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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-07-13, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2017. Editorials Opinions Publisher: Keith Roulston • Associate Publisher: Deb Sholdice Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny Scott Advertising Sales: Brenda Nyveld • Heather Fraser The Citizen is published 50 times a year in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $36.00/year ($34.29 + $1.71 G.S.T.) in Canada; $160.00/year in U.S.A. and $205/year in other foreign countries. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited. Advertising Deadlines: Mon. 2 p.m. - Brussels; Mon. 4 p.m. - Blyth. PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40050141 Canada RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON NOG 1H0 email: info@northhuron.on.ca We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. • The Citizen P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont. NOM 1 HO NOG 1 HO Ph. 519-523-4792 Phone Fax 519-523-9140 519-887-9114 E-mail info@northhuron.on.ca Website www.northhuron.on.ca AOCnaMember CCNA Member of the Ontario Press Council CMCA AUDITED We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are m Copyright This problem won't go away The news that Central Huron has been dropped from the list of candidate sites for the Nuclear Waste Management Organization's deep geological repository (DGR) is probably not surprising, and many people will be relieved, although some will see a lost opportunity for billions of dollars worth of development and many jobs. There are similarities between the real-world temptation of the DGR investment, estimated at up to $24 billion, and the mythical Ojibwe World theme park in Drew Hayden Taylor's satirical play The Berlin Blues, now playing at the Blyth Festival. When the residents of Otter Lake first hear of the proposal by German developers, they are either appalled or doubtful, but when they start thinking about how the money could change their lives, they find ways to ignore their consciences. The DGR, however, is no laughing matter. Ontarians have been enjoying the benefits of nuclear power for 60 years without facing up to the problem of how to deal with the radioactive waste from the uranium spent -fuel rods. There are now 48,000 tonnes of this waste in "temporary" storage facilities at Bruce Power's Tiverton site. We desperately need somebody, somewhere, to be tempted enough to accept the DGR to hold this waste. Municipalities still in the running for the DGR include Ignace, Blind River and Elliot Lake. Whether it was visions of dollars dancing in their eyes or not, Central Huron councillors deserve credit for having the courage to at least explore the possibility of the DGR. For all our sakes, here's hoping those tonnes of nuclear waste soon find a safe final resting place. — KR Facing/denying, reality The ironic reality of the furor over $10.5 million settlement between the Canadian government and Omar Khadr, last week, was that in acting in the best interests of Canadian taxpayers, Justin Trudeau's Liberals went against their own political interests. From a political standpoint, the government would have been far better to continue to fight Khadr's lawsuit over violations of his civil rights. Khadr's lawyers sought $20 million because Canadian governments (the Liberal governments of Jean Chretien and Paul Martin and the Conservatives of Stephen Harper) tacitly approved his retention and torture in the U.S. military's infamous base at Guantanamo Bay after his capture as a 15 -year-old child soldier in Afghanistan. Eventually, after spending much more than the $5 million in legal fees it has already spent, the government would have lost the lawsuit and paid out the entire $20 million, but the Liberals could have shrugged and blamed the courts instead of being slammed for "giving" Khadr $10.5 million And the government would have lost, there's no doubt about it. The Supreme Court had already ruled unanimously on Jan. 29, 2010 that Khadr's right had been violated. The government under Harper, then took another two years before negotiating to have him transferred to a Canadian prison, and then only after he'd confessed to throwing a grenade that killed U.S. soldier, Sgt. Christopher Speer during a battle in Afghanistan when Khadr was fighting for al-Qaeda. He later recanted that confession, saying it had been made under duress. Everything about Omar Khadr is coloured by his odious family: his father who died fighting for al-Qaeda and his mother and sister who boasted on Canadian television about how proud they would be to have a son killed while fighting on behalf of Islamic extremist causes. Given his family connection, many Canadians are happy to set aside the rights the young Khadr was entitled to because of his Canadian birth and forget that, at 15, he would have been treated as a child soldier, internationally, or as a juvenile offender if he had killed someone at home. This matter of citizens' rights and freedoms is a knotty one. Everybody agrees they should have rights against a government abusing its power, but they want those rights ignored when they are applied to people they don't like. It can't work that way. We can only be guaranteed our rights if people we don't like are also guaranteed theirs. In its 2010 ruling, the Supreme Court made that clear. In settling with Khadr, the Liberal government probably saved Canadian taxpayers more than $10 million but at great cost to the party which will lose votes for facing the reality of what must be done. — KR One's right! 