Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 4, 2004, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press sunday july 4, 2004 Canada / world a7 harpers Job is Safe for now conservative Leader has few wanting him out after election by Norma Greenaway o Ottawa ? if the knives Are out for Stephen Harper they Are Short and Dull. A new online petition calling for his resignation had six lonely signatures by yesterday afternoon. More significantly there is no one jockeying for the Job visibly or otherwise. There a no doubt the Leader of the new conservative party is Down ? at least emotionally ? after falling Short of overblown expectations in last Mon Days election. The depth of his per Sonal devastation was written All Over his face As his car sped away from the Ottawa Airport last tuesday whisking him and his family into seclusion. But Down does not mean out despite failing to score either a majority or minority tory government and despite failing to score More than 24 of the 106 seats in Ontario. The 99-member conservative Cau Cus will gather in Ottawa on wednes Day for an election postmortem that will involve spirited discussion about the campaigns rights and wrongs. Maps also Are expected to provide a rousing endorsement of harpers leadership. After All he won More seats nationally than any other Federal conservative party since 1988. The tally also exceeded the combined total of 78 seats won by the Canadian Alliance 66 and pc party 12 in the 2000 election. Many conservatives recognize the need to let the new party gel. In their View its time to Stop the leadership contests and re branding exercises that have defined moves to unite Small a conservatives since 1998, the year Reform party founder Preston Man tenders Ning launched the so called United alternative movement. In other words Harper is out Only if he decides to go. The pressure on him to stay is immense. For starters who would replace him the electorally challenged Tony Clement political neophyte Belinda Stronach Alberta newcomer Jim Prentice or the gain fully employed Bernard lord who is Only one year into his second four year term As Premier of new Brunswick listen to two maps who count Peter Mackay a Pivotal player from the old tory Side of the equation and John Reynolds the Man Likely to be the conservative House Leader in the new minority Liberal parliament. They Are urging Harper to stick with it and get on with the Job of building the new conservative party. We now have close to 100 members of Parlia ment Mackay told reporters in Nova Scotia. The liberals on the other hand lost close to 40 members. So our Hopes of forming a government Are not dashed they re simply there have been isolated Calls for harpers resignation. Disgruntled torontonian and Alan Granger launched the online petition. Elsewhere a group of party Mem Bers calling themselves the red tory Council has declared the election result nothing Short of a train wreck and said the party is doomed unless it moves closer to the Centre of Canadian society. Here a the really ugly news said a commentary released by Rick Peter son a member of the Council. Unless things change dramatically inside the conservative party this is about As Good As it will Ever get for the Stephen Harper led the coming weeks Promise to say much about How Harper plans to proceed. He will be watched closely to see whether he tries to raise the profile of moderate members of his caucus by for example assigning prominent Shadow Cabinet posts to Prentice Stronach and other moderates. Betting is Strong that he will punt to the backbench such maps As Randy White and Cheryl Gallant. Their eruptions Over the role of the courts and abortion respectively were among the party a self inflicted wounds that fuelled analyses that the new party is neither mainstream enough nor mod Erate enough to win National govern ment. ? can West news service severe thunderstorms drench Edmonton Edmonton ? Edmonton residents were drying out yesterday after severe thunderstorms late Friday knocked out Power to More than 3,000 Homes turned streets into Rivers and waterlogged basements. At least one major freeway in South Edmonton was closed for several hours after the deluge left a thick Barrier of mud and sludge on Road said City spokesman David Schneider. At least 14 lightning strikes hit the City during the Friday storms said Epcot spokesman Jay Shukin. A total of about 3,000 residents were without Power for Between 45 to 90 min utes. Environment Canada meteorologist Bill Mcmurtry said 56.5 Millimetres fell at the municipal Airport but the heaviest downpour was reported at Elk Island National Park about an hour drive West of Edmonton where 69 Millimetres fell. Edmonton a july rainfall record is 114 Millimetres set july 31, 1953. ? can West news service brain Drain working both ways study says by Sean Gordon Ottawa ? a new study casts the thorny question of the so called brain Drain in new Light suggesting that while Large numbers of canadians Are moving to the United states the americans who move northward tend to be better educated and More successful than Immi Grants from any other country. The United states celebrates its 228th year of Independence today and to Mark the occasion the Montreal based association for Canadian studies has released a report on immigration Between Canada and the . American immigrants tend to be older better educated less dependent on government assistance and better employed than new arrivals from any other single country the study revealed. They tend to be concentrated in White Collar occupations like management sales finance and education. It actually tends to go both ways to the extent that while the United states is attracting some of our most educated successful individuals we also tend to attract within those americans who come Here a very successful group said association president Jack Jedwab. I now am sort of revising my thinking about the brain Drain Issue in terms of it being a question of volume not a qualitative question of a one Way according to the most recently Avail Able census figures roughly three Mil lion americans report Canadian roots while a much smaller proportion of canadians ? 240,000 ? reported Amer ican origins. One should to underestimate the Impact the Canadian origin population. Has had on the United states and conversely the american born population that a Here even though its Only 237,000 people has had on this country Given the level of education and economic Success of that segment of the population he said. Of those canadians who have decided to live the american dream 34 per cent have settled in the Western states the most popular destination for new arrivals from this country. ? can West news service ;