Frontier Centre Comments

I was most interested in Don Sandberg's comments on the CBC this morning as I have been of this opinion for some considerable number of years. Each time I voiced these opinions among friends and associates I have been beaten down with the thought that it will never happen. Bringing together groups of First Nations communities has many benefits including health care, education / training and water quality. The current cost of operating more than 65 reserves in Manitoba alone is at a tremendous cost; and at a sacrifice of quality of life. Steps must be taken, in my opinion, to do as you suggest. -- E-mail from Winnipeg

Your article in the Herald hits the nail on the head. -- Charles Warren Hunt, Calgary

Thank you so much for the sane and well-written article that appeared in the Herald-Leader Press (Portage la Prairie, MB) last week. I hope what you say will be taken to heart - not only by aboriginals, but by all of us. Governments are notoriously stupid, but we individuals are not very bright, either. Working together, for the good of those we have any contact with, is a healing kind of attitude - on or off a reserve. -- Email from Manitoba

I always enjoy getting updates from Frontier and reading what you have to say. I just wanted to comment on the residential school article about the fact there was also good that went on. My mother-in-law who had only positive experiences at her school and has nothing ill to say about it received a cheque last year for 35,000 no questions asked and was told there would be more. More -- E-mail from Pauline, Ontario

I share Mr. McShane's confidence in the ability of our market system to solve the effects of a higher oil price and to deliver an even more productive economy in the process -- if -- and it's a big if. Mr. McShane makes the point in his 2nd-last sentence. "That is what we are all so good at -- provided no 'wise elite' decides to make our decisions for us." More -- E-mail from David Barber, Director of the Cordillera Institute, Toronto

While I think that it is appropriate to retain a stance of sober objectivity, and even skepticism with respect to global warming, it seems that we are in a period of general warming, judging by the evidence of mountain glaciers and polar ice. However, this trend has been going on for over 150 years, starting long before human activity or carbon dioxide production had significant influence on the atmosphere. The longer trend extends from the last ice age. More -- E-mail from Kolkatta, India

I want to congratulate and thank Don Sandberg for his honest, candid and courageous article on residential schools in today's WFP. We need more articles like this from people like you who can sift through the mis-information and partial truths. I have thought for some time that we have not been getting the full story and now am grateful for at least some confirmation. If there are other articles like this which you can direct me to, I'd be grateful. More -- E-mail from Derek Denwood

This is best and most accurate story about the residential schools that I have read. Why isn't it more publicized instead of all the negative stories about the schools. There were some bad things about them but the idea was good. -E-mail from Winnipeg

Many thanks for the comments contained in the Email Update (Residential Schools Story not that Simple) and in the June 11, 2008 Winnipeg Free Press column (P. A15) by Don Sandberg. Both were incredibly appropriate. I was once very much involved with the aboriginal community and later became an instructor at a Residential School. While I am certain that there would have been abuses in some Schools, I am just as certain that the incidences of such abuse were less than in the general population. More -- E-mail from Winnipeg

Thanks to Joseph Quesnel for his recent article on aboriginal spending. Some time ago, I was the author of a letter printed in the Hamilton Spectator on this very same theme. I'm sure I'm not the only Canadian taxpayer who is extremely concerned about the lack of accountability for the monies we so generously allocate to natives. -- E-mail from Barbara Joy

I think "global warming" is settled. It is BUNK. I don't know who dreamed this up, or why, but it diverts our attention from solving real problems such as finding alternatives to oil, pollution and environmental destruction — not to mention starvation and disease. -E-mail from Regina

It seems to me that we in Canada may be looking at things the wrong way. Is it that there are problems on Indian Reserves, or is it that the whole archaic concept of Indian Reserves is the problem? The bottom line is, the Cook Islands are doing very well thank you; NO RESERVES HERE. More - E-mail from Bob Foster, Winnipeg, MB

Now, does that mean that our CO-2 discharges don’t affect our climate? If you have ever been to a bar before smoking was banned, think of yourself in a small room filled with a cloud of cigarette smoke for 4 hours. Of course there is an effect. I also believe in the solar heat idea. Stand back from a boiler and it’s not so bad. Move closer and you get hotter. Duh! More - E-mail from North Vancouver, BC

While Al Gore bounces around the stage at whim..why not get Oprah to hear the *other* side..I think it might ease some peoples pain..lots of fearmongering going on. - Email from Mrs. Vaughn, Medicine Hat, Alberta

I enjoyed your article in this morning’s Winnipeg Free Press titled “The Transfers Trap”. I think this is a very valid, important issue that Manitobans need to understand. However, I think the average Manitoban has very little understanding of this issue and all of the issues surrounding it. This article was written assuming a high level of education on this issue, which I think is lacking. Please continue to talk about this but I would suggest keeping it as simple as possible in future articles as it is a hard one to understand. I think you would then reach a larger audience. This is so important it would be nice if the average Manitoban understood what was really going on. - E-mail from Winnipeg

Fantastic article on transfer payments....I just sold my biz in MB and moving..no wonder! 50 years is enough. E-mail from Winnipeg

Here in the Philippines, as petroleum products including LPG for cooking have become more expensive, some of our already abused mountains and forest lands have become totally denuded and deforested as more poor households are shifting to firewood and charcoal, so more and more trees are being cut. And the state's Environment bureaucrats are nowhere to be seen stopping these large-scale cutting of trees by tens of thousands of poor people. The bureaucrats are holed up in their air-conditioned offices, or attending meetings and conferences on climate change. - E-mail from the Phillippines

When I was an undergrad, global cooling was the mantra I was taught. The environmental catastrophe is upon us, etc., etc. E-mail from Calgary

I just wanted to commend you on your couragous article in the Star Phoenix this morning concerning the death of two children on the Yellow Creek reserve. I say courageous because to state this kind of truth for the record and publicly in our current political climate takes true grit and strength of character. I am not in the habit of looking writers up on the internet but I really felt compelled to comment on an article that stated the harsh truth but without disrespect and contempt. Keep up the good work. I hope it will make a difference. - Anne-Marie Hughes, letter to editor, Saskatoon Star-Phoenix

Cattle ranching is spreading like a virus across the planet, gobbling up our precious, ecologically diverse and carbon dioxide absorbing forests. It is no exaggeration to say that the expansion of ranching is a crisis that must be stopped, if life on Earth as we know it is to continue. Richard Brunt, Victoria

Great work. Enjoyed David Pankratz's brief on the issue of minimum wage as well as your op-ed. It is great seeing that level of information provided and hopefully serves to educate the general public in the government's misdirected attempts to address poverty. E-mail from Winnipeg

The ECCHI is a comprehensive and revealing report on the state of health care. I applaud everyone at FCPP who contributed to making Canada part of this important study. The results are rather shocking and upsetting for many Canadians but will be invaluable if they encourage a renewed interest in the evolution of our health system to a model that is responsive to the needs of an increasingly informed and empowered population. Well Done! - Dr. Vaughan Glover (Pres and Founding Member of the Canadian Association for People-Centred Health)

Congratulations on your report. It is a major wake up call to Canadians. - Dr. Brian Day, President of the Canadian Medical Association

Very professional and objective study. Congratulations. Dr. Jacques Chaoulli

Bravo on your health care work and also on David Pankratz's research on tax policy and poverty! -E-mail from Winnipeg

Excellent article on a subject most Canadian have no knowledge. You might follow this up with one documenting the number of successful actions against organizations that do not follow proper procedure re terminating employees who have 'offended' someone of importance. E-mail from Manitoba

