Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 24, 2004, Winnipeg, Manitoba A16 Winnipeg free press thursday june 24, 2004 Freedom of Trade comment editor Terence Moore 697-7044 Liberty of religion Equality of civil rights editorials getting out the vote w Winnipeg a mayoral election this week poked a Hole in recent theorizing about Vot ers in Canada. The 58.8 per cent voter turnout that elected Sam Katz As the new mayor was Winnipeg a strongest turnout for a civic elec Tion since the first election of amalgamated Winnipeg in 1971. This Strong turnout contradicted the findings of political scientists and Public officials who have been warning lately that voter participation in elections was in a decline that was going to continue. The fear of declining participation arose because the last couple of elections in the United states the United King Dom and Canada All showed lower voter turnout than elections in the preceding 40 years or so. Political scientists Jon Pammett of car Leton University and Lawrence Leduc of the University of Toronto studied the matter and found As Canadian chief electoral officer Jean Pierre Kingsley reported last october that Young people were turn ing away from elections. The reasons for this the political scientists believed were that the Young people knew Little about politics and cared less that they lacked a sense of civic duty and that they had no Contact with political parties and candidates. The alienation of Young people from elections More or less ensured further decline they thought. In Winnipeg however participation in civic elections peaked at amalgamation with a turnout of 60.7 per cent then fell below 40 per cent in the 1980s, when Bill Norrie was obviously going to be re elected. In the Susan Thompson and Glen Murray elections turnout varied Between about 58 per cent and 49 per cent. This weeks election marked a new High Point. Polling before this election suggested that younger voters were especially interested in or. Katz a music impresario who brings to town some of the bands Young people like to hear. Explanations that dismiss Young voters As ill informed or uncaring Are probably wide of the Mark. Young voters like old ones know the differ ence Between an interesting election and a Boring one. When the election result is a foregone conclusion its reasonable to stay Home. When an interest ing candidate is running and the result is in doubt it makes sense to go and vote. Winnipeg civic election results including this lat est one suggest some answers to the problem that has worried or. Kingsley and others. There is no Iron Law of declining turnout some elections Are More interesting than others and when an interest ing one happens More people vote. A new and inter Esting candidate who conducts an energetic Campaign and appeals especially to younger voters can attract new voters who will raise the turnout and May even elect a mayor. As the student Union presidents of the universities of Winnipeg and Manitoba pointed out on the Page opposite yesterday political parties that make health care the country a number 1 Issue have decided to talk to older voters who Are most conscious of health. Why will the parties be surprised if the attention of younger people wanders from the debate about aches and pains and failing faculties Don to bother with outreach programs to persuade Young people to vote. Just put on More interesting elections. A lesson lost under a bit of International pressure the govern ment of Sudan last week suggested that it would consider disarming the militias and armed bands of renegades who have been killing people by the thousands in the Western Darfur Region of the coun try and which have driven More than a million peo ple from their Homes. Some people Call what has happened in Darfur genocide on the part of the sudanese government genocide on a scale that occurred most recently in Rwanda. Others Call it Slaughter on the scale that Sudan a islamist government in the North waged for More than 20 years against the Christian and Ani Mist tribes of Southern Sudan. The word genocide is frequently misunderstood. It is both a Legal expression used although not always with the same precise meaning in the Law of various nations including Canada and in International Law particularly and most immediately As it relates to the United nations. It also has a popular meaning. Although every genocide is a Slaughter not every Slaughter is an act of genocide. Slaughter is a common human habit Slaughter As genocide ? mass murder of an ethnic or racial group ? is More particular and less common. That distinction May escape the general Public but it was used in Rwanda where a tribal War saw huts massacre hundreds of thousands of Tutsi while the in did nothing to avoid the Neces sity of military action by the in. The distinction is being used today to avoid action in Sudan by the United nations. The distinction Between Slaughter ? on whatever scale ? and offi Cial genocide is crucial Here because if the killing is defined As genocide the in Security Council is bound to intervene. If it is just Plain old everyday massacres ? no matter How grand the scale ? the in is not required to do anything but wring its hands and deplore the killings. In the meantime thousands tens of thousands of civilians Are dying in Darfur because the United nations has a Legal nicety to fall Back on. The horror of Rwanda apparently taught the worlds leaders nothing. A new kind of conservative we Are a reasonable people an attribute imbedded in our history. Next week we Cele brate the birth of Canada a name so Appeal ing in its Conception and one respected in the world. The Federal depart ment of citizenship and immigration tells new Comers this Story in a Booklet. In 1535 two aboriginal youths used the Huron Iroquois word Kanata which Means Village or settlement to Tell Jacques Cartier the Way to Sta Acona today the site of Quebec City. Cartier used the word Canada to refer to the entire area subject to Donnacona chief of what a delightful Story of How our country was named two aboriginal youths giving directions to Cartier the famous explorer. Our country was born in peace and this has been our trademark on the world stage. Canada is recognized for its role in peacekeeping a voice of conciliation and an advocate of inter National agreements. In contrast to our Neighbours to the South Canada recognizes a need for a Public role and it follows that social programs in Canada Are big election issues exemplified in the health care plan. The . Favours the private profit system. On the whole Federal governments have been progressive in their Outlook advancing the cause of social Justice. I have voted in All 18 Federal elections since the end of the second world War and for the first time i have a sense of great unease about the forthcoming vote. I am concerned that Canada will relinquish some of its honoured traditions if Stephen Harper leads the new conservative party to Victory. For one he would Lead Canada into closer integration with the . Under president George w. Bush rated As the most right Wing administration among Western democracies. Or. Bush shuns International agreements and has enunciated a policy of preemptive strike. The . Has intimated it will not tolerate any nation nearing the might