19 are wrong? At last week's G-20 conference, 19 leaders stood on one side of the issue of climate change and U.S. President Donald Trump stood alone in denying action is needed. There's only one way that balances out: if you could put Trump's ego on one side of a scale it would probably be large enough to balance those of all the other 19 leaders. Surely most Americans must wonder if their president is missing something when he stands alone on such an important issue. But such is the sense of American exceptionalism among Trump supporters that they will probably accept that he's right and everyone else is wrong. — KR Looking Back Through the Years July 12, 1944 The Honourable Norman L. McLarty, Secretary of the State for Canada, was scheduled to be the guest speaker at a special joint meeting of the Huron -Bruce and North -Huron Liberal Associations. The meeting was scheduled for July 14 at the Wingham Town Hall. In Morris Township news, the first-ever reunion of the Hoy family was held at Sunset Park in Goderich on July 3 and it was estimated that 60 family members were in attendance. In order to keep the new-found tradition alive, a committee was appointed to arrange the reunion the following year. After a special meeting in Bluevale, Turnberry Township Council decided to grant $1,000 to the construction of a new wing at the Wingham Hospital. Council stated that the funds would be paid as the work progressed. July 22, 1981 A new contract for the 1981/1982 school year was ratified by the Huron -Perth Roman Catholic School Board at a special meeting on July 15. The new contract would see teachers receive a 10.42 per cent increase in pay over the term of the contract. Howie Morenz, a Mitchell -born hockey player, was set to be the subject of a new play at the Blyth Summer Festival called Fire on Ice. The show would open on Aug. 4 at the Festival and run until Aug. 22. Morenz was born in Mitchell in 1902 and would go on to play minor hockey in Stratford before signing a professional contract with the Montreal Canadiens in 1923. During that time some called him the "Babe Ruth of Hockey" due to his speed and determination. Huron County beef farmers said that recently -announced aid for beef feeders was "badly needed" after the high cost of grain and energy, combined with the high cost of borrowing money had left many beef farmers in a loss position. July 16, 1997 Huron County Council stated that their social assistance cases were at their lowest level in five years. Huron County Administrator John MacKinnon said the cases dropped 10 per cent from May to June alone to a total of 448. The Drum and Bugle Corps from Yokohama, Japan was set to travel to Brussels to help the town celebrate its 125th anniversary celebration. The group consists 45 members between the ages of 14 and 19 and was planning on performing a special concert on the Monday night of the celebration as part of its North American tour. A scary incident played out in Brussels, but it could have been a lot worse as a scream scared off a home intruder and avoid a serious incident. An elderly Brussels woman was stirred from her sleep around 2 a.m. on July 9 by the sounds of someone breaking into her home. The suspect entered the woman's bedroom and made "rude" comments and that was when the woman shouted, causing the suspect to leave. Hullett Council declared its preference if amalgamation was to be forced on Huron County's lower - tier municipalities, saying Hullett would prefer to be part of a North Huron group if forced to amalgamate with a neighbouring township. July 14, 2016 Huron East Council was busy discussing the potential for sharing services with some of its neighbouring municipalities. While Bluewater and Central Huron had already been identified as potential matches for the program, Huron East Mayor Bernie MacLellan mentioned South Huron as a potential participant in the program as well, which would have meant that a stretch of municipalities from nearly the northern tip of Huron County to the south end. MacLellan said that the debate to potentially unite the four municipalities would be "historic" and had the potential to save taxpayers millions. "I think this is one of the biggest potential benefits for taxpayers in decades," MacLellan said. Huron County Council was feeling generous as it approved grants to both the Wingham and District Hospital's "Our Hospital, Our Future" campaign and the Canadian Centre for Rural Creativity in Blyth. The Walton Raceway and leading Canadian sports broadcaster TSN inked a television deal that would see a number of raceway self - produced shows air on the network. Sharlene Bolen and Irene Kellins aimed to reproduce some historic Huron County needlework after coming across some historical textile work in the Huron County archives. Bolen then said she would be exploring the process for an article in Piecework magazine. Huron County officially cut the advanced care paramedic program after several publicized and hotly - debated meetings. The cancellation of the program, councillors said, would result in the savings of nearly $2 million.