Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-11-12, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2015. Editorials Opinions Publisher: Keith Roulston Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny Scott Advertising Sales: Lori Patterson The Citizen P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. N0M 1H0 Ph. 519-523-4792 Fax 519-523-9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. N0G 1H0 Phone 519-887-9114 E-mail info@northhuron.on.ca Website www.northhuron.on.ca Looking Back Through the Years CCNA Member Member of the Ontario Press Council 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 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON N0G 1H0 email: info@northhuron.on.ca November 14, 1979 Bevan Elliott of Brussels was honoured by his fellow Branch 218 members with his 50-year pin. Elliott, a veteran of the First World War, first joined the Legion in Mount Forest in 1928. When the Brussels Legion was formed in 1931, he become a charter member. He then obtained his life membership in 1966. At the time, Elliott was the only surviving charter member of the Brussels Legion. It was a busy week in Belgrave, with three separate fires keeping area firefighters busy. The first fire erupted in the workshop of Clarence Hanna, followed by a blaze in the basement of Ted Moran. The week was rounded out with a house fire at the home of Arnold Mathers on the Second Concession in Morris Township. The Brussels Agricultural Society announced that its annual meeting would be held on Jan. 17. The meeting would open with a special performance by the Brussels Legion Pipe Band. November 14, 1990 The first winter storm of the year resulted in slippery conditions throughout the community and a number of motor vehicle collisions, which kept many emergency responders busy over the course of the previous weekend. Lifetime memberships were handed out to five past-presidents of the Auburn Lions Club at a special ceremony. Being honoured were David Cartwright, Marinus Bakker, Jim Schneider, Bill Robinson and Ross Dobie. Making the presentation that night was Russell Zurbrigg. The Maitland Valley Conservation Authority was seeking the public’s help after a number of incidents of vandalism at local conservation areas. Vandalism had been reported at both the East Wawanosh and Bluevale sites. Huron County Council approved an important amalgamation, grouping the Huron County Museum and the Huron Historic Gaol together. The move had been recommended the previous April, but had been deferred for a number of months in order for a full policy to be crafted regarding acquisition and management of other heritage properties. November 14, 2001 Vandals were again hard at work as the outdoor washrooms at the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority’s Brussels site had been burned to the ground. After the Brussels Optimist Club had committed both time and money to rebuilding the washrooms after they had been vandalized several years before, members said they were not impressed seeing their hard work go up in flames. “We are not impressed,” said George Langlois of the Optimists. “But I don’t think anyone in Brussels is. I’ve talked to a lot of people and they’re angry.” Organizers were in the midst of planning a Santa Claus Parade for Blyth. A parade was held the previous year in Blyth after a lengthy hiatus for the village. A public meeting was being held in at Blyth Public School to discuss the possible closure of the school. The meeting, set for Nov. 15, was being held by the school council, looking for input from the public. November 13, 2014 The new face at the helm of the Blyth Festival was a familiar one for audiences of the Festival as Gil Garratt was hired as the new artistic director. Garratt had been involved with the Festival for 14 of its past 16 seasons even serving as associate artistic director under former Artistic Director Eric Coates. Garratt had recently been re- introduced to Festival audiences, as his play, St. Anne’s Reel, had been produced earlier in the year under Artistic Director Marion de Vries, the woman he would eventually replace. In an interview with The Citizen, Garratt said that his focus would be on stories in the Festival’s immediate community, saying there are so many fascinating tales waiting to be told. “I talked about all of these incredible stories in our midst that are just waiting to unfold,” Garratt said about his interview. Three well-known Huron County politicians all threw their hats into the ring in hopes of becoming the county’s next warden. Councillors had to wait until they had officially been re-elected in the Oct. 27 municipal election, but once it was official, three made their intentions known for what would be the first two-year warden’s term. Huron East Mayor Bernie MacLellan, Morris-Turnberry Mayor Paul Gowing and Howick Reeve Art Versteeg all wanted the position, taking over for Huron East Deputy-Mayor Joe Steffler. Murray McArter, Brussels fire chief, announced that he was retiring from the position after spending over two decades as the village’s chief. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage. We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright What’s our advantage The announcement last week that more than 200 people in St. Marys will soon lose their jobs due to the closure of the town’s Kraft Heinz food processing plant again raises the question of where jobs are supposed to come from in rural western Ontario if not from processing the food we grow here. This is the second time Kraft Heinz has shuttered a food processing plant in southwestern Ontario. In 2013 it announced it would close its huge Leamington tomato-processing plant, killing the jobs of 700 people. Some of those jobs were saved when a new company started up but most of the workforce is a fraction of the original number. Previously we’ve lost other food processing plants such as the Exeter cannery as international companies buy local plants and transfer their production elsewhere. The economic theory of comparative advantage drives free trade agreements like the recently signed Trans-Pacific Partnership. The idea is that the communities or countries that have an advantage compared to other areas of the world should be the place where production takes place. This theory has led millions of jobs to be transferred from North America to Third World countries that have cheaper labour and less restrictive environmental rules. Ontario’s auto industry has shrunk as plants moved to Mexico which has cheaper labour and is more central to export markets. According to the theory it all works out because you’re better at task “a” and I’m better at task “b” so we each do what we’re best at and then trade. But southwestern Ontario is one of the most productive food growing areas in the world. If we still don’t have a comparative advantage, allowing us to create off-farm jobs processing those crops, what hope do we have to maintain factory jobs? — KR We need to be heard too When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled his cabinet last week he proudly stated that it looked “like Canada” – of course how much it looks like your Canada depends on where you live in the country. The declining influence of rural Canadians was noticeable in the names and faces that made up the cabinet. Of course it was a challenge for the Prime Minister to find wide rural representation given that wide swaths of rural central and western Canada voted for Conservative MPs in the October 19 federal election. Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence A. MacAulay, is at least a former dairy farmer, though he has been a full-time politician since 1988. His appointment perhaps properly reminds rural Canadians that there is a farming community in the Atlantic provinces. Most often ministers of agriculture have been appointed from the prairies, Ontario or Quebec. Saskatchewan’s Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety, is also a former minister of agriculture. Elsewhere, Marie-Claude Bibeau, the Minister of International Development and La Francophonie is a small business owner from Quebec’s Eastern Townships and Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue comes from a small municipality in the Gaspé. And then, of course, Hunter Tootoo, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, Canadian Coast Guard represents a whole different rural life, coming as he does the far-flung northern riding of Nunavut. Urban media commentators didn’t take much notice of the rural- oriented cabinet ministers, of course, just as they seldom take much notice of rural Canada at all. They were more focused on the fact half the ministers are women, that several recent immigrants are in cabinet and that indigenous people are better represented than ever before. But just as it’s important to have more women, ethnicities and indigenous people bring a wider range of the Canadian experience to the cabinet table, so it’s also important that the unique challenges of rural Canadians be voiced. For all his success in attaining a strong majority government, Mr. Trudeau did not win many seats in rural Canada. His government is going to need to listen to rural concerns and deal with rural issues if it hopes to truly serve all Canadians (and win more rural support in the next election). – KR & Letters Policy The Citizen welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and should include a daytime telephone number for the purpose of verification only. Letters that are not signed will not be printed. Submissions may be edited for length, clarity and content, using fair comment as our guideline. The Citizen reserves the right to refuse any letter on the basis of unfair bias, prejudice or inaccurate information. As well, letters can only be printed as space allows. Please keep your letters brief and concise.