Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 12, 2004, Winnipeg, Manitoba A10 Winnipeg free press monday july 12, 2004 Freedom of Trade comment editor Terence Moore 697-7044 Liberty of religion Equality of civil rights editorials inordinate delays p preliminary hearings introduced to sup port the integrity of the judicial system have become gambits in the great gamesmanship of the criminal court process. Intended to help make the trial process efficient and fair preliminary hearings ? a Standard precursor to trial in serious charges ? took up 726 Days of court time in Manitoba last year. Veteran criminal lawyer Greg Brodsky has 33 homicide cases on his desk at least six of which have had their preliminary hearings set to begin two years after charges were Laid. The rules for the administration of the courts and for the pro vision of Legal Aid ought to be changed to prevent these unnecessary delays. The use of preliminary hearings is controversial in Canada. A preliminary is held to test the admissibility of evidence and to ensure there is sufficient evidence to go to trial. Testing the Validity of evidence is the Job of a trial judge or jury. Until recent amendments to the criminal code pre lims were automatic in serious criminal charges. To help focus the prelim they must now be requested and the requester must outline the issues to be reviewed and which witnesses Are to appear. The right of an accused to a speedy trial is Well established in Law and the supreme court of Canada has freed some accused who have waited too Long. The extraordinary time it takes some Manitoba cases to get to the preliminary stage illustrates Why the courts Are backlogged and Why judges grow impatient with lawyers and Crown attorneys who request repeated adjournments. The longer it takes for a Case to go to court the Oggier a witness a mind gets on what he saw or heard. Delays Benefit lawyers who get paid by the hour. Many of or. Brodsky a clients Are covered by Legal Aid and do not have to worry about footing that Bill. A recent attempt to set an earlier prelim Date for one of his clients failed largely Justice officials say because or. Brodsky a court schedule is full. Or. Brodsky is being held out As an example of How criminal lawyers use delay tactics to weaken the crowns Case. But delay tactics can also be used by Crown attorneys to permit police More time to scare up additional witnesses or to improve the chances of a plea bargain. Justice minister Gord Mackintosh is responsible for ensuring the court process upholds the accused a right to a speedy and fair trial and that Public Money spent to administer the courts is Well spent. In some jurisdictions in the United states a preliminary hearing must be held within 30 Days of charges being Laid and within 10 if the accused is denied bail. Tightening the deadlines by which preliminaries and trials should be held May help focus the minds of both defence and Crown attorneys. If a lawyers schedule is not accommodating Legal Aid can show the accused a list of lawyers available from the private bar or in the alternative assign a staff lawyer to the Case. Dare to dream the Deal looks done All but sealed on the old Winnipeg Arena. After the necessary due Diligence by the City administration to find the Best option the most prudent arrangement for what amounts now to surplus property the Concrete hockey rink will be knocked Down so Rontrea inc. Can develop More retail space in a rapidly developing commercial zone already choked with traffic. The dream for a Watermark at the Polo Park site turned out to have been Little More than that. The Developer who offered Winni Eggers Hope they a be Able to have such fun without travelling else where did not have a viable bid one that came with a business plan backed by a Deposit. Though the administration was right to turn Down Sieg Holles proposal it is still a shame that so much interest and Hope should be snuffed. Or. Holles bid was Worth maybe the paper it was written on but his idea and the talk it generated ? along with a Public petition that garnered 15,000 signatures ? was invaluable As an exercise of Public engagement. Mayor Sam Katz should take notice of that. Winni Eggers want their City to be More than smooth streets and reliable sewer and water ser vice. They want their City to have the amenities Many others possess. The new Provencher Bridge and pedestrian walk showed that people can be inspired by so much steel and Cable. The building of a hotel at the Forks showed Winni Eggers want to be engaged in the planning of their Favourite places. This is not to say that or. Katz and Council ought to build a Watermark. Indeed such a Complex is Likely out of the reach of the City a finances and should be left to private developers tuned to respond to the Market. But or. Katz and Council ought to court such interest and feed the Public interest or. Holle found Here by looking for similar opportunities to exploit. To a degree this was at the Core of Glen Murray a vision of a vibrant City built on a new Deal that had the financial Means to Spruce itself up invest in infrastructure projects beyond the potholes to cultivate the arts. Or. Katz should continue to Chase new sources of civic Revenue. But Money is just part of the formula. Winni Eggers need a Leader who can tap the Public desire to build the City into More than a Good place to raise kids. Winnipeg should be Able to attract people from other cities with cultural and recreational amenities that rival those in other Urban centres. Winnipeg should have a Watermark but to Stop there would miss what the petition bearing those signatures symbolized Ambi Tion. Afghans need the West a help by Trudy Rubin Knight Ridder newspapers considering the immense obstacles he faces at Home afghan president Hamid Karzai is astonishingly upbeat. The afghan people Are determined to make a better life for themselves he said fervently in an interview this week in Philadelphia where he received the Philadelphia Liberty medal. In his trademark Blue and Green striped Cape but without his persian Lamb hat he wore a red White and Blue boutonniere in his Lapel. Karzai does to beg for More Aid or criticize the United states. He stresses the tasks afghans must shoulder themselves. But then he gets to the Point on the other hand we still have problems. Drugs militias warlords we re still fighting a War against terrorism. And Afghanistan does not yet have the civil Ian and military institutions to protect in other words Karzai needs a lot More help from the West. He especially needs More nato forces to stabilize Afghanistan before its first postwar elections this fall. Since he is lionized by Congress and president Bush and nato leaders you would think he would get it. Think again. There is a disconnect Between the accolades that leaders Heap on Karzai and their Readi Ness to assist him. At