Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 7, 2013, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A8 EDITORIALS WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2013 Freedom of Trade Liberty of Religion Equality of Civil Rights A 8 COMMENT EDITOR: Gerald Flood 204- 697- 7269 gerald. flood@ freepress. mb. ca winnipegfreepress. com EDITORIAL T HE idea that the pension plan for public- sector workers in Manitoba is dangerously underfunded is misleading if anyone assumes it means the plan is at risk of folding, or that employees might not get all the benefits they were promised. The endless resources of taxpayers means every civil servant now and in the future will get his or her full benefits, regardless of market rates or economic conditions. That certainty is the chief benefit of working for The Man. Taxpayers are liable for $ 2 billion in unfunded pension liability today, which is better than it was five years ago, when the liability was $ 4.45 billion. The decline is attributable to a $ 2.5- billion loan the province negotiated, which is debt no matter what its purpose. Future shortfalls will be covered the same way. The ability of the state to support golden benefits for civil servants is increasingly recognized not just as unsustainable, but unfair to those who toil on the other side of the hill, where pension plans and benefits are poorer or non- existent. It’s why some provinces have introduced more manageable plans that respect the limited resources of the taxpayer, while asking workers to assume a higher share of the risk. Saskatchewan introduced a defined- contribution pension plan for its civil servants many years ago, which establishes contributions, but not benefits. Manitoba’s defined- benefit plan guarantees a set payout for life. New Brunswick has also introduced a shared- risk model that reduces the liability for taxpayers, while the federal government recently raised the retirement age for civil servants to 65 from 60. Federal bureaucrats used to be able to retire with an unreduced pension at age 60 or once they reached 55 with 30 years of service, while Ontario negotiated an end to cost- ofliving increases with teachers. Everywhere, it seems, governments are looking to scale back the benefits of their workers. Not in Manitoba, however, where the NDP government negotiated a pay freeze a few years ago in return for enhanced benefits and other inducements. It’s time to consider how to reduce the province’s generous plans so they are affordable, as are some other jurisdictions, and not grossly out of proportion to the experience of other Canadians. No one should lose the benefits they were promised when they signed up for government work, but the province must consider following the lead of other jurisdictions by introducing a more reasonable plan for new employees. W E have seen the future of food, and although it doesn’t sound very appetizing yet, it could well turn out to be the biggest culinary leap forward since early humans discovered fire. The world’s first test- tube hamburger looks right and it even has a comparable texture, but the few people who actually took a bite said its flavour was below the standards of burger lovers. It may only be a matter of time, however, before scientists perfect the art and develop an artificial burger that tastes great, but doesn’t have saturated fats and other heartclogging ingredients. It would mean you can have your cake and it eat, too. Other meat- like foods, such as chicken and pork, won’t be far behind. As Gwynne Dyer explains on the page opposite, the invention of man- made meat could have enormous implications for the planet by reducing carbon emissions and providing food for a growing population. For vegetarians, it means “ meat” could be eaten without ethical objections, since no animal needs to be killed in the process. Scientists used to speculate that food might be served in the form of a pill in the future, which might still be necessary for space travel, but the idea of cultured meat is a much more attractive alternative for those of us stuck on a planet with rising demands on limited resources. Give me everything, please I am a Manitoba taxpayer. I want shorter wait times at the emergency rooms, for MRIs and for hip and knee replacements. I want more and better schools, more money for our crumbling Winnipeg infrastructure, more money for police and crime prevention, better flood protection and full compensation for all damages due to any natural disasters. I also want better social services and more programs for the mentally ill, underprivileged and First Nations people. I want cheaper electricity and automobile insurance, increased grants to all post- secondary institutions and lower tuitions, more recreational facilities and betterserviced provincial parks, and better environmental protection. Also, I want a more efficient government. But I don’t want cuts in the services I use or to those located in my area of the province. However, they had better not expect me to pay higher taxes. As is often said, you get what you pay for. ROSS WEDLAKE Winnipeg Exchange needs parking In response to Support Exchange residents, not their cars ( Aug. 4), I must say that Robert Galston is missing a key angle to his argument about the parking situation in the Exchange, namely that of the arts patron. While I do support more green alternatives to getting downtown like carpooling, taking transit or biking to work where they make sense for the individual, the scarcity of parking for people who frequent the opera, symphony, theatre or the ballet has reached a critical point where demand far exceeds supply. In fact there are tens of thousands of people who at some point from September to May are in this quadrant of the city. The East Exchange is in dire need of a safe parking alternative for all arts patrons, especially the elderly, who are long- term supporters of the arts that do not feel comfortable taking transit late at night or who require minimal walking distance to the venue. With the closing of the Civic Parkade, now is the time to carefully consider the options. Risk alienating and losing arts lovers who help drive the economic engine of this city and have nowhere to park or perhaps