I am a grade 12 Global Studies teacher at a high school in Nova Scotia. I want to thank you for the copy of "Unstoppable Global Warming - Every 1500 Years". Even though global warming specifically is not part of my curriculum, current issues are, and I have been reading about the topic for the past few years. I think I felt quite informed about global warming, climate change, etc. before it became as big as it now is in the media. Of course, I have read, about three times, Tim Flannery's book, "The Weather Makers" and many news articles, National Geographic, as much as I could, in order to feel able to share what I felt was (to use Al Gore's words) a moral obligation with my students. After reading Singer and Avery's book, I experienced a numbers of emotions: confused, annoyed, misled, gullible, and more. Also a little angry. I still do not know what to believe, I am not a scientist at all, and some of their work is a bit difficult for me to understand. I do get the message, however. I expect I will change my global warming/climate change unit next semester to one that focusses more upon bias in the media, and the power to generally create mainstream hysteria. At the same time, I don't want to be responsible for (again, to quote Al Gore) "manufacturing doubt" in the minds of my young students. Very confusing and what feels like a huge resposiblity for me. Those two scientists are very convincing. I think the thing that angers me the most is the effect all of this is having on young people. I am also a mother of two children, ages 19 and 21. It is unacceptable that our young people, at this idealistic, hopeful age should be carrying such a burden of pessimism, especially if human caused global warming is untrue or highly exaggerated. E-mail from Nova Scotia

Please congratulate Robert Supuck for his great article appearing in to-days National Post. It's too bad more of the so called environmentalists don't share his views. E-mail from Gerry Kaumeyer

In my view, the most important environmental issue facing the world today is the fact that one billion of the world's population lives on less than $1.00 a day. excerpt from letter by Andy Wells, Mayor of St. John's, Newfoundland Read entire letter

After reading your headline, "More Science and Less Religion Please," I open the correspondence you send to find a quote by Chesterton, the author of Orthodoxy, and a story about the pope taking a swipe at the global warming crowd? LOL...Less religion please... LOL This is too funny! (Forgive me you guys, but I couldn't stop laughing when I saw how this was presented!) As I am sure you know, Chesterton consistently and always referred to himself as an "Orthodox Christian," and is regarded by both religious liberals and religious conservatives as one of theirs. You have to admit that a "less religion please" headline, in an online newsletter with a Chesterton quote that supposedly affirms such a headline, followed by an article about of all people, the pope, has to make somebody laugh... Keep up the good work. I love what you do; you do it well; but I do think you may want to rethink suggesting that science and religion are at odds... A whole lot of people, including many great scientific thinkers, would take exception to such an idea. More . . . E-mail from Kevin Avram, Arizona

In reading in one of your articles that noted the global-warming-warning are creating their own economy, I wondered "Has any reporter ever attempted to "follow the money?" " It would be interesting to know who would get rich if certain "fixes" were put in place. For example, I hear politicians tell prairie farmers they will make money selling "carbon credits", and while I wonder how that is proposed to work some articles add there will be/is a special carbon credit exchange (is that sort of like a stock exchange) where the "credits" would be sold/traded, and later I read things like "Al Gore has ownership as an investor/founder of the exchange he's promoting". Will Al Gore make millions off the exchange he's promoting?Will he make more than the farmers ? How will the money get from the consumer to the manufacturing-industy to the farmer, and how much will the middle industries , like the "exchange owners" take? If governments are financially penalized for failing to meet quotas, how much of that money would go to the money grabber's in the middle, and how much will go back to consumers or farmers? I'd be very interested in seeing someone do an article that would "follow the money", to put a new but relevant perspective on the debate. -Email from Saskatchewan

I was very pleased to download and review the above mentioned report. It was very good. Accurate financial reporting is the main concern for municipalities. My experience in reviewing financial statements and other local government reports across the country reflects more bad reporting than acceptable data. This is not good for democracy. More . . . E-mail from Ottawa

I think the authors of this report appear to not understand anything about the City of Toronto or its budgeting process whatsoever. Toronto Mayor David Miller - Read Frontier's reply - Our research has not been in any way, to quote Mr Millar, 'shoddy'. It has been hampered though by very poor public information coming out of Toronto and many other Canadian city's annual financial reports. more . . .

I enjoyed your article in Today’s Free Press. It was right on the mark! I appreciated your comments about clear cut logging and the subsequent forest regeneration and renewal. Also, congratulations on your appointment to the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy. E-mail from Winnipeg

You published an absolutely stunning article, let me congratulate you for choice of words and facts to support it. I am sure it will serve as an eye opener for those who don't yet understand that they have no rights nor freedoms. I'd be honoured to shake your hand one day! E-mail from Ontario

I just read Rolf Penner's op-ed in the National Post. Great stuff! Please let me know if there's anything I can do to assist in helping Mr. Fouillard's cause or the Frontier Centre. I'm already on your mailing list and would like to get involved. E-mail from Ontario

The article by David Seymour is full of the same platitudes that have become the standard fare of the Frontier Institute: i.e. that public ownership is bad, private ownership is good. He must be aware that there is still a lot of residual animosity to the corporation that MTS has become. But rather than acknowledging its problems he pushes on to attack what I hear is a well-run public utility. From my personal experience as a MTS customer, I can say very little that would support the notion that the new MTS is an improvement over the public version of the company. With poor communication about rates and nickel-diming customers for the slightest adjustment to hardware in the house, it comes across as a corporation that seeks to squeeze every bit of money it can from its customers. In my area near Stonewall, I have been asking for four years about getting high-speed Internet access, only to be told that my area needs new switching equipment or some other lame excuse. I'm 10 minutes from the Perimeter Highway. I'm sure that SaskTel may have its problems but please don't tell me that I'm better off with this big corporation. It just isn't so. William Pura, Letter to editor, Winnipeg Free Press

The article in View from the West by David Seymour (Tale of two telcos, Oct. 24) confirms my opinion expressed several months ago about the sale of MTS by the "bad ship Tories". Seymour has facts not available to me that shows a government-run phone system cannot move fast enough to keep up with the changes in this rapidly changing business. Perhaps Gary Filmon and company recognized this and acted as a responsible government should and divested itself of a Crown corporation at a good time. The facts in Seymour's article show that the provincial government has benefited by this privatization. While I do not see anything wrong with Crown corporations, I do see the danger of government interference in their decisions. The imposed decision by Gary Doer to run the hydro line down the west side of the lake is a prime example of wrongheaded decision-making and interference in decisions best left to engineers, not politicians. George E. Poulter, Letter to Editor, Winnipeg Free Press

Sask Ed might be measuring achievement but at what cost? We in SK no longer use the reliable CTBS because it would show how our student's achievement has declined over time. Manitoba with its socialist government might have problems in education but ours is absolutely terrible itself with huge sums spent on the new huge school divisions with administrators falling over themselves to waste resources. E-mail from Saskatchewan

I read with interest several articles complied by your Centre on the present debate re: global warming & climate change. I am a retired scientist from Environment Canada and I hold a dissenting view of the present view of the science. I feel that the global warming science has not been well understood nor well explained by its proponents and especially by the environmental lobby.

In my view Global Warming & associated climate change would be beneficial to Canada , a cold country with large areas in western Canada having long wintry climate which can be stressful to human as well as plant life.

I enlcose a file of an article I published in the UK based Journal Energy & Environment in September 2006. My article entitled " India's economic progress in a changing climate: benefits of global warming!" documents how India and its 1.2 billion people have made economic progress by adapting to a warmer climate of the last fifty years.

I believe that a warmer future climate would be beneficial to Canada in terms of reduced house-heating cost for most Canadians, longer grain and vegetable growing season and a robust growth in forestry in western Canada.

Most Canadians ( retirees like myself) would welcome a warmer future Canada. In my opinion, the deleterious impact of global warming has been exaggerated by the environmental lobby.

