Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - November 1, 2006, Winnipeg, Manitoba A14 Winnipeg free press Freedom of Trade wednesday november 1, 2006 Liberty of religion comment editor Equality of civil rights Gerald flood 697-7269 editorials plebiscites by the tonne a agriculture minister Chuck Strahl sur prised his critics tuesday by announcing that a plebiscite would be held to decide whether the Canadian wheat Board should retain its monopoly to sell Western Canadian Barley. But he did not silence his critics and he will not even Dampen their outrage until he makes a similar announce ment that a plebiscite will also be held to decide whether the Cwb should also retain its monopoly on wheat sales. Or. Strahl should waste no time in making the decision to agree to hold the second plebiscite for Many reasons. One is that that producers should have a say in their future. Another is that As minister he should seek the High ground and not be seen As attempting to Manip ulate conditions As he is already accused. The nip who wanted a plebiscite monday shifted their position tuesday to charge that or. Strahl is seeking a Barley plebiscite Only because he can win one. Which Likely is True. A May Cwb Survey found that two thirds of Barley producers want either a dual system or More ? the elimination of Cwb. The same Survey found that a Small 54 per cent majority favour ending the Cwb monopoly for wheat while keeping the Board. Or. Strahl should concede that what a sauce for the Goose is sauce for the Gan Der. But More important he should get the principle of holding a plebiscite out of the Way so that the process of deciding who should participate and How can begin. The dividing line on the Cwb basically runs through the question of who should be Able to decide where wheat is sold ? the individual or the collective the current voting system is weighted heavily in favour of the collective. In fact in elections currently underway for five director spots 16,000 producers were disqualified from getting an automatic ballot. Why because they Are not producers they Haven to harvested a Grain of wheat in two years. That they did not get the vote is in line with Cwb a own stiffer test ? 40 tonnes ? and the recommendation of a review of voting procedures launched by the previous Liberal government. That review found that about half of permit holders Are non producers and yet their votes count the same As producer votes. The vote mechanism for the wheat and Barley plebiscites should ensure that those and Only those with a stake in the outcome have a vote. The Way to achieve that is to change the ballot so that producers vote their weight ? literally. A one tonne pro Ducer votes one tonne and 10,000-tonne producer votes 10,000 tonnes. Producers should decide their own future and they should decide it on the strength of their stake in the future ? their production ? not the logo on naming names the chief counsel to the inquiry into the wrongful murder conviction of Jim Driskell has made pro found statements in the wrap up of that review that should be acted on immediately. Michael code has Laid out a string of names of police and prosecutors whose actions denied or. Driskell a fair trial. The commissions final report is not due for two months but that should not delay the consideration of whether to hold these people accountable where possible through professional or criminal sanctions. There Are Many who share the blame who played a crucial role in the miscarriage of Justice that convicted or. Driskell of murdering his Friend Perry Dean harder. That miscarriage continued for years following his trial in 1991, As or. Driskell a lawyers continued to ask if the chief witness got a Deal in Exchange for his testimony which he did. Those named All knew or should have known that Ray Janidean was getting immunity from arson charges or that he and John Gumieny received payment for their testimony. They Are now retired police offi cers Al Paul Tom Anderson and Bill Vandergraaf prosecutors George Dangerfield and Gregg Lawlor senior Justice officials Bruce Miller and Stu Whit Ley former inspectors Bob Hall and Jack Swatski now the chief of police. Or. Code succinctly Laid out their roles their contributions varying in the string of professional misconduct or dereliction of duties. Lawyers for some will respond to the accusations they know now the Case before them. The inquiry was mandated to recommend if individuals should be referred to professional bodies for review of their conduct. Only three of these men ? Stu Whitley Gregg Lawlor and Jack Swatski ? still work for Public bodies. They therefore can be subjected to professional Sanction or termination of employment. The commission can also recommend if any criminal investigations Are warranted. In total a massive obstruction of Justice has happened to be sure. A criminal review should be conducted to weigh the evidence against each individual. Or. Driskell is taking a kind of Justice into his own hands having launched a Multi million Dollar civil suit against Many of these people. Civil suits often end in a quiet settlement. Thankfully this inquiry led by Patrick Lesage and ably conducted by or. Code has revealed enough for an Alert pub Lic to draw its own conclusions. The names of these men will be etched in training manuals Legal texts and workshop materials warning those joining their professions on How not to do their jobs. 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 letters represent the opinions of their writers and do not reflect the opinions of the Winnipeg free press or its staff. let kids enjoy their sweets i have read about How the so called concerned citizens of this City Are worried about obesity tooth decay and halloween and have held my Tongue until now. I understand that these people All have Good intentions but May i also state that halloween is one Day out of the year. One Day of collecting Candy is not going to make children obese or rot their Teeth for the rest of the year. For heavens Sake lets have a Little perspective Here. Do any of you remember your childhood and the sheer unadulterated Joy you got from looking Forward to halloween dressing up collecting the Candy and eating it Don to deprive your children or the Chil Dren of this City of that same Joy. For one Day out of the year let them just be kids. I a grateful i a not a child in this City right now. Debra Stansfield Winnipeg blame Drivers not Snow re heavy snowfall leaves motorists howl ing oct. 31. In