Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 13, 2005, Winnipeg, Manitoba A10 Winnipeg free press wednesday april 13, 2005 Freedom of Trade comment editor Terence Moore 697-7044 Liberty of religion Equality of civil rights editorials pm a ebbing authority p rime minister Paul Martin still retains some moral authority to govern Canada but it is not what it used to be. The Sun is setting on his minority government and his ethically tarnished party. He should not be making Long term commit ments for Canada because there is no telling How Long he will be on the scene. Responding to testimony the Gomery commission had heard showing that the Liberal party collected kickbacks from Federal advertising contractors or. Martin said this week not Only do i have the moral authority to govern i have the moral responsibility to but moral authority must have a basis and the basis of or. Martins authority has been slip Ping away. Beyond expressing his outrage and his intention to impose penalties on any lawbreakers he has not responded to the information disclosed in the Gomery commission hearings. Moral authority should arise from a Clear grasp of the duties that the leaders and the Public owe to each other in a parliamentary democracy. The Public owes a duty of obedience to the Laws. The leaders owe a special duty of vigilance to protect the democratic system against people who would Pervert it to their own ends. Canadians hold their leaders to that duty of Vigi Lance and discard them when they do not Rise to the occasion. One such Case arose in 1984 when Pierre Trudeau presented to John Turner a list of Patron age appointments. Or. Turner meekly complied made the appointments and the Public threw him out of office in the next election. Brian Mulroney offended canadians by distributing the spoils of Power through a network of his close personal friends to such a Point that the Public turned against him and he retired toward the end of his second term in office. Unable to punish him directly the Public Defeated Kim Campbell in his place. Manitoba conservatives tried to Pervert the democratic system by running fake candidates to split the aboriginal vote and weaken nip Candi dates in Interlake districts. When the Fred Monnin inquiry brought out the sordid details of that episode the Public concluded that the tories had to go. Gary Filmon was not guilty in the scandalous shenanigans but he failed in the duty of vigilance and the Public removed him from Power in 1999. The events disclosed before the Gomery inquiry Are of the same order. The ruling political party or some people in it used secret and surreptitious transactions to inflate the amounts of government advertising contracts and skim the excess for the party. That is an outrageous abuse of Power that can not be tolerated in a democracy. It tends to ensure that the ruling party remains in Power forever. The duty of vigilance in defence of democracy required firm action by or. Martin to protect Canada a parliament and government from the virus of corruption. He is protesting his own innocence and watching events unfold. He has not risen to the occasion and for that reason his moral authority to govern is slipping away. He is still the Winner of the last election and he still Speaks for Canada but he no longer commands the respect accorded a Leader who is building this country a future. He no longer enjoys the Benefit of the doubt. He looks like a Man playing out the last cards of the losing hand he was dealt. Congratulations the polls in Britain last weekend were less than congratulatory but also fitting in a perverse kind of Way. As Prince Charles heir to the throne and Camilla Parker Bowles left London a Guildhall where they were United in a civil marriage Satur Day ? finally ? three separate opinion surveys found britons would rather have the princes son William than his father As their next King. The Cou ple widely regarded As adulterers in their kingdom is accustomed to such slights. With a stiff upper lip they smiled for the cameras and carried on. And Well they should. Their Union was not the traditional fairly tale wedding fancied by gawking crowds gossip columnists and Royal watchers around the world. Reports noted unkindly but Hon Estly Camilla looked More like a Mother of the Bride in her Cream coloured attire. Key members of Charles immediate family were conspicuous by their absence. Nor was the marriage consecrated As holy Matrimony Charles and Camilla continued to love each other in the carnal sense while married to others and so were disqualified from a religious ceremony in the Church of England led by its reigning Monarch Queen Elizabeth. The Mother of the Groom skipped the civil ceremony but appeared at a later Blessing by the archbishop of Canterbury. She Hung around for the reception and managed a few kind and reportedly heart Felt words for her son and daughter in Law. She did not approve of the Union that threatened to muck up centuries of Royal tradition and protocol. It is Likely that few of the millions of viewers who tuned in to watch the ceremonies had the Good Grace to wish the newlyweds Well and fewer still truly meant it. It is True that the deception the lovers committed against their former spouses unfairly and terribly Hurt other people. It is equally True that last weekends wedding of Charles and Camilla while bereft of enchantment is a Story of True love a tale of How love can win out in the end. No one can doubt they Are Happy. Canadians should congratulate them. Plummeting papal pundit Cracy by John Tierney do not be fooled by the talking Heads in Rome. The journalists handicapping the papal elec Tion May sound As confident As Ever authoritatively quoting Anonymous cardinals and exclusive sources deep in opus Dei. But our profession is in trouble. A spectre is haunting the pundit Cracy ? the spectre of intrude. That san online futures Market based in Dublin and used by More than 50,000 Specula tors worldwide who put their Money where our Mouths Are. They re expected to spend at least $1 million on futures contracts tied to the election of the Pope. And if recent history is any guide their collective Wisdom could be a lot More valuable than ours. If you listened to journalists during last years presidential Campaign you heard about a tight race with oscillating polls and shifting momentum. The weekend before the election we painstakingly Analysed the Battleground states and bravely proclaimed them too close to Call. But if you watched the intrude Market throughout the Campaign you saw the traders serenely betting on a Bush Victory. Most remarkably the weekend before the election the traders correctly called the Winner in every one of the 50 states. Of course its much easier to Call Ohio than a conclave of cardinals who have never been polled and would be excommunicated for joining an Man by focus group. But Given the news Media a track record any system More scientific than scrutinizing the entrails of a sacrificial Chicken could be an improve ment. For now the intrude speculators Are expect ing the White smoke to signal an italian Pope. The