- E-mail from Dr M L Khandekar, Unionville, Ontario

Continue with your campaign of attacking anyone and everyone who is concerned or wants action on global warming. Continue with your campaign of attacking science and scientists who want nothing more than their governments to STOP spending money to study the issue and start funding measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Continue with these things, if you have no attachment to truth and honesty and God. - E-mail from Sean Morrisy, Winnipeg

I wouldn't claim to have assimilated all the information available, and I'm perfectly prepared to agree that the present global warming may be part of a natural trend. But to pretend that human activities over the past couple of centuries have had no effect at all on the situation is stubborn ignorance carried to criminal levels. Peter Lacey, Winnipeg

Perhaps letter writer Andrew Bonner should have taken more than just a quick glance around the world when discussing the successes and failures of laissez-faire economics. Ironically, the letter writer lives in London, England, which is proving to be one of the great success stories of laissez-faire economics in the past quarter century. Through reduced regulation and an increased focus on attracting foreign investment, this centre has reversed its general decline and is now, arguably, the most important financial centre in the world and certainly in Europe. Yet another success story is a short plane trip away in Ireland, where economic growth rates have been among the highest in Europe for years, due in large part to low taxation and low government spending policies. Meanwhile, on the continent, in the so-called high-tax countries of France, Italy and Germany, economic growth has been stagnant, resulting in high unemployment and social discourse. Even Sweden, which is often cited by proponents of social welfare policies, has felt the rising pressures on its fiscal policies. In light of this, the people of Sweden recently elected a more fiscally conservative government, as did the French and Germans. It is incorrect to blindly state that the best way to alleviate poverty is the inefficient and wasteful social welfare systems currently in place in Canada and Manitoba. - Letter to editor, Winnipeg Free Press, Craig White, Winnipeg

If Holle prefers to live in a society in which the people's elected representatives can't intervene in the economy for the common good, he need not push it on us all. He could just move to Guatemala. - Letter to editor, Winnipeg Free Press, Andrew Bonner, London England

Great job outlining the issues in this aspect of the water quality management challenge. You have identified a significant problem with the use of blunt regulatory enforcement actions that are not accompanied by investments that will genuinely improve water quality. E-mail from rural Manitoba

While you and your NDP friends have pushed Manitoba to being the number one hog province now growing at 15% per year, some of us know the real cost of cleaning up after your pork pals will be too little, too late. - Letter from Lake Winnipeg Cottager, Matlock, Manitoba

Interesting analysis on the amalgamation of the cities in Toronto. I have observed this trend time and time again when the urge to merge is imposed on municipal councils and school boards. The cost of harmonizing union agreements grossly exceeds any potential administrative cost savings.

In addition, the elected Government becomes even more distant from their elected citizens and feel they can pursue policies that are not supported by typical residents.

Within Manitoba, we can observe the folly of this process as well. The Provincial Government encouraged and came close to forcing the amalgamation of school divisions across the province. These new mega divisions have experienced increased costs while the small school divisions that stayed out of the process have continued to provide leading results in educational outcomes and cost-effectiveness. Email from Manitoba

We are no where close the to the typical Toronto-based media portrayal of rural areas as being places of no jobs and no hope to earn a living. However, we are achieving this success in spite of, instead of because of, national and provincial public policies. Email from rural Manitoba

Selling or marketing wheat is not about a belief system. Because you believe in the CWB system also does not mean there is more value in that system for all. Penner points out a simple fact and gives information to back it up. I don't have to believe in him to believe him. Posted comment on Agriville.com

I'm from St. Theresa Point but have been living in Winnipeg for the past 20 years. Over the years, I have been hearing about the same things that Don Sandberg mentioned in the Free Press. My family has been asking me to move back but as I have five kids, and with the gang problem up there, I don't want to. It is as bad as Sandberg mentioned. The councillors have no idea how to handle things now that the kids are out of hand. I would like to thank Sandberg for letting people know how bad it can get on the reserve. But I'll always feel a little badly because I will no longer be going home. - Email from Winnipeg

Thanks for your work and report, I hope you put it in every paper and bill board in CANADA. No wonder the Americans were taking the CWB to court for dumping CWB wheat into their country. E-mail from Saskatchewan

Peter Holle's May 16 column Policies ripe for picking gives the provincial government a viable improvement opportunity for our Manitoba health-care system. Holle suggests eliminating the conflict of interest caused by the fact that regional health authorities both fund and provide services. This practice serves to stifle growth and increase the cost of health-care services.

In a recent study conducted by the Catholic Health Association of Manitoba, funding to the independent Catholic-sponsored health-care organizations was shown to have increased by 28 per cent while the Manitoba health budget increased by 83 per cent over a 10-year period. This fits with Holle's comment that regional health authorities buy services from themselves, which results in raising their own prices, and adding layers of bureaucracy.

The members of the Interfaith Health Care Association encourage the provincial government to carefully study the need to eliminate the regional health authorities' conflict and separate the purchaser from the provider. Our independent, faith-sponsored members are on record with the provincial government as willing partners and collaborators and we could take on a more active role in providing purchased services for Manitobans. - Letter to editor, Winnipeg Free Press from PAM DRIEDGER, The Interfaith Health Care Association, Gretna

At least someone is trying to raise the level of discussion to where it ought to be in what has so far been a dreadfully boring election campaign. Given the lack of imagination in any of the platforms, the ideas put forward by the Frontier Center have been nothing short of superb. I hope that one of the leaders will at the very least grab one or two of the ideas presented and take them as their own. So far it's been a "have not" election campaign in a province with perennial "have not" thinking. Good on you! E-mail from Winnipeg

What a great article. I am in complete agreement with you regarding our subsidized Hydro. I actually did not know until just a month ago that our rates were actually subsidized to BELOW delivery cost. That's just ridiculous! And the only companies we can expect to attract with that are companies with high electricity requirements, which means we lose even more money. I don't think Manitobans are actually aware of the details of this. E-mail from Manitoba

Just a note to compliment you on your latest piece about Manitoba's lack of real progress when compared to Alberta and Saskatchewan. You are completely bang on, and let me go so far as to suggest that this was your greatest comment piece ever - clear, to the point, and supported by undeniable facts - facts which should be the real indicators of change (vs the ones we always hear).

The NDP's big government, program-focused thinking is certainly a big part of the problem, but the PCs certainly had their blunders in health care and to Doer's credit, I think his focus on the energy sector (hydro, wind, and biofuel) is going to be eventually seen as visionary some day, especially the wind stuff.

Anyway, I think your piece points to the need for a real vision of where Manitoba wants to go - and the resulting plan of what we need to do to make it happen. Maybe all Manitobans need to be asked to think long and hard about their futures in this province (and about what they are willing to do to achieve their goals); maybe then we will find the Spirited Energy. E-mail from Winnipeg

I enjoyed the opinion that Robert D. Sopuck presented mainly on waste not, want not as a major means of reducing pollution. He takes a very common sense, middle ground stance and exposes the views of both extremes for what they are -- emotional rhetoric. The only thing I would add is how the "David Suzukis and Al Gores" have a vested interest in promoting how our planet Earth is going to "hell in a hand basket" what with climate change and loss of species. If they were to indicate satisfaction with what society is doing, how would they attract the millions of dollars to their foundations?

Sopuck certainly knows how people react in developed countries when he states they want it both ways. Recent polls indicated the environment is the biggest concern. But when asked what they might do to reduce pollution, most of those same people did not feel the onus should fall on them. That was up to big business, government and others. Then, as a put-down to "deep ecologists" ideology, Sopuck suggests governments help business and individuals through legislation and incentives.

As a landowner who is interested in doing things right for the environment and society, I would react more favourably to the carrot. Like most landowners, I am a good steward and feel regulations are offensive and regressive. Best of all, the "deep ecologist" has lost control over me to exact "their urge to save humanity which is often a false front for the urge to rule it." What the Earth needs now are more people like Sopuck, not fearmongers. - Ken Wasmuth, Wainwright, Alberta

We view the actions of the petitioners (Greenpeace, the Centre for Biological Diversity and the Natural Resources Defense Council) as being for purely political and fundraising purposes. We have pointed out to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife services that the petitioners in no way speak on behalf of the rights and interests of Inuit. - Letter to the Editor - National Post, Mary Simon, President, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami

I happen to agree with you guys on this however, I keep looking over my shoulder to see if I'm being followed by the Global Warming Greenhouse Gas Policia/Brownshirts wondering if I'm going to be apprehended and shot at sunrise. Once this stuff becomes religion as GW/CC stuff has - look out. Al Gore can get away with his $20,000 monthly energy bill because he recants (and says he's trying to solve his problem when really he doesn't give a s...) whereas those of us who feel like fighting... Well, you know what happened when the Catholic Church discovered heretics who refused to recant - especially when they had a bunch of firewood nearby... E-mail from Winnipeg

These days, insurance is a significant expense. In exchange for our money, we expect to have access to this coverage when we need it. What we have seen elsewhere in Canada is a growing public anger among people who fork out insurance fees but then are afraid to access their coverage for fear of surcharges. Manitoba Public Insurance provides comprehensive insurance coverage that people are not afraid to access because MPI does not penalize them for doing so. MPI only surcharges when they are responsible for a crash. Private insurers penalize customers for accessing coverage whether they were at fault or not. -- MPI President and CEO Marilyn McLaren

Mark Milke responds: Ontarians can sue for pain and suffering and if they don't like their accident payout. That's why Ontario has higher average premiums. In contrast, Manitoba consumers must simply accept their MPI payouts and tough luck if one doesn't agree. . . .Given that Manitoba's average claim cost is about 17% that of Ontario's while its average premium is about 70% of Ontario's, and given that Manitoba's urban density is less than that in Ontario or Alberta, MPI's insurance prices and coverage are no bargain.

