HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1978-03-08, Page 2WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8. 1978
Serving Brussels and the surrounding community.
Published each Wednesday afternoon at Brussels, Ontario
by McLean Brus.Publishers Limited..
Evelyn Kennedy - Editor Dave Robb - Advertising .
Member Canadian Community Newspaper Association and
Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association
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Mennonites
A There are still people in our society who believe
that non violence is a virtue, that frugality, personal
morality and virtuous living are the way of life
ordained of their Creator. These are the same virtues
that once were the cornerstones of our social order.
These people believe that human energy is the best
alternative source of supply and decline to depend on
non-renewable sources of energy. These people
believe in community living and mutual support.
And while the rest of us stand about and yearn for
the good old days and wring our hands impotently
about 'the loss of values or spend hours over
cocktails decrying the breakdown of family and the
adveni of the permissive society, the non-violent,
hard working Mennonite communities do something
about it--they live their beliefs.
But look what they 'get for it. Do we try in some
small way to emulate them? Do we encourage their
peaceful attempts to live as they feel right without
infringing on our rights to waste and spend more?
Incredibly, no. Indeed, it seems we persecute them
for living as we ought.
' Recently in Ontario, the Old 'Order Amish dairy
farmers, who pre:duce milk using little or no outside
energy supplies, found itself in direct conflict with/
the bureaucrats at Queens Park. Believing, as they
do, that electricity is not for them, the Amish
nevertheless produce high quality milk, chilledzto
regulations but without benefit of Ontario Hydro.
The government has said change or go out ,,of
business. The Mennonites, peaceful to the end, are
not-. f ighting .
An even more bizarre case exists in Texas where a
community of Mennonites was ready to transform
the arid land they had purchased into a pradise using
deep wells and hard work. They did not know, and
the immigration authorities did not tell them, that
they faced an unsurmountable series_of obstacles
legal and otherwise such as water rights, sold to
others, thereby making it illegal to drill on their own
land; ineligibility to obtain work permits,
Something is clearly wrong in both these cases
when, in a society tolerating theviolen0e we do, a
group of decent, hard working, peaceful people are
persecuted so easily by the representatives of all of
us.
Brus.els Post
Behind the scenes
By Keith Roulston
What are the options? ti
Day \ by day Claude Ryan seems to be
growing closer to the leadership of the Quebec
Liberal Party and 'while most Canadians
outside that province see him as something of
a saviour, most of us know little about the
man's actual policies.
Weekend poll results showed that for the
first time the Quebec Liberals have overtaken
the Parti Quebecois in popularity which means
that if Mr. Ryan goes ontto win the leadership
as expected, he' could someday become the
premier of the province, But after the
celebrations die down in the rest of Canada,
we may find out that. Mr. Ryan is not the
saviour we sought.
We tend to think of federalists as federalists
yet they come in many different shapes -and
colours. While we tend to think of Prime
Minister Trudeau and Mr. Ryan as being on
the same side in this black and white battle,
actually they are miles apart in their view of
the way Quebec fits into Canada. It's
conceivable that 'if M. Trudeau remains prime
minister and if Mr. Ryan gains the top office
in his province, we might actually see more
squabbling 'than we do at present.
Mr. Ryan is very much a Quebec
nationalist. He's been an eloquent speaker on •
behalf of the Quebec people, one of the few
voices in Quebec that has been ' heard
regularly in English Canada. He is respected i
both languages. But he is also a proponent of
a special role for Quebec within Canada (or is
as far as, one can -believe from reading feature
articles about him). He sees Quebec as a
homeland for the French speaking people of
Canada and as such wants! greater powers for
its government. In effect, he wants the old two
nations policy.
Prime Minister Trudeau has never been a
nationalist in the Quebec sense of the word.
He has tried to raise the French and English in
Canada to the same level, to bring in equality,
and unity not increase the two solitudes.
What we face then are three alternatives,
championed 'by 'three respedtecf men; Rene
Levesque offers separation and economic
association. Mr. Ryan offers a special • status
for Quebec, one step short of :Mr. Levesque's
plan but probably closer to it than to Mr.
Trudeau's concept of a country from sea to sea
where people of both languages could feel at
home.
There are people who would say that there
are really only two alternatives, that Mr.
-Trudeau's vision is already a failure. He has
been blamed for the current problem because
he has been "Inflexible" in his feelings of the
way the country should •be shaped. The
keyword today seems to be compromise with a
new constitution which would give new
pwoers to the provinces. Redistribute the
power, many claim, and all our problems
would go away.
Here is one sceptical voice against that
argument. I look around and see what the
provincial governments have done with the
powers they already have and I see little
reason to think that there is a reason to hope
for any magic solutions if We pass them more
power. Take a look at howl the' Ontario
Government has thoroughly loused up
education, regional government and land use
planning. Does it make you want to give it
more things to louse up?
I see little evidence that the provincial
governments are any closer to the people than
the federal government has been and shifting
power from Ottawa to Quebec City of Toronto
doesn't seem like a real solution to anything.
If someone was proposing shifting power all.
the way down to the municipal level then I
might agree.
