Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 07, 2014, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A10 EDITORIALS WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2014 Freedom of Trade Liberty of Religion Equality of Civil Rights A 10 COMMENT EDITOR: Gerald Flood 204- 697- 7269 gerald. flood@ freepress. mb. ca winnipegfreepress. com EDITORIAL T HE Harper government's proposed elections act goes a long way to beefing up the rules on elections abuses, and imposing meaningful fines when misdeeds occur. And, three cheers for a past- due modernization - the Tories have scrapped the rule forbidding the publication of election results prior to the closing of polls in Western Canada. There's lots to commend in the bill presented this week by Pierre Poilievre, minister for democratic reform. But while the changes bring Canada up to speed with the new realities of electioneering - there will be a registry of robocall contracts and rules on record- keeping so investigators can retrieve evidence in the event of complaint - a core weakness in Elections Canada's ability to investigate that has been purposely ignored in the new act. It has been repeatedly pointed out to Parliament that the fundamental gap in enforcement is the inability of the investigation commissioner to compel people to answer questions. This power is held by elections staff in seven jurisdictions in Canada, including Manitoba. The absence of that power was described as central to the difficulty Elections Canada had investigating the robocall scandal of the 2011 federal election, in which allegations were made that the Tory party's voter databank was used for automated phone calls intended to keep voters from getting to their polls. In a robocall court case last year, a judge castigated the federal party because it was made clear officials, while not part of the fraud, went to lengths to obstruct the investigation. There is no love lost between the Harper government and Elections Canada, which aggressively sought action against the federal Tories in repeat instances of election wrongdoing. And so Prime Minister Stephen Harper's remark about shoring up the independence of the office, even as the bill proposes to move the Commissioner of Canada Elections out of the chief electoral officer's realm and into a federal department, looks cynical. Under the director of prosecutions, the commissioner of investigations will be appointed by an individual appointed by the justice minister. The expanded reach of the elections act with new offences, tighter rules and harsher penalties is all good, but ultimately it depends on vigorous, efficient enforcement. Without the power to compel people to answer questions, Canadians cannot expect misdeeds to be caught and prosecuted in a more timely way. Mr. Poilievre's bill is flawed. It should be amended before it is passed. Elections Canada questions Tucked away on the bottom half of page A10 of Wednesday's paper was the article Bill an attack on Elections Canada, opposition says ( Feb. 5). Not only is it an attack on Elections Canada, it's also an attack on Canadians' voting freedoms. The robocalls and questionable election financing were conducted by the very people bringing forth electoral changes - the Conservatives - and many changes will benefit the Conservatives over other parties. For instance, the elections commissioner position is being spun into the office of the director of public prosecutions, who in turn reports to Attorney General - and Conservative MP - Peter MacKay. Rather than analyzing this major issue, the Free Press chose to focus on a non- issue issue: Selinger versus Melnick. DON HALLIGAN Winnipeg �� So Selkirk- Interlake Conservative MP James Bezan thinks Elections Canada's efforts to make our federal elections fair are " frivolous" ( Dispute over MP's campaign costs resolved , Feb. 6). If the Conservatives were really committed to fair electoral reform, their new proposed legislation would ensure campaign expenses do not favour incumbents. This a fair, democratic rule Bezan should endorse. JANICE ISOPP Selkirk Mayor rarely sorry So Mayor Sam Katz is demanding an apology from the Uniter and volunteer writer Josh Benoit ( Mayor seeks apology from U of W student newspaper , Feb. 6), and wants them to admit their " mistake" in publishing a piece on his handling of the fire- hall scandal, etc. When was the last time Mayor Katz apologized to the citizens of Winnipeg for any of his mistakes? The most he has owned up to publicly was spitting out gum into a patch of grass. KAT THOMPSON Winnipeg Geothermal a bright idea In their article Dim bulbs versus bright lights ( Feb. 5), David Dodge and Duncan Kinney document the advantages of changing from incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescents and LEDs. While those changes will generate large savings for the consumer, especially when considered over a longer period of time, there are much greater savings available to consumers as well as huge environmental benefits