Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 26, 2001, Winnipeg, Manitoba A8 Fra feb Ruay 2001 editorials Freedom of Trade Liberty of religion Equality of civil rights Miracle cure brazilian beef stricken with mad cow disease in a 2 press release by the Canadian were miraculously cured on Friday when Canada once again allowed brazilian beef into the food safety authorities did produce evidence that brazilian beef was actually safer on Friday than it had been the Friday nor did they produce evidence that they had protected Cana Dian Consumers from some danger with the import ban they imposed on the whole episode remained the Rule Canada Laid Down on Friday was that brazilian beef May enter Canada if the animal was born after 1996 when Bone meal was banned As cattle born and raised in Brazil and fed Only on the same if it had been Laid Down on should have been adequate to protect Canadian Consumers from any risk of exposure to beef affected by mad cow having used the Hammer of an import the government took three weeks to come up with a policy that More closely matched the potential danger that concerned the food safety Canadian Cabinet ministers seemed Hurt and puzzled that brazilians and Many Canadian commentators linked the ban on brazilian beef to Canadas Trade dispute with Brazil Over subsidized exports of they should not be Puz the Blanket suspension of brazilian beef coupled with recall of cans of corned beef from grocery store was excessive in relation to the supposed the went along with the suspension of imports at the time but saw no occasion for a product the reopened its Market to brazilian beef on Friday and Canada followed since there was no sign that the brazilian beef had changed in the the main fac Tor appeared to be the Canadian and food safety authorities should stay Alert to cattle feeding practices in beef exporting they should also learn to keep their shirts on and let the food products flow until they have genuine reason to suspect a naval horseplay the Navy submarine Greeneville seemed at first to have been a victim of misfortune on 9 surfacing suddenly near it rammed and Sank the japanese fishing trawler chime Maru with the loss of nine persons from the f Ishing there has been no suggestion that the commander and Crew of the Mili tary vessel meant harm to the japanese fishing it seemed a simple for which the government and the Navy have apolo information that has filtered out during Prepa rations for a court of suggests that it was worse than an sixteen civil ians were aboard the submarine to be entertained As inboard spectators and one of them was invited to operate the lever that initiated an emergency surfacing an especially thrilling manoeuvre in which the Craft is made to leap to the surface of the it appears that the Navy was essentially horsing around with a submarine for the amusement of civilian spectators and rammed an unsuspecting fishing trawler in the course of the horse the naval court of inquiry needs to find out the precise series of miscalculations that produced the More the government needs to consider whether its Navy has More Power than Good with huge fleets to sail and no War to the Navy is acting bored and at some danger to everyone else who sails the same glutted Market the Farmers who demonstrated at the Legisla Ture last monday reflected the cruel Market conditions that Grain and oilseed producers Low world prices for their commodities prevented most from earning a decent return last year and prospects for this year Are not in Canadian farms did Well last enjoying a per cent Rise in Gross income from commodity shipments and govern ment program the arose from cattle and government pro Grams and from the suppl managed commodities eggs and crop producers Gross incomes fell for the third year running and hit a six year the continuing squeeze on Grain and oilseed growers is Likely to drive More of them out of government programs can help some producers to delay the difficult adjustment and can ease the pain in some cases but they cannot reverse the harsh realities that have glutted the Grain and oilseed to the Benefit of live Stock v enter at own risk guard dog on ruling opens a Naftal door Penni Mitchell it would have been easy enough to a four sentence Blurb in the Globe mail Busi Ness under the heading could it be i rubbed my then read so much news about the ecological crisis is doom and yet this scant item was saying that a North America free Trade agreement tribunal cleared the Way for groups like the win Nipe based International Institute for sustainable develop ment to submit Amicus or Friend of the court submissions in chapter 11 Trade the dispute in question involves methane of which wants the govern ment to give it billion in compensation because californian ban on Methyl tertiary butyl Ether a gasoline additive derived from has Hurt its a suspected is not banned in the Naftal tribunal ruled on january 16 that it has the Power to allow written presentations from third including nongovernmental its the first time that a citizens group has come close to a Naftal though not for a Lack of last the to refused 17 applications for Amicus status in an Asbestos ban we Are delighted that the tribunal has acted where it Felt it could to provide civil society said us president David while the tribunal Hast finalized the proce dures for making third party it nonetheless opened the door a crack to the Radical idea that third parties have a stake in International Trade Naftal tribunals Are notorious for protect ing markets at citizens remember when the tables were turned and a pro Ducer of a gasoline additive called Methyl by Clomenta Denyl manganese Tri carbonyl met wanted Access to the Canadian Market Cana Dian taxpayers were forced to pay million to Ethyl corporation in met is allowed in Canadian gasoline even though its safety is unproven and car makers say it Gums up their pollution control another recent Naftal tribunal ruling casts doubt on Canadas right to refuse to be a dump ing ground for hazardous we stand to pay up to million to Meyers for ban Ning the import of this is a disaster