Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 31, 2006, Winnipeg, Manitoba A11 Winnipeg free press Freedom of Trade thursday August 31, 2006 Liberty of religion comment editor Equality of civil rights Gerald flood 697-7269 editorials cameras in courts m Manitoba should follow Ontario a Lead and begin to open its courts to television Cam eras. There is no Good reason for example to prevent cameras from being installed immediately to record Manitoba Appeal court hearings. In Ontario a Blue ribbon panel last week recommended that television cameras be allowed to record court proceeding but not the testimony of witnesses. The recommendation was called a Small step but it is an important step All the same. Advocates for cameras in courts have Long held that it is a Peculiar thing that anyone can walk into a court room and watch the proceeding they just can to watch them on television leading to the situation that obtains today ? the most closed part of our open society is the Legal system where citizens Are supposed to be Able to see that jus Tice is done. The Ontario report in Many ways did Little More than reawaken a movement for More open courts that was growing in the Early 1990s, when it was first acknowledged that opening courts to technology could better serve the Public. At that time the use of tape recorders was allowed for note Tak ing purposes but not for rebroadcast. It was expected that once opened a crack the door would be opened wider As everyone came to see that technology could be unobtrusive and Lead to greater accuracy. That pretty much came to a screeching halt in 1995, when the sensational trial of . Simp son convinced Many that cameras encouraged showboating and made the Legal system appear tawdry. That the o. J. Simpson trial in fact showed that the . Justice system works that it is a Good thing to expose corrupt police practices and that it actually educated hundreds of millions of Ameri cans and More worldwide about the proceedings of court and the difference Between being proven guilty and being suspected of guilt was somehow lost at least in Canada. In the ., the movement toward More open courts continued apace. Today most state courts allow television cameras and the sensation of the . Trial has been shown to be an rarity not a Rule. Ontario is now showing the Way Forward in Canada and Manitoba should not allow itself to be left behind. The simple immediate step than can be taken Here is to install cameras in the Appeal court where hearings do not involve witnesses but do involve Legal issues of the highest importance. What better Way to introduce the vast majority of Manito bans to the reality of the their Legal system there is no reason not to ? the supreme court of Canada after All has been televising its hearings for years. Opening the Appeal court to cameras would set the direction and allow time to debate the More contentious aspects of cameras in courts in particular the Issue of privacy of witnesses. That Issue seems to be More symbolic than real ? the courts and Law already provide for such Protection where warranted ? but it would be prudent to delay that step until that Issue is openly debated and understood. In the meantime there is nothing to prevent jus Tice minister Gord Mackintosh from moving to install cameras in the Appeal court and to set a deadline for taking further Steps to open the courts to All Manitoban regardless of the number of seats available in the courtroom. Test More blood the Canadian blood services assures donors and recipients that safety of its blood and blood products is its primary concern and its work in screen ing donors and handling of blood before it is distributed to hospitals has helped to restore canadians Trust in that system. To that end lbs tests every unit of blood or blood product for a variety of pathogens a result of the tainted blood scandal that infected or killed Many canadians and rocked the red Cross society in the mid-1990s. The lbs does not however test All donated blood for bacteria which carries a definable risk to recipients particularly those who receive platelets. Unlike blood platelets Are not refrigerated but Are stored at room temperature increasing the risk of bacterial growth. Two canadians since january 1999 have died of bacterial infection after receiving blood. Unlike the full testing for his hepatitis syphilis and West Nile virus the lbs tests Only about 40 per cent of its blood for bacteria. Hospitals across Canada will test 20 per cent of the blood they receive. The exception is in Manitoba where lbs under contract tests All blood and blood products for pathogens including platelets. No blood Agency can guarantee that people wont get sick or be Hurt by donated blood despite any amount of testing. But the risk of bacterial infection can be reduced with 100-per-cent testing ? que becs blood service does this As do Many centres in the United states. Lbs says it cannot afford to test All of its blood for bacteria because the amount of platelets it gets from a unit of blood is Small so any Sample taken for testing reduces the yield. Lbs plans to boost bacterial testing to 60 per cent in the next year. It intends eventually to test 100 per cent of blood for bacteria with newer technology that reduces Sample sizes. The risk to patients generally is Low ? lbs expects to collect some 870,000 units of blood this year ? but dire to the unlucky few who fall ill. Lbs recognizes its duty to blood recipients but hospitals share in the responsibility too. Until lbs can test All blood for bacteria Hospi tals should increase their own testing of platelets. 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 joint letter leaves questions re rights commission responds aug. 26. Janet Baldwin should come clean. The joint letter by Janet Baldwin and Domino Wilkins states that the poisoned environment and the Little lecture Are not contained in their correspondence. Reporter Nick Martin quotes Baldwin using those expressions in an interview schools get religion warning aug. 23. Is Baldwin duplicitous in the joint letter and does she show her True colours in the inter View there is something to be said for being accountable for what you say and for an apology when warranted. John t. Wiens Winkler keep Church state separate re take education minister to court retired teacher aug. 28. I agree with retired teacher Ivan Pokus that the Garden Valley school District should comply with the Law. I Don to think anyone in the District needs to be punished however the present Law should be obeyed. What Mes Sage Are we sending to students disregard ing the Law is Okas Long As you do it in the name of your god. That opens a huge debate in itself. There is Only one place for religion in a school ? in a comparative study of the philosophy of differing religions and non religions. This