Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 1, 2006, Winnipeg, Manitoba a4 Winnipeg free press tuesday August 1, 2006 Manitoba Federal politics Manitoba Liberal eyes party presidency by Paul Samyn o Ottawa ? Manitoba Liberal Bobbi Ethier is hoping she can duplicate her party a Success in Manitoba on the National stage when Federal grits meet in Montreal in december to elect their next president. There is no question i am the under dog Ethier said yesterday. But Ethier is used to the underdog role As no one expected her to win the presi Dency of the party a Federal Wing in Manitoba in 2000 when Paul Martins team thought they had the contest sewn up for their Choice John Angus. However Ethier surprised everyone by winning and then went on to earn a second term by acclamation. As party president the Manitoba teachers society staff representative Rose to prominence nationally and served As co chair of the november 2003 convention that crowned Martin As party Leader. More recently she has been front and Centre in the party a renewal efforts. The party needs major change peo ple who walked away from the party need to come Back they need to see the party is different and that it is being run differently she says. Ethier says she is the Best one to help the party heal old wounds and Lead the renewal As she was not part of the infighting that marked the civil War Between Martin supporters and those Loyal to Jean Chr Tien. I am someone who is a longtime Faith Ful member i was never part of any fac Tion i always worked for the interests of the party first and Foremost Ethier says. People have seen me work in differ ent capacities and know that i put the interests of the party among the changes Ethier wants to make is moving to a one member one vote system of selecting leaders. She also says the party a National executive needs to be More dynamic and less critical mass riders Block ambulance protesters will be charged in future by Bruce Owen an ambulance Rushing a critically ill patient to Hospital was delayed up to two minutes Friday because of a Crit ical mass bicycle protest police and ambulance officials said yesterday. Those officials warn that in the future protesters will be charged if they Don to yield to an ambulance or other emergency vehicle with lights and sirens on. Obviously somebody a life is at risk or we would to have lights and sirens Winnipeg fire paramedic service Deputy chief Ken Sim said. Some of the cyclists did to Clear the Road in a timely Sim said both motorists and cyclists Are required by Law to pull Over to the right when an ambulance fire truck or police car rushes by. In this instance the patient made it to St. Boniface general Hospital despite cyclists holding it up on tache Avenue Sim said. Police spokesperson const. Jacque line Chaput said motorists or cyclists caught blocking an emergency vehicle can be charged under the Provin Cial Highway traffic act. She said on Friday officers Monitor ing the demonstration had to intervene to get the few cyclists out of the Way. We tried to Clear the Way As quickly As we could she said. Chaput said she was unaware if any one had been charged for Riding in front of the ambulance. Sim added the Driver of the ambulance has Given a statement to police about the incident. He also said the problem is partly caused by critical mass not having a pre arranged route filed with police. He said if a route was known the ambulance could have avoided the demonstration. In the past the critical mass demonstrations have been sporadic in leadership and planning with a route not being picked until the last minute. Last Friday several riders out of about 150 were slapped with traffic tickets for offences like going through red lights. About 10 police officers Riding Mountain bikes and others in Cruiser cars monitored the event. The rally was just half the size of one held earlier this month following heightened Media attention to the event after scuffles broke out Between police and cyclists during two rallies in May. Critical mass is a loosely organized International movement that Aims to promote cycling As an alternative to burning up Fossil fuels in cars. In dozens of cities around the world cyclists gather on the last Friday of every month to ride through downtown streets in what amounts to both a Polit ical demonstration and sort of a rave on wheels. . Comes with ground Sheet ladder vacuum system child proof cover & 1200gph filter pump. Limited Supply Waverley @ Scurfield 488-1499 Sargent & Berry 786-6957 Lagimodiere @ Grassie 654-3847 1-800-665-1411 visit bureaucratic. Ethier who will play up the fact she is a bilingual Westerner is running against Defeated Toronto area my Tony Ianno and Ontario grit senator Marie Poulin. In the 2003 race for the party presi Dency Winnipeg Ger Greg Ashley finished Well Back of the Winner Mike Eizenga. If Ethier is successful she would give Manitoba even More clout when it comes to Federal politics As Don Plett of land Mark is the Federal tory president. provinces declining birth rate sign of times Canadas birth rate edged downward to another record Low in 2004. The birth rate ? the number of live births for every 1,000 people in the population ? declined from 10.6 in 2003 to 10.5 in 2004, according to stats Canada. Since 2000, rates have hovered around 10.5 to 10.7 births per 1,000 people. Among the provinces Manitoba was in the Middle of the pack with a 0.9 per cent drop in the birth rate from 13,940 to 13,811, or 11.8 births per 1,000 people. Manitoba a decline is a reflection of our aging population said Jacqueline Storen demographic analyst with the Manitoba Bureau of statistics. The number of people having babies is smaller with baby Boomers moving into their senior years said Storen. Newfoundland and Labrador had the largest relative decrease at three per cent continuing a downward trend throughout the 1990s As people in their child bearing years leave the province to look for work according to Sta scan. The number of births increased in Nova Scotia Quebec Ontario Alberta and Yukon. The birth rate is just a snapshot said Storen. I personally think the Fertility rate is a bigger indicator of trends Storen said. Population projections look at the Fertility rate ? at what age they re having children and How our Fertility rate ? 1.8 per cent ? is a Little higher than the National average and that a thanks mainly to Manitoba a thriving aboriginal population said Storen. The aboriginal population tends to have babies younger and More of them. Its holding relatively steady she said. Nationally its held As Well at 1.53 Chil Dren per woman in both 2003 and 2004. The record Low Fertility rate for Canada was set in 2000, at 1.49 children per woman. ? staff Beach leaving acting to run for chiefs Job Adam Beach a Lake Manitoba first nation movie Star is stepping away from the stage and screen to step behind a podium and Campaign to become chief of dog Creek the bands office said. The last time the actor was in his band office near Minnedosa was to announce his running on july 19. He Hopes to get elected chief of the 1,680-Strong band on aug. 30. The Man who a acted in More than 30 movies and television series is now play ing politics against four other Candi dates. And to the Surprise of some band members he has to Hung up a poster yet although Only one candidate Barry Swan has. Its not the first time an aboriginal actor took to politics. Tina keeper from abcs North of 60, gave up acting to become a Liberal my in Churchill in Jan uary 2006 ;