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Times-Advocate, 1980-02-13, Page 4Mainstream Canada A Message for .14 'Business, ay w. Roger' Worth There's a lot more to buy- ing Canadian .than meets the eye, While Canadian consum- ers are pressed with high-claSs, expensive, .and subsidized advertising pleas to purchase products made in this coun- try, many multinational com- panies apparently don't see the need to change their pur- chasing policies, Developments such as the Shop Canadian program, as well as regional efforts like Atlantic Plus and Acheter Roger Worth is Director, Public Affairs, Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Quebecois, underscore the job creation and economic bene- fits to be derived from con- sumers spending their hard earned cash on home-grown - or manufactured - products. Yet most 'subsidiaries of multinational companies, and even Canadian owned big businesses, appear to be re- luctant to change their ways, i replacing imports from the U.S. and other countries with components and end products manufactured here. The evidence.. even with a 15% decline in the value of the Canadian dollar vs the U.S. dollar in the last three years or so (the differential is greater compared with snide other industrialized countries); we're still importing as much Or more manufactured goods, from other nations, . What's the problem? Why aren't big businesses buying more Canadian made. goods? Generally, the entillina-, lion* claim Canadians aren,q aggressive enough in promo- ing their products. Smaller manufacturers, On the other hand, argue this is not the case. They claim major companies in the, big automotive, department store, and a variety of other fields are afraid to tit,• something new, such as purchasing prod- ucts in Canada. "We seem to get the short end of the stick, even though we can provide quality and service at a better than, comae- litive price," says an Ontario auto parts manufacturer,, "The big companies just don't want to change their; buying habits," • Instead of importing more and more foreign lade goods, big business in Canadashould take a second look at what's . available in this country. Otherwise, Canadians may get upset when they see jobs be, ing siphoned to other nations. By making a real effort.to "Buy Canadian," major firms would ,deserve a pat on the back. It's a point worth noting. was crowned Friday night at the annual "At' Home." Mayor R. E. Pooley campaign chairman of Huron Unit, Cancer Society and Ray C. Mills, Exeter attended a weekend cam- paign conference of the Ontario division in Toronto. Elenor Hodgins, Ce,ntralia and Patricia Marshall Kirkton former SHDHS students received their caps at a ceremony Friday night in the nurses residence of Victoria Hospital School of Nursing. It took three tow trucks and a bulldozer to remove 30 tons• of milk from a ditch .beside No. 4 Highway a mile south of Hensall, Tuesday. 15 Years Ago The largest tree in this part of Ontario,a 125 ft high white elm, crashed to the ground in a Hay Township bush owned by former reeve V. Becker Friday, About 250 people, many of them school children watched the event. It's believed the tree was about 350 years old. Centralia village fire department has' been awarded a certificate of merit by the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Canada in recognition of distinguished service in the fight against muscular, dystrophy. 'Mrs. A. E. Ferguson who makes her home with her daughter Mrs. Jean Mair, Thomas St., celebrated her 90th birthday Monday. About 400 bushels of beans' were destroyed Friday and an elevator damaged during a fire at theMickleSeed and Grain Mill In Hensall. 55 Years Ago Mr. & Mrs. Alex Hackney Sr. celebrated their 65th wedding. anniversary on ,Monday. Richard Davis, teller of the Canadian Bank 4, of Commerce has been trans- ferred to the branch at Blenheim. • , Mr.& Mrs.' Wm Ryckman of Moose Jaw Sask., who haVe spent the past few weeks with Mrs. Albert Ryckman and Mrs. W. H. Passmore are leaving for their home. Rev. F. E. Clysdale, C. E. Tuckey, Wm. Welsh, W. F. Abbott are attending the temperance 'convention in Toronto. Sylvester B. TaylorrRich- mond, Que. has purchased the jewellery business of Mr. S. Fitton and has already taken possession. 30 Years Ago A new electric organ was dedicated at Creditontinited Church Sunday morning in honour of the men who served in World War II. The schools of Stephen Township have launched a • new era in visual education since the beginning of the fall term. A projector and film service has been made available to them with outlined study program. Students and staff of the new Exeter District High School had their first noon meal in the cafeteria when 180 persons were served. 