in changing from gas and electric heat to geothermal. Unfortunately, the government, which has finally recognized the advantages of phasing out incandescents, is willfully blind to the possibilities of similar changes in home heating. Perhaps a symbiotic relationship between the oil and gas industries and our government means small changes and improvements are the only progress we can look forward to. SHANE NESTRUCK Winnipeg Unions still necessary Finally a few good words about unions in the media ( Unionization linked to prosperity, studies find , Jan. 27). The Organization for Economic Co- operation and Development notes that unions can help bring prosperity to countries, and in Canada's case to provinces as well. The fact that countries with the highest levels of unionization also have the lowest levels of poverty is no coincidence. The attack on unions and dropping unionization rates in Canada, especially in the private sector in recent years, has led directly to a decline of the middle class and has contributed to the gap between the very rich and the rest of us. The naysayers in the business community claim unions are irrelevant or unnecessary. They are more necessary today than ever. MELISSA DVORAK Winnipeg Life's realities define us Re: When faith, homosexuality hit home , Feb. 1 Thank you for John Longhurst's thought- provoking article in Saturday's Free Press . Life's realities really do provide the springboard to see what kind of fibres constitute our moral and spiritual fabric. Hopefully we are schooled enough to think things through so that we act on, rather than react to, situations that cause us discomfort. Thanks also to those who shared their very personal experiences with you. RANDY OLER Winnipeg Faculty worth saving Judging by the letters of support for the University of Manitoba's faculty of human ecology, perhaps university president David Barnard could explain why reducing the number of faculties from 20 to 13 is so vital to the well- being and continued existence of the university ( The wreck of home ec , Feb. 1). With an increase in enrolment in the faculty of human ecology, I find it odd human ecology dean Gustaaf Sevenhuysen would argue for dismantling of this faculty on the basis of relevance and potential job prospects. It would seem that students past and present do not share his view, and place a higher premium on their education. DON PALMER Winnipeg City crews going for gold Kudos to the city's street cleaners for creating an Olympic- calibre mogul run down my back lane in Old St. Vital. RENNIE BODI Winnipeg Nothing cleansing in murder Re: Bikers proceeding with appeals , Feb. 5. The murder of eight gang members in Ontario in April 2006 was no more a " cleansing," as described in the article, than Stalin's " purges," Hitler's " final solution" or any other mass murder. FRANCIS NEWMAN 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. �� LETTER OF THE DAY Re: Sidewalk scofflaws getting tickets , Feb. 5. What's wrong with running an extension cord across the city sidewalk? Well, how about the city sidewalk plow, doing their job at all hours of the day - is the operator watching out for cords that could be in the way? What about the unsuspecting pedestrian walking at night? Should the person who trips and breaks a leg on the extension cord sue the homeowner or the city? ION PARRISH Winnipeg The dangers of cords JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Paul Peters was ticketed for running an extension cord across a College Avenue sidewalk. I T'S nice that Mayor Sam Katz has sympathy for homeowners who want to run extension cords across the street to their cars, but his judgment is lacking on this issue. The mayor says he was surprised to discover some people have been ticketed for the offence, and he has asked the city to find a solution for people who say they have no place to put their car at night. Winnipeg can be a tough place to live, but electrical cords do not belong on city sidewalks or streets. They are dangerous to pedestrians and a peril for snow- clearing crews. The city would also be liable for injuries to pedestrians. A single complainant says he must park on the street because windrows in his back lane are an obstacle to moving his car. This is a common problem that requires homeowners to do extra shovelling, or take other precautions to ensure they have access to their vehicle. Car owners are already required to remove their vehicles from the street on snow- clearing days. The fact some motorists may not have a parking place is not an excuse; nor is the complaint that extension cords should be allowed on the street when back lanes are unploughed, or because there's only room for one car in the garage. The law against extension cords has been in place for more than 40 years. It might be inconvenient when the weather turns ugly, as it has this year, but it is necessary for the safety of all. Mayor plugged out Election act's core weakness A_ 12_ Feb- 07- 14_ FP_ 01. indd A10 2/ 6/ 14 7: 47: 18 PM ;