Jason Bells article his writing that Slippery streets in and around the City were to blame for several fender is inaccurate. The conditions May have contributed to these incidents but ultimately it is the motorists and their inability to drive to those conditions that Are to blame for weather related fender benders. Blaming the conditions is not a reason its an excuse. Jonathan Green Winnipeg marijuana overemphasized re multiple sclerosis forum hears of pots benefits oct. 29. As one of the 250 people attending the is society a Daylong conference on the current status of knowledge about multiple sclerosis it was irritating to see the free press focus its coverage on the medicinal use of marijuana. The conference brought medical professionals together with people who live with is to explore Many facets of a disease that defies easy analysis. Physicians who have been working with is for decades shared their experience along with the most recent scientific data. Pot was discussed Many other More important matters were Dis cussed a lot More. Anyone who came primarily to hear about potential complementary and alternative therapies for multiple sclerosis including marijuana was probably disappointed. That particular formal presentation was far and away the most mind numbing of the Day. Doug Koop Winnipeg let army enforce curfew re proof that charging parents works oct. 28. Lindor Reynolds is right ? we Are failing the children and yes i think that the Silver ton Oregon example is a Good one and can be implemented Here on a larger scale. How Ever the police need help and they admit it. Letter of the Day is patient credits pot re multiple sclerosis forum hears of pots benefits oct. 29. Kudos to Winnipeg Naturopathic or. Sean Ceaser and Alexandra Paul of the Winnipeg free press for their very informative and closely accurate list of most of the natural therapies that help people like myself with multiple Scle Rosis with some of the horrible symptoms we face daily. I have been suffering from is for almost 30 years and have been taking Omega 6 and 3 essential fatty acids for Over 15 of those years in a 3 1 ratio ? three times As much of Omega 6 As Omega 3. This regime along with Vita mins and minerals such As do Calcium magnesium a Multi Vitamin anti oxidants and last but not least cannabis have All but stopped the progression of my disease. All of the above mentioned have alleviated my excruciating pain leg spasms bladder prob lems violent shaking kept me out of my wheelchair and gotten me Back on my feet. Am i living proof that these therapies work you bet i am. Please stress to patients who choose cannabis therapy for any chronic Dis ease that they frequent the compas Sion clubs in their area to support them in helping themselves and others to find a Safe affordable and clean source of marijuana until the govern ment of Canada has a Little better Choice to offer the sick and dying peo ple of our country. Alison Myrden Federal medical marijuana exempted Burlington ont. Why can to the mayor ask for the army to enforce a curfew we Are in full blown crisis Mode in the Core area. It will take time to recruit More police and More Foster parents. More meetings and discussions of initiatives will do very Little to help the children who Are running wild out of control right now. More than anything they need to be shown that someone cares that they Are out there at risk and getting into More trouble every Day. The army could break the catch and release syndrome that these children have come to expect. Temporary structures like the Golf dome or empty warehouses could serve As centres where the children who Are picked up after curfew could be Given a bowl of soup a hot Shower and a Good nights sleep. If they Are too wired to sleep they should be Able to shoot hoops run laps skip rope or hit a punching bag until they Are worn out enough to sleep. In the morning a decent breakfast and an escort to school to meet with the parents. The parents could be served with a notice outlining where and at what time their child was picked up and be required to sign an affidavit agreeing to increase their super vision of the child. Susan Kemp Winnipeg Short shrift to candidate in the aftermath of the election i feel that the Media created an imbalance with regard to the other candidate in the River Heights fort Garry Ward. While the spotlight was firmly focused upon the incumbent Donald Benham and the mayors anointed Chal Lenger Brenda Leipsic Short shrift was Given to the other challenger Jennifer Zyla. By polarizing the Ward the Media denied Zyla a Well thought and respectful Campaign a fair Opportunity to be heard. The old adage that any publicity is Good publicity certainly proved itself although the fact that 25 per cent of the voters did to buy into the old school style of influence peddling was revealing. She deserved better. Paul d. Audette Winnipeg voters not All Rich re Rich elect the Rich oct. 28. Letter writer Karen Sapinski refers to constituents of River Heights fort Garry As Rich voters but speaking on behalf of most of my neighbourhood that is far from True. I would remind her that 5,296 people 32 per cent of the voters voted for Donald Benham and against Sam Katz cronyism. We looked at the Campaign of Brenda Leipsic and wondered where All the Money was coming from and How much expense is allowable for municipal elections. Public relations Whiz Leipsic May have won the numbers to gain a Council seat but Many of our questions remain unresolved. We who were Defeated Are the people Rich and non Rich who will not be As complacent As uninformed and As easily led As the slim majority of voters who jumped on the Sam Katz bandwagon. Ian King Winnipeg More Rural coverage please i was very disappointed with the Winnipeg free press a reporting on the Rural elections. You covered the capital Region and a few towns and municipalities. Whatever happened to the rest of the coverage for years the free press provided the results for every municipality in Manitoba. There Are nearly 1,200 elected positions outside the perimeter and Many of your Rural readers Are disappointed in your coverage. Roger Bouvier Winnipeg Winnipeg free press. Today a question previous question a Federal task Force concludes the Canadian wheat Board can thrive without a monopoly to sell should Canada Send fighter jets to Afghanistan to support Grain. Do you agree with this conclusion yes 29% / no 64% / unsure 7% / total 4,952 our troops 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 ;