20 Years Ago New SHDHS queen, Marlene McBride, can claim to be one of the most representative monarchs the school has ever had. She VHE BLUE my, A NOISY, CURIOUS SIRD, IS FOUND IN OAK AND PINE WOODS; IN CITY PARAS FIND SLAMS- AN AREAS OF ONTARIO. iitHE etue.nw Ears AL- MOST ANYTIANGI FRUITS AND BERRIES. mic..e.FROG6. AND TIE EGOS AND yOuNG OF OTHER BIRDS: "THE ON7ARK) FOREST INDUSTRES PENDITURES FOR GOODS AND SERVICES TO SUPPORT 1.4300- LIWOS AND MILL oPERIMING. IN ONIFIRK) RUNS 'TO AN E5MMATW $3. BILLION A YeARI IN ONTARIO,t PI a • ADUENTORS.FOR BACH,. PACKERS, PASSESTHRU ‘130 MILES OP,OREATH- TAKING ScENERYi S S S Perspectives "go for this, Fletcher. Go for that." I enjoyed it though, most of the time. Repertory theatre meant that a play was presented on Monday and Tuesday, another play on Wednesday and Thurs- day, and then back to the original one of Friday and Saturday. On Tuesday night it meant that the whole set had to be struck (torn down) and the new one set up for the next day's rehearsals, My wife was quite un- derstanding though about why I dragged myself in, ex- hausted, at around five in the morning, after working on the stage all night. She wasn't quite so pleas- ed the night the curtain fell down. I was high above the stage during One perfor- mance working the weights for the huge front curtain. I was leaning on one of the side curtains which was supported by a 2 x 2 board. It broke and the curtain started to fall. I'made a mad leap for it almost falling from the cat-walk,but caught, it amc finally secured it with a rope. I must have been dream- ing about that night because when my wife awoke in the middle of the night I was throwing blankets over her with one hand - trying to lift her up in the air saying, "Your're go- ing to go up. You're going to go up." The words that I woke up hearing were not in the least bit complimentary. Oh well. That's what you get for being in show business. far. 4 Time$40VOSatt' ' sParY: 13r 19114 Advocate Established teal than good management. The number of "close calls" is no doubt legion, and while many are due to lack of attention on the part of some youngsters, there • are many which are created by their brashiness and impudence, particularly when they aTe playing or travelling in small groups. Last week's tragedy was apparent- ly the result of a moment of Confusion and indecisibn on the part of the youngster and that, unfortunately, is all it takes when you add the components of a dimly lit, snow-packed roadway. To halt the conversion at this point would leave the nation in a 'situation where there is a mixture of systems be- ing used for weights and measures and that obviously is worse than either system. While it is encouraging to see municipal governments get involved in national and provincial matters, it takes considerable more foresight and study than approving a new water, hydrant. They do themselves an in- justice when they jtimp to hasty decisions on such complex matters, particularly when the reasoning is due primarily to personal preference. It would have been much more ap- propriate to ask the federal govern- ment to defer the conversion at this time and to undertake a study on whether we can now back-track or must proceed to the other side of the costly puddle. Canadian firm in this case has been sandbagged at every turn, all the way from city council down. In view of the very large range of American enterprise in this country it seems more than a bit ridiculous that Canadian enterprise should meet such determined opposition in the states. However, it is perhaps unfair to brand an entire nation because one par- ticular city is less than conscious of what is supposed to be a generous inter- national relationship. To balance the scale it might be noted' that businessrhen from Quebec have successfully established many resort establishments in Florida. Wingham Advance-Times Amalgairaled1934 A lacklustre cdmpaigri Editor—Bill Batton .Assistont Editor Ross Haugh .Advertising Manager —Jim Beckett Composition Manager Harry D.Vries , Business Manager-- Dick Jongkind. Published Each Wednesday. Morning Phone. 2354331 at Exeter, ()mode Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386 SLIBSPRIPYION RATES; Canado$14.00 Per Year; USA $30:00. BEIWOMMIREMOSIMOSOME=ilf.7.'47Z77MAZIMMI:MrStr"' Happens quickly 0 Feet• already wet A bit one-sided SERVINO ANADA'S BEST FARMLAND C.W.N.A., 0.W.N.A. CLASS 'A' and ABC Published by J. W. tidy Publications Limited LORNE EEDY, PUBLISHER +CNA I The tragic death of an 11-year-old Exeter girl last week while playing on the road near her home, is a stark reminder to ill youngsters, their parents and motorists of this dangerous practice, It will, however, be even more, tragic if it fails to prompt parents to en- sure that their youngsters comprehend the dangers and take the necessary steps to ensure there are no further vic- tims. That the community has escaped such .a tragedy until now is, as many motorists will attest, more to good luck Any youngster knows that once your feet are wet, you may as well con- tinue to the other side of the puddle. There's nothing to be gained at that point in turning back. Is that basically where we are with the conversion to the metric system in this country, or is there in fact some merit in petitions such as that endorsed by Exeter council to defer further con- versions? Obviously, their decision was ex-: tremely hasty. It took them only a cou- ple of minutes to agree that the metric conversion should be deferred and no doubt the basis forthedecision was their own personal difficulty with the system. Millions of dollars have already been spent in this country on the change to the metric system, and while that ex- penditure is open to some question, it is a question that should have been raised a few years ago. There was an