Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 20, 2004, Winnipeg, Manitoba 2004 Federal election sunday june 20, 2004 a11 your vote counts Martin says blocs Only Harper tories to Amend Steps up kid porn bilingual flight Law part of plan to help air Canada report attack by Isabelle Rodrigue Forestville que. ? a conservative government would abolish a Law requiring Canadas National airline to operate predicts focus on Issue in both official languages say Docu ments obtained by the Canadian press. The decision to drop the bilingual will help conservatives requirement would be part of a vast series of measures the conservatives would put Forward to help air Canada out of its financial crisis and modify air travel regulations in Canada. By Steve Lambert they would also include allowing air Canada to move its head office from s Essex . ? far from apologizing for an attack on Paul mar tin Over child pornography conservative Leader Stephen Harper stepped up his criticism yesterday and predicted he will Benefit from the sudden focus on the Issue. The Liberal party is making a grave mistake by letting this become the Issue of the Campaign Harper told reporters during a tour of Southern new Brunswick. I a More than Happy to debate this Issue. They cannot defend their record on this Little attention had been paid to the problem of child pornography during the election Campaign until thursday when Michael Briere pleaded guilty to the sex slaying of 10-year-old Holly Jones in Toronto in 2003. Briere admitted he had been watch ing kiddie porn on the internet when he decided to grab a child. He kid napped raped strangled and dismembered Jones ? All within an hour. On Friday the conservatives issued a news release suggesting the prime minister supports child porn. The conservatives withdrew and re worded the release blaming the initial wording on Over caffeinated Young sters in the party selection War room who have been working Long hours for months on end. The same was done with a news release sent out about the Dps stand on the Issue. But nip Leader Jack Layton want buying the conservatives explanation for the missives. The More i think about it the More i think fridays appalling comments by the conservative party were deliberate he told reporters in Thunder Bay ont., yesterday. Stephen Harper does to want canadians to know what he really stands for so they need to exploit tragedy to try to divert focus. Its not going to Layton called on Harper to apologize As did Martin who repeated his Call yesterday. I cannot for the life of me under stand Why he does to understand the inappropriateness the Complete unacceptability of what he but instead of saying sorry Harper keyed in on the Issue during a Campaign Stop in Augerville ., yesterday morning adding several minutes to his stump Campaign speech. Harper greets a Mother and baby at a Campaign Stop in Sussex . Yesterday. Paul Martins record on child pornography is shameful and just another reason Why his government must be Defeated on june 28,? Harper said to applause from about 200 sup porters. Harper is attacking Martin and the liberals for voting against an opposition motion in the commons to close the artistic Merit loophole which exempts some Art from pornography legislation. Opposition motions Are routinely voted Down As a matter of partisan principle. Opponents of the Canadian Alliance motion said it was too Broad and would have banned some legitimate Art. The Liberal governments Bill on child pornography had cleared the commons but not the Senate when it died the Day the election was called. It was criticized by legitimate writ ers filmmakers and others who feared it would open them to prosecution. Critics on the right condemned it for not abolishing the artistic Merit defence. Or. Martin has not taken the Opportunity to outlaw child pornography and Friday he went so far As to say it was his number one priority and he has a Zero tolerance policy said Harper. Neither of those things Are True. They Are factually the heated debate on the Campaign Trail comes As Post debate polls Indi Cate the front running parties Are becalmed in the Eye of the Hurricane like rhetoric. An Itsos Reid poll conducted after the leadership debates of monday and tuesday indicated conservative sup port had stalled at 32 per cent and the liberals were Down two percentage Points to 29 per cent. The nip also dropped a Point to 16 per cent of respondents the bloc sub Cois was at 12 per cent and the Green party was up a Point to seven per cent. ? Canadian press Frank Gunn / Canadian press Montreal. A conservative government. Would eliminate the air Canada Public participation act says a document that was part of an email Exchange. The letter written june 9 and signed by Craig Maguire a member of conservative Leader Stephen harpers staff responded to a question about the future of the airline that has been under Bank create a rust by Protection for several months. The letter indicates environment that a conservative government would to create a com airline pet Tive environment Industry in the airline Industry and leave airlines alone in their fight to airlines attract the conservative party has Long been their fight against the Public to attract participation act which was passed shortly before the airline was privatized in 1988. It subjected air Canada to the official languages act As Well As obligated it to maintain its head office in Montreal and maintenance services in Montreal Winnipeg and Mississauga ont. The struggling airline has been claw ing at the Brink of bankruptcy for the last year. Had it not been for an eleventh hour Deal with its unions last month it competitive in the and leave alone in customers had faced the possibility that Deutsche Bank and be capital aviation services would pull their support. The act is perceived As a Ball and Chain by air Canada the Only airline affected by the regulations. While the Liberal government had Sug is sovereignty for Quebec tested it would consider easing some of the regulatory restrictions facing the during last weeks debates Dueppe