Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - December 17, 2007, Winnipeg, Manitoba A12 Winnipeg free press Freedom of Trade monday december 17, 2007 Liberty of religion comment editor Equality of civil rights Gerald flood 697-7269 editorials making a Swan i f a report by the conference Board of Canada is to be believed the people of Winnipeg should begin fleeing their City in Masse any minute now. In terms of attractiveness As a City ours is near the Bottom of the Canadian pile the ugly duckling of confederation. Apparently even Regina Hamilton and Oshawa Are better places to live than Winnipeg which is about As appealing As metropolitan Sud Bury according to the conference boards report on the benchmarks of Urban attractiveness. Obviously the people of Winnipeg see themselves and their City through different lenses than those worn by the Board. Otherwise there would be no City of nearly 700,000 in the Middle of nothing. The conference Board seemed to rely on arbitrary methods to pro Duce conclusions that contradict Basic com Mon sense. Does any one for example really believe that Regina is a City Superior to Winnipeg nevertheless the report raises some important if familiar challenges for Winnipeg and we ignore them at our peril. Cities without the ability to act As magnets and attract new people will struggle to stay Prosper Ous the report said adding that cities with a High Quality of life will be the most successful in attract ing talented and skilled workers. Above All cities need to attract the so called creative class the artists academics writers musicians and Young professionals who help to Foster a dynamic and exciting Urban culture which in turn attracts business investment and Job creation. The idea of creating Appeal for Young people has been around for a Long time but there a been very Little discussion of How to do it. Instead Winnipeg in recent years has focused on filling potholes building Bridges repairing roads and sidewalks fighting crime and reducing Busi Ness taxes. All of this is important work but it will All seem pointless if Winnipeg Falls behind in the global Competition for workers and investment. Its time to focus on How the City can exploit its considerable assets ? three Rivers a historic Down town numerous Parks a vibrant arts Community ? in ways that will encourage our creative class to stay put while drawing the attention of those in other cities. The aboriginal Community needs to be drawn into the process since they themselves rep resent both challenges and opportunities for the City a future. Another familiar Issue raised by the conference Board relates to funding for cities which simply Don to have the resources to Cope with the demands and responsibilities facing them. Its time for the provincial government to acknowledge that the future of Manitoba is linked directly to the Fate of the City. If nothing else the City needs a More generous tax sharing agreement from the province. There a a Swan waiting to emerge from the ugly duckling but it wont happen without a lot of intervention. Isotopes of Hope the fact that the nuclear reactor at Chalk River ont., produces half of the worlds Supply ? and All of North americas Supply ? of medical diagnostic isotopes is something of which canadians could be proud. These isotopes Are one of diagnostic medi Cine a great instruments of Hope enabling the identification of disease in its earliest stages. But who knew like most things associated with the nuclear Industry this news ? Good As it was ? was never shouted from the rooftops. In fact it is probably Safe to say that most canadians had no idea about it until after Chalk River was shut Down nov. 18 on the orders of the Canadian nuclear safety commission and the Supply suddenly dried up throwing hospitals across the continent into crisis. This in turn caused a bit of a political crisis with tempers flaring and accusations flying in Parlia ment As the Federal government introduced Emer gency legislation to Force the immediate reopening of Chalk River Over the objections of the Csc. In the end the legislation passed with the support of All four parties and the Senate but not before some bitter exchanges in the House. Deputy Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff in a breathtaking display of partisanship tried to Lay All of the blame for the crisis at prime minister Stephen harpers feet although the problems at Chalk River have been known for three years and two Liberal governments did nothing to address them. Or. Harper for his part indulged in a brutal attack on the safety commissions chairman and its Liberal appointed Board blaming them for shutting the reactors isotope program for partisan reasons and vowing to punish everyone responsible for it. It was not one of the prime ministers better moments. Out of All this political ugliness however some thing Good ultimately emerged. Chalk River will begin producing isotopes again within a week giving Hope to patients awaiting diagnosis across North America. There is also perhaps a larger Les son Here. Chalk River and the isotope shortage encapsulate the larger fears that the nuclear Indus try evokes. Its potential Benefit to society ? particularly in a world whose climate May be changing ? is enormous and the risk involved is very Small even if it is highly concentrated. But people Are afraid of nuclear Power and where people Are afraid governments fear to tread. Chalk River May show that a nuclear Compromise is possible that we can weigh the benefits and the risks and make a rational decision about a highly emotional but vitally important subject. 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. serial number helped recently while volunteering for a literacy program i had the misfortune of having have my Laptop computer stolen. I reported the theft to the police and spent two weeks looking for it and then shopping to replace it. Like most thefts it was frustrating angering and traumatic More so because personal information like pictures and documents were contained on it. Just As i was about to replace it i got a Call from the Winnipeg police. They had found it and i cannot exaggerate How Happy i Felt. My Laptop was found with four others and i Hope the police were also Able to find their owners. I fortunately had the serial number and that enabled the police to Contact me and that prompted this letter. Things that matter often have serial numbers and an etching tool or the like also gives police a Chance to Hook up items to owners. It is Worth the Effort. Brian Curtis Winnipeg elderly not even close re three seniors arrested free press website