Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 28, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A6 Pan Am Games close I love that we hosted the Pan Am Games, and I would love to see us bid for the Olympics. @ patricktustin What an amazing experience # Pan- Am2015 was. So fortunate to have been on Team Canada - so much fun with such a great team! @ tasha_ wodak Let's be proud and not gripe and groan about the Pan Am Games. Let's support our Canadian athletes. @ Serenity4always The Pan Am Games were amazing. Hats off to Team Canada as always. @ TaimurShakeel Some things in society are worth doing. Arts and sport are two of those that add more value than people think. Thanks. @ joeborges Just like that the Pan Am Games are over. And nobody cared or even knew it was on. @ ChrisFullgraf I think I'm going to start pulling a Kanye mic toss after every meeting. @ swolau OUR VIEW �o YOUR SAY WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2015 Freedom of Trade Liberty of Religion Equality of Civil Rights A 6 PERSPECTIVES AND POLITICS EDITOR: Shannon Sampert 204- 697- 7269 shannon. sampert@ freepress. mb. ca winnipegfreepress. com EDITORIAL LETTERS FP COMMENTS TWITTER VOL 143 NO 255 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 2015 Winnipeg Free Press, a division of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Published seven days a week at 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6, PH: 204- 697- 7000 Publisher / BOB COX Editor / PAUL SAMYN Associate Editor Enterprise / SCOTT GIBBONS Associate Editor Operations and Engagements / SARAH LILLEYMAN Associate Editor Digital News / WENDY SAWATZKY Night Editor / STACEY THIDRICKSON Director Photo and Multimedia / MIKE APORIUS W What's your take? The Free Press wants to hear from you. Email: letters@ freepress. mb. ca Post: Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, R2X 3B6 Please include your name, address and daytime phone number. Follow us on Twitter @ WFPEditorials For a how- to video on writing letters, visit winnipegfreepress. com Olympics too costly for Toronto Before Toronto gets too enthusiastic about bidding for the 2024 Summer Olympics, proponents need to consider the report by Oxford University that examined the 17 most recent pre- Sochi Games ( Timing may be right for Toronto , July 25). The report found there was a 100 per cent guarantee costs would exceed budgets, and those costs surpassed them by an average of 179 per cent of original estimates. Had Sochi been included, the number would have been even higher. In addition, the report concluded the alleged associated economic benefits of the Games have been " marginal at best and disastrous at worst." So if Toronto's expenses for the Pan Ams, hardly even a second- tier event, are triple those of Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2011 and, inflation- adjusted, 14 times Winnipeg's in 1999, can anyone envision the bill it would run up for the Olympics? Would Canadian taxpayers be expected to help pay down the debt? EDWARD KATZ Winnipeg Key federal coalition overlooked While the July 27 editorial Coalition governments coming soon? is thoughtful and accurate, the statement " Coalition governments have been considered un- Canadian - except for the one that was formed in the First World War" is incorrect. In 1972, Pierre Trudeau's Liberals and David Lewis's NDP formed a coalition that lasted for two years; in the 1972 election, the Liberals ended up with a plurality of two seats over Robert Stanfield's Conservatives, with the NDP having 31 seats. During the short life of this coalition, several major pieces of important, progressive legislation were passed. In 1974, Pierre Trudeau dissolved the coalition and called an election, convinced he could return with a majority - which, in fact, is just what happened. ROBERT BASHAM Winnipeg Hydro's two- tiered customer service In a recent order, the Public Utilities Board has requested Hydro file its plan for a bill- assistance program - a major departure from Hydro's long- standing bill- collection policy ( PUB clears way for Hydro rate hike , July 25). Having spent part of my career as vice- president of customer service, I can tell you Hydro treated all customers equally. If a customer had difficulty paying a bill, he or she would be referred to a social- assistance department run by the government. The recent order creates a two- tiered customer class system, shifting responsibility for funding Hydro from one group of customers to others. It also inappropriately burdens Hydro with a social- assistance responsibility. WILL TISHINSKI Winnipeg NDP's child- benefit stance chided Ralph Goodale is correct in contending the NDP seeks to turn a social program into a political milch cow ( NDP makes pitch for child benefit in fundraising email to supporters , July 25). NDP Leader Tom Mulcair intends to keep the universal child care benefit program if elected, meaning he's comfortable with the public treasury enriching party coffers - not what one should expect from an aspiring prime minister. The contention that this program goes equally to the wealthy whether or not they need it is moot. This is a universal program using taxpayers dollars and should be open to all; it's a soup- kitchen mentality to argue otherwise. It's the Opposition lambasting a program while trying to find ways to exploit it. DON PALMER Winnipeg No accountability at WPS After one city screw- up after another with little in the way of accountability for those responsible, it comes as no surprise Winnipeg Police Service officers guilty of the X- rated broadcast from Air One got off scot- free ( No punishment for helicopter broadcast , July 25). The only remedial action being taken appears to be a technical fix that will supposedly prevent future X- rated Air One conversations from being broadcast. I guess it's too much to expect a modicum of decency and professionalism from our highly paid WPS members these days. LARRY ROBERTS Winnipeg Rana Bokhari MIA? Re: Trudeau dismisses notion of Liberal- NDP alliance to topple Tories ( July 23). In videos and pictures