Jersey - See ‘Em, Read Do You Live in the Monster ‘Em, Win ‘Em Page Apartment From Hell? Ink 14 Page 10 Page 17 Volume 58, Issue 17 january 22, 2004 THE Uniter ART - Never on a Sunday? - page 16 page 2 january 22, 2004 the uniter uniter the news Volume 58, Issue 17 January 22, 2004 S T A F F Jonathan Tan Editor In Chief [email protected] Michelle Kuly Wesmen and Downtown Biz Managing Editor [email protected] Honour Local Heroes A. P. (Ben) Benton News Editor Service for 20 years, firefighter BY SHERI LAMB [email protected] Proulx is one of Canada’s pre- he men and women in the City of mier educators in Fire Cheryl Gudz Winnipeg who courageously risk Prevention. Features Editor Ttheir lives for the safety of others Former Wesmen women’s [email protected] were honoured during the volleyball action volleyball player, Maslowski at the Duckworth Centre on Saturday, has been a Winnipeg firefighter Jeff Robson January 10th. for the last five years, rising to A&E Editor Joining together with the Downtown prominence during the last three [email protected] Biz, the University of Winnipeg paid tribute as a Fire Inspector and for teach- to several members of the Winnipeg Police ing fire safety to the public. Leighton Klassen Services and the Winnipeg Fire-Paramedic Pauls, a member for 10 Sports Editor Services last Saturday night on Emergency years, and Johnson, in her sev- [email protected] Services night. enth year of service, were hon- “We are proud to be able to honour oured for their work in main- Stu Reid those that have put their lives at risk to help taining high standards of patient Production Manager others – and people who are involved with care and educating the public, [email protected] special programs to make our community a respectively. Pauls is also the Julie Horbal better place to live,” said University of Director of Education & Listings Editor Winnipeg Athletic Director Bill Wedlake. Standards for the Paramedic [email protected] The ceremony took place during the Association of Manitoba, while men’s action Saturday night, between the Johnson works in public educa- second and third sets of their game against tion, teaching home and busi- Chandra Mayor the University of British Columbia ness safety and general injury Copy Editor Thunderbirds. prevention, in addition to her Constables Rodney Hutter, Geordie regular duties. Ted Turner MacKenzie, and Thomas MacKay of the Advertising Manager Winnipeg Police Service received awards. [email protected] While off-duty, Constable Hutter 3 people with saved a female from an unprovoked attack guns. Scott deGroot by a violent male, suffering serious injuries Beat Reporter himself. Constable MacKenzie rescued a tenant from a burning house when he entered the building and broke down the Kent Davies door, and Constable MacKay, off-duty and Diversions Coordinator walking his dog, came across an 11-year old boy chest-deep in a muddy bog in the Floodway and used his dog’s leash to keep M.D.Cohen the boy above ground, until help arrived. Diversions Coordinator Four members of the Winnipeg Fire- Paramedic Services—Marc Proulx, Brandy Joe Myles Maslowski, Troy Pauls, and Barb Johnson Distribution Manager were also honoured. A member of the Winnipeg Fire THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS James Paskaruk, Sheri Lamb, Jeanne Fronda, Jacob Serebrin, Jo Snyder, Dan Huyghebaert, Alexia Dyer, Chris Madden, Crime Does Pay - New Justice JJS Mcleod, Mike Pyl, Jeremy Strub, Sarah Hauch, Ed Cheung, Sara Loftson, Gareth Craig McVicar, Chris Minaker, Sarah Surcharge Offsets Tax Breaks Petrescu, Avi Braemer, Vika Ivanenkova BY VIVIAN BELIK when fully implemented. Low income families, usually the bene- Hand in hand with these tax cuts comes factor of NDP policy changes, will receive no Cover Photo : James Simpson anitobans rung in 2004 with more a new thirty-dollar service charge that will be benefit, as they don’t earn enough to qualify The Uniter is the official student newspaper of the University of than just a hangover, they may also placed on convictions for all provincial for these new tax breaks. Professor Abizadeh is Winnipeg and is published by the University of Winnipeg have woken up to an extra few hun- offences, municipal bylaws, and federal tick- critical of Doer’s latest round of tax cuts that Students' Association. The Uniter is editorially autonomous and M the opinions expressed within do not necessarily reflect those of dred dollars, or a new surcharge, depending on ets, not including parking tickets. don’t invite all Manitoba residents to take the UWSA. The Uniter is a member of the Canadian University which segment of the population they fall Justification for this new tax was provid- advantage and speculates on Doer’s strategy. Press and Campus Plus Media Services. Submission of articles, under. ed by finance minister Greg Selinger, when he “The government must provide incen- letters, photos and