Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 27, 2004, Winnipeg, Manitoba A6 sunday june 27, 2004 your vote counts its almost like they re pals a Little ribbing no mudslinging Between these political rivals by Mary Agnes Welch t Eulon ? three Strong Candi dates a Riding frustrated with gun control and the endless mad cow disease crisis and Mere hours to go before election Day. Its a recipe for one Nasty Campaign in Selkirk Interlake. Instead its prob ably the most gentlemanly race in the province. At a debate last week in Teulon a Community Hall the candidates gently lampooned each other passed notes and did to offer a hint of the animosity that usually develops so late in a Campaign. Nip candidate Duane Nicol teased tory James Bezan about his land yacht ? a sign covered the Liberal motor Home Bezan drives party is not around the rid perfect buting. Lets not throw when a Sud Den rainstorm the baby out pelted the with the Bath Community Hall just As water Christian her Liberal candidate image party Bruce Benson candidate Anthony Barendregt finished speak ing Nicol turned to him and joked do you have some connections we Don to and when Green party candidate Trevor Farley happily took a question about new election financing rules that could favour his party Nicol and lib eral candidate Bruce Benson ribbed the Young candidate for constantly pumping his party a website. Visit they intoned like political versions of Wayne and Garth. We be done this like nine times shrugged Farley to the smiling Audi ence. Present at the Teulon debate was for Mer Canadian Alliance my Howard Hilstrom and his big Cowboy hat. He served As a reminder that Many peo ple in the Riding believe Selkirk inter Lake will Likely vote on the right. That Means Bezan is the Guy to beat. Nipping at Bezans heals is Nicol the 26-year-old Selkirk City councillor who has a detailed grasp of the issues and has run a Strong Campaign. There a also Benson the Gimli based commercial Fisher who is battling to distance himself from his party a recent history of scandal and the decade old gun registry. There a obvious Goodwill Between the three men leading the race in part because they be debated so frequently in town Halls across the Interlake. But that a not to say the candidates pull their punches. Like All candidates battling Strong conservative challenges Nicol is Quick to say most people in the Riding shrink from undercurrents in the conserva Tive party that favour private Medicine and More conservative social values. Nicol has been forced to walk a Fine line on the gun control Issue though. He says he would vote to dismantle the 2004 Federal election Phil Hossack / Winnipeg free press conservative candidate Bezan says accountability and mad cow disease Are the issues he hears about the most. Benson above left is running for the liberals Farley above is the Green party candidate and Nicol left is the nip Stan Dard bearer. R 2000 election results Howard Hilstrom Canadian Alliance ? 17,856 Kathy Arnason Liberal ? 9,612 Paul Podedworny nip ? 8,113 Tom Goodman progressive conservative ? 4,992 Anthony Barendregt Christian heritage ? 178 registry if he had the Chance and use the savings to hire More ramp offi cers and boost Border patrols. That a left him bucking his party Leader who supports the gun registry. Conservative Bezan thinks gun control is such a Good wedge Issue that he a attached Bright yellow posters to his big Campaign signs noting the $1 Bil lion spent so far on the gun registry. Gun control is also the Issue that could prove toughest for Benson who has said the registry needs fixing. But the Liberal candidate is Quick to remind voters of the Good the grits have done in recent years particularly when it comes to balanced budgets and sound economic management. I stand on the record of the Liberal party and we Haven to shouted it enough during this Campaign he said. The Liberal party is not perfect but lets not throw the baby out with the Bath Benson an affable former journalist and world traveller is fired up about the need to clean up Lake Winnipeg named recently Canadas most polluted body of water by Maclean Smaga Zine. He is calling for an action Council to find the sources of pollution clean them up and make the Lake and the red River Safe to fish and swim in. Bezan who looks a Little like his party Leader Stephen Harper says accountability and mad cow disease Are the two issues he hears most about. As a rancher who once worked for the Manitoba cattle producers association he a got the most credibility on the disease. Bezan is promising to increase the processing capacity in Canada boost compensation directly to producers and explore other Export markets besides that of the United states. We need to sit Down face to face instead of hurling insults across the Border said Bezan. strength in numbers the Winnipeg free press is read by 47% of Winnipeg adults every sunday. That a #1 in Canada among major newspapers. visit the free press Booth at june 24 july 3it s your Chance to win a Mosquito Magnet simply Complete the entry form and drop it off for entry into the random draw. Complete details available at our Booth. New rules allow West to watch vote on to i f you re planning to watch to coverage of tomorrows Federal elec Tion you might want to get on the Couch a bit Early. The rules governing the Way Canada a television networks cover election night have changed and its no longer necessary for broadcasters to wait until the local polls have closed to begin airing the results from other parts of the country. In the past Canadas Broad casters could not begin to cover age of Federal elections in each Region until after the polls had closed in that Region. Brad the rationale Oswald was that it would be unfair to voters in the West to learn that the election had already been decided ? As it usually has been by voting in Ontario and Quebec ? before they be even had a Chance to cast their ballots. Revealing the Eastern provinces outcome too Early could affect voting in the West in one of two ways it was argued seeing the results favour one party might prompt some voters to Fol Low the trend or having the Winner declared based on Quebec Ontario numbers might make some westerners decide there a no reason to bother Vot ing at All. But a court Challenge of the election coverage rules in British Columbia which resulted in a Section of the Canada elections act being declared unconstitutional prompted elections Canada to tear Down the curtains that prevented viewers in Western parts of the country from finding out what has happened elsewhere on election Day. And what that Means for West of Ontario viewers in Manitoba and beyond is that tomorrows election coverage will hit the airwaves much earlier. Csc ctr and global will All kick off their election packages at 6 . Cd though global will actually Start talk ing about the vote 30 minutes earlier during its special election edition of global National. Our program will be on the air to All of the country the moment the polls close in Newfoundland which is at 6 . In Winnipeg said Tony Burman editor in chief of Csc news. It should be a fascinating election particularly for people in the Quebec to Alberta Region who will now be Able to watch the Atlantic result and certainly for the people in British Columbia who will be Able to watch the whole country How the Rule change will affect the networks efforts is pretty Clear ? less of the centralized studio based cover age we be seen in elections past and More reporters in the Field particularly out West ? but How it might affect the outcome of the election remains to be seen. Because polling times have been staggered in various parts of the coun try in recent years ? largely in response to concerns that a More sophisticated communications Infra Structure involving satellite and digital to and the internet might make con Taining the results impossible ? its unlikely the new rules will affect Manitoban much. In Newfoundland and the Atlantic time zone the polls Are open from 8 30 . To 8 30 . Local time. In the East Ern time zone ballots can be cast from 9 30 . To 9 30 . In the Central zone voting takes place Between 8 30 . And 8 30 . In the Mountain zone its 7 30 . To 7 30 . And in the Pacific zone its 7 . To 7 . For Manitoban then some voting results from the maritime will be available before the polls close Here. But the staggered hours in Ontario and Quebec mean that polls will close there at the same time they do Here so the outcome in Canadas two most vote heavy provinces wont affect voters decisions in Manitoba. But farther West the new open Bor Ders approach to televised election coverage could have an Impact. No one knows whether the Broad casting Rule change will have an effect on voting said Burman. But its hard not to think that in a very close race there May be some people in . Who will hold Back until the end to determine whether voting strategically ? whatever that May mean in their particular Ridings ? is something they want to do. Well have to wait and see and i a sure there will be various studies Aca Demic and otherwise to try to deter mine whether there were in fact certain Ridings that were won or lost on the basis of a late vote.?. ;