Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 23, 2001, Winnipeg, Manitoba A14 Winnipeg february 2001 editorials Freedom of Trade Liberty of religion Equality of civil rights nip vague on safety Manitoba has the worst record in Canada for injuries in the workplace and the nip government has said it will change labour minister Becky Barrett once talked about making employers respect the she talks less now she prefers to look at the workplace safety and health rules to see if enforcement can be tightened without legislative workers have reason to the doer government has been at the Helm for 17 plenty of time for a thorough review of a festering Manitoban by now should be hearing the government has remedies for employers who refuse to take worker safety the key to protecting workers lies not in Ide ology but in the Manitoba federation of labour wants a system adopted that allows inspectors to Fine employers on the spot for repeated As is done in British but such a system is no More Likely to keep millwrights or nurses Safe from injury if the attitude within the and within the enforcement offices that Send out inspect supports ignoring the Manitoba experience indicates that in some places attitudes need to be in others a whole cultural shift needs to take that will not happen until employers and inspectors who Point out violations know that the government is serious about cutting the number of accidents and reducing exposure to substances that threaten sending that message requires two the doer government needs to Tell its enforcement the workplace safety and health that dangerous conditions at Job Sites everywhere will not be tolerated and that repeat offenders will be the Story painted by the sorry safety record of the Hudson Bay mining and smelting operations at flin flon tells All employers that rules can be ignored because those entrusted with Pun Ishing offenders wont do no government can expect workers to exercise their right to a Safe workplace under such workers have to assume responsibility for their own that can be done Only through employee education and ensuring they have influence Over workplace with legis lation similar to Manitoba but with a successful record of has shown How to get Tough with employers who refuse to establish safety and health Winnipeg Standard Aero is an example of How educating employees about work place perils pays off it boasts an injury record that mirrors office such safety education might have saved the life of Michael a teen electrocuted because he lacked the training and supervision for the work he was in workplaces big and ensuring safety comes Down to making employees aware of the per ils and giving them the Power to change dangerous none of that can happen if the govern ment chooses not to bring Down the Hammer when How to do that is no the time for study is Long kleins arrogance Alberta Premier Ralph Klein has reason to feel confident that his party will continue its dominance of Alberta politics after albertan Mark their bal lots March a poll at the Start of the Campaign found the Klein tories enjoy 49 per cent More than twice the support of the second place liberals led by former tory Cabinet minister and past Klein leadership rival Nancy judg ing by kleins response to the Liberal health care plan unveiled this it would seem his Confidence is giving Way to i think albertan expect much More of their govern ments than to announce a policy during an election he whether such disregard for voters and presumption about elections will have the same negative Impact on his fortunes As a Simi Lar mindless quip from Kim Campbell had on Al tories in 1993 remains to be but without it cannot the same poll that found the tories in the Catbird seat also found they Are vulnerable on two issues Energy deregulation and health deregulation has become a Boondoggle that will Cost the Alberta Treasury at least billion in rebates to keep Energy from the Liberal plan to deregulate at least part of the Energy sector would reduce those costs by about billion and has the approval of the Industrial Power Consumers and co generators association of on the liberals Promise to spend billion More Over the next three somewhat More than promised by but with two distinct differences the liberals would eliminate health care premiums of about a year for a and would strike controversial legislation allowing for profit health promising to Cut premiums reminds albertan that government surpluses could be applied to existing needs were they not needed to Cool off Energy prices created by a Clumsy deregulation promising to repeal Bill 11 forces open the two tier health debate that dominated the Federal election to the advantage of Klein might believe that an election is the wrong time to discuss two issues that raise questions about his tired govern ments but it is difficult to believe that anyone else relationship counsellor now using the phrase youre an Joe is offensive and to you should say i that you Are an what kind of country is this the news has taken a number of strange twists perhaps its the Long Canadian surely one of the least likeable of human attributes is the tendency to kick Ottawa tried to help Low income canadians Cope with the sudden Spike in Energy costs by using the Best measure it it had the people who qualified for the goods and services tax credit in the most recent tax cheques had hardly started flowing when an outcry renters were getting seniors in nursing Homes were getting University students living at Home were getting even some people now in jail were getting the out cry became louder and a few Lone voices pointed out sooner or renters do pay for the Cost of heating their apartments or houses and All by Are the poorest of the what Ever Money is put in their pockets goes Back into the Economy amidst All the not a single voice was raised to identify the real How did we get into a situation where the top Price sets what canadians must pay for their own Energy what kind of a skewed country Are we creating when one province can amass a billion surplus due solely to this foreign Access the first order of business for the new parliament last month was the election of a new voting by secret ballot and therefore freed from their party eliminated Early on the candidate with the most ambitious plan for parliamentary How does this