Full text of exchange

Dennis Owens is either a comedian, a cynic, or both. The senior policy analyst for the ideologically axe-grinding organization known as the Frontier Centre for Public Policy actually wrote this sentence: "Milke calls for a return to competitive markets in auto insurance, and cautions the press to be more skeptical about information fed them by people with ideological axes to grind." Apparently, the caution goes unheeded as the press continues to treat the FCPP as if it weren't a front for "corporatocracy" which issues a steady stream of disinformation based on predetermined "research" by compromised "scholars" happy to steer their studies towards conclusions that suit their masters: government is bad, climate change is scientifically controversial, the market is magical. - JEFF PRESSLAFF in Winnipeg

I was always under the faulty impression that our provincial autopac program brought in car insurance so much cheaper than what was paid in other provinces. I found [the] article very informative -- like a fine wine, [the writer] just gets better with age. E-mail from Portage la Prairie

Thank you for bringing this out in the open! I am unhappy with the no-fault clause. As it stands the person who is not at fault becomes the victim especially if that person is retired, and thus does not suffer loss of wages but may suffer long time hardships as a result of injuries. Please continue to inform your readers. Thanks E-mail from Winnipeg

Just wanted to thank you for the honesty and wisdom you presented in the article of Jan 13th in the WFP. I wish there were more of your people who would also address and own up to these real and disturbing issues. Nothing will change unless aboriginal peoples learn to help themselves and realize monetary promises will not make the change. Everyone needs to be educated and work for a living to earn respect and be responsible for themselves and their families. I do hope Grand Chief Don Evans read your article albeit I am sure he disagrees with you. Thanks again and I wish you much success in seeking positive change for your people. E-mail from Winnipeg

I hauled my 06 barley crop 3miles west to my neighbour's small feedlot. He called in yesterday with a cheque. Priced at market -no dockage - no deductions. Another neighbour had his 05 barley accepted for malt. He is still waiting for final payment from the CWB. As well he has paid trucking to Pioneer Whitewood, had dockage and all relevant charges deducted.

My 05 barley was sold to a local feedlot. Priced FOB my yard and I got paid in full for every pound of grain in the bin on the day it was picked up. My neighbour was over for coffee the other day and we calculated that my feed barley sale beat his CWB Malt barley by about .50 cents per bus. He is not a happy farmer. I am not entirely happy either as my barley price is based on a domestic sales only barley market. I can't export barley so the price is therefore influenced by the CWB monopoly.

The point is there are hundreds of markets for grain if one wants to be bothered looking around. The other point is the CWB costs farmer millions of dollars every year.

I'm not neccesarily smarter that my good neighbour. He had faith in the CWB marketing system. I found a better one. - Email from Keith Lewis, Saskatchewan

I respect your right to disagree with the CWB, in a democracy freedom of speech is a right of all: however you think your rights are being denied. Do you understand how a democracy works, the majority rules and not the minority. Speaking of rights, do you agree with the government's gag order on the CWB, talk about denying a fundamental freedom (freedom of speech).

In an interview you said you could make more tens of thousands of dollars more each year if there was no CWB. PROVE IT. It is easy to make statements but can you back it up or are you just making up numbers to get sympathy. Tell me the name or names of the grain companies who will give you these extra tens of thousands of dollars every year. Give me there names and I will contact them so I can verify your claim.

If you can prove this then maybe you are right about dismantling the CWB, but if you can't back up your statement I would ask you to please apologize for making up the story.

I await your reply.

Sincerely yours,

Andy Schewe

Rolf Penner responds . . .

Except for the part about nuclear energy, I cannot understand why Mr. Holle is not a member of and a candidate for the Green Party.

As for nuclear power the big problem is not just the risk of an accident or disposal of spent fuel but what do we do with power plants that have reached the end of their life. Already there are millions of barrels full of the radio-active remains of such plants spread all over the world. Since these barrels include highly radio-active elements with half lives in the thousands of years, we have to ask who is going to keep them safe and secure over those many thousands of years? Currently most of these barrels are out in the open rusting away. How much is it going to cost to repackage and keep them secure for thousands of years, if it even gets done? This is the real cost of nuclear power. I believe that if this very real cost were to be paid now and not laid upon future generations the cost of electricity from nuclear power could well be hundreds of times, maybe even thousands of times, that which consumers are now paying.-- E-mail from Nick Burman, Calgary

DON SANDBERG writes 'Their people are afraid to invest $20,000 or $30,000 in a reserve-based business, only to see it shut down by the band council for petty political reasons.' And so they should be afraid to invest. This article passes a smell test that the old 'Give me more money' argument does not pass. Thanks Don for showing some insight and leadership. - Reader comment in Globe and Mail

Upon reading Friday's October 27th [Winnipeg Free Press]article about "Fast-moving arson fire kills 4 firefighters in California" I was reminded of a closer to home excellent article written by Don Sandberg. At the time I was most impressed because Mr. Sandberg's August 31, 2006 article, "In the fire at Ground Zero," so clearly wrote of tremendous dangers presented to all Ground Zero firefighters and especially initial attack crews. His article made me aware of the necessity of men with superior decision-making skills and the courage to follow through in the face of nature's vicious unpredictability. These workers are definitely the strong and the brave in the face of a ferocious enemy. Unsung heroes the lot of them and Mr. Sandberg showed so vividly their dangerous occupation. I hope they get well paid for their efforts! Thank you for printing a much needed article about workers outside the perimeter.E-Mail from Joan Pawlikewich, Winnipeg

Peter Holle urged Winnipeggers to envision our city in 2011 as one operating on a "competitive model", relying on "advanced measurement techniques" and "eliminating bureaucracy". Coupled with performance bonuses, customer service surveys and public-private partnerships, Holle's vision is a dream for free-market policy wonks who live for technocratic efficiency. Sadly, his vision would be a dystopia for regular Winnipeggers.

What Holle doesn't spell out is that his ideas would further widen the gap between the rich and poor in our city. Privatizing municipal services and contracting out would further weaken the quality of services we receive while simultaneously eroding the living standards of unionized workers. Performance bonuses for police would increase the ruthlessness of a service already plagued by criticisms of abuse of power and racism. An ethic of care and community would be replaced by one of self-serving egoism and "devil-take-the-hindmost". Maybe instead of having one in four Winnipeg children grow up in poverty, we could aim for one in two. Finally, instead of ideas of participatory municipal citizenship, Holle offers up an emaciated view of Winnipeggers as consumers shopping for services from an administrative "board of directors" (i.e. city hall).

