Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 14, 2005, Winnipeg, Manitoba A13 Winnipeg free press focus thursday april 14, 2005. Illegal migrant invasion . Needs tighter Border with Mexico d Ouglas Arizona ? when american politicians and ranting radio talk show types Point accusing fingers at Canada for not doing its share in the War on terror by controlling illegal entry into this coun try they Are exposing their Blissful Igno Rance of what is happening on their South Ern Border. Every night mexicans by the thousands risk their lives and All they own for a Chance to run across the Border to find work in the . This is in spite of Border patrols electronic surveil Lance risk of arrest ? on top of the dangers from the desert and smugglers who guide the illegal Immi Grants into the . The number of people crossing illegally into the . From Mexico has been described As an illegal migrant invasion which when seen up close is a pretty Good description. Crossing the Border Between Dou Glas Arizona and Agua Prieta mexi co a few times i saw the poverty and i spoke to business people and ranch ers on both sides of the Border. Roberto and Alice Valenzuela who own a cattle ranch in Northern Sonora spoke of the problems they be seen in the 15 years since they be moved Back to the Valenzuela family ranch from Silicon Valley. The locked Gates smashed Down and barbed wire fences Cut on both sides of the Border Are the Only signs left at Dawn of what happened during the night. Ranchers on both sides of the Bor Der have to decide if they la turn a Blind Eye or try to protect their prop erty and cattle from damage the smugglers cause. Justin Forsyth a College student born and raised in Douglas explained How people his age looking for easy Money Supply food and transportation to illegal migrants once they make it to the american Side. I saw groups of illegal migrants walking Well worn trails through the desert a few Hundred Yards off the interstate on their Way to Tucson and Phoenix and i watched taxis full of people leaving the outskirts of Agua Prieta for the desert at Sunset and returning empty after dark. The locals americans living along the Border know the . Government in to doing a Good Job controlling the Border and some have formed citizen Border patrols to draw attention to the situation arguing the Bush administrations own Homeland Security requirements demand that Border Security be Strong enough to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the country. The High Security fences shown on to news Don to extend much past the outskirts of the Border towns. In the desert a barbed wire Fence separates Mexico and the . And every night another wave of desperate people line up in the Brush waiting for night fall make their Rush across the Bor Der. Its in the desert where the . Border patrols Tucson division made most of its 500,000 arrests last year. Proponents for tighter american Bor Ders loudly argue that for every arrest two illegal the High migrants make it Over the Border Security successfully and fences stay. The mexican migration to the shown on to . Has been going news Don to on for decades with extend much increasing volumes every year. Past the to understand outskirts of Why so Many mexi cans will risk All for the Border a Job in the . Its towns necessary to under stand the poverty that is inherent in Mexico. The Bottom rung on the american economic ladder is head and shoulders above Mexico a status quo where Bank managers with an mba earn $600 us a month. A top ranch hand can Call himself Lucky if he earns $200 us a month. This is where the minimum wage is $5 us a Day. The disparity becomes More evident once the Cost of living is factored into the equation. The Cost of manufactured goods and food in Mexico is comparable or higher than in the . That poverty comes into Sharp focus along Mexico a Northern Border where american Prosperity contrasts with life in Mexico. It is the poverty and the natural aspiration for better life that motivate mexicans to prove every Day that americans can talk a Good tight Border control game they just Don to or wont play it. Instead the radio ranters support ing slogan slinging politicians continue to howl at Canada for not tightening up its Border while ignoring the reality of their own situation. The reason for having such Loose Southern Borders might be found As usual in the fact that illegal Immi Grants Are filling a need in the . Labour Market for Day labourers who Don to expect medical benefits holi Day pay or unions. This can be seen every morning in Tucson or Phoenix. The illegal migrants surface to find jobs by going to established locations where the men congregate just after Day break in Hopes that a contractor look ing for Day labourers will hire them. The contractors drive up indicate How Many men they want. The Cho sen men climb into the Back of the contractors pick up and head out for a Days work All under the watchful Eye of the local police. Show the Bush administration has said it would like to legalize and control the illegal migration but it is More show than substance. Ironically the chattering radio types Are blaming the mexican government for not Stop Ping their people from leaving mexi co. If the mexican government actually did Stop its people from Leav ing the . Might have to invade to liberate the country but that Zanoth or Story. There is no risk Mexico will or can do anything to Stop their citizens from leaving because it is in its Best interest to continue exporting its sur plus labour. Mexico a history of incompetent and corrupt govern ments created the labour surplus now sneaking into the . Most americans interested in Domestic affairs know what is Hap pening on their Southern Border. What Many Don to understand is Why its happening. It would be interest ing to see what would happen if Canada made a formal complaint to the . All those Spanish speaking peo ple continually moving North threaten our routine culture with an encroaching wave of Salsa Loving hispanics. 