futures contract that pays off in the event any italian wins was trading monday around 42, which Means the traders gave Italy about a 42 per cent Chance followed by Nigeria at 13. The individual Favourite was Dionigi Tetta Manzi of Milan at 23, followed by Francis Arinze of Nigeria at 14. Many of the traders probably know Little about Vatican politics and Are basically recreational gamblers perhaps sentimentally bet Ting on their local contender. But these amateurs serve a purpose in the ruthless ecosystem of the Market. They Are the sheep who attract the wolves. The amateurs Money entices serious investors to spend time scouring cardinals past state ments and other sources. The sheep a Money also offers a temptation for those with inside knowledge to Cash in even though that a against the rules of intrude ? not to mention a 1591 papal Bull forbidding catholics from bet Ting on a conclave. The Bull was prompted by rampant betting during previous conclave. In 1549, the Venet Ian ambassador tracked the Odds with roman bookies and reported that the cardinals attendants in conclave were going partners with local merchants in wagers which thus causes Many tens of thousands of Scudi to change the Church a ethical standards have improved a bit since the Renaissance when one Pope had eight illegitimate children and another got the Post by giving electors writ ten promises of promotions. I Don to expect today a cardinals to be smuggling blackberries into the sistine Chapel and placing trades Between votes. But suppose a venal Vatican bureaucrat or a secular Friend of some official hears a piece of useful gossip before or even during the con Clave. Is he going to give it free of charge to a journalist knowing this risks compromising himself As Well As his source or is he is going to sit Down in the secure privacy of his Home and make a few profitable Clicks on his computer maybe that a improbable. But is it any less fantastic than his calling up one of the reporters who have been Bab bling for weeks into a microphone at St. Peters Square the journalist in me Hopes he leaks it to us or at least stays away from intrude thereby keeping everyone in the dark and allowing us to pontificate unencumbered by actual information. We can theorize that the italian Dele gation is following Karl roves strategy of solidifying the we can ruminate on a third world Cardinal following the Bob Shrum strategy of building a coalition of the people against the columnists have built careers on less. So i a praying for purely selfish reasons that intrude gets this election wrong. When i consider those thousands of traders working around the clock without salaries or health benefits i hate to think i a starting a column just As the Job is being outsourced. ? the new York times Reserve housing ? a burning Issue a flurry of reports in recent weeks to the effect that Ottawa might Amend the Indian act to allow for private ownership of Homes on reserves got me thinking about the fire truck at St. Theresa Point. Let me explain. The idea of allowing private ownership is a Good one. Ownership would create a substantial asset for aboriginal people one that could be used to create More wealth. A Homeowner for example could Mort Gage the asset and use the Money to build or acquire a second House that could be sold or rented As is done every where in Canada except on reserves where ownership of land is com Munal and private ownership is prohibited. A privately owned Home could be used As collateral to Start a business that also could be privately owned and could therefore be Man aged in such a Way that it actually made Money and produced jobs ? two things that Are in Short Supply on reserves where there Are virtually no private businesses which largely explains Why there Are no jobs and virtually no local Economy. Ownership might encourage aboriginal people to take better care of their property so As to pre serve or increase its value. One need not look far on any Reserve in Canada to find examples of Homes and other Public property that have been inadequately maintained where the paint Long ago faded to nothing where the windows Are covered in plywood to keep out the elements and the Walls Are wrapped in plastic to keep in the heat. On a recent tour of Winter roads on the East Side of Manitoba i saw endless examples of what the Lack of ownership encourages ? poorly maintained Homes and Public buildings Many that had been destroyed blocking the Entrance. By neglect and vandalism despite a chronic inside just Over the Snowbank could be seen shortage of housing units and a desperate need a fire truck a rather Nice fire truck As fire for Public buildings that inspire something More than disrespect and vandalism. Not All property is in ruin of course. Many houses look new ? some Are ? and often the door to a shabby House opens to reveal a cozy comfortable Interior that reflects the Pride of the occupant. I was reminded of Homes in former soviet countries where communal ownership has proved a disaster. In those places state owned buildings looked like slums from the outside but inside where the occupants lived with their personal property everything often was tickets boo. But that said the condition of Many prop erties it seemed to me mirrored what they were Worth to the occupants and users ? Noth ing. Which brings me to the fire truck in St. Theresa Point. In the Centre of the Community on the Edge of a sort of Square created by the Northern store band offices Day care training Centre and the Arena stood a garage the front door of which was open so that a Snowbank had formed trucks go. Its Chrome gleamed its paint shone albeit from beneath a layer of dust. The big pumper unit at the Back was a Marvel of polished aluminium and gauges and fitting and outlets for firehouses. It had Cost a reported $100,000. The odometer showed just 8,889 Kilometres. I know because after i climbed Over the Snow Bank got inside the garage opened the unlocked front door and checked. Scattered everywhere around the truck was firefighting gear. There were helmets with visors and oxygen tanks and breathing apparatuses. There were manuals and reports and boxes of documents. As near As i was Able to determine the firetruck has not been used in five years. The reason As Nice As it looked it was unusable because its mechanisms had for reasons not entirely Clear been ruined when water inside froze years ago causing the pumps and All the rest to rupture. In five years St. Theresa Point has not had the truck repaired although there have been several fires and at least two fire related deaths. St. Theresa Point is not alone in having a fire truck in name Only. Across Island Lake at Garden Hill the fire truck also came to an untimely end. In the past month three houses have burned to the ground at Gar Den Hill. Why communities of sever Al thousands of people do not insist that the Community fire truck be in serviceable Condi Tion i cannot say. It could be that when you have nothing that a what you have to lose. ? 2005 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 Patrick Flynn / Deputy editor ;