It may be a "confident and cool" city for those with the cash, but for many it would simply be perilous and cold. Sorry, Mr. Holle, but your high-performance Winnipeg sends shivers down my spine. E-mail from PATRICK MCGUIRE in Winnipeg

Wood remains much cheaper than over-priced hydro, which we paid to build. Business gets hydro for as low as 2.5 cents, we pay 6.015 cents. How much do they sell our surplus for? All you want is more government revenue, to spend on things you have not yet invented, I think you call them "programs." The best ad hocs for reducing power come from private affairs, [with] 90% reductions from the florescent light bulb and solid-state devices, all of which not one socialist policy ever encouraged. Manitoba Hydro's debt is about $6.8 billion, yet it "makes a profit." Odd. Please research and list this investment debt. Your article is written short.E-mail from Stan, Manitoba

Your conclusions re: the proposal that farmers should decide by plebiscite the future of the CWB monopoly are by and large correct. The supporters of the CWB and its monopoly want a vote because, with help from the CWB, SARM, KAP APAS and the Saskatchewan and Manitoba governments, they are pretty sure they might win it. And derail the Conservative government's promise to implement choice. The pro-choice folks don't want a vote because there is a risk they might lose it. And lose an opportunity to bring about change via the political process that has largely been without precedent. The idea that a so-called majority of farmers can by plebiscite determine how the minority of farmers market their wheat and barley is simply ridiculous. Farmers on both sides of the debate, whether they acknowledge it or not, have quietly been making decisions on thier farms. To grow other crops, to increase livestock, to add enterprises, to generate other income, which all add up to reducing or eliminating their relationship with the CWB. In other words they are using their daily farming decisions to cast a vote in favor of choice. If the CWB were eliminated tommorrow, most farmers would adapt in twenty-four hours. Many wouldn't even notice. -E-mail from Keith Lewis, Wawota, Saskatchewan

Your comments on telecommuting and its impact on urban development were very interesting. Personally, I have been telecommuting in my work since 1997. In the 1990’s, my location options were limited to urban areas. Since 2000, my options expanded to include rural communities. In 2001, I managed a $400,000 contract in the Caribbean when I was located in a medium-sized rural community in Manitoba. Today, I live on a farm, and I can enjoy all the communication capacity that I could have located in the centre of Winnipeg. In the business world, I am as connected here as I would be living in downtown Toronto. Why would I give up the fresh air, the space and most importantly, the personal safety of my present situation to live in central Winnipeg? More and more, people are going to get out of this hostile environment and chose to live in safe rural communities where they can participate in the knowledge economy. - E-mail from rural Manitoba

Excellent email. Keep up the excellent work. I just hope this material will at some point show up more in policy in this province. E-mail from Winnipeg

Winnipeg is unique in North America for a city its size in having no true freeways and has to rely on its arterial street system to do "dual duty". You may already be aware of this but in case you aren't - the " no freeways in Winnipeg" policy was established by City Council in 1974 and has never been rescinded. As a result, all transportation planning in Winnipeg since that time has been hamstrung. While a few "freeway-like" facilities were built e.g, Bishop Grandin Blvd, Chief Peguis Trail, Charleswood Parkway, Route 90, all have at grade traffic signal control at the majority of their intersections and, as a result, all now have significant congestion at most of these intersections during peak traffic periods. Winnipeg has been able to somewhat "manage" the situation up until now because of its relatively low growth rate over the last 30 years compared to cities like Calgary and Edmonton. However, with new residential areas such as Waverley West and Sage Creek coming on stream over the next 10-20 years there will be major challenges ahead for arterial streets such as Lagimodiere, Bishop Grandin and Route 90 to be able to accommodate the resulting traffic. E-mail from Winnipeg

I have had the honour of being acquainted with many former firefighters. The stories they have had to tell were eye-opening, to say the least. Many men who were homeless at the time I met them wanted the non-aboriginal peoples to know that they had contributed many years to working hard in Manitoba, be they pilots in remote communities, or firefighters. Your article certainly will aid in informing the general public of the respect and understanding deserved to those who have served Manitobans in the past, and those who continue to risk their lives to serve all of us now. E-mail from Diana Robbins, Winnipeg
• Read Ms. Robbins’ entire letter . . .

Very well done on both the WTO and the CWB issues. You are bang on, on both. The WTO stuff is a real mess. Canadian agriculture is going to get sideswiped in a trade war that is already beginning. It is going to get rather ugly. E-mail from Winnipeg

Rolf Penner criticized Environmental Defence in his Free Press article regarding its publication "Polluted Children, Toxic Nation". In particular he described as "despicable" ED's report that childhood cancer in the US has increased by 21%. This Mr. Penner finds this a twisted statistic since childhood mortality from cancer (as stated in the same US report) has decreased by almost 50% in the same period, and this statistic was not in ED's report.

Does Mr. Penner, therefore, believe that it is OK to get cancer ("a painful and deadly childhood affliction") as long as the cure rate approaches some reasonable number that satisfies the Frontier Centre's statistical targets?

As long as children (and any other people) are getting cancer at higher rates, and as long as the cure rate is less than 100%, there is still plenty of pain and death to go around. E-Mail from C. Hugh Arklie, Winnipeg

You and your colleagues are to be congratulated for the historic and heroic measurement of Band performance. My experience has been that the things that are measured get managed and your study, in my opinion, will be looked back at as the key turning point in the process of solving the problem of how first nations institutions fail first nations people. - Email from Michael Walker, Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute

This is so vacuous it’s hilarious. Thanks for the smile!!! - Alex Avery, Director of Research, Center for Global Food Issues, Hudson Institute, Washington D.C.

It is our position that this report clearly demonstrates an absolute lack of respect for the First Nations leadership by choosing not to discuss the purpose of the methodology of this research with any First Nations leaders or organizations beforehand to ensure that appropriate protocols would be followed or that useful questions would be asked. -Letter from Grand Chief Ron Evans

I fully agree that Harper is pandering by supporting the anti-free trade, anti-sound economics, anti-social justice farm marketing boards. E-mail from William Johnson, Parliamentary Press Gallery, Ottawa

I just read your May 19 article in the Saskatoon Star phoenix, Harper sacrifices Canada’s farmers for political gain.. I agree wholeheartedly with your position and assessment of the Canadian negotiating position at WTO.

One item you should consider, this is not the first time the Canadian intransigence on sensitive products has stalled negotiations. In the Hong Kong ministerial meeting in Dec. ’05, the Dec. 17 draft position paper included a formula for tariff reduction of sensitive products tied to the amount of increased in quota access. After the final late night negotiations and direct orders from the PMO, the formula was removed from the final text of Dec. 18. If Canada had not pulled the agreement off the table in Dec. there would have been a far more significant result from the Hong Kong meeting and much more progress would have been made on entire trade deal since then, but instead there has been no progress what so ever and Canada is maintaining an intransigent position.

The same applies the CWB. Crawford Falconer, the chair of the Ag committee at the WTO as put out 2 position papers in May, both including an option to end the monopoly of state trading enterprises. He has left the door wide open for Canada to just walk through, he has pointed to the open door, he has given directions to the open door, he has begged, and Canada has done nothing. It defies comprehension. - E-mail from Doug McBain, Past President, Western Barley Growers Association

The Frontier Centre has also been quite vocal about this issue and we also owe them an expression of gratitude for investing their funds and time to research the science and policy options related to this issue. It is thanks to them that we gained the benefit of hearing the insights of leading scientists like Dr. Andrew Sharpley on this issue. They too have taken steps to ensure the urban audience is informed about this topic by publishing articles in the Free Press and conducting media interviews on radio stations such as CJRB and CBC. In my opinion, the Frontier Centre really lived up to its mission on this topic by providing an independent perspective on this public policy issue and ensuring people are informed about the facts and better alternatives. E-mail from Manitoba

Thank you for your article. Your website was also very helpful with both the adapted report version and the listing of bylaws from 1899 to 1968. E-mail from Gary McEwen, Winnipeg

Well done on this – it is good information and extremely timely. E-mail from Winnipeg

Well done on this – it is good information and extremely timely. E-mail from Winnipeg

I read your article in the Calgary Herald and was impressed with the explanation of ideas which could work in Calgary. We often ask what is a defining feature of Canadians. I think one is that whenever good ideas are put forward in Canada there seems to be a primeval need to show all the reasons why the idea wouldn't work, or ignore it totally. Email from Calgary

Your article is wonderful in its clarity of how things work and the devastation such preferences can create. Not all of Calgary’s aldermanic candidates are like the one we know. I have had some pretty creative talks with others and come away enlightened and unburdened. However, unfortunately, they do not represent the area I live in.

I would also like to thank you for being so up front with your information. In this day and age one hears about being “politically correct,” which is really just a means of shutting up anyone in disagreement and who openly opposes what is being proposed. E-mail from Calgary

May I offer you my hearty congratulations on producing such a superbly-written article, which I have just read in today’s Calgary Herald. It hits just about every nail fairly and squarely right on the head.