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 hard to believe i am Hurt and appalled at the decision of the Western school division to drop the Mohawk name. The april 12 article Morden mohawks Are history stated that three years ago a Small number of students began lobbying to drop the name. That is completely accurate. A Small num Ber. I graduated from Sci in 1972. My daughters both graduated from Sci. The Mohawk name especially when cried out by the sports players was said with tremendous Pride and respect. Board chairman David Mcandrew stated that the collegiate had never asked the Mohawk nation for Permis Sion to use the name. Obviously the pioneers of our land who named hundreds of towns municipalities streets and roads including the name of our country must also be guilty of this. Of All that statement is most ludicrous. Morden collegiate principal Dan Pona stated that Healing can now occur. Actually the injury was inflicted at the meeting. Healing can Only Hap pen when the majority is represented and the democratic system is honoured. Speaking of democracy what happened to the results of the vote taken at Sci with the current students who voted to keep the name i find it hard to believe that All this time and Energy has been spent on an Issue that for generations has had nothing but a positive influence in my life and in the lives of hundreds and hundreds of alumni of Morden collegiate Institute. Judy Hiebert Morden Opportunity exists regarding Waverley West As we Are into the 21st Century it would be appropriate to consider opportunities in Urban planning restructuring afforded by the formula Tion of this new development. One new concept might be the Fol lowing 1 laying out streets and avenues in a Grid this would facilitate visitation for the children obviating require ment for traversing Long Bays drives Cul de sacs Etc. Further this would distribute vehicular traffic More evenly resulting in fewer Busy streets and traffic jams. 2 sequential numbering of these Access conduits communications would be greatly enhanced. No longer would one have to consult a map Index to laboriously find some Long pretentious name. By knowing the number one could easily Orient to the location through simple arithmetic. 3 construction of Gravelled through ways parallel to the conduits and located mid Way Between them. In addition to further facilitation of residential traffic these supplemental conduits could be used for Utility distribution and sanitary engineering collections. Smaller electric powered collection vehicles could collect material along the lanes and Deposit it in larger vehicles which would just have to make a Short trip to the Brady. 4 Homes constructed could be of smaller size in keeping with today a average family size. They could be located closer to the front Street allow ing Large Back Yards in which Home owners would have expanded capacity to individualize their space satisfying do it yourself ? desires and or the Home renovation Industry. The initial construction could offer perhaps five different pricing regime packages distributed evenly throughout the development. This would allow some initial capability for people to distinguish themselves. It would also engender the possibility for More eth no economic integration. 5 this particular location would enable creative people to devise new approaches to Energy capture for the houses geothermal wind Power solar Landfill re capture David Hagborg Winnipeg apply pressure surely the government can do More to put pressure on the United states to open the Border to Canadian cattle which really does not appear to be held closed by be. It seems that hardly anything is being done about a major Industry. Between the softwood lumber and the Border closing to beef it sure looks like our government is doing a bang up Job of maintaining Jonathan Dueck Carman help the Caribou re the april 9 article Grey ghosts Dis appearing from forests i was surprised to hear that the Woodland Caribou used to Range As far South As Wisconsin and Minnesota. I was shocked to discover that half of Canadas Caribou Range has been lost. I am one of the Lucky Manitoban to have seen a Woodland Caribou up close. I saw one briefly run along Side my car As i drove through nop iming Provin Cial Park ? certainly not a very romantic Way to View wildlife. This animal and his kind Are in Dan Ger of disappearing due to Industrial logging within the boundaries of the Park. Humans Are adaptive and an unfortunate Side affect for the rest of nature is that we adapt to diminishment. We fight Over a lucrative but diminished lobster fishery in Eastern Canada when As late As the 1940s lobster was doonesbury so plentiful that Farmers in newfound land used it to feed to their pigs. Today we buy bottled water for As much As $2.50 per litre when in the 1960s, my elder friends assure me people would have laughed out loud at the notion of paying for water. We get ultraviolet radiation warn Ings with our daily weather and we no longer debate global warming ? we watch the results of it around us year after year. It would make sense for the Provin Cial government to list and protect Woodland Caribou under the Manitoba endangered species act. Its really the least they can do. David Nickarz Winnipeg Caribou at risk regarding Grey ghosts disappearing from forests the upcoming Public sessions that or. Schaefer alerts us to will be discussing the National recovery strategy being developed for Woodland Caribou. The air reeks of irony As this event is being held in Manitoba a province whose government has failed to right fully acknowledge the Woodland Cari Bou As a species at risk. The Woodland Caribou in Manitoba reside Only on lands managed by the province. That Means National planning for saving Woodland Caribou in Manitoba in order to be successful will rely on the province to legislatively offer Protection. I fully expect that the Manitoba government will list the Woodland Caribou As a species at risk under provincial legislation prior to the National recovery sessions in late april. This Way when the whole country is watching Manito bans can stand up proud of How we Are taking action to protect of our cherished wildlife. Kirstie Maclean Winnipeg leave old facility most definitely the Winnipeg humane society needs a new facility. Their efforts at fundraising Are right on target. However Why not leave the old Facil Ity on Kent Road to service the North Ern and Eastern parts of the City i know Many people who will not travel that far for a new pet to Volun Teer or drop off supplies. And what will happen to All those poor unwanted animals in this end of the City will people really travel that far to give up an unwanted pet or just Dis pose of it in some other Way i Scherbak Winnipeg by Garry Trudeau ;