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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-08-24, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 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 AOCna tom. Member 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 Somebody's got to pay It's not often you'll find Premier Kathleen Wynne, Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown and New Democratic Party Leader Andrea Horwath agreeing on anything but last week all three were quick to say no to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario's (AMO) request for an increase in the HST from 13 to 14 per cent with the extra money to go to municipalities. With a provincial election scheduled for June of next year, none of the party leaders was likely to commit political suicide by promising to raise taxes, but the municipal leaders at least made their point. Municipalities are creations of the provincial government. Most can only generate income from property taxes and fees for things like building permits and garbage collection. For everything else they depend on the generosity (or whim) of the province. Rural municipalities, in particular, have been getting hammered in recent years through continued reductions in grants from the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund. They've been having to hike property taxes significantly to make up the difference. AMO's tactic is unfair in asking provincial leaders to take the flack for raising taxes rather than local politicians having to raise property taxes, but it does demonstrate that many municipal problems begin with funding cuts by the provincial government. As next summer's provincial election draws near, local candidates for all parties also need to be put on the spot about what their party, if elected, would do to make rural municipalities financially sound. — KR Let's be fair As people seeking asylum in Canada continue to pour across the U.S. border into Canada, there's one thing that our government must do: be fair in warning people that just because they enter Canada doesn't mean they'll be able to stay. Most of these migrants (80 per cent by some counts) are Haitians who were in the U.S. at the time of the earthquake that struck their homeland in 2010 and were allowed to stay temporarily. Now the U.S. government has notified many that they may have to go home and they've chosen to come to Canada because of our reputation as a welcoming country. But many Haitians who were given temporary permission to stay in Canada after the earthquake have already been sent back to their homeland since we shut down our own temporary program a year ago. Despite this, news has spread among the Haitian community in the U.S. that all they have to do is get to Canada and they're home free. But in 2015, Canada accepted only 38 per cent of asylum seekers from Haiti. If people are going to be sent back to Haiti anyway, whether from Canada or the U.S., it would be far better for them to not have disrupted their lives more than necessary by detouring to Canada. It's hardly our government's fault that false rumours are making people think they can avoid reality by fleeing to Canada but the government must do everything possible to get the sobering facts out to Haitians living in the U.S. that they may be wasting their time and money by crossing into Canada. — KR We must be ready to say no While the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is only in its second week, here's hoping our government has the courage to be ready to pull out of the talks if necessary. Early signals from U.S. negotiators are not encouraging. They seem to have picked up the same unreasonable tone as their president — that there can be only one winner in this: the U.S. The U.S. has said it wants to eliminate bi-national resolution panels that settle trade disputes. They say the reason they want to do away with the panels is that they contravene American sovereignty but a more likely reason is that too often the Americans have lost when they went before these tribunals. Americans have regularly lost over softwood lumber, for instance. What they're asking is similar to a big, rough hockey team feeling its penalized too much so demanding that the referees be fired so they can throw their weight around as much as they like. The other issue that's so far popped up shows the U.S. government is not interested in fair trade. Negotiators are demanding U.S. companies be given greater freedom to bid for contracts by Canadian governments at all levels. That would be fine if the more lenient rules went both ways but the U.S. government is insisting that it maintains its own "Buy American" provisions in government purchasing. Leading up to the NAFTA talks the federal government has done a huge amount of work, building alliances with U.S. politicians and businesses. While some have criticized our government for not being more harsh in its condemnation of U.S. President Donald Trump, it has wisely kept its powder dry. The government must have the backbone to stand up to the Trump government if needed, however. After all, the Americans have as much to lose in NAFTA as we do. — KR Looking Back Through the Years August 23, 1944 St. John's Anglican Church in Brussels was said to have been filled to capacity on Aug. 20 for a memorial service for Trooper Ross Frederick Whittard, who had been killed in action in Italy on July 21. The entire church was decorated with white and red flowers, accentuated with a special wreath given by the Brussels Imperial Legion. The annual Sunday School picnic at St. John's Anglican Church was held at Flowing Well Park in Formosa on Aug. 17. Games, contests and races were held as highlights of the day. At the monthly meeting of the County Road Commission, Warden Fred Watson said that the new bridge over the Maitland River in Ethel was coming along nicely. The bridge, when complete, would span 19 feet. August 24, 1967 A meeting was scheduled to be held in the Brussels Library on Sept. 6 regarding the potential closure of the Canadian National Railway station in Brussels. A representative of the Board of Transport was due to be on hand for the meeting and to answer any questions those in attendance might have. The chairman of the Brussels Medical -Dental Clinic in Brussels received word that Dr. K. Zyluk from Barnet, England intended to be in Brussels by the end of September to begin his practice. Progress at the centre was said to be going well and a dentist and doctor had already been confirmed for the site. For the week of Aug. 13-19, Wingham Ontario Provincial Police officers were said to have worked over 212 hours and patrolled 2,471 miles. As a result, five were charged and eight were warned with traffic - related offences. August 19, 1981 While total damages had yet to be assessed, a fire destroyed a barn and 70 sows at the farm of Ralph Datema in Hullett Township. Fire Chief Irvin Bowes said that the cause of the fire had yet to be determined, but Datema also lost 900 bales of hay and 500 bales of straw as a result of the blaze. Datema told firefighters that he had been in the barn earlier, but then left to walk down his laneway and retrieve his mail. When he looked back at the barn, he could see smoke coming from it and called the fire department. The Londesborough Lions Club was working to help the Clinton Hospital Fund with a special breakfast. The hospital was hoping to raise nearly $350,000 for some new equipment. The total, however, was still just a portion of the $866,000 total, much of which would be covered by grants and government assistance programs. The Blyth Board of Trade was in the midst of planning a special dinner meeting on Sept. 3. Bruce McCall of Brussels was slated to be the guest speaker for the evening. Alma Madill was the big winner at the Blyth Flower Show, receiving a silver plate as an award for her great showing. She was awarded by Dick Poore and the prize was donated by the local branch of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. August 27, 1997 Robin Dunbar, the deputy -reeve of Grey Township, said it was important that rural Ontario residents needed to know that the provincial government's "dumping" was costing taxpayers. "I think the public should know what is going on. They need to understand that the Harris government is dumping everything on local governments," Dunbar said after reviewing a Huron County report that outlined the cost of downloading to Huron municipalities. As detailed in the report, Dunbar said that Grey Township could be the municipality hardest hit by the downloading. The report indicated that some residents could face an 81 per cent rise in property taxes as a result of the changes. The Blyth Squirt Boys baseball team played against a team from Teeswater in the Western Ontario Athletic Association playoffs, beating them by scores of 21-4 and 12-6 to win the series. The win meant that the locals would now take on Fullarton in the semi-finals in the coming weeks. Father Dino Salvador was named the new priest for St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church in Blyth. Salvador would also serve at the Roman Catholic Churches in Clinton and Seaforth. The Blyth Festival was in the final planning stages of bringing an evening of jazz to the Memorial Hall stage. The Joe Sealy Quartet would perform on Sept. 27. Sealy, however, was no stranger to the Memorial Hall stage, as he had performed as the pianist for Timothy Findley's The Piano Man's Daughter... And Others, which was on the Blyth Festival stage the previous April. The Juno Award winner had been taught piano by Daisy Sweeney, the daughter of jazz legend Oscar Peterson.