What would not work here in Calgary, however, is the notion of a “no-layoff” policy, as the levels of Municipal employment here are already way above any acceptable figures. Substantial City employee “surgery” would be necessary here, right from square one. E-mail from Calgary

If you really want to illustrate the price we pay for Autopac’s monopoly, I’d suggest you do a cross-country comparison of motorcycle insurance premiums similar to the one you did for car insurance. What we pay here is outrageous, and we average a 15% yearly increase. The PUB agrees, stating that Autopac’s method of calculating motorcyclists’ financial obligation is grossly unfair. Still no change though. E-mail from Winnipeg

Mr. Sandberg, Just wanted to offer my support and agreement in regard to recent articles you have written for the Free Press pertaining to aboriginal policy.

Two weeks ago I walked out of my job at INAC in the MB region, in large part for many of the reasons you have so eloquently stated in your articles. I could not stomach this system any longer. This was precipitated by a meeting I had with my manager the day before where I was delivered an edict to "reign myself in and check my philosophical differences at the door". In other words fall into line, keep your mouth shut and we don't want to hear any more of your ideas or potential solutions. I found this disgusting enough to make the following day my last as an INAC employee and probably the end of my 8-year career with the federal government--all in aboriginal-related positions.

Yesterday I had an opportunity to visit a First Nation that I have not been to in 15 or 16 years and was not surprised to see that things were basically running as inefficiently as when I was last there and very little in the way of positive change had occurred especially in regard to socio-economic conditions. I blame the "system" for this lack of change. Given my experience working for regional and national aboriginal organizations, as well as three federal departments (in Winnipeg and Ottawa) in aboriginal portfolios and have come to the conclusion that your opinions are right on the mark. Keep up the good work and continue to fight the good fight!--E-mail from Winnipeg

Dr. Godley was fantastic! I think it was one of the best lunches I've been to. On a somewhat related note, some of the questions were around poaching of staff. My sister just graduated from Radiation Therapy. It's not MRI, but still somewhat related. She has to leave Manitoba to get a job because there are none here. Minister Sale keeps saying that they're understaffed and clinics like Dr. Godley's are making it worse by stealing staff. Yet all eight of the graduates from my sister's program have to leave Manitoba to find jobs. So our taxes are paying to train them, but because there's no jobs, they're leaving and going to work in other provinces while the government claims they're understaffed. Meanwhile, my sister says that cancer care is OVERSTAFFED for the equipment they have and they could run just as well, if not better, with half the staff... not because there's no demand, there's HUGE demand, but because there's a small, limited amount of equipment. - E-mail from Winnipeg

Rolf Penner thank you! I am a 25 year old farmer from Exeter Ontario. I could not agree with you more on the misguided and ignorant supply management system. What you said on Agvision was refreshing. Well spoken, well done. E-mail from Ontario

Our opinions regarding trade barriers and subsidies have been shouted down at so many meetings over the years, that we don't have the heart to get involved in this type of debate anymore. Continued . . .

How disappointing to read that you invited Alex Avery to bring his opinions to Winnipeg. After looking at your website, I am surprised and deeply disturbed that you can pretend to be doing something good. I wonder, do you have children? Do you plan on ever having grandchildren? What sort of world are they going to inherit? Organic farming must be taking a bite out of someone's market share. E-mail from Glenda Whiteman, Concerned Residents of Winnipeg, Inc

Mills is right about the media and the politics of opposition. Other than your group, a fresh idea hasn't come out the political elite in Manitoba since the Red River Floodway was proposed. E-mail from Toronto

Peter Holle's column should be required reading for every taxpayer. The Washington Monument syndrome he describes was evident in just about every statement I heard by Mayor Dave Bronconnier during the debate. This was one of the most articulate commentaries I have read on the need for municipal government reform, and not just in Calgary. I hope we can look forward to more articles like it that not only help to identify root problems, but also offer practical suggestions for change for any leader bold enough to embrace them. - Stephen Pardy, Calgary

"Peter Holle, president of the Frontier Centre, a private think tank most people would assume promotes free enterprise, opposes the NDP's natural gas program because it's not socialist enough. - Blog post from the Black Rod

Read the Black Rod Post here

Read our response . . .

I just about fell out of my chair when I saw this the other day. Hydro is nothing more then a political tool being used by the government of the day. SELL IT before they completely destroy it! If I was Bob Brennan I would resign over this. - E-mail from Winnipeg

Great publicity of the stupidity of subsidizing natural gas prices. - E-mail from Winnipeg

It's always flattering to learn that the neighbours are paying attention to you; however, Peter Holle's Oct. 30 column, “Edmonton lets principals run schools -- and it works,” comparing Edmonton Public and Winnipeg Public schools, does neither system a favour by undermining confidence in the performance of public schools and advocating for increased standardized testing. Letter to the Editor, Winnipeg Free Press

I have just reviewed your paper on Smart and Green principles. I want to congratulate you for crafting such a thoughtful and intellectually-rigorous document. E-mail from Manitoba

Great article in Free Press re: "environment". You changed my perspective. E-mail from John Doole, Winnipeg

The solutions for addressing sustainable rural development issues do not reside in urban ideals and utopian fantasies about how the countryside should be managed. The solution exists in the minds of the people who live and co-exist with our environment in rural areas. These people are the ones seeking to build a better future for their offspring, and they are best positioned to safeguard our future, not some urban idealist who has no clue about how the real world works. E-mail from Turtle Mountain, Manitoba

Good story on the ineptness of Quebec in dealing with margarine. Something about that place - free trade but only if it benefits us, equalization - but only if it benefits us. Please, please get off the pot and separate. - E-mail from Winnipeg

I continue to agree with your call for Manitoba to move toward market prices for electricity. This is a sensible policy that is endorsed internationally and I agree that it will accelerate efforts at conservation and alternative energy investment in the province.

I still wish you would not talk about the windfall from energy falling into government hands on a continuing basis. You are falling for the big gov argument that this windfall is theirs.

As an alternative, privatize Manitoba Hydro and give all of its shares to the current consumers. They will be the ones to feel the pain of increased costs and they will also be the ones to experience the increase income from converting Hydro for a cost-based utility to a profit maximizing company. This is the route to increasing public acceptance of your policy prescription.

If government wants to “harvest” the benefits of this increased wealth, they have lots of instruments through sales taxes, income taxes etc. to recover this wealth.

In the mean time, you have put money in the hands of private individuals and have gotten government out of the equation. That is the method to create real wealth and convert Manitoba to a have province.

Raising rates to commercial rates and leaving the windfall in government hands is a sure way of perpetuating our perversely inefficient system. - E-mail from Manitoba

We have operated a small newspaper in a small town in Saskatchewan since 1969. Through that time I can honestly look back, and provide proof, that governments and taxes have been the worst enemy of my business the entire time. Rather than this situation improving, it has become more critical and is today a threat to the continued service of the business to the community. Further, we are one of the few businesses and individuals that are subjected to ALL tax laws and NO refunds, rebates, subsidies or deductions. I have tried to explain this at public political meetings, the local town councils and the local school division boards but as I look around the room I find I am the only one who could possibly comprehend the situation. Farmers, government employees, union members, seasonal workers who collect unemployment insurance, welfare families, new Canadians, etc. Then there's myself who goes to work every day, makes just enough money so he doesn't qualify for anything - GST refunds, student loans for his children, tax refunds for medical bills, fuel subsidies, etc. etc. - even our MLA and our MP do not understand the situation because they are both farmers. I started to work at this business in 1959 when I was 12 years old and was forced by the government to pay unemployment insurance. My employer contact the UI dept. and was told that I could not collect any UI until I was sixteen years old but I still had to pay into the system. I am trying real hard not be a whiner, but at 58 years old, I am getting real tired of my monthly income disappearing at an increasing rate every year and watching governments become more inefficient. This is not the way to build a happy, efficient work force in Canada, Saskatchewan, or in our little community. E-mail from Saskatchewan

I read your article in the Winnipeg Free Press today and I must say I agree with most of it. Cow-towing to the corrupt aboriginal elite does nothing for the rank and file, and is in the end, nothing but low-life politics. Clearly the status quo is not acceptable, changes need to be made, and people made accountable. It will take a courageous leader to do this, and hopefully one will emerge. It would be helpful if it came from the aboriginal population itself... E-mail from Manitoba

Dear Mr. Sandberg: I have to say, kudos to you for being so honest regarding the new ideas by the Liberals to pour money down the drain.