of the Pentagon. The . Went to War against Iraq based on false claims one that Iraq was the Center of terrorism. The War and its consequences have been a disaster diverting resources from the real fight against Al Aida and from addressing the Root causes of upheaval. Canadians were proud to see Ottawa take an Independent stand against the gunboat diplomacy of president Bush. Yet we witnessed the spectacle of or. Harper berating Canada for not joining the . In the War against Iraq in an interview with Fox news the american television network. He told americans a silent majority endorsed the War despite polls showing widespread opposition to the War. Or. Harper and associates do not appear to have an acute sense of the virtue of our sys tem of Justice. They criticize the supreme court of Canada on positions taken that May be contrary to that of parliament. What they do not recognize is that the supreme court is a bulwark of Canadian democracy defending the rights of minorities against discrimination by the majority. It stands As an Independent body to maintain a Standard of integrity in the affairs of the nation. Or. Harper would have the court subservient to parliament. Candi dates for appointment to the supreme court would have to agree that courts must defer to parliament. Canada is one of the most decentralized countries of the Western Powers but or. Harper would weaken it further by giving More clout to the provinces. We need a Strong Federal voice to Rise above parochial and selfish demands and to set a Standard of probity for the nation. It is doubtful whether we would have uni Versal health care had there been no Strong Central authority and initiative. The Harper Camp says Ottawa has no right to set social programs. Or. Harper would Cut the Csc a Canadian institution and free television to american inroads. He would trash the Kyoto Accord. What is most alarming is that he would under mine the charter of rights and freedoms. As for health the big topic of the election or. Harper has stated the biggest Public pol icy problem of the coming generation is one government controlled health care that surely sounds As if he would open the door wider to privatization even though it has been proven time and again that our Universal non profit system is More efficient and Equi table. Or. Harper is straying far from the progressive tradition of the conservatives. It is Worth recalling that institutions such As the Csc and the Canadian wheat Board now tar gets of the far right were introduced by the conservatives. It was also conservative prime minister John Diefenbaker who appointed or. Justice Emmett Hall to head a study that led to the introduction of Universal health care by the liberals. This is a different Breed entirely of conservatives. Drug makers escape full disclosure by Leslie millin issues network pressure is building internationally to have full disclosure of the results of clinical trials for new pharmaceutical products and health Canada should add every Gram of its weight to such pressure. Almost certainly it wont. Among the leaders urging such disclosure Are the editors of the major medical journals who have grown increasingly uneasy about the Way their August pages Are being used by the drug manufacturers to promote new products. The International committee of medical Jour Nal editors is expected within the year to take a formal position on the creation of a Public data base in which the drug companies would have to Register their trials ? All of their trials ? and All of their results. Support for this concept is expected from the american medical association perhaps the worlds most powerful professional society of doctors. Clearly the drug manufacturers will fight this to the last drop of everyone else a blood. Clinical trials of the Type now required throughout the major industrialized countries Are a relatively recent phenomenon in the Long and often sordid history of the preparation of potions and pills to make you Well or keep you Well. They Are also very expensive both in administrative costs and the time they add to the interval Between contriving a new product and bringing it to Market. Drug manufacture on an Industrial scale must be science based to ensure it is system Atic. A very Small error May have consider Able consequences up to and including death for very Large numbers of people. For these reasons in modern times govern ments have accepted the responsibility of regulating the manufacture and distribution of drugs. The manufacturers have accepted and adapted to a Choice towards which they would in any Case be forced. But they can be shrewd. Clinical trials under taken by arms length researchers Are clearly More persuasive than anything run internally and publication in a reputable medical journal of favourable results will Speed up the approval process As Well As enhancing the image of the new product amongst those physicians who bother to read medical journals. What about unfavourable results what about Needle nosed Public busybodies what about competitors in recent times the general strategy of the manufacturers has been to sector partner. But academic advancement continues to hinge quaintly on publication in reputable journals. And oddly there continue to be such journals just As there continue to be scientific researchers whose primary motive is not Money. Peculiar results dubious results outright bad results these Are the signs of genuine scientific research in clinical trials. They Are As essential to both Public safety and the Advance ment of science As Happy results. For the commercially driven manufacturers however they Are anathema ? hence the inevitable oppose thus the creation ? of drugs. Time was when such products were developed in University or Public laboratories and the rights then licensed to private or Semi private manufacturers. In some cases the intellectual prop erty was simply made freely available through detailed publication in a scholarly journal. Those Days Are Over. Public laboratories scarcely exist. University laboratories Are heavily tied to contracts with the manufacturers. And if some Clever researcher happens upon something useful without private fund ing her University will insist on commercial izing the possible product through a private american Fra holds Public hearings and posts far More information on Public data bases. Canadians interested in pharmaceuticals will learn far More from american sources than from those in their own country. This is not to suggest wrongdoing on our Side. Those who run the relevant bits of health Canada simply seem to share a mind set with the commercial sector. The editors of the worlds major medical journals May succeed in forcing the creation of an International registry of clinical trials but history suggests that they will get from health Canada precious Little help. ? 2004 Winnipeg free press a division of up Canadian Rudy Redekop newspapers limited partnership president up Canadian newspapers limited partnership published seven Days a week at 1355 Mountain Avenue Murdoch Davis / publisher Winnipeg free press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 Winnipeg Manitoba r2x 3b6, pm 697-7000 Nicholas Hirst / editor vol 132 no 202 a member of the Manitoba press Council Patrick Flynn / Deputy editor ;