Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - March 4, 2005, Winnipeg, Manitoba A11 Winnipeg free press focus Friday March 4, 2005. Canadas bad stance . Intrusion on missiles missed target i n deciding not to sign on to George w. Bush a ballistic missile defence bad scheme last week Paul Martin did the politically smart thing. A significant part of his caucus opposed the proposal and Public opinion generally but especially in Quebec had hardened against it. Within the House of commons the bloc and the nip were opposed and the conservatives the most consistently and enthusiastically pro american of the parties were hedging their bets ? perhaps because they sense that their knee Jerk support of the Bush administration has not sat entirely Well in this country. Or with it now known that Bush gave Stephen Harper a pointed Little lecture about supporting bad Back in december perhaps Harper decided he could not afford to be seen As carrying Bush a Luggage in Canada. All this said the Martin govern ment has not covered itself in glory in its handling of this Issue. Though it will be thought a heresy by some there Are occasions when a govern ment should legitimately decline to be cowed by Public opinion. This May not have been one of them but if Martin & co. Earnestly believed that the Public Good and the National interest were Best served by the government pursuing an unpopular policy one could argue that they have an obligation to follow their own Best lights try to carry the Public with them and ? if unsuccessful ? suffer the usual political sanctions. What i hear you cry. Risk defeat Over a principle How very old fashioned of me even to suggest it. Place at table certainly one does not have the sense that the government really believed in the course it ultimately followed. Or if it did it did so for Rea sons that it has so far been unable ? or unwilling ? to articulate. It is a matter of record that prior to becom ing prime minister Martin had said that signing on would ensure Canada a place at the table. What that Means ? or meant ? is by no Means Clear within the Norad framework Canada already has a seat. But let us be charitable perhaps the implication is that having a seat at the table would give Canada an Opportunity to dissuade the . From following a particular course of action to which the Canadian govern ment was opposed. But does anyone really believe that within Norad or within any bad arrangement the . Would defer to the Canadian opinion on any substantive matter the . Deemed to involve its Security interests and in the Bush Era is there any matter that is not susceptible to being declared a Security Issue if it furthers or sustains Bush a political Agenda no equals being at the table is in fact a sop to notions of National Pride and the Sovereign Equality of the two states but As the Bush administration has repeatedly demonstrated the . Has no equals. The bad would be an elephant and Rabbit Stew the ingredients consisting of one elephant and one Rabbit. This however is a truth that no Canadian prime minister feels free to articulate. The bad that said in a would be an world that largely views american elephant goals and policies and Rabbit with scepticism not Stew the to say distrust there can be Little doubt ingredient that Canadas signing consisting on would have been a modest propaganda of one coup for the . It elephant would suggest that and one despite obvious differences Over Iraq Rabbit. And other aspects of . Unilateralism on missile defence at least Canada was vouching for the Wisdom of Bush a plan. It is by no Means certain that the bad will actually do what is intended but if it is actually made operational ? and potentially successful ? history would suggest that other countries unwilling to be cowed by Washington would soon be develop ing counter measures. Yet for the Martin government to have cited any or All of these considerations As Rea sons for not endorsing the scheme would have been tantamount to say ing that emperor George has no clothes. This is another truth that dare not speak its name. The opposition parties on the other hand find themselves somewhat flummoxed the conservatives hav ing taken no position on the substantive Issue and the bloc and the nip having had their position trumped Are All reduced to indignant argument Over such weighty questions As to when the prime minister made his decision whether the decision was before or after he claimed it to be and who knew what first. Misleading the House is a serious matter and the government looks Ham handed but in the context of the substantive issues Here the oppositions indignation verges on kid stuff. The real opposition of course has been articulated not in parliament but in the office of Paul Cellucci for Mally the ambassador of the United states but who has in fact and for letters to the editor the free press welcomes letters from readers. They must include the authors name address and Telephone number. Letters May be edited. Letters to the editor 1355 Mountain Avenue Winnipeg r2x 3b6. Fax 697-7412. Email taxed to death i am so sick and tired of All the bleed ing hearts in this country who expect the government to solve All their prob lems. We now have state run baby sitting and Day care. Instead of reducing the debt and giving each taxpayer a tax Cut so they can afford to raise their children they have decided to set up another costly government Agency like the gun registry. I am tired of being taxed to death especially when the government is in a surplus situation. Putting the Money Back into the hands of the taxpayer offers More Choice and helps build a stronger econ omy and in the end builds up personal wealth so that the state will not need to be involved in our family life. John Leppington Winnipeg sounds like a Good Deal there Are 3.3 million children in Canada aged 12 years old and younger with a Mother in the paid labour Force. That a a lot of children and a lot of tax paying mothers and fathers. I won Der How big the tax Cut would have to be to enable one person in a family to leave the workforce