I used to work as a probation officer and I saw first hand how money is abused. Your right, the money gets to the reserves and the leaders spend it on themselves, their family and friends and everyone else suffers. It made me sick to my stomach and I was so glad when Robert Nault was trying to change things... then it all collapsed and my hope for accountability was gone because I agree with you 100%, the leaders are the reason their communities are poor.

It just made me ill.... and if someone was doing their job i.e. keeping in budget and had money in their account, the leaders help themselves to it without asking.

I am currently at another reserve and its very similar, the Chief is always gone (in the cities, hanging at the fancy restraints, casinos, bars) while the community is left to deal with whatever misfortunate is going on i.e. sexual assaults, spousal assaults (all deemed as every day regular occurrences and don't warrant the chiefs presence) he may show up for a suicide if its a friend or relative.

I have worked in the correctional system, the court system and its all the same, its everybody else's fault, never those that are actually accountable "the leaders of their communities", we cannot heal other peoples back yards, they have to do it themselves and your right, money is not the answer, unless it is used for its intent over a long period of time.

Anyway, I am always angry when I hear so much about how the white man does this and that and its their fault because what I have seen, is this: The white man isn't around to abuse anymore, natives are harming each other, they are full of hate, jealousy and negativity because their leaders aren't doing what they are supposed to be doing, taking care of their issues and their people.

So, what can we do about it? E-mail from Manitoba

Dear Mr. Sandberg: I have to say, kudos to you for being so honest regarding the new ideas by the Liberals to pour money down the drain. I used to work as a probation officer and I saw first hand how money is abused. Your right, the money gets to the reserves and the leaders spend it on themselves, their family and friends and everyone else suffers. It made me sick to my stomach and I was so glad when Robert Nault was trying to change things... then it all collapsed and my hope for accountability was gone because I agree with you 100%, the leaders are the reason their communities are poor. It just made me ill.... and if someone was doing their job i.e. keeping in budget and had money in their account, the leaders help themselves to it without asking. I am currently at another reserve and its very similar, the Chief is always gone (in the cities, hanging at the fancy restraints, casinos, bars) while the community is left to deal with whatever misfortunate is going on i.e. sexual assaults, spousal assaults (all deemed as every day regular occurrences and don't warrant the chiefs presence) he may show up for a suicide if its a friend or relative. I have worked in the correctional system, the court system and its all the same, its everybody else's fault, never those that are actually accountable "the leaders of their communities", we cannot heal other peoples back yards, they have to do it themselves and your right, money is not the answer, unless it is used for its intent over a long period of time. Anyway, I am always angry when I hear so much about how the white man does this and that and its their fault because what I have seen, is this: The white man isn't around to abuse anymore, natives are harming each other, they are full of hate, jealousy and negativity because their leaders aren't doing what they are supposed to be doing, taking care of their issues and their people. So, what can we do about it? E-mail from Manitoba

It's not a new idea or a bad one. It addresses one of Frontier's three themes of high performance public policy - neutrality. Automobiles and parking fees are a recognized expense for tax purposes - it is not unreasonable to hold the same for transit passes.

Mass transit remains a declining transport mode as urban areas disperse naturally due to rising incomes and changing living, work and shopping patterns. The internet allows many to work from home. Companies locate their facilities on less expensive suburban land away from bus routes. We don't find cheap and convenient big box stores on expensive downtown land. Thus, less so in the most congested cities like Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, transit will continue to decline and a small tax writeoff will make little difference.

Mr. Harper might get more traction by offering to simply transfer gas tax revenues to the provinces and allowing them to make their own choices. Ontario and B.C. might then choose to put the monies disproportionately into mass transit infrastructure. For places like Manitoba and other small provinces the money would go into under capitalized road systems that need upgrading and repair.

With reference to the UK medical system, there is a real crisis at the moment, the same one as here - most of our promising medical students, and theirs, want to specialize and thus progress into Residency. This results in a lack of GPs and how sad it is that a GP is almost looked upon as being "bottom of the pile," these days, prestige wise.Really sad to say, but very few patients have a GP who actually "knows them" and how they tick. At walk in clinics you are liable to get a different doctor each time. The other problem is, and this is the one the UK faces, there is not enough room in the hospitals for all the Specialists. They cannot get "hospital time," as it is called. Many doctors in the UK are facing unemployment and having to go to other countries to practice. I don't know but perhaps we have the same situation, here. - E mail from Robert Kirkpatrick, Winnipeg

The Canadian Way is to simply eliminate the patients ... like Mr. Kelly in the recent BCTV story. Note that the spokesman for our Circus Maximus public health administration said nothing to BCTV about objective, measurable STANDARDS for public health in Canada, the standards which would have saved Mr. Kelly's life and other lives. Prime Minister Martin has NO commitment to such standards. Ask him. -E mail from B.C.

The debate we need is how we can change our power structure in order to have some grass-roots accountability. A close look at the American system would be a good place to start. Email from Alberta

It is absolutely not the position of the Conservative Party that the Government of Canada leave the WTO negotiations if over quota tariffs on sensitive products are reduced. There is far too much at stake for Canada’s negotiators to leave the table without achieving the fundamental goals of the negotiations. For the sake of our country’s agricultural producers, we need to get a deal in this round, but we can’t do that if we’re not at the table. - Email from Diane Finley, Conservative Ag Critic

Also includes Rolf Penner's response to this letter

We asked our climate expert Dr. Tim Ball to respond:

Despite all the global warming alarmism we are entering a period of cooling on the Canadian prairies. This is normal.

Global temperatures have cooled since the peak caused by El Nino in 1998 despite continuing increases in atmospheric CO2. Winnipeg summer average temperature last year equaled the long-term average for Churchill. This was because the Polar Front that separates cool polar air from warm subtropical air was about 800 km south of its long-term summer position. Heavy precipitation occurs along the Front so it was also very wet. The pattern continues this year. From 2000 to 2003 the Prairies experienced a drought cycle that is part of the normal 22-year pattern. We have now entered the normal wet cycle and this will last until about 2020.

Great editorial on free trade. Well done. - Email from Winnipeg

I'm glad to see and hear more people from the grassroots that see the problems in Indian country with our leadership, locally, provincially and nationally. Keep up the good work. - Email from Fairford First Nation, Manitoba

In the interest of clarity I thought I would address your commentary.

It is absolutely not the position of the Conservative Party that the Government of Canada leave the WTO negotiations if over quota tariffs on sensitive products are reduced. There is far too much at stake for Canada’s negotiators to leave the table without achieving the fundamental goals of the negotiations. For the sake of our country’s agricultural producers, we need to get a deal in this round, but we can’t do that if we’re not at the table.

Rolf Penner, Agricultural Policy Fellow, Frontier Centre for Public Policy replies: This the first time since the last election that the Conservative Party of Canada has clearly articulated a position supporting trade liberalization. This clear statement should not stand alone, but be followed by a platform that articulates the needs of the 90% of farmers who depend upon world markets for their livelihoods, as well as the other export-oriented industries in Canada.

For some time now the Bloc Quebecois has been promoting the need to protect supply management at all costs. As a result, during the recent debate on supply management, I asked a Bloc member if he would recommend that the Minister leave the negotiating table if the supply management system were threatened. I did this simply to determine whether or not the Bloc recognized, as the Conservative Party does, the needs of the majority of Quebec producers – those who do not operate under supply management.

RP: Before this clarification from the Opposition Agriculture Critic, the position of the Conservatives was anything but clear. Given the previous lack of support for the objectives of the Doha round of negotiations and the frequent comments advocating protectionist agriculture positions it was difficult to conclude that the Conservatives understand the need for, and the benefits of, trade liberalizations.

We would also welcome additional clarification on how the Conservative Party of Canada would deal with the 300% tariffs currently in place to protect the minority of supply managed commodities, as these tariffs are not conducive to a trading environment. In the past your party has unequivocally supported the goals of supply management which are a major trade irritant and the support of which by our federal politicians has resulted in our current isolation at the world trade talks.

