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The Citizen, 1990-02-21, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1990. Looking at the new reality Those in English Canada who are prepared to call Quebec’s bluff by going against the Meech Lake constitutional reforms or by passing legislation to make their Ontario communities English-only should perhaps look at the new realities in Quebec so they know j ust what the risks to a United Canada are. With the referendum in Quebec in 1980, many in English Canada thought the issue of Quebec separation had gone away. The Meech Lake Accord and the sign law in Quebec signalled that the problem hadn’t gone away and started a backlash throughout the rest of the country. Those who think that because Quebec turned down separation once they will do it again, might best look at the changed situation in the province in the last 10 years. A decade ago, business in Quebec was dominated by old English-speaking families who fought against the separatists in the referendum. Today, however, there’s a new breed of business in Quebec, one run by a French-speaking elite. The concerns of that group can be seen in the group of businesses that came out in favour of the Meech Lake Accord and travelled Canada to try to change peoples’ minds in favour of the reforms. Unlike businesses in the rest of the country who don’t seem to care whether they are part of Canada or if the southern border was erased, these businessmen care passionately about Quebec. The French-speaking business elite there has been created by interventionalist government policies. The provincial pension plan savings have been used to finance Quebec entrepreneurs to start new businesses and buy-out businesses owned by people outside the province. It’s a group that supported Free Trade because it felt it would free Quebec of dependence on Ontario markets. This group is disturbed by what it sees happening elsewhere in the country and some talk opening about the option of independence if Meech Lake isn’t passed. In case of another referendum it’s hard to know which side the new business elite would come down on. This changing reality is something to be remembered when considering the future of the country. Illustrating a point While many people, both individuals and businesses, dream of a smaller government with fewer regulations, the problems of the dream were illustrated last week in the nightmare of that tire fire near Hagersville that continues to burn, spewing hazardous chemicals into the air and perhaps into the ground water. The province’s Environment Ministry has been trying to do something about the huge used-tire dump for years, trying to convince the owner the tires should at least be reorganized into smaller piles so there might be hope of fighting the fire if they should ever catch on fire. The dump owner, was sure he knew best and he wasn’t going to be pushed around. The 14 million tires remained in one pile. He knew his rights. Someone apparently set fire to the pile early last week and firemen and environment officials now face one of the biggest fires ever fought, a fire that could go on for months. The dump owner says he’s not responsible for the problem because it wasn’t him that started the fire. Meanwhile thousands of people living in the area have to live with the consequences. Some have been driven from their homes. Many worry about the air they breathe and the water they will drink. Farmers worry about the health of their cows grazing in area fields in the coming months. Individual rights versus group rights: the old battle lines are drawn. The dump owner stood by his own rights to do what he wanted with his own land. The consequences, however, effect people living far beyond the boundaries of his property. Most of us would like to see fewer laws but we’re unlikely to see much deregulation as long as we see problems like this keep cropping up. Every time there is a problem like this one, or the poisoning of the water supply in Elmira and St. Jacobs, we’re more likely to see more rules, not less. In a society where the individual doesn’t have the power to harm the lives of others we can get along with very few laws as we did a half-century ago. But today each of us has so much power to harm others that it’s hard to depend on individual responsibility. Farmers handle hundreds of litres of deadly chemicals. Septic tanks of homes not hooked up to sewerage systems can pollute ground water. Companies have wastes that can poison the surrounding neighbours or the environment. Winter in the bush Mabel’s Grill This isn’t the simple world we lived in a century or even a few decades ago. With the power for harm we live with in our everyday lives we either need to become a new breed of super-wise, super-ethical people or we’re going to need more regulations. The cost of the individual who makes a mistake, like the one at Hagersville, is far too high. There are people who will tell you that the important decisions in town are made down at the town hall. People in the know, however know that the real debates, the real wisdom reside down at Mabel's Grill where the greatest minds in the town [if not in the country] gather for morning coffee break, otherwise known as the Round Table Debating and Filibustering Soc­ iety. Since not just everyone can partake ofthese deliberations we will report the activities from time to time. MONDAY: Julia Flint said she is tired of hearing all this fuss about towns and cities declaring them­ selves English only. “Frankly I wish they’d declare themselves Greek-only or Swedish-only so that when they bellyached, I wouldn’t be able to understand them.” Hank Stokes said he figured there was one simple way to stop all this hullabaloo over creeping bilingualism. Half the problem seems to be that people who can only speak English worry that you’ll have to be bilingual to get civil service jobs so they want to stop bilingualism. “I figure if they’d just pay civil servants what the rest of us get, or even a little less, people wouldn’t want to work for the government so much and they wouldn’t care so much about bilingualism.” TUESDAY: Tim O’Grady was say­ ing it’s encouraging to see the Americans are still vigilant about protecting themselves from sub­ version. “I mean they’ve gone soft on Communism by going along with Gorbachev and they’ve open^ ed trade with the Red Chine again despite the slaughter iasr summer but it’s nice to see they’re still looking out for subversive Canadians,” he said, pointing to a story in the paper about a Canadian trade unionist not being allowed into the states because he’s on a “Red Scare” list the Americans keep of people who shouldn’t be let into the country. WEDNESDAY: Julia said it was a proud moment when Ottawa was the scene this week of a meeting where the United States, Soviet Union, France, Britain and the two Germanys got together to start Continued on page 19 The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $19 OO/yr. ($40.00 Foreign) 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: Monday, 2 p m - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m - Blyth We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright. Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel, Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships. Editor & Publisher, Keith Roulston Production Manager, Jill Roulston Advertising Manager, Dave Williams Second Class Mail Registration No. 6968