on the without the Revenue from the employment insurance combined with legislation that disqualified thousands of canadians from receiving benefits they had paid for outside the income tax the Chretien government surplus budgets would not have been while some cuts have been projected surpluses in the Al pro Gram appear to Promise fat surplus budgets for years to the question who will share in the wind fall last the Federal Treasury projected a sur plus of billion this fiscal billion next year and billion the year after the extra Cash is being spent to Cut the corporate tax rate to 21 per cent from 28 per cent a 25 per cent per cent drop Over four other lavish Liberal gifts for the Rich include the elimination of the five per cent surtax for High income earners and an announced reduction of the capital gains tax by 25 per to be the one in five children who live in poor families didst All get that Way by Dis qualifying their parents from by Dee six ing the old Federal cos sharing formula under the Canada assistance the Chretien government changed the rules by which it was required to match provincial dollars for pro Grams intended to keep canadians from having to beg on Street the legacy of the Chretien governments off loading of social programs to the provinces is that the Federal government no longer has direct control Over where social program funds Are in the the prime minister will have to get the permission of a majority of provinces before canadians see any new social policy remember when the prime minister promised to allocate half of the surplus to tax and debt reduction and half to social programs it turns out that the Chretien government is now including billion Worth of tax cuts As program spending in its in one fell Ottawa is turning tax cuts into spend ing As neatly As an alchemist turns Lead into in the words of Canadian Auto workers economist Jim further we also heard tales of woe about the debt and were told that government had a duty to our grandchildren to pay it it turns out that the Federal government spent twice As much on tax cuts in the last three years As it spent on debt repayment billion according to business writer Madelaine despite the Overall Federal contributions to program spending this year Are lower than they were in that is when population increases and inflation Are taken into have the priorities of government been or is Chretien simply feign ing a social conscience once again with some economists predicting a future of deficit Bud gets if the Liberal tax cuts Are fully simple a Lon term vision for social reinvestment come a moment too Canadas ratio of debt to Gross Domestic product a measure of our ability to repay the debt is predicted to drop to 40 per cent in about the same As the which is to say there Are no longer any economic excuses for not rebuilding our social the country social policy experts have All made their lists Home Day Public now lets see what the big Guy cheap jokes at cheap prices when Richard the billionaire owner of Virgin Atlantic asked for Permis Sion to begin Domestic air service in transport minister David Collenette brushed the request aside by saying that air line Competition in this country would grow from the minister has made it quite Clear that government policies will continue to insulate air Canada from the discipline of the marketplace regardless of the Cost in Money and inconvenience for canadians who want to if you have a flexible schedule and can plan Competition can ease the Burden on your a Good example is the airline we used to visit Vancouver earlier this Toronto Doest consider West Jet important because the airline does not Fly to Canadas self declared Centre of the it offer Western canadians a one that combines lower fares with a commodity i have always found sadly lacking when flying air the seating is so jammed that Only the Dar ing would attempt to read a and the Only Gates available to West Jet seem to be those located furthest from the terminal but the always Happy West Jet employees do their Best to take your mind off the Inco Nve a cynical passenger might conclude that the nonstop in flight jokes Are really designed to make you forget that you should be eating something More substantial than a couple of Cook West Jet even spices its messages that Are sent to customers who Are holding on the phone to make Book if you really want to know How Low our prices says one of these just ask the other Guys what they charge to travel to someplace we dont the watchword at West Jet is the tickets resemble grocer store the company must buy their bags of pretzel pieces not just pieces at a the attendants make jokes about their polyester on the flight to the French version of the routine safety pitch certainly sounded As if it was right off the the stewardess got everyone attention by announcing Wel come aboard West jets scheduled flight to Hon she then said we will be both shocked and amazed if we have your we were told there Are Many ways to leave your but Only six ways to leave this air the Humour contributed to an enjoyable West Jet int Strong on direct connect so we made a Stop in Calgary both going to and coming from there were a couple of snack bars right in the departure and they did a brisk business with Pas sengers who wanted More than Canada can Jet and Royal air lines make up air Canadas Competition since its takeover of they provide real Competition for the casual who can take the time to Book ahead and has the flexibility to fit into rather thin i suspect the smaller airlines do not attract the Cream of air the business Passen for those who must travel on whose requirements include Las minute Book Ings and More than a few flights each the Small carriers just dont have the equipment or the nor will they so the govern ment holds fast to its Canadian ownership so Long As foreign carriers Are prohibited from competing on Domestic the Only show in town will continue to be air while this May not suit Ordinary it does please the who keep telling themselves that air Canadas virtual monopoly serves the country by maintaining they listen to those who Tell them that Given air Canadas share of Domestic business will be some experts Are arguing that there Are More discount seats available now than there were when air Canada and Canadian were fighting a largely phony War competing against each the politicians prefer not to listen to com petition Bureau commissioner Konrad von who is worried by the High level of concentration and by ticket prices that gouge Consumers and act As a Brake on the the Bureau has already been forced to use its new anti predatory Powers to pre vent air Canada from choking off its smaller just As air Canada is insulated from the mar so Are Federal politicians insulated from travel they travel free and on a priority the rest of us will have to make do with the cramped seats and Foo free when things get really we have the jokes to keep our spirits Winnipeg free press Winnipeg free presses 1872 Winnipeg Tribune Estl 890 vql129n010 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 of the Manitoba press Council Rudy email Nicholas Patrick editor ;