ISSUE 2006/09/28 0VOLU4ME 61 INSIDE 02 News 07 Comments 09 Diversions 10 Features 11 Arts & Culture uniter.ca 17 Listings » 20 Sports N THE WEB O [email protected] » E-MAIL E 04 U SS I L. 61 L. 61 vo 2006 28, SEPT MANITOBA GETS SERIOUS ABOUT WATER 02 BUT DO OUR CITIZENS UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES? DENT WEEKLY U HASSELRIIS ADVOCATES MORE LIVELY CITY 10 BRT PROPONENT'S MAYORAL VISION IS BIGGER THAN BUSES INNIPEG ST INNIPEG W F AN EX-FUNDY RETURNS TO CHURCH O 13 PENTECOSTAL WISCONSIN CONFRONTS QUESTIONS OF FAITH THROUGH THEATRE ERSITY V CHECK OUT THIS YEAR'S LINE UP NI WESMEN ROSTERS RELEASED U 21 HE T ♼ September 28, 2006 The Uniter contact: [email protected] 02 NEWS UNITER STAFF NEWS EDITOR: RICHARD LIEBRECHT SENIOR REPORTER: DEREK LESCHASIN NEWS EDITOR: WHITNEY LIGHT E-MAIL: [email protected] E-MAIL: [email protected] E-MAIL: [email protected] MANAGING EDITOR News Jo Snyder » [email protected] BUSINess MANAGER James D. Patterson » [email protected] Canada’s liquid gold at risk NEWS ASSIGNMENT EDITOR Richard Liebrecht » [email protected] JULIENNE ISAACS But the issue is larger still. At the United Some water problems persist: News PRODUCTION EDITOR Nations Commission on Human Rights in Manitoba’s battle with North Dakota over Whitney Light [email protected] » 2002, Canada was the sole nation to refuse Devil’s Lake is far from over. The passing of anadians have water on the brain. to back the Right to Drinking Water and Devil’s Lake water via the Sheyenne River COMMENTS EDITOR Brad Hartle » [email protected] Victoria’s Water in the City confer- Sanitation, leaving some with concerns that to Lake Winnipeg could, according to ex- C ence, which ran from Sept. 16-20, the federal government is not concerned perts, contaminate and introduce poten- DIVERSIONS EDITOR addressed water issues of local and national enough about the protection and regulation tially harmful new species to its waters. In Matt Cohen » [email protected] concern, ranging from sanitation and con- Aug. 2005, an agreement was reached to in- servation to the need for a “visionary” per- stall expensive filters, but Devil’s Lake water ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR spective on the resource some have begun We all have a responsi- had already begun flowing. Mike Lewis [email protected] » to call “liquid gold.” Dwight Williamson, MWS Director, Water in the City featured such high bility to the larger community” makes it clear that the government of LISTINGS COORDINATOR profile speakers as Maude Barlow, National Nick Weigeldt » [email protected] Manitoba is serious about water. But Chairperson of the Council of Canadians and –DWIGHT WILLIAMSON, Williamson says that citizens have a respon- SPORTS EDITOR Chair of the Committee on the Globalization MANITOBA WATER STEWARDSHIP DIRECTOR. sibility, too – namely, to understand the Mike Pyl » [email protected] of Water, and Doug McKenzie-Mohr, inter- issues. In the end, he says, “We all have a re- nationally recognized for his work on sus- sponsibility to the larger community”. COPY & STYLE EDITOR tainability practices. of water, particularly in municipalities and Canadians will ponder whether their Brendan Johns » [email protected] Although the discussion was broad, Aboriginal communities across the country. glass is half empty or half full long after Water the conference was really about water man- This is not to say that Canada hasn’t in the City. As Maude Barlow states, water is PHOTO EDITOR agement on a local level, said Vic Derman, made progress in water resource manage- “a fundamental human right and a public Natasha Peterson » [email protected] Conference Chair and Vice Chair of the ment. In Nov. 2003, Manitoba became the good that must be protected by governments Capital Regional District Water Commission SENIOR REPORTER first jurisdiction in Canada to introduce and communities.” Canada’s “liquid gold,” Derek Leschasin » [email protected] in Victoria. “In some cases, such as with cli- a standalone water protection and man- in both local and federal governments, will mate change aquifer depletion and health, agement department – Manitoba Water be the topic of continued debate. STAFF RepORTER local issues were tied to larger national or Stewardship – that has since made some im- Kenton Smith » [email protected] global perspectives,” he said, “but the em- portant moves. In 2002, the Drinking Water phasis remained at the community level.” Safety Act was introduced, and early this year BEAT RepORTER As a post-conference initiative, a best prac- the Water Protection Act, which focuses on Ksenia Prints » [email protected] tices document will be produced to steer watershed planning and cooperation with policy-making towards better stewardship municipal development, expanded the BEAT RepORTER Michelle Dobrovolny » [email protected] of water. number of conservation districts in This focus on responsible stewardship Manitoba from nine to 16. MWS PRODUCTION MANAGER & GRAPHICS EDITOR