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The Citizen, 1990-09-26, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1990. Counting the costs Last week the struggling Ontario economy lost another 550 jobs when Tridon Ltd., one of the country’s leading autoparts manufacturers decided to move to Tennessee. Company president Paul Davidson blamed the high interest rate, the resulting high Canadian dollar, Canada’s social programs, taxes, labour rates, material costs and transportation costs for the fact the money-losing company couldn’t compete American competition. Seems like the very reasons opponents of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) were giving two years ago as the inevitable cost of the agreement. Last week the Amerock Hardware manufacturer, the largest employer in Meaford, announced it was closing and consolidating operations in a plant near Chicago. A company spokesman said Free Trade had nothing to do with the closing, j ust that the company could fill its production requirements with the additional capacity at its U.S. plant. If that seems familiar, it’s another one of the predictions made by Free Trade agreements: that Canadian needs could easily be filled by overcapacity in existing American manufacturing facilities. Each month when the Ontario Milk Marketing Board releases its statistics the number of dairy producers in the province has dropped. In the last year 900 dairy farmers have gone out of business. Caught in the same cost-price squeeze that’s hampering all farmers, tired of the long hours, and especially nervous that if the U.S. wins a challenge under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) the ability to control imports of milk and milk products will be gone and their quotas will be worthless, many dairy farmers are deciding the time has come to get out of the business. While not a direct result of FreeTrade.the concern is the same as that expressed by many producers of commodities covered by marketing boards. The U.S. mayjust have found another way ofgetting what it wanted in the Free Trade talks: a free shot at the Canadian market under its own rules. The World Bank last week warned that if war breaks out in the Middle East oil could hit $65 a barrel. If it should, Canadians will share the expensive results despite the fact we could be self-sufficient in oil. We gave up in the FTA the rights to our own oil. We will have to continue to supply oil to the U.S. at the same rate we have been in times of surplus, even if we go short ourselves. On Sept. 6 Ontario voters elected Bob Rae and the NDP to lead Ontario. The new Premier may have a hard time putting some of his innovative ideas to work, however. If he wants to tighten pollution controls on companies they may decide to find places in the U. S. (or in Mexico if it negotiates free trade with the U.S.). The minimum corporate tax? How many companies will stand for that if they have the option to move across the border? Minimum wage of $7.20 an hour? When companies can get workers for that much a day in Mexico? As he tries to govern Mr. Rae may find what Michael Wilson has been finding: that trying to find answers to Canadian problems may cause more problems than it solves. Mr. Wilson’s high interest rate to kill Ontario inflation has killed the Canadian economy by making our companies uncompetitive with U.S. competition. In effect, with Free Trade we have given up the privilege of setting our own rules in Canada. If we want to live with Americans we’ll have to live like Americans, taking their rules as our own. Too late to block GST Jean Chretien and the Liberals are caught in a dilemma in deciding whether they should block the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the Senate. With the tax so unpopular they mustn’t be seen as going along with the government but they can also be seen as opportunists, using the un-elected Senate toblock the will of an elected Parliament. Much and all as most people would like to see the GST go away, it’s really too late to stop it now. The process has gone too far to turn back. Businesses all across the country have been spending huge amounts gearing up for the tax they don’t really want. Equipment, financial advices, business systems, even additional hiring, it has cost businesses big and small millions of dollars. Defeat of the GST would leave the country in even more disastrous financial shape than it’s already in. The government is depending on the tax to provide income next year that won’t be there if the tax is killed. And there are the good points of the tax. While companies like newspaper publishers will suffer from a new form of tax, manufacturers will be able tocut costs. For Canadians this may mean major savings on big ticket items like cars. For companies that export, however, it means a chance to drop prices by 13.5 per cent and hope to hold exports and save Canadian jobs that might have been lost because of the high Canadian dollar. There are still plenty of reasons to dislike this tax but it’s just too late now for the Liberal Senators to kill it. Natural sculpture Mabel’s Grill 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 So­ ciety. Since notjust everyone can partake of these deliberations we will report the activities from time to time. MONDAY: Ward Black walked in a little late this morning and Julia Flint told him she thought maybe he wasn’t coming. Ward looked a little bewildered when Julia said she thought he might have been in Ottawa. “After all, the way they’ve been naming good Conservatives to the Senate, I thought maybe you’d be on the list.’’ Nah, said Hank Stokes, Ward has too clean a record. After seeing John Buchanan get the job he figured you had to be under investigation by some police force or other before you qualified for the job. Ward was getting a little red in the face by now. “We’ve got to do something about the Senate,’’ he said. “They can’t be allowed to overrule the elected Parliament all the time.” How dare those people actually do something to earn their money, Julia said. “Usually we complain**- that they just sit and snooze whii they collect their pay and now, when they do look at the legislation they’re asked to pass, we get upset with them.” TUESDAY: Julia said spelling bees certainly have got bigger prizes than when she went to school. She was pointing to the picture in the paper of the little boy who won a trip to Jamaica in a spelling contest. Continued on page 6 The Citizen. P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. N0M 1H0 Phone 523-4792 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1H0 Phone 887-9114 The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $19.00/yr. [$40.00 Foreign]. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisment 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 Advertising Manager, Dave Williams (*chA BLUE RIBBON I AWARD 1990 Production Manager, Jill Roulston Second Class Mail Registration No. 6968