airline Pierre Pettigrew minister by Tim Cook tried to make it Clear that the june 28 responsible for official languages says election is not about sovereignty. The liberals stand by the act. St Jean sur be Richelieu que. ? but speaking with reporters yester but Pettigrew said the email shows Liberal Leader Paul Martin used his first Day Martin highlighted a comment Harper has to been forthcoming with his swing into Quebec since the debates to Dueppe made earlier this week that the intentions regarding official languages. Take at his chief rivals there saying bloc would like to see a referendum on or. Harper has kept All his doors the bloc quebecois has Only one Agenda sovereignty within five years. Open by never making his intentions ? separation. Its very Clear that in his mind this Clear. Here very concretely is an exam Martins drive to win Quebe cers votes election is very much about Sovereign ple where he shows he is ready to mod came As polls suggested support for his to Martin said. Ify the party was at a 10-year Low. While people May be voting for one Harper has faced controversy on in a fiery speech yesterday to about reason or another he intends to use bilingualism since the conservative Lan Jonathan Hayward / Canadian press 100 supporters Martin said Gilles every single vote that he gets As an gauges critic Scott Reid mused earlier Dueppe and the bloc will work with endorsement of Martin visits farm in Shefford que. On first Stop in province since debate. In the Campaign about a possible revamp their provincial counterparts the parti Liberal support has dropped sharply of bilingual services. Reid later resigned the weekend indicate that nationally lib an Ekos poll done for the Toronto Star quebecois to tear the country apart. In Quebec during the Campaign. Eral support has dropped below 30 per and la Presse put the conservatives at his position As critic. The Day after an election the bloc some polls suggest the bloc Quebe cent for the first time since 1993. 31.4 and the liberals at 29. Harper said he would not change the maps will have Only one thing in mind to Cois ? rejuvenated by the Liberal Spon an Itsos Reid poll done for the Globe the margins of error were 3.1 and 3.3 Basic principles of the official Lan collaborate with their friends in the pm worship scandal ? could take As Many and mail and ctr puts the conserva percentage Points respectively. Gauges act but said a conservative gov to Divide Canada Martin said in a As 50 of the provinces 75 seats. Tives at 32 per cent and the liberals at Ern ment would debate the question. Speech delivered mainly in French. Two Post debate polls released Over ? Canadian press 29. ? Canadian press palliative care on tory Agenda Carstairs fears conservatives would shun reforms by Mia Rabson Liberal senator Sharon Carstairs says she fears a conservative government would not follow through on the Pallia Tive care reforms she fought hard to push through Ottawa. Carstairs campaigning at the mid Dechurch Home of Winnipeg last week with Kildonan St. Paul Liberal candidate Terry Duguid told residents there that voting Liberal will ensure a future for the kind of Quality end of life care she fought so hard to ensure. We have to make sure those pro Grams we Are on the Edge of delivering do not fall off she said. Carstairs who was the government Leader in the Senate under former prime minister Jean Chr Tien was Given Spe Cial responsibility for palliative care. She oversaw a 2000 Senate report on Quality end of life care and helped push Lia Tive care changes including a Virtu Al hospice website giving canadians information and support. Among the programs she says she worries about Are the compassionate leave program that gives canadians up to six weeks paid leave from work to care for a gravely ill or dying child Par ent or spouse and government funding for palliative care research. Carstairs told the Middle Church Resi dents one of the biggest problems with palliative care is the Lack of knowledge doctors have about the end of life. Programs to educate medical students in palliative care Are also just about to be launched and she worries the conserva Tives Are not committed to this area. I am very concerned about it quite frankly she said. I pushed that Agenda really hard but there has been no men Tion of it from the conservatives. Demographics Tell us this is going to be a big Issue and it concerns me when nobody talks about Tom Hanson / Canadian press archives Carstairs very concerned conservative my Brian Pallister said Carstairs is fear mongering and said it is not in the conservative plan to cancel any palliative care programs. where the leaders Are where the Federal party leaders Are Jim Harris Green party today Brantford ont 10-11 . Media availability 53 Dalhousie St. Gilles Dueppe bloc quebecois Cambridge ont noon-2 30 . Les Escoumins que 9 15 . Attends Cambridge Lake alive music father a Day Brunch 23 route festival Wellington county re. 32. Forestiere. Oxford ont 2 30-3 30 . Medial Anse a la Roche que 10 50 . Availability Hwy. 2 and 35th line Reed news conference at nautical club of Elliott a farm. Sacre Coeur. Saint Honore que 2 30 . Walka Jack Layton nip bout at festival of the wind 3 30 . Scarborough ont 10 30 . Meets regional press same location. Attends White ribbon Campaign dad Saguenay que 4 30 . Visits Riding walk Toronto zoo 361a old Finch ave. Of Chicoutimi be fjord 960 Boul. Oshawa ont 12 30 . Attends Talbot 5 10 . Dinner same location. Oshawa fiesta Parade 1 King St. Toronto 7 . Campaign rally York Stephen Harper conservatives event theatre 101 Eglinton ave. East. St. Johns fld 1 15 . Photo Paul Martin liberals Opportunity weather permitting Cape Orleans ont 10 05 . Fathers Day Spear National historic site end of Brunch Miro cultural Centre 6600cape Spear or. Route 11 Carriere St. Holyrood fld 2 . Campaign St. Johns fld 7 , makes Brief rally Star of the sea Hall main High remarks to Canadian nursing Way. Associations annual meeting 60 new Halifax 7 30 . Whistle Stop Gower St. At Dartmouth Campaign office 168 main St. ? Canadian press ;