Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 12, 2009, Winnipeg, Manitoba C m y k Page 10 who is the victim c correctional officers have dangerous jobs and they deserve support and recognition but it was just a Little Rich for a senior Manitoba Justice official to portray guards As victims after it was disclosed they were caught having sex with inmates or smoking dope on the Job. A senior official said gang members were trying to corrupt and intimidate correctional officers in heading Ley jail but its an open question about who was corrupting whom. Two female guards were sacked recently for having sexual Contact with inmates while a third female officer was fired for drug offences. They ave been described As isolated cases although correctional workers have told free press reporter Mike Mcintyre that sexual relations Between guards and inmates occur More often than most people would think. They also accused senior officials of covering up the offences and permitting dirty officers to be dismissed instead of facing Justice in the criminal courts. More worrisome was the allegation that the cases were swept under the Rug with the consent and knowledge of senior political leaders. Its relevant to note that no one in government or at the correctional institution has confirmed or commented directly on the allegations claiming they Are constrained by provisions in the Freedom of information Protection of privacy act and other policies on personnel issues but they a vent said the reports Are wrong or misleading statements that would be entirely permissible if such was the Case. Unfortunately the familiar plaintive cry of the government that it cant talk about personnel matters is also a Little Rich under the circumstances. Officials wont even say for example whether police Are investigating except to say that Law enforcement is contacted whenever criminal activity is suspected or detected. This tepid response is woefully inadequate and the province should probably take counsel from its own policies on the subject of employees and criminal offences. Breaches of the Law by those who have responsibility for administering the Justice system the policy states tend to erode the Confidence that the Public has in our Justice system. It must also be noted that in the Case of sexual relations Between inmates and guards consent by an inmate is not a defence if the guard obtained consent by virtue of his or her position of authority. A police investigation is needed to determine the facts in these complicated cases. In the United states for example some state Laws have declared that sexual relations Between inmates and guards Are illegal under any circumstances and even if consent was freely Given. Citizens cant know if the system is working and Safe unless there is proactive disclosure of the kinds of incidents that occurred recently. At a minimum the Public should be told which alleged offences if any have been referred to police. If police Are not involved then an explanation is also required. Correctional workers and others in the Justice system Are widely respected and trusted but that Trust is eroded when the government declines an Opportunity to share relevant facts with the Public. Editorials Winnipeg free press monday january 12, 2009 Freedom of Trade Liberty of religion Equality of civil rights a 10 comment editor Gerald flood 697 7269 Gerald. Flood free press. My. Ca Winnipeg repress. Com 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. E mail letters free press. My. Ca letters represent the opinions of their writers and do not reflect the opinions of the Winnipeg free press or its staff. Poll vote online at wow. Winnipeg repress. Com teaching kids French re spoken French suffers decline dec. 27. In an interview with a Parent the Parent said All her son heard until age two was French. Now eight he hears More English from friends and to. Until age two is frankly not enough to be fluently bilingual in Manitoba today. We hear Many children in French schools speaking English among themselves. My children Are nine and seven years old. Although we Are surrounded by a sea of English we live on an Island of French. My children still dont speak English. Their friends Many of whom Are More comfortable in English must speak to my children in French. In the Home to and radio Are on the French channels All the time. Besides the parents full commitment to i believe is the next biggest Factor in influencing a Childs Comfort level in French. Kids spend a couple of hours per Day in front of the to. This will greatly Impact in which language a child thinks and talks. Will my children learn English of course if Only by osmosis. I have yet to find a Franco Manitoban who is not very comfortable in English by High school. But i see a great Many kids in French schools having trouble clearly articulating their ideas in French. I dont want my kids to simply be Able to get by in French perhaps for a bilingual Job. I want them to be proud of their culture and language and want to always speak it because it comes to them naturally. Lionel Pichu Winnipeg clean mess pay restitution re More than mischief Jan. 6. If found guilty the six people charged with 346 counts of damage by spraying property with Graffiti should be made to go around and clean it off. Not just the mess that they have caused but All the Graffiti that blights this City. If convicted the courts Are going to give them a slap on the wrist and maybe a Fine. They should be made to pay restitution to the people who have had their property damaged. The $ 70,000 should be taken Over a period of time from their wages if they Are working. Or seeing As they have so much Energy they can be made to do Public service such As cleaning the streets once the Snow has gone and All the litter and garbage appears. Susan Pannell Winnipeg invest in More plows recently there have been articles in the Media in connection to Street Snow blowing and the costs associated with it. One Way to alleviate problems mentioned would simply be to have the City increase its own inventory of Snow Clearing equipment. With More of its own inventory the City would be Able to determine and act on the priorities it sets in Snow Clearing operations. The City would have More accountability rather than having contractors conduct their own business Agenda one that is very often contrary to the needs of the City. Right now because the City has such a Small presence in the blowing operations there is limited Competition and accountability from the private sector. The flaws that exist in the current tendering process Are because the contractors leverage the City against other interests such As parking lot Snow removal. The Cit yes obligation to its citizens should be to maintain clean and Safe roads. This is not necessarily the private sectors mandate nor should it be. By increasing the Cit yes presence in Snow Clearing you actually increase private sector Competition for the remaining work and thus increase the Cit yes accountability to its citizens. Mike Davidson president cupe local 500 a question for Ignatieff Michael Ignatieff quite rightly is much in the news