Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 9, 2006, Winnipeg, Manitoba A10 Winnipeg free press Freedom of Trade wednesday August 9, 2006 Liberty of religion comment editor Equality of civil rights Gerald flood 697-7269 editorials opening a door t he University of Manitoba medical school and the health department have decided finally to allow foreign trained medical Stu dents to compete for residency positions on equal terms with those educated in Manitoba. The positions allow medical students to qualify for practice but those educated outside Canada have been let in Only after a first round of selection from Home grown doctors. The school facing a human rights complaint has decided to end the discrimination. The University says it is opening up the process because it believes its own students will have no trouble securing jobs on their own turf that they can compete with any who Migrate from other parts of the world. That May Well be. But to hedge the University and government Are guaranteeing some kind of residency work for any u of m Grad not selected after the first second and then the scramble round. For years the u of m refused to allow for eign trained students into the first round of selection arguing that a medical students Edu cation was heavily subsidized by both the provincial and Federal governments and it made Little sense to then deny the student a Chance to Complete his training. The province which controls the number of residencies through its funding insisted there was Only so much Money available and each year the number of spots roughly matched the number of graduates. It was a convenient Way to excuse the discrimination and to favour Manitoban and canadians but it ignored the interests of patients who should have Access to the Best doctors available. It is Good news that the favouritism May end. The first open Competition is to be held next year. Manitoba is charting new ground in Canada by permitting foreign trained doctors into an open residency Competition. It will be useful to review As is planned the outcome of the process after the first year. Many of the new applicants who Are chosen by the medical schools faculty will include canadians who went to medical schools in Ireland or Australia so the numbers alone May not indicate that a systemic Bias against foreigners has been eliminated. There is no International system by which med ical schools world wide can prove that their Stu dents meet a Standard for practice. The surest Way to discover if an apprenticing doctor meets the Grade is to put him or her to the test ? a licensing exam that is Blind to nationality and a rigorous term of supervised clinical experience that can quickly reveal weaknesses and strengths of the individual. Manitoba like most jurisdictions is crying out for doctors in family Medicine and other specialities. By being the first off the Block to screen All Comers to its residencies this province can take its pick of the Best. That serves the patients first and it shows indeed that Manitoban Are not afraid to compete with the world. Lawless Rule the Way in which the confrontation in the Ontario town of Caledonia is eventually settled May set the tone for the Resolution of native land claims across the country and perhaps for even More than that. That is a disturbing thought because the tone in Caledonia today is shrill ugly and Lawless. Since March natives from the six nations have occupied land where a housing development is planned claiming it belongs to them. The occupation has embittered relations Between natives and non natives and has occasionally turned violent. It turned violent again last weekend when two groups of demonstrators hurled stones and Golf balls at each other As the Ontario provincial police stood by. The Opp in fact has been standing by since april apparently on the instructions of Premier Dalton Mcguinty a Liberal government. It also appears to be standing in contempt of court because it has resolutely stood by refusing to act on several court orders to remove the demonstrators. The Ontario government argues that an ineffectual Effort to evict the protesters on april 20 fulfilled the police and the governments obligations. But angry natives and angry townsfolk Are still stand ing nose to nose in Caledonia and the violence last sunday showed just How a volatile a situation this flouting of the Law has created. Superior court Justice David Marshall who issued a court order in March to have the protesters removed and who has issued several since then has expressed increasing exasperation with the refusal of the government and the police to enforce the Law. On tuesday Justice Marshall went one step fur ther ordering that negotiations Between the natives and the government be suspended until the protest ers have left the contested property. The native pro testers were defiant threatening violence if the police attempt to act. Or. Mcguinty was As he has been All along determinedly irresolute its the kind of thing we re going to have to take some time to carefully consider he waffled yesterday. This is not just about a particularly unpleasant land claim dispute in a Small Ontario town. It is about the Rule of Law on which All canadians depend to which they look for the peace order and Good government that the Constitution promises us. If governments will not enforce court orders there is not much Hope that Promise will be kept and even less that controversial native land claims can be resolved through it. Have your say 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 throw out the Deal i am writing this letter in regards to the Peter Whitmore Story being covered in the Winnipeg free press. As a Mother of two Young boys i am outraged that this monster was Given any leniency at All i cannot believe that people who commit such heinous crimes Are even let out on parole knowing that Whitmore had admitted that he Felt he would have a tendency to com Mit again. I Hope that this time around the prosecutors realize he should have a permanent Home that includes a Matching striped outfit and steel bars and throw out the Deal previously made to him. If he cannot be trusted to live on his own like a Normal member of society then he should to be allowed to roam the streets regardless of a peace Bond. Shalane Esau Brandon something is wrong re Deal gives paedophile a break free press aug. 5. If this is True and is Given to Peter Whit More then this epitomizes everything that is wrong with Canadas Legal system. Deals made under duress Are illegal under Canadian Law. If this Deal goes through