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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-07-25, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 25, 2013.Editorials Opinions Publisher: Keith RoulstonAssociate Publisher & Director of Sales: Ron Drillen Acting Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny ScottAdvertising Sales: Lori Patterson The CitizenP.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; $130.00/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 July 27, 1988 Blyth was approved for a $150,000 grant under the provincial government’s Program for Renewal, Improvement, Development and Economic Revitalization (PRIDE) program. The government’s grant of $150,000, as a requirement of the grant, was to be matched by the village for a total of $300,000. The grant was applied for so that main street improvements, from street lighting to landscaping at Blyth Memorial Hall, could be done. The renovations were planned in connection with a reconstruction of main street, as planned by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. The Blyth Festival kicked off a campaign to raise $1.8 million for expansion of facilities for the Memorial Hall theatre. The improvements would be far reaching, including padded seats and more washrooms, as well as ventilated scenery and costuming construction shops for technical staff. “We can wait no longer – the physical facilities under which the Blyth Festival operates can be stretched no more,” said Artistic Director Katherine Kaszas. Bruce Hahn and Gertie Kellington were sworn in as Brussels councillors after Councillors Betty Graber and Neil McDonald were both caught in the change of election eligibility that took effect on June 8. The councillors were sworn in at the July 25 meeting by Brussels Clerk-Treasurer Hugh Hanly. July 27, 2006 Ball’s Bridge was in danger of being torn down, and in response, some Huron County residents banded together to try and save the piece of Huron County history. The bridge had been closed to traffic since April 18 and at a July 6 meeting it was decided to extend the temporary closure of the iron bridge into 2007. A new bridge was built south of Ball’s Bridge on a new link highway, leaving Ball’s Bridge for local traffic and day-trippers. Immediate repairs were estimated at $100,000 to $150,000 with the possibility of another $10,000 to $15,000 being spent on further repairs over the course of the next two to five years. Hungarian-born artist Zsuzsa Monostory opened her exhibit Dialogues in Clay at the Bainton Art Gallery at Blyth Memorial Hall on July 21. The Toronto-based artist had formerly been a biologist, but then turned to art as a creative outlet. She had worked at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital’s research institute before making the move to the world of art. On July 20 a long-time dream was became a reality as the Blyth Youth Park Committee signed a contract with DAE Concrete Creations for a cement pad that would eventually become the park. The committee hoped that the park would be ready to be used by Blyth Minor Hockey, as well as the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association as early as September. July 26, 2012 Stephen Charles Ainlay, great- great grandson of William Ainlay, the founder of Brussels, which was then called Ainleyville, was welcomed back to the village to marshal the village’s Homecoming parade, which was set for the last weekend in July. Ainlay was serving as the president of Union College in Schenectady, New York, but said he would be honoured to come to Brussels for the celebration. Both the Fire Department of North Huron Ladies Auxiliary and North Huron Township were involved in an effort to remember the late fire chief John Black. The auxillary raised money to plant a tree for Black. The tree was originally intended to be planted near Black’s cottage, but his wife, Cathy, decided it would be better to have it planted at the Emergency Services Training Centre in Blyth where Black worked hard to turn the centre into what it is now. The tree couldn’t immediately be planted due to the extreme heat, but a small ceremony was held on July 21 to recognize Black’s efforts. The Dave Mounsey Memorial Fund donated a defibrillator to the Central Huron Fire Department in honour of the late Clinton and Area firefighter Doug Cantelon. A special dedication ceremony was held at the fire hall on July 23. Londesborough-area athlete Lexi Aitken won several track and field medals at the provincial championships held in Ottawa, and was soon going to be on her way to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island in August where she would compete in the national championships. Jim and Lois Lee were named Citizens of the Year for the Brussels community after receiving over 10 nominations for the award, which is sponsored annually by The Citizen. On July 16, Huron County OPP reported that dozens of items of clothing had been stolen from a tent outside The Old Mill, just south of Blyth. Police said the suspect drove a vehicle around the business’s front gate and gained access to the tent. 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 Solving poverty not simple When the provincial government announced a panel to look at revisions to the province’s minimum wage recently, anti-poverty activist slammed the announcement as a stalling tactic, that the minimum wage should immediately be increased to $14 an hour with increases pegged to inflation thereafter. If only solving poverty was so easy. Luckily, Anil Verma, the University of Toronto professor who leads the panel has a more nuanced vision of the factors that must be considered when the minimum wage is set. The minimum wage, he says is “not a comprehensive tool to address poverty.” A simple decision to raise the minimum wage ignores factors like the overall growth of the province’s economy and productivity on the job, Verma says. If you look at things only from the point of view of the activist, raising the minimum wage is only a matter of forcing the greedy business owners to pay a decent wage. But few businesses that are paying minimum wage in Ontario are rolling in money. Often they’re run by small business owners who are lucky to be earning a lot more than minimum wage themselves. Their solution to a higher minimum wage may be not to hire at all. At the same time as people want to receive more than minimum wage, they also want cheap imported goods. Those goods are made by people who are lucky to earn $10.25 a week, let alone $10.25 an hour, the current minimum wage in Ontario. If we keep losing jobs to China and India and Bangladesh and every other low wage country in the world, it’s hard to expect Ontario employers to keep raising wages. When it comes to solving poverty, surely low wages are better than no wages. Ontario and Huron County have seen what discrepancies in wages can cause. Well paid jobs with Caterpillar in London and Volvo in Goderich were lost when work was moved to lower-wage areas of the U.S. Yet the solution also isn’t to get rid of unions, as people on the other side of the fence will argue, or to lower the minimum wage to the levels of southern U.S. states that are stealing Canadian jobs. Hopefully Verma’s panel can find the delicate balance that will be fair to employees and employers.–KR A nice diversion but . . . The media is obsessed this week with the birth of a royal baby, one that most people alive will be lucky to live long enough to see take the throne. It remains to be seen if the Canadian public cares as much as the media. The baby boy born to William and Kate, the Duke and Dutchess of Cambridge, is the third in line for the throne. While he is being billed as a future King of Great Britain and of Canada, it might be questioned whether Canada will still be a monarchy by the time, many decades from now, when he finally ascends to the throne in England. We currently have in Stephen Harper, a prime minister who seems to love all things royal, putting the “royal” back in the name of the Canadian air force and the navy, for instance. For generations, however, the majority of Canadians have tolerated, rather than embraced the royal family. Yes they’ve drawn big crowds when they toured Canada – but then so do rock stars. Canada started pulling away from the monarchy 50 years ago for three reasons. For one thing, it was time for Canada to develop a culture of its own, growing up and leaving home from its origin as a British colony. Secondly, as Quebec nationalism grew in the 1960s, the ties to Britain were an irritant that made more people support the idea of separation (something the prime minister needs to remember as he tries to turn back the clock). We also have become a country of immigrants, many of them either from countries either with no ties to Britain or bitter memories of colonial treatment. Recently three permanent residents of Canada challenged a portion of the Citizenship Act that requires them to swear allegiance to the Queen in order to become Canadian citizens. Most Canadians might wonder why they don’t just say the words and ignore the Queen, as they do in their day-to-day lives. –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.