must be done without proselytizing. I believe that Canada should maintain a Complete separation of Church and state. Canada does not have an official religion but the Constitution makes reference to the supremacy of god. Which god Are we speak ing of Here this reference should be removed though i know How difficult amending the Constitution would be. Individuals or groups wishing to believe in the supremacy of their god or gods have the right. What place does it have in a secular pluralistic government Bob Russell Winnipeg Why cyclists use sidewalks re get off the sidewalk july 25. I was surprised to read that Jean Palmer is interested in All aspects of health and human welfare. She should try cycling on Winnipeg streets sometime. Human welfare is at stake. I commute daily to work and try to stick to Winnipeg streets whenever i can particularly in residential areas. But when it comes to major thoroughfares i Don to have an option ? i use sidewalks for my safety. I apply com Mon sense and Courtesy when i Mon Side walks. I always ring my Bell or let pedestrians know that i Mon your left right when approaching from behind. I fail to understand How taxpayer dollars Are continually being spent on Road repair and reconstruction in Winnipeg without the consideration of All Road users including cyclists. More bus lanes shared with cyclists Are not the solution. I be been squeezed out and run up curbs by transit Drivers Many times. The Norwood Bridge Queen Elizabeth Way is a perfect example of costly and poor Road design without any sensible planning for letter of the Day car theft a Wake up Call re daring thief steals police car aug. 29. while i sympathize with the police Over the theft of their Cruiser i think that this event should be a Wake up Call. Winnipeg has become an insecure City with intolerable rates of car theft Rob Bery and vandalism. Nobody and no place Are Safe any More. Criminals Are Loose and some do not even hesitate to physically attack car owners. I have troubles recalling a single person i am familiar with who has to suffered some sort of car related crime in the recent past. And i am part of the pack. The theft of a police Cruiser should Wake up the police to begin policing our streets More vigilantly. The entire Community needs to mobilize including the City government legislators courts social workers and neighbourhood watch to curb this dangerous trend. Bob Travica Winnipeg cyclists. Lets face it with the rising Price of gasoline More people will commute on their bicycle year round. Narrow Bike lanes designated for cyclists similar to ones in St. Paul minn., Vancouver or in Many european cities for example could be a viable and Cost effective solution especially on major routes. Lets get some progressive action on design ing and implementing transportation sys tems for All Road users. Anjanette Zielinski Winnipeg grievous oversimplification re critical mass rebels without a cause aug. 25. While i appreciate Lindor Reynolds con Cerns about the Inadequacy of Winnipeg a cycling infrastructure i believe that her characterization of critical mass As a Point less movement is a grievous oversimplification. To be certain the direct benefits of critical mass rides Are largely for the cyclists who participate in them and must be coupled with advocacy to affect change at the institutional level. However to state that they re not actually fighting for anything is to Overlook the concerns of the participants. Although motivations of participants in critical mass can differ the Core idea is Sim ple a spontaneous group Bike ride for 60-90 minutes once a month to assert the Point that bicycles Are a legitimate form of trans port and should be respected As such. Some motorists May be inconvenienced for five minutes before the procession turns onto another Street but cyclists Are More than inconvenienced by a 2,000-Pound projectile passing within inches of them at 60 pm a every other hour of the month. To say that critical mass participants Are not fighting for anything is incorrect they re fighting for their safety every Day on the Road As individuals and they re fight ing for their right to the Road every month As a group. Is it self indulgent sure but motorists Are allowed those indulgences for All but 90 minutes of the month on a few streets surrounding the downtown Core. It does to seem unreasonable to me that cyclists should be granted that Small amount of time and space to celebrate their healthy legitimate transportation Choice. Cory Bellhouse Winnipeg in defence of police re Call out the swat team police car stolen aug. 29. Lindor Reynolds column was an insult to our Community. To suggest that police spent an overabundance of time locating a stolen police vehicle because colleagues wanted to look after their own is totally absurd. A police radio in the wrong hands would obviously be a bad idea. Why is it we constantly blame the police for not responding quickly to non emergency Calls maybe Reynolds is willing to up her tax base to provide better service. Its time to throw out the misconception that officers Are dining on doughnuts while we wait with our problems. I would Hazard a guess that Over 80 per cent of win nip Egers would be unwilling to put their lives on the line like Winnipeg police officers do every Day. Pat Malis Winnipeg help Hydrogen Economy re doer touts air link with Iceland aug. 26. Visits Back and Forth Between Manitoba and Iceland is Good or but will do Little to hasten the Hydrogen Economy in Manitoba. Manitoba has the electrical Energy Ideal suited to produce Hydrogen by the electrolysis of water. Since the oxygen that is also produced is not really needed it is possible to Cut the Cost by about one half by converting the oxygen at the anode of the electrochemical cell into Carbon dioxide by using a Carbon anode made from waste Straw. This is non Fossil Carbon dioxide and therefore does not contribute to the environmental greenhouse effect. The heat needed to generate the car Bon can be obtained by burning Straw Corn cobs or other waste natural products. This method is simple cheaper and makes use of much of Manitoba a natural resources. However As in most technical advances Manitoba will wait until others prefect the process. This is what happened with the High efficiency Pulsa Matic Furnace Many of us Are now installing in our Homes. Did you know that this was invented in Canada and first produced commercially in Winnipeg in the Early 1960s? Hyman d. Gesser Winnipeg Winnipeg free press. Today a question previous question should Manitoba conservation Grant an environmental licence to oly West for its proposed St. Should there be limits placed on hecklers and rowdies at Boniface hog Plant yes 53% / no 44% / unsure 3% / total 1,302 sporting events vote online at poll ? 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 ;