of Justin Trudeau's recent visit to Winnipeg, none of them included provincial Liberal leader Rana Bokhari - or did I blink and miss it? JAMES HANNAH Winnipeg One tough mayor Re: When His Worship was a Her ( June 27). She led women into politics; if anything, many women have learned a lot from her - how she was accepted, how she was portrayed, and even more so how she acted. She had to help fight the flood of 1997, wave goodbye to the Winnipeg Jets, plus had a mess of debt financially to deal with back then. I don't know if any other mayor could have done better at that time. - 22080928 �� A tough and lovely woman. - Gordon Halushka �� Both Bill Norrie and Sam Katz were constantly criticized for their wardrobes. Russ Wyatt's weight is often mentioned. The age difference between Katz and his second wife was a topic for discussion. Ald. Charles Spence had to leave the city when he was outed as gay. I think perhaps Ms. Thompson's skin may be a little too thin. - OBSERVER6 �� @ OBSERVER6: No, the criticisms prove that many in the public are shallow - more concerned with appearances than performance, as though appearances actually have an effect on the performance. - Rodney 2 �� At least she replied to emails. So did Sam Katz. Bowman never replies to anything. - ve4mm More coalition chatter Re: Coalition governments coming soon? ( Editorial, July 27). It makes sense to refuse to consider a coalition before the election. But as stated, after the election would be a whole different matter. If Harper winds up with enough seats for a minority government, I don't think the opposition will waste much time trying to work with him again. Harper has a way of making people regret they co- operated with him. - JustWondering �� During the last election, talk of the Liberals and NDP forming a coalition may have backfired. I don't believe Canadians were ready for such a thing. We may be more ready now. - groot �� All those in favour of an NDP- Liberal coalition would find it appalling if the Conservatives were in a minority position and formed a coalition with another right- wing party. - the last remaining voice of reason �� " For some reason, coalition governments have been considered un- Canadian." Inexplicable reasons, and even then only by fools. There's nothing wrong with them - in fact, they could potentially even be better. - JoeJ I T'S no secret the Harper government has never liked the Charter of Rights and Freedoms or judicial decisions overruling government policy, leading to what critics call " judgemade law." Prime Minister Stephen Harper has made some attempts to change the character of the Supreme Court of Canada, but the general impression has been that the judicial system was safe from excessive political tampering. That view, however, is open to question following a lengthy investigation by the Globe and Mail , which found the Conservative government for the last nine years has been actively working to appoint judges who are likely to be friendly to its agenda and opposed to the idea courts should overturn traditional social and moral values, including on such matters as abortion, gay rights, prostitution and doctor- assisted suicide. The Conservative government, the Globe said in reports Saturday and Monday, has named about 600 of 840 full- time judges who sit on provincial appeal and superior courts, as well as federal courts. Lower- court judges are appointed by the provinces. The government has favoured prosecutors and business lawyers over defence attorneys in the process, presumably on the assumption the latter are more likely to be sympathetic to the charter. Most importantly, when the government was elected in 2006, it changed the process for naming judges by giving the federal government more clout in the process. In addition, regional cabinet ministers also played a critical role in the decision- making process. In some cases, the Globe found, ministers even had lunch with potential candidates to ensure they were likely to be friendly to the government, or at least not unfriendly. Through these and other means, the newspaper discovered the Conservative government has created a pool of judges who will eventually be considered for promotion to higher courts. Previous governments have also picked politically palatable candidates for the bench, a practice the Canadian Bar Association criticized in a 1985 report. As a result, former prime minister Brian Mulroney created a system of screening committees to ensure at least the perception judges were picked on the basis of merit alone. As noted, Mr. Harper tilted that process in favour of his own partisan agenda, while also allowing cabinet ministers to conduct their own informal, secretive screening. There's no better example of this process than the appointment of former Tory cabinet minister Vic Toews to the judiciary. The recent appointment of Justice Bradley Miller to Ontario's Court of Appeal should also raise red flags. Among other things, Judge Miller believes the Supreme Court was wrong to strike down the laws on assisted suicide and prostitution. The courts, he believes, have ignored the harm caused by such decisions. As the Globe discovered, Justice Miller believes certain moral and cultural standards are part of basic human nature and more important than individual rights or evolving rights, such as gay marriage. All of this from a man who one day could rule from the highest court in the land. Will this new Canadian judiciary be one of Mr. Harper's enduring legacies? If so, it's unlikely to be one Canadians appreciate down the road. The bottom line is the judicial appointment system needs to be strengthened and immunized from political influence. No one wants an American- style public screening process, which is overly partisan. Canada, however, should revisit the original intent of the screening process introduced by Mr. Mulroney, which was to select judges based on merit and in a way that is neutral and independent. Justice, remember, is supposed to be blind. Harper quietly politicizing the courts A_ 06_ Jul- 28- 15_ FP_ 01. indd A6 7/ 27/ 15 5: 24: 44 PM ;