dec. 14. Regarding your Story on the elderly Cou ple and the alleged scam they managed to run bilking local Banks out of a considerable amount of Cash. Anyone under 65 is not even technically a senior let alone elderly. Ageism creeps into things All the time but what Are editors for can you try to do better in this regard Colleen Armstrong Winnipeg let women walk freely Sheik Alaa Al Sayyed of the Mississauga islamic society states that modest dress protects women. Asa Parvez was right fully expecting to be treated like All Canad an women should be treated. The most provocatively Beautiful woman imaginable should be Able to freely walk Down any Street in Canada in the ski Piest Bikini and the worst she should have to worry about is frostbite. Unfortunately for Asa and there fore for All women in Canada there is a dangerous version of islam being taught in our country by some Muslim men in positions of Power and influence who think otherwise. Natalie Gordon Winnipeg words Are hollow the comments of the islamic elders in regard to the tragic death of Asa Parvez Are simply outrageous. As alluded to in an earlier letter to the editor this is not a unique occur rence. To the contrary this kind of event even has a name in the islamic Community ? honour killing. Let me get this straight ? in islam a woman must protect herself from men by covering herself from sight. What does this say about islamic men they Are undisciplined and have no self control the girl was murdered because she would not protect herself from men the words of the islamic Community grow More hollow every Day. Roland Godfredsen Winnipeg letter of the Day entrepreneurs Are needed re Asper wont lose his shirt dec. 14. I suppose the size of the Fortune is in the Eye of the beholder. If i have Fol Lowed the logic of Ron Johnson a let Ter in fridays paper Asper wont lose his shirt David Asper in to risk ing anything in his stadium proposal because he either benefits from earning profit or he Bene fits from the tax write offs. This Type of thinking must change if Manitoba is to fully recognize its protect the disabled it sickens me that people can look at Tracy Latimer a smiling face and think that her fathers actions were justifiable. Murder is murder no matter what language you use to soften it up mercy killing or assisted Sui cide. Where a our compassion should to we be protecting and caring for disabled people not killing them death is not better than Reliance on assistance and with proper med ical care physical pain can be managed. Tracy would still be alive today if her family had More support when it came to caring for her. I agree that Robert Latimer would not be a threat to society if he was released from prison but i a assuming the National parole Board wanted to make an example of him so that we All know that murder for any reason is wrong. Natalie Colton Winnipeg Clear Snow from vehicles re Winter driving skills May require Hon ing dec. 10. Driving courses that teach Winter handling skills Are an excellent idea i am sure that Many canadians would agree that manoeuvring a vehicle on icy and snowy roads requires a whole new skill set. I have one More tip to add Drivers should take the time to properly Clear Snow and ice from vehicles before setting out on the Road. Too Many times i have seen a Driver Strain ing to peer through a Small area on the front Windshield with the Side and Back windows still completely iced Over. While not always a pleasant task Early in the morning taking a few minutes to Clear your windows roof and Hood is a simple and inexpensive Way to lower the risk of a collision. Heather Bell Winnipeg Low morale the Norm re Manitoba housing a real fixer upper dec. 14. The Komg housing audit should be expanded to every provincial department. Entrepreneurial potential. Not Only should Asper be commended for his willingness to assume a risk of this magnitude our province should celebrate the entrepreneurs and financiers who assume risk. One of the greatest challenges facing local entrepreneurs ? the Backbone of our Economy ? is accessing risk capital. Too often we lose exciting companies and the highly qualified personnel they employ to the markets where such investment Capi Tal resides. Asper could invest that $40 million almost anywhere in the world and in Many safer propositions. Instead he has chosen to invest that Money in Winnipeg. If his venture is profitable it May inspire Confidence in others to invest in local and often risky projects. Manitoba a entrepreneurial Renaissance can Only be helped by people like Asper and others who Are indeed willing to risk Small for tunes. Gary Brownstone Winnipeg my guess is that Low morale and dysfunction laity would be the Norm. The one person i see daily who works for the province uses Lan Guage similar to the Komg report when describing their work environment. As a result i know that when Komg reports Low morale it Means Bias employee absenteeism and uncontrollable bullying in the workplace. I know when Komg reports Dys functionality it is the end result of ineffective leaders put in place by human resource departments that do not hold fair and proper competitions. For those who do not know a provincial employee summaries from the Komg report might not have a lot of meaning. But for Many who work in other government departments i a sure the generalities strike a chord that conjures up the sick feeling in their stomach they get from their workplace. John Mulligan Winnipeg Santa letter a shame re kids get hoho horrifying letters Back from Santa dec. 14. What has our world come to when one of the most innocent of children a activities is no longer Safe i cannot believe that some one would find Humour in devastating some Little child a Joy at receiving a reply from Santa Claus himself. Shame on that person. Lisa Johnson Winnipeg Farmers ripped off the prices Farmers Are getting and the prices the Public is paying for pork its Simi Lar for beef and wheat Are unbelievable and should be investigated. I am a beef and Grain Farmer and feel the City people just Don to get enough information on what is really going on Between the Farmer and the retail stores. Somebody is making lot of Money and its not the Farmer. Kari Smith Hamiota previous question should Winnipeg police follow the ramp Lead and curb the use of tasers yes 78% / no 22% / total 3,052 do you like the idea of shopping in the Middle of the night ? 2007 Winnipeg free press a division of up Canadian Bob Cox / publisher newspapers limited partnership Margo Goodhand / 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 vol 136 no 38 a member of the Manitoba press Council ;