then everyone who was involved with it should be immediately fired. Henry Wysmulek Winnipeg caught up in mythology i am struck by How Many including those who support Israel in the current conflict have bought into the mythology that the lebanese Are innocent victims caught up in the crossfire Between Hezbollah and Israel. Although there Are certainly innocent lebanese not All Are without culpability. The lebanese government has failed to implement United nations Resolution 1559, passed almost two years ago which Calls for the Complete disbanding and disarmament of the terrorist organization Hezbollah. Rather than neutralizing Hezbollah Many lebanese have embraced it and continue to provide it a Safe Haven and a staging plat form for attacks on israelis. Further Mem Bers of Hezbollah form part of the elected lebanese government and Hezbollah is lauded and celebrated on the streets of Beirut and Tyre. The blood of israelis lebanese canadians and others is on the hands of those lebanese who Are complicit in advancing Hezbollah a terror. Leigh Halprin Winnipeg reconsider indignation Rachel Cooper please reconsider your self righteous indignation at the behaviour of the anti israeli protesters dispiriting experience free press aug. 1. Perhaps is. Cooper if you saw a group of pro Lebanon protesters waving lebanese letter of the Day support the troops i saw a Mother Angela Reid with her husband beside her holding her head up and saying she is proud of her son Cpl. Christopher Reid who just gave up his life in service to his country and to help the people of another country and urging canadians to support their troops. Ambush deadly for canadians aug. 4. Then i heard first a Liberal then an nip speak their usual rant against the government and the sending of our Young men and women into danger. At moments like this Why Don to they just shut up if they cannot or will not say real encouraging and supportive words to our troops and show real sympathy for those left behind Why try to make political Hay at moments like this Why imply that our Young heroes have died for an unacceptable reason in a War against terror that Canada should not actively join i am not for this War As no one should be for any War but if our Young people Are willing to help others let us give them All the support and encouragement we can As we Are urged by a Mother who spoke up in the midst of her unbearable grief. Arsenio a Uybungco Winnipeg flags after Lebanon had bombed defenceless israeli towns and cities for weeks killing at least 800 israeli civilians and wounding Over 3,000 ? a third of them children ? then maybe just maybe you a be screaming ugly insults at them too. Michael Dudley Winnipeg Why not Here on a recent trip out West i was amazed at the building Boom ? not in housing but in Road construction. How is it that smaller cities such As Regina and Saskatoon can have newer roadways similar to Bishop Grandin built As freeways with the proper frontage roads to limit Access How do they integrate so nicely the old Road system with the new do they have competent planners who make a plan and stick to it How do they fund All this with a Quarter of the population of Winnipeg its infuriating to see other smaller cities bypassing us in planning and development of roads freeways while our politicians Squab ble Over who is going to pay for what. The City and the province want to add two new huge suburbs at each end of Bishop Grandin and All they can Promise us is future interchanges at Bishop Grandin and Kenas ton and the perimeter and Kenaston on the 25-year plan most other cities would be putting the interchange Roadway in before the develop ment was built or at least setting aside the land. Although Bishop Grandin was originally planned with Large expensive Cloverleaf for St. Annes and St. Mary a the City abandoned this plan and sold off the land. The City and the province could Salvage Bishop Grandin and other similar roadways by using Diamond interchanges used Exten sively in other cities. They Are More Cost effective and they can fit into a very tight space. All this could be achieved with funding from All three Levels of government plus the Developer ? its done in other provinces Why not Here we be got to Wake up. I am tired of being ashamed of our roads and Lack of proper City planning Kevin Ford Winnipeg where is the vision with Winnipeg at a Crossroads to find its place in Canada As other cities move ahead with innovative plans to attract business keep Young people working and making tourism a priority Sam Katz announces his intentions to Cut grass prune elms and Clear Snow. These Are routine maintenance items that would to Merit a mention in most places. This Lack of vision must have Young people and anyone who cares about the future of Winnipeg groaning in frustration. What we need at this time is a comprehensive plan to attract business create jobs and make Winnipeg such an interesting City that More peo ple would want to live Here. We need to catch up to other cities in developing a rapid Tran sit plan that will actually be put in place not just be the subject of repeated reports and studies. Where is the vision and the will to implement it apparently not at City Hall up to now. Gordon Linney Winnipeg retired teachers ignored Manitoba teachers Are quite fortunate to have the fourth highest average teacher salaries in Canada Manitoba sees fewer Stu dents More teachers free press aug. 5. Do they realize however that legislative ineptitude has led retired Manitoba teachers to have Low or no Cost of living allowances col although they paid for them through out their teaching careers this Means that Manitoba teachers have among the lowest teacher pensions in Canada and As prices increase their fixed pensions never do. Legislators have consistently ignored the pleas of retired teachers and the fact that a significant number of them Are now existing below the poverty line. Jackie stalker Winnipeg Winnipeg free press. Today a question previous question should foreign trained ads be allowed to should the provincial government initiate a Tornado compete for Hospital residency positions on equal footing with emergency warning system Manitoba graduates yes 32% / no 63% / unsure 5% / total 1,032 poll vote online at ? 2006 Winnipeg free press a division of up Canadian Andrew s. Ritchie / publisher newspapers limited partnership Bob Cox / editor published seven Days a week at 1355 Mountain Avenue Patrick Flynn / Deputy editor Winnipeg free press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 Winnipeg Manitoba r2x 3b6, pm 697-7000 ;