for environmental said Steven the lawyer for an Alliance of environmental organizations following the Naftal ruling last never Canada Hast found a Way to get rid of its own pcs our moratorium is at least a prime minister Jean Chretien remarked recently that it was too late to Stop free Trade because the monster had had too Many its an Apt Trade bodies do treat citizens like last month the United nations environment program predicted that global warming will Cost the world More than billion each the Canadian Council of ministers of the environment task Force on cleaner vehicles and fuels says that cleaner fuels will have billion Worth of benefits Over the next 23 meaning less asthma and respiratory according to a report published by the perverse subs governments around the world and the in contribute trillion in ecologically damaging subsidies every year everything from agriculture policies that encourage overproduction and dependence on pesticides to tax Breaks for global warming if this were a wed be looking for a Good sign right about in an interesting plot both the Canadian and govern ments supported the uses Appeal for Amicus status before the Naftal Canada said that arbitration proceedings would Benefit from being perceived As More open or trans in Ottawa May be in silent cahoots against the monster it helped inter National Trade minister Pierre Pettigrew has said that he Doest want a chapter 11 clause in the proposed free Trade agreement of the the has More than or on its it believes the interpretation of chapter 11 of Naftal should reflect Legal principles underlying the concept of sustain Able which is what Gro Harlem head of the United nations world commission on environment and development in 1987 meant when she said that policy Mak ers must Only permit development that does not Compromise the ability of future generations to meet their fourteen years the Battle to save planet Earth is heating up Over Trade treaties that pit the rights of citizens against environmental because of the Amicus Naftal Tri Bunal inhabitants of planet Earth can breathe a Little at least for Winni Eggers love a bargain if nothing the Stampede like bedlam that broke out Over free recycling boxes at the Gar Den City shopping Centre should have Given mayor Glen Murray some understanding of Why his plan to charge Cash for excess garbage ran into so much if More than 500 win nip Eggers would Brave the Early hours of a cold saturday put up with the jammed conditions that resulted and endure a garbage sort ing contest just to get a free then it is Small wonder so Many were upset at the Prospect of having an extra a bag added to their already High the fact is that Many Winni Eggers simply cannot pass up a by the same they resent extra charges they neither under stand nor think Are the fact that City Council has agreed to All of mayor Murray new recycling plan except for the extra charge is a pretty Good Indica Tion that the message councillors got from their voters was that people wanted More they just didst want to be charged extra for this course of action will make it More difficult for the mayor to keep his election Promise to reduce Overall taxes by two per cent a year for five that Promise is now in never never and voters Are unlikely to blame themselves if it is not Welcome to the world of City to his the mayor took the High ground in the he now admits he might have been better to explain the costs rather than to preach the gospel of environment saving waste reduce had he done he May have been Able to counter the argument of Bill who said the mayors plan had Noth ing to do with saving the environment and everything to do with making it is a bit difficult to argue that the City is running out of Landfill space while it accepts and is paid for the garbage that is generated in this should be Ontario not it is difficult to propose a charge on individual households before in the Over All an understandable approach to persuading apartment blocks and condominiums to mayor Glen is now More than a bit upset that we have an upgraded recycling program that is going to Cost an estimated million a year so no Hope of collecting the million in excess garbage there Are questions about the Lack of the City lost million a year in commercial garbage tipping fees when the major com Mercial collection stopped using the City dump and built its own in the nearby municipality of Why did Bufi do this did the company change because thinking it had the Only game in pushed tipping fees up to a persuading the company it could operate its own dump cheaper now that the cites Brady Landfill has compete the Price of tip Ping a Load of garbage has dropped to would the City still have the Commer Cial business if it had been satisfied to collect Mil lion a year for the Commer c i a 1 instead of million would million a year for commercial waste finance the new waste reduction pro Gram that the figure the mayor is talking it is a bit to wonder what the commercial and its is Long City councils approval of All of the mayors program except for the excess bag charge Means that either Council will have to decide later whether people Are not complying with the plan without the fee and impose the charge or hold their noses and find the Money even if it Means that the Promise of a tax reduction cannot be the timing is the review of the Success of the program is scheduled for octo give a month or so for the results to be determined and the charge of for every third bag of if should have to be imposed sometime around just a minute that is Only months away from the next municipal councillors would have to act in a most courageous manner to slap a Xayasy outgrow tax on garbage just in time to have it remain fresh in the minds of people when they decide who will and who wont be on Council next Winnipeg free press Winnipeg be press est 1872 Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 vol129n083 2001 Winnipeg free a division of newspapers division of Thomson Canada limited published seven Days week at 1355 Mountain Manitoba r2x pm 6977000 a member of the Manitoba press Council email Patrick ;