the one remaining wage earner in the family would pay far less tax and the formerly employed tax paying Par ent would now pay no tax at All during the time he she was unemployed. How much would it Cost our Federal and provincial governments to lose All these tax dollars who will make up the difference me you Many sectors Are already reporting critical workforce shortages that will Only get worse As the baby Boomers begin to retire. If one Parent in each two Parent family quit their Job until their Chil Dren reach school age where will the employers possibly recruit enough nurses doctors teachers factory workers office workers retail and hospitality clerks my workplace is All women Many Are already mothers of Young children and others Are of childbearing age. I can Only imagine the chaos for our employer if they All went on maternity leave at the same time or quit to stay Home. Some May Long for the leave it to Beaver Days when most moms stayed Home and dad went to work but that is no longer the Norm in Manitoba. A $5-billion Dow payment on a National child care program which will enable workforce attachment pro motes women a Equality and Fosters Early childhood development for our youngest citizens sounds like a Good progressive Deal to me. Teresa Capizzi Winnipeg system unnecessary Paul Martin has made a decision which greatly benefits canadians. The missile defence system was totally unnecessary. Jonathan Dueck Carman no reason to join bad in his argument for Canadian inclusion in the . Ballistic missile defence bad program Ray Crabbe ret offers no compelling military reason for doing so Money and missiles Page b4, feb. 27. It is touted As a Means of protecting our sovereignty and providing Posi Tive control Over our As Well sitting at the table we would have a say in the programs As i understand it the bad is some time conducted himself As the appointed Viceroy of the Imperial Power and in that capacity As the real Leader of the opposition on any matter in which Ottawa fails to do Washington a will. Failure if Canada was indeed punching above its weight it might have declared Cellucci Persona non grata and sent him packing two years ago. Our failure at very least to Tell cel Lucci that his conduct is Over the line has tacitly legitimized overt interference in the determination of Canad an Public policy. The Only Consolation is that Cellucci and his superiors in designed to protect the . Not Canada from nuclear armed intercontinental ballistic missiles icbms fired from rogue states North Korea and Iran Are the main examples. Currently none of these states has nuclear weapons let alone missiles capable of carrying them accurately Over intercontinental distances. The states Are relatively resource poor and will have difficulty achieving these goals even once or twice ? the Prospect of thousands of missiles is not a credible one. None of these states has made threats to use such weapons against the ., let alone Canada. If they do choose that route it is More Likely they would use Low tech methods to deliver the weapons ? portable launchers on merchant ships or shipping them inside a Container. If icbms Are developed by these states then they will contain defensive strategies that essentially negate mid flight interception. The Only threat to our sovereignty and our airspace comes from the . Itself and As they have made Clear they will do what they need whether we agree with it or not. Being on the inside merely tells the world that we Are not capable of defining our own military priorities that we tag along with the . Even when they make an doonesbury idiotic response to an ill defined threat. By distancing Canada from . For eign policy in this matter the prime minister has probably increased our safety instead of decreasing it. Ian Toal Winnipeg open skies welcomed we Welcome the free press a support of open skies Between Canada and the United states but the references to air Canada in the March 1 editorial open the skies misrepresents air Canadas Long stated position in favour of open skies with the . Air Canada is the Only Canadian car Rier to compete with . And foreign carriers on a daily basis and we Wel come the Prospect of Competition from . Carriers within Canada provided we Are Given equal rights to compete within the . The previous governments failure to act on the open skies Issue has nothing to do with protecting air Canada. On the contrary we have repeatedly been on the Public record in favour of a fur ther liberalization of Canadas air policy on a reciprocal basis. Washington seem not to realize How counter productive their intrusions have been. On tuesday Cellucci a new Boss condole Ezza Rice suggested that current lebanese demonstrations against Syria were new examples of democracy a Advance and of a coun try wishing to be free of foreign interference. This was said without any apparent sense of irony. William Neville is head of the department of political studies at the University of Manitoba. . in december 2001, we publicly called out to both governments to immediately Start discussions toward unrestricted open skies Between Canada and the . At the same time air Canada ceo Robert Milton urged . Airline cos to lend their support to liberalization. In february 2004, or. Milton called for action on liberalization at a speech in Toronto and last fall air Canada publicly applauded transport minister Jean Lapierre a announcement of his intention to examine liberalizing Canada a air policies. In last months edition of air Canadas Enro Ute Magazine or. Milton again expressed his Strong sup port for open skies. There May be some vested interests in the Canadian airline Industry who wont like the added Competition but air Canada is not one of them. As your editorial Points out Competition for air travellers is indeed Strong but air Canada shares the free press View that the Federal government should act quickly on this critical Issue for the Benefit of Consumers and the Industry alike. Priscille Leblanc senior director corporate communications air Canada St. Laurent que by Garry Trudeau ;