graphics are welcome. Articles should be sub- mitted in text or Microsoft Word format to [email protected]. On January 1st the provincial govern- stated that, “realigning service fees in the tives to the middle-income people in Manitoba Deadline for submissions is noon Friday (contact the section's edi- ment introduced a new plan that will reduce department of justice and increasing some so that they don’t move to other provinces such tor for more information). Deadline for advertisements is noon taxes to middle-income families and business- provincial fines, a greater responsibility for as Alberta where there are more opportunities Friday, six days prior to publication. The Uniter reserves the right to refuse to print submitted material. The Uniter will not print sub- es while slapping criminal offenders with a paying for justice is placed on offenders, not for businesses and fewer taxes,” he says. As missions that are homophobic, misogynistic, racist or libelous. We new surcharge on legal proceedings. average law abiding taxpayers.” well, the government assumes that the money also reserve the right to edit for length or style. As part of Premier Doer’s plan, the mid- While this may sound like a good idea, being given back in the form of tax cuts will be dle tax bracket rate will be reduced from 14.9 Dr. Michael Weinrath, associate professor of spent on Manitoba goods and services and will Contact Us % to 14.0 %, producing a $ 39 million reduc- sociology and coordinator of the criminal jus- therefore boost the economy in the long run. General Inquiries: 204.786.9790 tion in personal income taxes. For a family tice department at the U of W casts a critical Abizadeh says that another reason for Advertising: 204.786.9779 with an income of fifty thousand dollars, this eye on the NDP’s strategy. this tax cut is that the NDP has a commitment Editors: 204.786.9497 translates to a savings of about five hundred “The government is trying to raise to its voters to fulfill a promise from the 2003 Fax: 204.783.7080 dollars a year, “a considerable tax break,” money by focusing on individuals who aren’t election of further reducing taxes. Low- according to Dr. Abizadeh of the University of particularly popular, ie: offenders,” he said. income people often don’t factor into this Email: [email protected] Winnipeg economics department. The added fee is expected to bring in $ equation because they simply do not make up This new reduction follows on the heels 6.7 million annually and according to Attorney a large majority of the voting population. The Uniter of the $ 220 million in tax reductions that were General Gord Mackintosh, will aid in discour- “The Doer government is trying to buy Room ORM14 introduced by the NDP government between aging people from committing offences. But off any protests from the business communi- University of Winnipeg 2000 and 2003. Professor Jim Silver, professor of politics, dis- ty,” said Silver. 515 Portage Avenue Businesses will benefit from a tax cut of agrees. By providing tax cuts to a particular por- 16 % to 15.5 %, doling out $ 12 million to the “[The surcharge] will not act as a deter- tion of the population that is already fairly Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2E9 Manitoba business community in 2004. By rent and is merely a way for the government to well-off, the NDP government has less money 2005, the rate will drop to 15 %, eventually shift the tax burden onto another segment of to spend on things such as infrastructure or saving businesses $ 46.4 million annually the population.” social services january 22, 2004 page 3 the uniter news The 2004-2005 CFS Great CFS Fiscal Features Provincial Executive Are: PROVINCIAL CHAIRPERSON: Overshadowed By Blemish Meeghan Gavin (Local 37) BY SARA LOFTSON Provincial Treasurer: Mitch Obach (Local 37) n Saturday, January 17th the Manitoba Annual General Meeting of the Francopohone Commissioner: OCanadian Federation of Students (CFS) Solange Buissé (Local 38) was held at the University of Winnipeg. Representatives from St. Boniface College and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, the Universities of Winnipeg and Brandon spent Two-Spirited, Queer Commissioner: the entire day addressing key issues set out in the Matthew Gagne (Local 8) comprehensive meeting agenda. Shawn Alwis, President of the University Students of Colour Commissioner: of Manitoba Students’ Union began the meeting Dave Rapiz (Local 8) with a keynote address. “We thought it was a good idea to have him come out because over the Part-Time and Mature past few years we’ve had very poor relations with Students’ Commissioner: UMSU,” said National Executive Representative (Local 8) Michael Rosenstock. “We thought this was a Tony Hart good way of maintaining a decent relationship.” Alwis spoke about his experiences spear- Students with Disabilities heading UMSU’s campaign against the pro- Some people without guns.