interesting bit of programming on Television last week. It seems that a Canadian firm which has large cable TV systems in Canada IS bidding for the right to wire the city of Minneapolis — and running into all sorts of opposition based chiefly on American nationalism. Cable television technology' has achieved much high sophistication in Canada because our sparse population made cable a saleable service long before the Americans were interested. Now, however, it seems the Americans, at least in some centres, are determined that no Canadian com- pany should be allowed to operate and make a profit in the United States. The by SYD FLETCHER It all started out with a un- iversity course brochure which promised an exciting summer of live acting in a repertory theatre setting with the chance to learn many things about stage productions. the making of props and stage lighting. The brochure wasn't lying. There was lots of acting be- ing done, all by professional actors who had been hired out of Toronto. There was also a lot of work to be done, building sets, props, setting up stage lights and being a general gopher boy, that is, Voting day is quickly approaching and the only certain thing about the February 18 election is ,that most Canadians remain uncertain about how they will cast their ballots. Early in the election campaign, a poll indicated that 30 percent of Canadians remained undecided. A couple of weeks later, the figure climbed to over 40 per- - cent undecided.- If the trend continues, there's a good bet that over half the people walking into the polling booth on Monday probably won't know how they're going to vote until they see the list of names in front of them and finally have to make a decision. If the interest around this area is an example, the current election cam- paign will possibly go down in 'history as the least colorful ever. One even has to search rather carefully for a can- didate's lawn sign in Exeter, no doubt most of the• parties assuming that the, signs would be rather Unpractical in k that they would only be buried under snow drifts. While there was considerable con- cern about a winter campaign in the snow belt region in which we reside, most of these fears were unfounded and the candidates ',and their supporters have no excuses for not hitting the cam-,' paign trail with more vigor than they've displayed. Anything can happen yet before voting day, of course, but hopefully the weather will continue to be benevolent and allow the voters to traverse the path to their polling stations. * * * One of the reasons for the unusually lack of lustre electioneering in the area ridings may be attributed to the fact the parties have been emphasizing leadership in their campaigns, or It's a Wonder there aren't more peo- ple in politics. All it requires basically is a strong stomach, a thick' hide, and an absolute lack of scruples about giv- ing away other people's money. There will be only one real loser in this mid-winter election — the Cana- dian people. After eight months of non- government, they have to pay 60-65 million dollars for the privilege of choosing between two flocks of turkeys. Let's start with an a priori. Ed Broadbent and the NDP don't have a hope of forming a government, All they can play is the role of spoilers. So we have a choice between a party that practically put us into eternal bankruptcy, the Liberals, and a party that showed an incredible naivete in its first chance to govern in more than a decade, the Tories, There's something desperately wrong with our system when we have two choices only: the mediocre and the mediocre. My gut instinct about this election is disgust, and I'm sure it is widely Shared. But it's the only system we have, at the moment, and a man can't just lie down on his face, cry, and kick his heels in frustration, as he would love to do. As I write, the Liberals, after being soundly rejected by the voters last spr- ing, are 20 points ahead of the Tories in the polls. What an incredible electorate we have! Canadians tend to think of themselves as rather dour, solid, gray people, fairly unemotional, quite stable. The truth is that we are more volatile, politically, than the Balkans, After several decades of good, gray perhaps it may be more correct to say, lack of leadership. The Liberals have been hammering away at Joe Clark and his inconsisten- cies during his brief reign of power, while the Tories have been reminding us all that Pierre Trudeau doesn't want to be leader of his party. Many can- didates were upset with their respec- tive parties' advertising campaigns and they were mellowed in the final stages. • There's little doubt that the messages were 'extremely negative, but they at least provided some welcome relief from the winter doldrums. A little mud-slinging or even snow- , ball tossing goes a long way for most people, but it must be admitted that it at least provides a spark for an elec- ,tion, something which is noticeably to throw. Their opponents can't be that lacking in this area. Surely one of the altea candidates can dig out a little dirt lily-white. * If you're breathlessly waiting for the editor to make some significant pronouncement on how you should cast your ballot (so you can do the opposite) there's nothing but disappointment in store