Giving Quebec special status would
accomplish only one positive thing: it would
have Quebecers hate Quebec City instead of
OttaWa. It would have many other bad effects.
It would add to the alienation of the two
language groups in Canada, would build new
walls of misunderstanding.
I sat and discussed the Quebec situation last
summei with a friend who grew up in Quebec.
He held that Trudeau's bilingualism policy
had been a failure and should never have been
tried in the first place. I admitted it may have
been a failure, but I couldn't agree that it
shouldn't have been tried. Mr. Trudeau
wanted a country where people of either
language could feel at home at least when
dealing with their government. There have
been some who tried to make it seem there
was a gigantic plot to make everyone in the
country speak both languages. I heard nothing
of 'that kind,The policy. was simply one that
would allow an English Canadian to go.into a
government office in Trois Rivieres and be
able to communicate in his own language and
a French Canadian to do the same thing in a
Government office in Edmonton. It would
allow people to hear French language
television in London or Winnipeg the same as
English Canadians in Montreal have always
been able.to hear their own language spoken.
There may. have been some government
fault in the way the policy has, been
impleftented but if it has failed, I think it is we
the people who have failed as much as,
anyone. We have been ,so,..stubbOrtil, so hard
that we have refused to budge an inch from
our old ways of distrust and misunder-
standing. We would rather hate the other
language and draw apart than understand the
needs of others and draw together.
If Mr. Trudeau has failed in his bilingualism
policy, it has been because he over estimated
the willingness,of Canadians to beloving and
understanding. Unlike Mr. Ryan and Mr.
Levesque whose vision it is to build more walls
between Quebec and- the rest of the country,
Mr. Trudeau has tried to bring French
Canadians, whether they live in Montreal,
Moncton, New Brunswick or St. Boniface,
Manitoba together with English Canadians no
matter where they live in Canada, to make on
understanding, united nation, a model for the
brotherhood of man. If this mission fails, it
will indeed be a step backward for peace and
understanding because if we in Canada with
all our similarities, with all our good fortune
chose to accentuate our difference rather than
recognize our similarities, what hope is there
for peace betweenArab and Jew or black and
white in Africa.
Of the three options offered, I'll still choose
Mr. Trudeau's.
Morris ready for liquor vote
"The liquor vote is
progressing", clerk Jane Ba dley,
Wild Morris township councillors
at, their meeting on ,Monday
afternoon.
Polling places have been se t
for' a township VOW, aimed at.
allowing a special liquor licence
for the plowling match. The Vote
will be held April 10. The owner
of the Walton Inn also requested
a vote.
The ballot is a composite Of
eight questions to be answered.
"If there's a committee for the
wets and a committee for the
drys, they're supposed to register
With the clerk," Mrs. Badley
said.
The final dates for the revision
of the voters lists are March 17
from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., March 20
from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and March
23 from 9 - 6 and 7 - 9. Anybody
who votes by p roxy for someone
else must do it at the clerk's office
by five o'clock.
Notice of the poll will go up
after March 23.
Council considered
*
gravel
tenders from Joe Kerr Ltd. of
VVinghani at a bid of $46, 750,
Donegan's Haulage of Listowel,
at a bid of $46,250 and Radford's
ConStrtiction of Blyth at a bid Of
$45,750 Council accepted the
Radford tender. The gravelling is
to take place at the north erid of
Mroris On the first, seccincl, third
and fourth concessions to
Highway
Council decided to donate $50
toward the Huron Plowmen's
ASsociation. Morris also will
donate apples to the International
Plowing Banquet in Howick
Township in the fall.
Morris is to meet with Grey and.
Brussels councils at a fire
meeting on Wednesday, March 8
at 8 p.m. in the Brussels library,
'The Huron County Federation
of Agriculture asked for council's
help in locating any possible
problem areas that they could be'
Working on for the betterment Of
the community.
Council received the 1977
financial report of the East
Wawanosh Recreation and Park
COnimittee Centre Baord. Their
receipts totalled $120.723.90 and,
their expenditures totalled
$11,513.26.
Their budget for 1978 is
anticipated at $12,750.
Maitland Engineering Services
told council, that Hanna Sr,
Hamilton would be ready to start
work on the Bird Municipal Drain
in the spring and taht they should
select a tile contractor. Councillor
Sam Pletch is to look into the
matter.
A letter from the Ministry of
Natural Resources informed
council that it is now illegal to
interfere with fish habitats in the
cleaning up of r' utticipal drains
and they would appreciate if
council told them of any plans
they had for the Blyth brook.
Council diScussed holiday pay
fOr employees and agreed that
after, 10 years employees get
three weeks h olidays or a six per
cent of their pay. After 20 years
it's four weeks or 8 per cent of
pay.
Road 'accounts and general
accounts were orderd -paid,
Reeve Bill Elston said he
thought council should ask the
MTC to attend a meeting with
Morris to deal with bridges and
report on the flooding along
Concesssion roads 2 and 3 on lots
5 - 7.
Councillor Ross Proctor also
made a motion to request MTC
preparation for a by-law
regarding construction on
Martin's Bridge for April 3
approval,