verify the barrage of reports and commentary about the deep unhappiness of backbench speaking of the current government caucus is one of the most difficult to Herd in recent Canadian on almost every contentious several Liber Al maps defied their front Bench to vote their by the official oppo which tirelessly preaches free votes As a Monolith on All issues except pen the Loose and largely uninformed talk about parliamentary Reform reached its apogee last week when the with two voted Down a Canadian Alliance motion crafted to word for a Promise from the 1993 Liberal red it called for the ethics counsellor to report to As is currently the to the prime the motion was pure political had the liberals supported the Alliance would have been within its rights to declare the government had lost credibility and should under the parliamentary gov not Are elected to gov it would trivialize parliament for governments to vote for opposition motions crafted solely for political mean conservative Leader Joe Clarks dogged questions about the infamous business development Bank loan in the prime ministers rid ing have proven far More pointed and perhaps the most humorous political twist is the agitation Over government longevity and the need for an the Issue was front and Centre during last Falls Federal the according to certain quarters in the National were Ripe for defeat because they had become tired and arrogant after seven years in a United right had become an Issue of supreme National last Canadas longest serving the Alberta conserva went to the the Alberta tories have been in office 30 and before social for 36 for a total of 66 years of rights Centre speaking of arro a private health care corporation that successfully pushed for Calgary new controversial private Hospital in contravention of the Canada health donated Over to the tories Between 1994 and not a word could be heard from those same nation Al Media quarters about time for a change and need for an alternative in one editorialist urged the tories re pointing to Premier Ralph kleins Root and Branch rethinking of his was the first Canadian government to introduce workfare for Able bodied welfare the editorialist Klein was instructed to keep his revolution going in the glorious autumn of his political shall it be divorcing Alberta from the strictures of the Canada health act school vouchers the need for change and alter natives has More to do with the political perspective of the commentator than with the age of the take this gag and stuff it its carnival season in Rio de Janeiro and new Orleans and other cities where people customarily blow off a Little steam before lenten austerity clamps its hand Over the Mouth of it is a time when the unspeakable can be when people Are granted licence to say the Cheeky things they would not ordinarily the spirit of carnival did not prevail this in the office of Diane Kirkpatrick is an official in the Federal department of a scientist in the depart Margaret was quoted in the Globe and a Toronto As saying that Canadas ban on beef imports from Brazil was related to its Trade dispute with not to any defect found in the brazilian beef because scientists had found no such Haydon statements were inconvenient for ministers in the including Haydon own health minister Allan Rock and the other ministers were telling canadians that brazilian beef was banned in order to protect canadians from mad cow the they was not related to Canadas dispute with Brazil Over Cana Das subsidies to Bombardier and brazils subsidies to Embrer for the manufacture of competing regional Jet it quacks like a Duck and it walks like a Rock and the rest of them told but its actually a when they saw Haydon quoted in the newspaper saying it was a they were not it fell to in her Capac Ity As acting to Call Haydon reprimand her for disregard of her duty of Loy Alty and Tell her she was suspended for ten working i know nothing about Kirkpatrick beyond what i have read of her conduct toward Haydon and i Bear her no no doubt she considers she is doing her duty in a Loyal and Correct she May also understand that if she ingratiate herself sufficiently with her superiors she May enjoy a Brilliant career berating and intimidating her scientific col leagues on behalf of gutless politicians who cannot Bear to hear a Spade called a Spade and who have not the courage to do their own dirty i know that the government has published no no scintilla of evidence As the lawyers like to indicating presence of mad cow disease in brazilian cattle the threat from which Allan Rock claimed he was protecting i do know that on 9 of this about the same time mar Garet Haydon was saying scientists had found no prob Lem with the Brazil Ian i wrote substantially the same thing in these i know that the Secretary of agriculture of the United when she temporarily suspended brazilian beef imports pending clarification of brazils said roughly the same thing As relating the exaggerated Canadian action to the continuing Canad Brazil Trade if Margaret Haydon is disloyal to Allan then i and so is Ann Secretary of i am Loyal to a theory about truth that if you know something Worth you should say it and if you hear someone saying something wrong you should show How you know it is out of loyalty to that i flatly reject the Allan Rock theory that when you hear someone say something you you strike Allan Rock has not the courage to strike Back at Ann Veneman and he has not yet found the Means to strike Back at me but Margaret Haydon stood within Range of his vengeance and he using Kirkpatrick As his Margaret Haydon declared what she gave voice to her under standing of what was going count on her and other citizens to do the she clearly needs Protection from fear vengeful Little men like Allan Margaret Hay dons assertion May have been factually Allan Rock May have Evi Dence that proves he is right and she is his remedy should be to publish his the solution to error is not gags and sus pensions and it is i cling to that belief and i apologize to Margaret Hay Don for the uncivil and oppressive conduct my Dis Graceful health minis Ter has inflicted on Winnipeg free press Winnipeg free presses 1872 Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 v vol 129 no 80 2001 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 fhe Manitoba press Council Rudy email Nicholas ;