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The Citizen, 2017-10-26, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2017. Editorials Opinions President: Keith Roulston • 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 Beyond the call of duty While the hundreds of volunteers who organized and pulled off the International Plowing Match in Walton last month rightly get the most credit for the event's success despite the weather, the hard work of municipal staff also needs to be recognized. A report in this paper from the Oct. 17 meeting of Huron East Council shows just how far many municipal staffers went beyond their normal call of duty. From the last-minute move of the match's volunteer training session and the Brussels Fall Fair 4-H show to the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre because of weather, to the efforts of public works staff to help solve problems created by the opening day's untimely rains, municipal employees really stepped up when issues arose. Those efforts were on top of all the work employees expected to undertake, from inspecting buildings on the site, to hosting large dinners. All those municipal workers who went the extra mile deserve the community's thanks for helping make this once -in -a -generation event come off well, despite an unco-operative Mother Nature. — KR A mob is a democracy, too Faced with a backlash against Bill 62, a so-called "religious neutrality law", one Quebec cabinet minister reportedly called the bill "democracy in action". So, too, is mob rule. There's no doubt Quebec's Liberal government is in a tough spot with this issue. Premier Phillippe Couillard seems to have gone against his own beliefs in crafting a law that makes it illegal for a woman wearing a face -covering for religious reasons to receive public services. A woman wearing a niqab may be prevented from riding a city bus, borrowing a book from a library or getting care in a hospital unless she uncovers her face. But for many Quebecers the bill doesn't go nearly far enough. Both the Parti Quebecois (PQ) and the Coalition Avenir Quebec have attacked the bill as cowardly. The previous PQ government, for instance, tried to pass a bill that would ban the wearing of all religious symbols, including turbans, by anyone in the public service. Premier Couillard seems to be trying to take a small step in order to defuse the controversy. It has been estimated that there are only about 100 women in Quebec who wear either a niqab or a burka. Still, for both sides, the issue is symbolic. Francophone Quebecers remember throwing off the yoke of a Roman Catholic church that dominated all aspects of life and are determined to prevent religious symbols from making any reappearance. As for restricting individual rights, they can point to Europe, particularly to France, which banned the wearing of the niqab and burka in all public spaces in 2011. That ban has withstood court challenges. Though there are no doubt Canadians outside Quebec who will applaud the new law, many non -Quebecers see Bill 62 as an infringement on the rights of women to dress as they like. They expect the law to be overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada because it's against the women's rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. If the Supreme Count did overturn the law, however, some experts suggest it could kick off another national unity crisis with Quebec nationalists saying the Supreme Court is interfering with the wishes of Quebecers so they need to separate from Canada. So the issue of a few pieces of cloth are much bigger than it would first appear. One of the reasons for laws, however, is to protect the minority from the misguided majority and the weak from the powerful. Just because the majority wants to tell women what they can wear to receive public services, doesn't mean the majority is right. — KR Appearance is everything Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau has been learning to his discomfort, in recent weeks, that the world of politics has a much higher standard than the business world where he worked until he was elected two years ago and immediately took on the top cabinet role. In politics, Morneau has learned, it's not good enough to live up to the letter of the law, but you must also appear to be beyond reproach. Morneau didn't divest himself of the stock in the company he built, or put his holdings in a blind trust, and had been told by the ethics commissioner this was permissible. When people began pointing out that a bill he had crafted to change pension plan rules could benefit his former company (the company's stock went up after the bill was passed) he was accused of benefiting himself through the law he crafted. Morneau may be wondering why he left the private sector. Other top business minds may also reconsider any ideas of running for office. The conflict rules make it much harder for a business owner to be a cabinet minister than someone who was only an employee. Business owners might want to go back to their businesses when they're done with politics (or politics are done with them), but to appear above reproach they really need to break all ties with the business they created. Would Morneau do it again, given that choice? Would others? — KR ,/(4`Le114 Cothicr9 GORD DOWNIE 1964 - 2017 neaNecartoconssom Looking Back Through the Years October 25, 1944 The Brussels Union United Church was set to host its annual anniversary service on Sunday, Oct. 29. Rev. Hugh Wilson of Brussels was scheduled to be the guest speaker for the morning service, while Rev. Gordon Hazelwood of Walton would be the guest speaker for the evening service. There would be special music performed by the church's choir, with the help of the Old Song Quartette of Station CBL in Toronto and Miss C. Porterfield of Listowel would be the day's soloist. New motor vehicle licences for 1945 were going to be issued in order to improve the country's metal situation, coupled with the removal of restrictions by the Dominion metals controller. As a result, only one plate would be carried on the rear of each vehicle. The plates would be white with blue numbers. October 26, 1967 Western Star Lodge 149 in Brussels installed its officers for the coming year. Jack McCutcheon would head up the organization, followed by Ronald Cardiff, Bill Wheeler and Ross Nichol. Alf Nichol would serve as the organization's musician for the coming term. Reeve J. C. Krauter received some good news for the community when he was told that normal Canadian National Railway service would be restored to Brussels effective immediately. "This is indeed good news for those who depend on CNR freight, express, passenger and telegraph facilities. In the past months, a great deal of dissatisfaction has been expressed at the inconvenience of the unsatisfactory service provided," The Brussels Post reported. "It appears that enough valid protest, backed by solid facts, can get the desired results." Lion Rev. Doug Fry of Seaforth was the guest speaker at the regular meeting of the Brussels Lions Club, speaking on the topic of "man". The Guild of the Melville Presbyterian Church held its monthly meeting and Marg Krauter was the chair. October 21, 1981 Approximately 35 Blyth residents met at Memorial Hall to ask a number of questions regarding connections to the village's sanitary sewer system with plenty of changes on the horizon. On Oct. 6, representatives of local minor sports organizations held a special meeting at the Blyth Legion to discuss the upcoming hockey season. Bob Hillis of Blyth Minor Sports said that the organization needed much more support from those in the village if it was going to flourish into the future. He said that registration fees, though they had been raised the previous year, still didn't come close to covering the organization's costs. He said that Blyth Minor Sports was still heavily reliant on its fundraising activities in order to stay afloat and serve local children. At a recent variety night held in Auburn, entitled A Day in the Life of the UCW, a number of local men and women performed several skits to entertain the dozens in attendance that night. The Ontario Community Newspapers Association took out a large advertisement in The Blyth Standard congratulating the newspaper for placing second in the General Excellence category in the organization's 1981 Better Advertising Competition. October 29, 1997 Paul Carroll, director of education with the Huron County Board of Education, said the board was prepared to "act if necessary" through injunctions or additional penalties besides loss of pay as the Ontario -wide teachers strike continued. Having said that, Carroll said that it was the government that was the only authority with the ability to take real action. "This is not a fight with the local boards. It is unfair that their means of action affect children and the community. However, I don't think we gain anything by the board jumping into the fray," Carroll said. Carroll said that the strike continued to be a "touchy" issue and that he hoped it would be short- lived, as the board's first concern was the children. The Huron County Federation of Agriculture held its annual meeting and installed a new executive for the coming term. Henry Boot would serve as the organization's incoming president. He would be supported by Pat Down, the first vice-president, and Charles Regele, the second vice- president. Ida Evans, the 1988 Citizen of the Year Award winner for the Brussels area, was celebrating her 90th birthday. She and her family held a special celebration to help mark the occasion at the Brussels United Church. Brussels Public School students and staff were thrilled when they received a presentation from a special visitor, Scott Driscoll, a linesman in the National Hockey League. Driscoll, a native of Seaforth, was invited to the school to participate in the school's reading program.