It is good to see the re-evaluation of the trade policy position that is evident in the Agriculture Critic’s reply. The Conservatives have an opportunity to lead Canada forward in a needed principled (non-contradictory) debate on the WTO negotiations.

To be clear, the Conservative Party understands that the current unfair market situation facing our grain and oilseed producers is simply not sustainable or acceptable. These producers continue to face crippling foreign subsidies and unfair tariffs with estimated losses of $1.3 billion annually.

When it comes to trade, the numbers don’t lie: some 90 percent of Canada’s agricultural sector depends on international trade – and when our access to other markets is threatened, our agricultural sector is on the line. It is in farmers’ best interests that Canada is engaged in creating a system of rules-based free trade. Whether it’s grain and oilseed farmers, ranchers, pork producers, or others, free markets and open international borders mean more money in the pockets of our producers.

RP: This position maximizes benefits to Canadian producers and the broader Canadian economy. We still question why it has taken Canada’s Conservative Party so long to come to these conclusions. We simply could not find any previous public statements that demonstrated an understanding of these facts.

It is important that this understanding is not lost in the rush to find votes. It is in the best interest of the country that trade liberalization occurs as quickly as possible. The Conservative Party of Canada certainly has a major opportunity to become the leading voice pushing for these reforms.

Conservative leader Stephen Harper has been a consistent and passionate voice for opening world markets for Canadian exports, and the Conservative party is just as committed. We believe that increased international trade is a key to Canada’s future prosperity. That is why the Conservative Party of Canada supports the goals of the Doha round of WTO negotiations, those being substantial improvements in market access, the phasing out of export subsidies and substantial reductions in trade distorting domestic support. This position is affirmed in the Conservative Party's international trade policy.

RP: While this is true, the parties’ official position on supply management unfortunately undermines and is inconsistent with its position on trade. We cannot ask other countries to reduce their level of protectionism without being willing to do so ourselves. This is precisely what they are telling us at the negotiations.

Again, I believe it would be irresponsible for Canada’s negotiators to walk away from the WTO negotiations. As the Conservative agriculture critic, I believe that increased international trade is a key to Canada’s future prosperity. Conservative leader Stephen Harper has been a consistent and passionate voice for opening new markets for Canadian exports, and the Conservative party is just as committed.

- Email from Diane Finley, MP, Official Opposition Critic for Agriculture and Agri-food

RP: Again, thanks for the welcome clarification. We still wonder why it has taken so long for the Conservative Party to clearly express support for the Doha round of negotiations but are encouraged that it might lead to stronger advocacy of necessary reforms that will benefit all of Canada.

Liberalization will be the strongest rural development policy that Canada has seen in many generations. Canada needs politicians to become champions for change; not pander to highly organized interests who are trying to protect their narrow privileges. Hopefully this response is the first step towards this positive goal.

Congratulations. You hit the nail on the head with your analysis on the problems created by over-centralized government in Canada, particularly, how it fuels separatism in Quebec. - Jean Allard, Winnipeg

In expressing his opinions about Canada's Equalization system, Crowley advanced a number of erroneous notions that deserve correction.

First, and most seriously, he makes the patently false suggestions that " . . . the federal government will try to keep Saskatchewan on equalization" as a means of political domination. With all due respect, nothing could be more ludicrous, or more insulting to Saskatchewanians.

Generations of determined citizens in this province have struggled mightily over the years to cast off the constraints of history and geography, distance and climate, politics and defeatism to move beyond old dependencies and limitations.

- Federal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale in the Regina Leader Post, May 4th. Read his entire letter and Brian Crowley's response . . .

One of the biggest ironies in Winnipeg municipal issues recently has been the rapid transit controversy. Here's a city that probably has the most poorly-maintained roads of any urban area of its size in North America; yet it persists in talking about another transportation mode that it likely won't be able to sustain. More . . .

- Email from Winnipeg

I am acutely aware that current international trade rules are not working for western Canadian farmers. At the WTO, this is a critical year for negotiations. We need to be there, not only to press for meaningful concessions from other countries but to ensure a deal that doesn't tip the scales away from producers in Canada. - E-Mail from Ken Ritter, Canadian Wheat Board

Read more and our response . . .

Absolutely superb. Well done! On some of the steering committees I've been involved with that deal with urban planning and fiscal incentives I've raised similar issues (before reading this, which just reinforces my values) - I've managed to sway the debate back to a more balanced perspective, away from this nuttiness. E-mail from Ontario

I also agree with the need to break the educrat strangle hold on the system. Trust me, I have dealt with this centralized administration attitude that we know best what is good for you for too long. Similarly, I agree the power to the union and the professional bodies to dictate how education delivered needs to be reduced. We need more choice and control as parents and communities about the type of education our young people receive. - Email from Winnipeg

I just saw your article and the written debate with the activist professor. Excellent. I loved your dissection of his arguments; it was done with surgical precision. Keep up the good work on behalf of clear thinking and science as the basis for public policy making when it comes to protecting human health and the environment. - Email from Toronto

I'm very impressed by the work of your Centre. Keep up the good work. -E-mail from Angus Reid, Vancouver

The province already pays more for special needs students, although the system currently lacks transparency and needs to be repaired. In jurisdictions where school choice is a reality, specific public schools cater to the market for “difficult” students, and by specializing become much more effective in meeting their needs. They treat such hard cases as opportunities to increase revenue rather than problems to be ignored. We could do a lot more for the most challenged students by abandoning the policy of mainstreaming, which disrupts classrooms for the severely normal. You may also find this perspective from a retired teacher interesting. Click here .

I am acutely aware that current international trade rules are not working for western Canadian farmers. At the WTO, this is a critical year for negotiations. We need to be there, not only to press for meaningful concessions from other countries but to ensure a deal that doesn't tip the scales away from producers in Canada. - E-Mail from Ken Ritter, Canadian Wheat Board

Read more and our response . . .

What are Mr. Penner’s qualifications and research experience in the area of pesticides and their impacts on ecosystems and biota? Mr.Penner has a diploma in agriculture and is a farmer. He has been an avid propagandist for the hog industry in the province, espousing its benign impact on the environment. His credibility in this area is therefore minimal, relying on hearsay and propaganda from the proponents of spray and pray agriculture which current biological knowledge and modern agricultural ecology clearly indicates is on its way out. - Bill Paton, Brandon

Read more and Rolf Penner's response

As always excellent stuff. Hope someone in government is listening. - Email from Vancouver

Promote Hernando DeSoto's book "The Mystery of Capital" - Email from Nanaimo, B.C.

New Brunswick brought school boards back a few years ago. Why are you claiming otherwise in your recent column on school taxes? E-mail from M. Zimmer, Winnipeg.

We aren't. New Brunswick did abolish its boards, and was able to cut costs substantially over the next few years. The new districts, which replaced weak parent-teacher councils, are administrative sub-levels without the power to levy school taxes or to diverge in any important way from provincial control of budgets.

Contrary to what Peter Holle suggests, one does not have to be a socialist or have a central planning mind-set in order to suggest that maybe there’s something wrong with our car culture and unlimited urban sprawl. - Nick Ternette in Uptown Magazine

Read more of Nick's "Left Punch" and our response . . .

"Mr. Penner called us the "doughnut-fighting duo." But we are not after doughnuts. Rather, we fight a growing health epidemic and the costs it poses to our health-care system.

Our motion calling on government, in consultation with all stakeholders, to eliminate manufactured trans fats from foods will ensure that Canadians win this fight."

STEVEN FLETCHER, Member of Parliament Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia

PAT MARTIN, Member of Parliament Winnipeg Centre

Read more and Rolf Penner's response

The 2005 federal budget contained some positive policy tweaks. Raising personal tax exemptions, minor corporate tax reductions and raising RRSP contribution limits will all have positive effects. Eliminating restrictions on foreign pension investments is a smart reform. But the budget is too light on tax reductions, with too much individual relief backloaded five years down the road.

It’s the reverse for spending, most of it into areas of provincial jurisdiction, and in the bloc-funding style, with no incentives for improving policy outcomes. Spending is up by 44% since 2000 and a staggering 12% in this budget. More money into the healthcare monopoly and into unaccountable aboriginal bureaucracies, merely raises inputs with no assurance of increased outputs. Ditto f