a recent nato Confer ence in Istanbul Karzai urged members with limited Success to Send More troops to guard the elections. At present nato provides a modest peace keeping Force known As Isaf made up of 6,500 troops none of them american. They Are based mainly in Kabul with some Small contingents in provincial centres which leaves Karzai marooned As mayor of Kabul. The afghan Leader has few forces of his own the United states is training an afghan army slowly but it has Only around 8,000 troops. Regional warlords some profiting from the booming poppy Trade have potent militias. Resurgent Taliban Are threatening the elections and the country. But nato members coughed up Little More than 2,000 additional troops with no Date of arrival. This says much about the current paralysis of nato. It also says much about the Bush administrations approach to Afghanistan. Back in 2001, the United states rejected natos offer to join the anti Taliban Battle. There Are 18,000 . Troops in Afghanistan but none under nato command. With few exceptions . Forces Don to do peacekeeping and Are More focused on Hunting Al Aida and Osama bin Laden. The Pentagon refused to assign troops to Isaf which fuels the reluctance of nato allies to risk soldiers outside Kabul. Intra nato squabbles have made the Alliance so dysfunctional that nato Secretary general Jaap de hoop Scheffer just issued an extraordinary warning. He predicted Afghanistan could become a failed state and fall Back under the Taliban if the International Community does to join in stabilizing the country. Karzai insists that the Taliban will not come Back and retake his Homeland. But he adds or. Scheffer is right that Afghanistan must immediately get More nato troops or else the country will have the afghan Leader is proud that afghans have registered nearly two thirds of the nine million to 10 million eligible voters and that 38 per cent of those Are women. But if presidential elections Are to be held this fall and parliamentary elections soon after ? already a postponement of the Origi Nal june Date ? the country needs better Secu Rity. And says Karzai ? who has been criticized for being soft on warlords ? Only elections will give a Leader the legitimacy to be tougher on militias and poppy growers. Afghans want elections like hell he said. But if the International Community does not come to help. We will not be Able to do it on our there a a Challenge for All those leaders who profess to Admire Hamid Karzai ? including president Bush. A super store but its no Church two global giants Are having a food fight in Winnipeg. Wal Mart the worlds largest retailer and Safeway a leading supermarket Chain Are battling to win the hearts minds and wallets of grocery shoppers. The Competition is inter Esting because the strategies of the two Behe Moths Are quite different and Are being played out not in closed boardrooms but on open store shelves. The Wal Mart grocery Section at its store near St. James Street has Gar ish lighting narrow aisles a limited selection and no fresh meat fruit or vegetables. But Wal Mart does to Promise anyone a grocery store Palace it is successful because it relentlessly concentrates on one Point Selling goods for less. After conducting Many focus group sessions Safeway thinks Consumers Are not Only Price conscious but also want a wide selection of food products service and a comfortable Environ ment. To test this concept it opened a new store at Portage Avenue and Cavalier drive this Spring after spending $3 million on renovations and hiring about 80 additional workers. The store is one of the most entrancing supermarkets i have seen in North America or Europe. Just inside the front door you re faced with Banks of fresh Flowers which put me in mind of shopping in open air european Flower and vegetable markets. Heightening this impression is the produce areas flooring that appears to be Wood planks and colourful veggies and fruits that Are heaped in what seem to be big wooden crates. The store also has Large natural and ethnic food sections a big bakery a Starbucks outlet an enlarged Deli Section and heavens be praised a Butcher offering fresh meat and fish. Two years ago Safeway shut Down meat cutting in All its stores and started buying ready Cut meat from an outside supplier. But that was then. Now John Graham a Safeway Public affairs manager says the company is responding to the demands of our customers ? aging popu lation busier people and a growing demand for specific types of food like organics and Nat ural a Large counter offers subs and easy to pre pare food ? what the Trade Calls meal this feature puts Safeway smack into Competition with some fast food restaurants. And Safeway is betting that people will like its pleasant environment. Lighting in the St. James store is muted its soft pastel colours Are carefully coordinated. Staff is encouraged to be helpful. When i was wandering around the store a Young Man pushing a Broom asked me if i was looking for anything ? not some thing that happens in Many stores today. This staff make the difference approach is also a change for corporate Safeway. Aficionados of labour unrest will recall that months ago Safeway and a group of companies in California were involved for five months in strikes and lockouts affecting 60,000 workers Over management demands for reduced employee benefits. The Winnipeg great food fight involves More than Wal Mart and Safeway. West fair a Loblaw subsidiary that operates real Canadian super stores and obeys Are also Well into the fray. In november superstore will open the largest grocery store in Winnipeg 185,000 Square feet on St. James Street at Sargent Avenue. This store and another on Mcphillips Street will feature women Only gyms operated by goodlife fitness clubs the nations largest fitness Centre organization. Obeys has revamped re branded and reopened seven Winnipeg Iga stores and has opened a new 43,000 Square foot store on Tay Lor Avenue. Safeway says its St. James store is the fourth of its kind in Western Canada. If the tests pan out three More new Safeway May be opened in North South and East Winnipeg. Across Portage Avenue from the throbbing commercial pulse of Polo Park and St. James Street is something that seems completely Dif Ferent St. James anglican Church Manitoba a oldest wooden Church sitting in a Large treed lot with Tipsy gravestones on the Banks of the Assiniboine River. The Church and the commercial area How Ever Are not that different. The Church was also built in 1853 to meet Peoples needs ? settlers moving West along the Assiniboine wanted a place in which to worship. But in one major aspect the Church and the commercial area Are unlike one another its highly unlikely the big commercial buildings will be Here 150 years from now. Tom Ford is managing editor of the issues network ? 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 ;