consider the option to pave paradise to put up a parking lot. LISA ABRAM Winnipeg Art? Who’s to say? Re: The definition of art ( Letters, Aug. 1). Peter Lacey suggests there is an objective methodology of what is considered “ art” or not. Yes, I believe that a crucifix in a jar of urine can be considered art as it conveys a message, perhaps a certain feeling or thought going through the artist’s mind at that time. However, neither the viewer nor the artist have to be aware of their talents when viewing art as it does very little or anything to validate the absolute value of art. It is mostly just subjective values that the viewer holds to equate how good of an “ art” masterpiece it was. AKASH SHARMA Winnipeg ¥ Ah, yes, the Peter Laceys of our world. During my lifetime I have run into countless persons who wished to have a perfect, unfuzzy definition of art. And I have always wondered who was that magical person that could gift us with a perfect definition. Three of the pieces Lacey is referring are either a photograph entitled Piss Christ by Andres Serrano ( 1987); Voice of Fire by Barnett Newman ( purchased by our National Gallery of Art in 1989), or Sharon Alward’s piece entitled Totentanz ( 1991). Hollywood Hen Pit was performed by Doug Melnyk and Ian Mazden at this year’s Fringe Festival and received a multitude of attention. Viewers and reviewers have been asking questions and this, after all, is one of the most important things art is supposed to do. I do hope Lacey experienced some or all of these pieces. Otherwise it would be very like burning a book without having read it. History has already judged Barnett Newman. Thankfully, the quartet is still with us and, hopefully, will continue to work as diligently and intensely as it has been. Personally, I prefer to think of everything as art even if not everything rises to my esthetic and intellectual sensibilities. I think this type of laissez- faire attitude helps normalize bowel activity. OLYA MARKO Beaconia Transfers have increased Clark Brownlee’s July 27 letter, Shedding light on tax , does nothing of the kind. Core federal transfers to Manitoba have not shrunk as he contends. For the period 2009- 10 to 2013- 14, which Brownlee cites, health transfers to Manitoba have increased from $ 903 million to $ 1.12 billion or by $ 218 million ( 24 per cent). Social transfers to Manitoba have increased from $ 392 million to $ 443 million or by $ 53 million ( 13.5 per cent). Over the same period, equalization payments have been reduced from $ 2.06 billion to $ 1.79 billion or by $ 271 million ( 13 per cent). However, reductions were offset by Total Transfer Protection payments of $ 661 million. The net losses Brownlee complains of do not exist. There is no pool of funds created for health and social transfers. Funding is provided by the federal government from general revenues and that includes transfers to Alberta as well as every other province. The core federal transfers are under longterm commitment to allow provinces to budget and plan; the arbitrary reductions of which Brownlee complains are a fiction. Equalization is a separate fund administered by and partially funded by the federal government. Provinces participate and receive funding through an agreed formula renegotiated every five years. The next negotiation and adjustment ( which the provinces will participate in) will be in 2014. Manitoba is one of six provinces benefiting from the equalization program supported by Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, Alberta, B. C. and the federal government. Equalization alone accounts for 15 per cent of the current Manitoba budget. Health and social transfers, together with equalization, accounts for 28 per cent of our current budget. Even so, our government is projecting a $ 505- million deficit. With nearly $ 1.8 billion in equalization rolling in each year to help provide Manitobans with basic services, which includes infrastructure, why are we complaining of infrastructure deficits? The Manitoba government is squandering money it does not have instead of focusing on its core responsibilities and ensuring its operation is efficient and effective. JOHN FELDSTED Winnipeg HAVE YOUR SAY: The Free Press welcomes letters from readers. Include the author’s name, address and telephone number. Letters may be edited. Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, R2X 3B6. Fax 204- 697- 7412. Email letters@ freepress. mb. ca Letters represent the opinions of their writers and do not reflect the opinions of the Winnipeg Free Press or its staff. ¥ LETTERS OF THE DAY Re: Manitoba chiefs say donation gives them a say on genocide ( Aug. 6). Assembly of Manitoba Grand Chief Derek Nepinak “ wholeheartedly believes genocide happened and it is happening as we speak.” If Nepinak is serious, then he doesn’t need a museum, he needs a court. It wasn’t clear from the article why he thinks there is a current genocide against aboriginals, but Nepinak is tendering a poisonous narrative that Canadian society is as bad as history’s proven genocidal regimes. Having made his judgment, what justice does Nepinak think is due? MICHAEL MELANSON Winnipeg ¥ It will be obvious to most people that a condition attached to a donation to an institution such as a museum whereby the donor has the capacity to name, identify or otherwise categorize exhibits is unacceptable. It would be unworkable administratively and unfair to other exhibits or exhibitors. Some may say it is an opening for bribery or ransom. Most importantly, however, it has yet to be proven that “ genocide” as suggested in this case took place. Before chiefs Murray Clearsky and Derek Nepinak move forward in this round of histrionics and national divisive tactics, they would be well advised to identify those whom they believe to be perpetrators of the “ genocide,” whether they be governments, government agencies or others, and through irrefutable evidence sue those they deem responsible through our well- established courts of law. BILL STEELE Winnipeg The Truth and Reconciliation Commission released this book on residential schools last year. The battle over genocide Just add onions Scale back public pensions A_ 08_ Aug- 07- 13_ FP_ 01. indd A8 8/ 6/ 13 6: 45: 59 PM ;