for you. In fact, I happen to be among the growing list of those undecided voters. While it may cause a mild stampede, I am quickly reaching the point where I may throw my lot in with the first can- didate to stick his head in the door 'and ask for a vote. It would at least indicate that someone is interested in having my vote, a situation which has not yet arisen, Don't get the wrong idea. I don't believe a voter should sit back and wait for the candidate, or his supporters to prime ministers, whom we could count on to never let the left hand know what the right hand was doing, we em- braced, with an almost religious fer- vour, a fiery, flaming, evangelical prophet out of the mid-west, who had a Vision — and not mull else. Rapidly becoming uncomfortable with this, we backed right up to a good, solid Canadian, who liked ;sports, had an infectious chuckle, and didn't know how to chop off the hands of his friends when they got them into the till. Mike Pearson, Soured on him, we clasped to our breasts a brilliant, arrogant man with a flower in his button-hole and a flower child in his kitchen, 'It was as dis- astrous as an honest, homely man who had never made the team marrying the chief cheer-leader. We became en- vious, and finally, embarrassed. We listened to his maunderings and his ponderings. We were at first proud, then baffled, then suspicious. He seem- ed to have the knack of saying the wrong thing at the 'right time. There was nowhere to go but down, we we happily went back to a nonenti- ty, a fellow whom most of his own par- ty did not want, a scrambling, am- bitious, and colorless man. We'd had enough of that color and charisma. We wanted someone like Mackenzie King, only not so crafty. Joe, As I write, we are witnessing the Se- cond Corning of Pierre and the Second Chance of Joe, His Brilliance and His Ordinariness, And you can't tell them apart. The first is trying to hide all his faults by acting like a clam. The second in multiplying his faults by opening his mouth. Both are promising the moon, with our money. They have cancelled sir /)t.. make an appeal for votes. That's basically up to the electorate, although they shouldn't have to go to any great length to determine what policies the local candidates are espousing. The candidates have the responsibility to inform the voters of where they stand on the current issues in this campaign and that information has been sadly lacking to this point in time. As an uncommitted voter, the choice is more difficult this time around. In view of the recent political track record, there is much to be said for attempting to help elect a majority government on February 18. The adver- tising manager is among the few who keeps hoping that federal elections will become a habit• every six months, The majority of Canadians would prefer to have it done with for the next five years, if possible. The conundrum with which the writer is faced is that I am of the grow- ing opinion that Murray Cardiff is the best of the three riding candidates, but a vote for him'is also a vote for Joe Clark, and I'm not certain that is something for which I would like to take any further blame. On the other hand, Trudeau must be considered a bit of a "lame duck" leader/in view of his plan to retire and Ed Broadbent has as much chance as a snowball in you know where. Given those circumstances, there's little wonder that so many of us are still undecided and being joined by even more each day as election time draws closer, It all gives rise to a question that was heard several weeks ago: why are we having this election any way? each other out What I'd really like to see is a massive rejection of both by the Cana, dian voter. Everybody staying horneon election day. Three hundred votes cast in the whole of Canada. All of them for the Rhinoceros Party. But that couldn't happen. We're too sincere, too earnest. We still believe in the so-called democratic system, which gives you a vote for one of two or three guys, none of whom you think should lead the country. So we go into the polling booth, start to write an X, shake our heads, start to write an X in another place, shake our heads, and wind up feeling as though we'd like to -kick the sides out of the booth, 'and go off and get drunk. And that's about the way the vote will go, regardless of polls, We might vote for the local candidate, if he/she seems a good person, regardless of our party affiliations. We might cast a negative vote, against one party rather than for the other, Personally.4 hope the Liberals lose, for several reasons. They are in com- plete disarray. They did little to attack inflation, except steal Bob Stanfield's prices and wage controls. They let the national debt become infamous. They showed little political conscience in forcing an election. The Tories were on the right track, with their tough budget. But they went too far on their so-called energy policy, in a land of long distances, and eight months of cold weather. Canadians will give up their 'mistresses before they'll give up their oil and gas. Prediction? Another minority government, worse than the last one. n.121cLED EnViE7 You need strong stomach , "One advantage to all those promises you made and didn't keep during the last campaign —you can use them again.';