Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 27, 2012, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A7 winnipegfreepress. com MANITOBA WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27, 2012 A 7 . Manufacturer's warranty . 30- day/ 2500 km no- hassle exchange privilege . 150+ point inspections . 24- hour roadside assistance * 0% Available on most models. ** All prices are with $ 2000 Down or equivalent trade. See dealer for details. 204- 697- 1400 1400 McPHILLIPS WINNIPEG MB SAVE TIME . SHOP ON- LINE www. jimgauthierchevy. com www. jimgauthierchev. com www. jimgauthierchev. com www. jimgauthierchevy. com shop on li ne THE BIG GUY'S 58 th ANNIVERSARY at JIM GAUTHIER CHEVROLET The Big Guy is going to sell 258 Vehicles this month... 85 TO GO! EXTRA STUDENTS DISCOUNT EXTRA MILITARY DISCOUNT SENIORS EXTRA DISCOUNT WE NEED YOUR TRADE WE WILL PAY THE HIGHEST FOR YOUR TRADE AND YOU WILL PAY THE LOWEST FOR YOUR PURCHASE GUARANTEED!!!! 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Well equipped Only $ 14,988 ** or $ 83 B/ W ** 2011 Chev Cruze LT 1.4L Turbo. Only 2 left!! As Low As $ 15,988 ** or $ 89 B/ W ** 2007/ 2009 Cobalts/ G5' s 6 In stock. As low as $ 10,988 ** $ 7,998 ** or $ 77 B/ W ** O TTAWA - Winnipeg Centre NDP MP Pat Martin is spending the summer passing the hat to defend himself against a defamation suit from an Alberta telemarketing company. He hopes to raise at least $ 250,000. RackNine Inc. is the Edmonton company hired by the elusive " Pierre Poutine" to make robocalls informing voters in Guelph, Ont., their polling station location had changed on election day in May 2011. The company was unaware of the content of the calls and has co- operated with Elections Canada to try to find the culprit behind the calls. However, RackNine said Martin defamed the company and CEO Matt Meier during a February news conference and during some television appearances, during which Martin implied RackNine was part of the scheme. Martin issued an apology to RackNine in a statement delivered from Parliament Hill in April, saying he jumped to conclusions he later found out were false. But the apology came too late to stop the lawsuit. RackNine is suing Martin and the NDP for $ 5 million. On Tuesday, Martin said attempts to resolve the matter out of court have failed. No court date has been set for the matter. Martin said he is limited in what he can say because the company and its legal team are saving " every Tweet and comment" he makes to use against him in the lawsuit. " I'm unable to comment on the key stories of the day because I don't want to exacerbate the lawsuit," he said. " It ain't no beach party being sued." The defence fund will be set up as a non- charitable trust fund, so donations to it will not be tax deductible. They will not be considered donations to the NDP or to an MP but to an individual. Martin said his lawyers are working with Revenue Canada to make sure it's above board. Elections Canada told Martin it has no role in the matter. That means there are no limits to what an individual can donate and it also means unions and private companies could donate if they wished to do so. The issue of robocalls has yet to be resolved. Elections Canada is still investigating and trying to determine how broadly the use of calls misdirecting voters affected the election and who was behind it. So far, the only calls that have been traced go back to a computer used by the Conservative party campaign in Guelph, Ont. The identity of the individual who purchased the services from RackNine has yet to be uncovered. At one point, he used the identity Pierre Poutine of Separatist Street in Quebec. A legal challenge alleges election results in seven ridings in which robocalls were made should be ruled invalid. This week in Federal Court, the Conservative Party of Canada argued that challenge should be thrown out. This fall, Martin plans to introduce a private member's bill that would limit the scope of automated calls made during elections, including making it an offence to knowingly spread false information via robocalls. " There is a real opportunity to address the vulnerabilities in the system," he said. mia. rabson@ freepress. mb. ca The Winnipeg School Division says it tracks how many days schools are closed and for what reasons. And it contends field trips, science fairs, and events such as We Day are all part of getting a quality education. But it's still not clear if trustee Mike Babinsky will get his way and have staff track how often and why kids in a sample of schools and grades are out of the classroom this upcoming school year. A Free Press story about Babinsky's concerns - about how many of the 183 provincially mandated instructional days students aren't in a classroom - raised alarm bells within the system. The WSD's north end superintendent, Dushant Persaud, said this week staff need more information and direction before they begin tracking individual schools and grades for a year. " We need some clarification of what he wants tracked," Persaud said. " We'd want to define what is good teaching and learning." Babinsky said Tuesday he met with chief superintendent Pauline Clarke on Monday, and thought he was getting what he wanted but, " I'm not getting into a ( urinating) match with Dushant." Persaud said staff reviews each school's calendar to see if the school is closed beyond the 10 in- service and professional- development days, and to ensure parents are informed if there are any other days without classes. Persaud said he's investigated one case raised by Babinsky, in which grades 7 and 8 students at one school were assessed by the teacher in an individual interview, and then sent home for the week. That was the week Grade 9 students wrote exams, he said. " The students were provided with work they'd be doing at home." The school sent notes home to parents ahead of time and did not receive any feedback, Persaud said. " The school did the right thing by communicating," he said. Persaud said high school students typically receive more than the 110 hours of instructional time that is a provincial guideline for a credit. But field trips, science fairs, visiting universities, and especially activities such as We Day are all part of learning, even if - often especially if - they're not in the classroom, said Persaud. nick. martin@ freepress. mb. ca Field trips, science fairs part of education: WSD By Nick Martin Martin raises cash for lawsuit defence By Mia Rabson ' It ain't no beach party being sued' POSTMEDIA NEWS ARCHIVES NDP MP Pat Martin hopes to raise $ 250,000 for legal fund. A_ 07_ Jun- 27- 12_ FP_ 01. indd A7 6/ 26/ 12 6: 25: 48 PM ;