lately. With a View to gaining some understanding of the Man i recently read two works of fiction written by him Asya in 1991 and Charlie Johnson in the flames in 2003. I believe that authors will sometimes reflect themselves in their protagonists. The main characters in these books were in my View so completely self absorbed that i found them both irritating and Boring. I would dearly love to ask Ignatieff one question Why did he return to Canada i think he sees himself As our Only Hope for salvation. Helen Sterzer Winnipeg parents guide praised re time to have the talk with kids. Not that talk Jan. 6. Junior achievement of Manitoba would like to commend the Manitoba securities commission for developing make it county parents guide to youth Money management. While parents hold the initial responsibility to teach their children about financial literacy it often takes a Community to raise a child. Junior achievement also offers its dollars with sense program free of charge to Manitoba schools. Junior achievement arranges to have an Industry professional Volunteer their time in a classroom to teach grades 7 and 8 students How to strategically manage their Money and the importance of not going into debt. In the 2007/ 08 school year Junior achievement reached nearly 1,800 students with this message. Junior achievement does this because we can appreciate that not All parents have the time Energy or knowledge to teach their children certain aspects of Money management. Going into our fourth year with this program the state of the global Economy indicates that these programs Are crucial for teaching the next generation of Consumers How to responsibly manage their finances. Between dollars with sense and make it count Manitoba ass youth will be Well positioned to handle the challenges of personal finance management in the face of a global recession. Lisa Cefali president & ceo Junior achievement of Manitoba both sides Are victims both palestinians and israelis Are the victims of the Hamas terror Campaign. Launching rockets from densely populated areas stockpiling missiles in civilian areas using the population As human Shields and manipulating Access to Basic food Energy and medical resources to create humanitarian pressures Are what Hamas is All about. For the past eight years children in jewish towns have been sleeping in shelters and listening to air raid sirens. For those same eight years children in Gaza have slept beside stockpiles of missiles terrified of an israeli response when those missiles Are fired by Hamas terrorists. Richard Jones Winnipeg Winnipeg free press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 vol 137 no 62 2009 Winnipeg free press a division of up Canadian newspapers limited partnership published seven Days a week at 1355 Mountain Avenue Winnipeg Manitoba r2x 3b6, pm 697 7000 a member of the Manitoba press Council Bob Cox / publisher Margo Goodhand / editor to Days question does Canada posts service justify a raise in rates previous question will you use the Cit yes proposed web based program that would pinpoint the streets where Snow Clearing would take place ? yes 58% no 41% total 1,010 letter of the Day Bravo Trevor Laurens Ive been a free press Reader and subscriber for Over 50 years. In that time Ive saved a handful of articles and items from the hoary publication. Among these few mementos of excellence at least from my Point of View is a Christmas poem by Christopher Dafoe dated dec. 24, 1993, one of the Many such that he entertained us with Over the years. Until today my most recent entry into my Little Hall of Fame was the front Section of nov. 5, 2008, with a huge picture of Barack Obama in front of the stars and stripes with the headline yes we did. That picture of course gained a place because of its historic significance not because of any creative excellence on the part of the free press. Today i add another. I refer to the revisionist creation by Trevor Laurens the global warming of Sam Mcgee. Having read pretty Well everything that Robert service Ever wrote i believe Laurens has improved on him. He has injected Humour that was often lacking in services writing. Indeed he has taken the poem turned it on its head gutted it then put the guts Back in with some additions that have turned it from a somewhat pot bellied poem into one with Abs you could scrub clothes on. Extremely Clever hilarious and at the same time bringing before us the reality of an Arctic meltdown it says at least to this Laurens fan there is nothing that reinforces a lesson More than the accompaniment of laughter. Bravo Trevor Laurens John Beckham Winnipeg polygamy on trial for years a breakaway mormon sect in Bountiful b. C., has flouted Canadian Laws against polygamy its leaders openly admitting even boasting of the number of wives they have. They have done this with impunity because no attorney general has been willing to risk the consequences of going to court on this Issue. Now b. Attorney general Wally Oppal has gone where no prosecutor before him has dared to tread. On wednesday two rival leaders of the fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of latter Day saints in Bountiful were arrested and charged with practising polygamy. Charges of child abuse involving the forced marriage of Young girls to older men were not pressed apparently because of doubts that the evidence would hold up. Or. Oppal has done All canadians a favour by bringing this traditionally murky Issue before the courts for a clarification and a final ruling. That ruling May take years to come the Case is expected to go All the Way to the supreme court of Canada and when it does come it May not be to most canadians liking. There is considerable truth in the idea that you should be careful what you wish for. Most canadians do not believe in polygamy and do not practise it serial monogamy appears to be More the Canadian Way but that does not in itself make it wrong for those who do espouse it and would allow it because of religious belief or just personal self indulgence. What has kept these cases out of the courts to Date is the fear that the Law against polygamy might be a violation of the charter of rights and freedoms and that such a court ruling would invalidate the criminal codes prohibition of polygamy. That is a very real fear. The criticism of polygamy is that it not Only violates the Jude Christian tradition of marriage which no longer holds much water under the charter of rights and freedoms but also and More seriously that it leads to the degradation of women and the sexual abuse of Young girls. There is some anecdotal evidence of that but Little hard proof even today that prosecutors can take to court. Or. Of Palms initiative will resolve what has become a basically impossible situation in Law. Either polygamy should a be crime As technically it is today or it should not be a crime As it has practically been up until charges were filed this week. The courts can now Rule which it should be and it is Long past time for that. A Law that cant be enforced or that no one will enforce is not Only useless but dangerous. A 10_ Jan 12 09. Ind a10 1/ 11/ 09 9 09 13 pm ;