is nothing new. Canada owns approximately hopes to establish, in time, a Sarah Sangster » [email protected] one-fifth of the world’s fresh water. Groups Manitoba Water Council like the Council of Canadians and KAIROS, that will tackle the a church-based social justice movement, province’s unique THIS WEEK ’ S CONTRIBUTORS have been pushing the federal government issues. to adopt a National Policy on Water for Scott Christiansen, Julienne Isaacs, years, citing the dangers of privatization. In Brook Dmytriw, Ian Scott, Aaron Epp, Jennifer Sacco, part, these groups worry that thirsty north- Georgia Barker, Melody Rogan, Kelsey Hutton, Michael ern states in the U.S. could siphon Canada’s Banias, Daniel Falloon, Kalen Qually, Dustin Addison- Schneider, Thomas Asselin, Dan Verville water if policy makers allow its bulk expor- tation. The Uniter is the official student newspaper of the University of Winnipeg and is published by Mouseland Press Inc. Mouseland Press Inc. is a membership based organization in which students and community members are invited to participate. For more information on how to become a member go to www.uniter.ca, or call the office at 786-9790. The Uniter is a member of the Canadian University Press and Campus Plus Media Services. SUBMISSION OF ARTICLES, LETTERS, GRAPHICS AND PHOTOS ARE WELCOME. Articles must be submitted in text (.rtf) or Microsoft Word (.doc) format to [email protected], or the relevant section editor. Deadline for submissions is 6:00 p.m. Thursday, one week before publication. Deadline for advertisements is noon Friday, six days prior to publication. The Uniter reserves the right to refuse to print submitted material. The Uniter will not print submissions that are homophobic, misogynistic, racist, or libellous. We also reserve the right to edit for length and/or style. CONTACT US » General Inquiries: 204.786.9790 Advertising: 204.786.9779 Editors: 204.786.9497 Fax: 204.783.7080 Email: [email protected] LOCATION » Room ORM14 University of Winnipeg 515 Portage Avenue Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2E9 COVER IMAGE COVER ART BY ALEXANDer KOSOLAPov "Unlearn" Will be showing at the Plug in ICA, 286 McDermot until Nov. 18 contact: [email protected] The Uniter September 28, 2006 NEWS 03 U-Pass still in the works, says Sjoberg DISCOUNT TRAnsIT PROGRAM COULD FACE SPRING REFERendUM Campus & DEREK LESCHASIN SENIOR REPORTER Community of W students will have to wait at BRIEFS least until spring for a discount U transit program – dubbed U-Pass – to be proposed. University of Winnipeg UW WINS CAMPUS COMMUTER Student’s Association president Kate Sjoberg CHALLENGE says that February will likely be the earliest – Amanda Taylor time at which students would vote in a ref- erendum on whether to implement the pro- The fourth annual Campus Commuter Chal- gram at the University. lenge kicked off Sept. 18 with speeches by the University’s own climatologist, Danny Blair, and If a U-Pass program is approved, every Vice-President of Student Services Vivian Belik. student would pay a mandatory flat fee at Both had positive messages to motivate stu- the beginning of every year that would allow dents to stop by and sign-up. Dr. Blair touched them unlimited transit access during the on the harmful effects of greenhouse gases and how the challenge was not only about that week, fall and winter semesters, and possibly even but also about making lifestyle changes to reduce during the summer. harmful emissions. While the initial fee would be large, Organized in coordination with the Eco-MA- the long-term savings would be consider- PHOTO: AARON VINCENT ELKAIM FIA by Scott Harrison for the past three years, the able compared to the costs of regular-price Campus Commuter Challenge is initiated by Re- source Conservation Manitoba and pits Manitoba post-secondary institutions against one another Executive, which included Sjoberg, reached before...and I think that if we show it can to see whose students can make the most use of a deal with Winnipeg Transit that would have work at the University of Winnipeg, then sustainable forms of transportation. Most Canadian seen students pay $270 for year-long tran- why shouldn’t it work at other campuses?” Students could register only once each day, with each entry also putting the student’s name sit access. But the UWSA Board of Directors Most Canadian universities with a U- into a prize draw. universities with a U-Pass voted to postpone putting the question to a Pass charge fees considerably lower than University of Winnipeg students made head- referendum, expressing doubt that the stu- the $270 proposed last spring. At McMaster way early in the week. At its end on Sept. 22, they charge fees considerably lower dent body would approve such a high fee. University in Hamilton, Ontario, students clearly came out on top of the eight participating schools, with approximately 500 students having “That’s a pretty good chunk of change pay only $67.50 for a year of transit use.