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The Citizen, 1988-01-27, Page 35THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 1988. PAGE 11. Must find new vocabulary, H-B Liberals told DOUG FRITH With afederal election likely this year Liberals must find a “new vocabulary’’tohelpexplain the dangers of the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement to the people of Canada, Doug Frith, M.P. for Sudbury told the organizing meet­ ing of the new Huron-Bruce Liberal Association Wednesday night in Lucknow. The agreement, which Mr. Frith said was not a “free trade’’ agreement but a Reagan-Mulron­ ey agreement, is a complex issue, he said and Liberals must find a way to get through to people the dangers involved. He pointed out that Canada has done well for itself for 120 years in pursuing freer trade through multi-national agreements and 82 per cent of all Canadian goods entering the U.S. are not affected by any kind of tarriffs so the whole agreement wasforthebenefitof the last 18 per cent. The cost of the agreement, the things Prime Minister Mulron­ ey gave away in order to get protection for that 18 per cent was too much, he said. “All we have to do is look at the original opening position,’’ of the twosides, he said, and see who won. Mr. Mulroney caved in and gave away too much for fear of a protectionist Congress. What did the Americans want from the agreement? Since 1984, Mr. Frith said, the U.S. has wanted to get rid of the National Energy Policy. U.S. drugcompanieswantedtoget rid of the drug patent laws in Canada. And, he said, Ameri­ cans have always covetted Cana­ da’s hinterland resources. The Americans have got all these wishes. But Canada didn’t get the one thing it had set out to get: guaranteed access to American markets, he said. The agreement doesn’t stop Congress from chang­ ing the laws to hinder Canadian imports and it doesn’t exempt Canada from the Omnibus trade bill making its way through the U.S. Congress. Canada has the most efficient steel companies but U.S. law still won’t let them capture more than 11 per cent of the U.S. market without bringing retaliation. He credited Mr. Mulroney with getting a slightly better dispute settlement mechanism but it still won’t prevent the Americans from doing something like taxing soft­ wood lumber imports again. In the long term, the highest price Canada may have paid is in the establishment, through the agreement, of a continental energy policy, Mr. Frith said. During the oil crisis, Canadian companies were helped because they only had to pay 75 per cent of world oil prices, he said. Canada won’t be able to give our own industries this kind of break anymore, he said. “We’ve given up generations worth of a very important tool to get the 18 per cent of Canadian exports in’’, he said. Canada has always been organ­ ized on an east-west basis, he said and that if we start thinking in north-south terms, it may become difficult to define what it is to be Canadian. It has cost us a lot of money to maintain the east-west emphasis, he said but we have developed some really unique things because ofitsuchastheneedfor a mixed economy. We have developed a very good lifestyle by being tolerant because of having differ­ ent languages and cultures. A deregulated economy in a country 5000 miles wide with a small population cannot work, Mr. Frith said. Once the Mulroney- Reagan agreement is in place, the next step will be harmonization of laws, and it is the country with the 250 million population that will have its laws accepted by the smaller country. Canada would gain many of the same benefits of the agreement without the costs if it just had stuck with multi-national agreements through the General Agreement on Tarriffs and Trade (GATT), he said. The U.S. is one of the big pushers behind the current Uru­ guayan round of GATT negotia­ tions because they want the service industry around the world opened up because Americans are so strong in that area. The U.S. will push hard to speed up the process and “I don’t believe for two seconds that the omnibus bill and protectionism (in the U.S.) will stand the test of time.’’ Mr. Frith warned that many of the things the Mulroney govern­ ment claims to have protected, such as marketing boards, and social services, will, over time, perhaps in two generations, be wiped out because of this agree­ ment. Canadians must, he said, main­ tain the ability to do those things necessary to solve uniquely Cana­ dian problems. Creating Non-Profit Housing in ¥)ur Community: The Whos, Whats, Wieres, Whens and Whys Huron part of drop out reduction program The Ontario Ministry of Educa­ tion has allocated $600,000 to fund projects aimed at reducing the drop-out rate in Ontario schools, Education MinisterChris Ward announced recently. Agriculture and Food Minister Jack Riddell, MPP for Huron County, said that a project of the Huron County Board of Education has been selected, one of only 12 chosen from 75 submitted. Each of the projects selected will later be published and circulated to school boards across the province. The project was designed to help rural school boards plan to meet the individual needs to high-risk students, and includes strong links with government student-employ­ ment programs, social agencies, local businesses and industries, and alternative programs in se­ condary schools that include con­ tinuous intake, individualized pro­ grams, and the development of special learning materials. The projects selected by the Ministry include drop-out preven­ tion programs for students at high risk, including visible minorities and native people; re-entry pro­ grams for those who have left school; and counselling programs focussing on career planning and transition to the workplace. “We believe that the internven lion strategies contained in the pilot projects will assist Ontario school boards in significantly lowering the drop-out rate across the province,’’ Mr. Ward said. He added that the new initiative, coupled with two additional broad­ based undertakings already in place in many areas, including Huron County, the “ties to Busi­ ness and Industry Incentive Fund” and the co-operative education program, are striving to create a varied and responsive educational system in Ontario. Town of Goderich gets grant Murray Cardiff , M. P. for Huron- Bruce last week announced fund­ ing approval under Section 38 of the Canadian Job Strategy Pro- gra m for the town of Goderich in the amount of $49,823. This funding will cover eight jobs over approximately a two year period. It is to improve the town parks by clearing brush lots, as well as repairing and painting picnic tables and benches. This funding will also be used for tourist and industrial information and some minor repairs and painting on municipal buildings. In 1989, the Governments of Canada and Ontario together will help in the production of 6,700 new non-profit housing units in communities across this province. Organizations interested in developing much needed non-profit housing in Ontario should prepare to apply today. Preliminary deadlines are as early as March 31,1988. The non-profit housing units will be funded by the Government of Canada through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and the Province of Ontario through the Ministry of Housing. The program is open to all non-profit housing organizations—municipal, private and co-operative. Government grants may be available to help local community groups establish non­ profit housing corporations. As well, non-profit corporations may receive financial assistance to secure land sites for their proposed projects. The program is designed to assist in the development of: 1 Housing for those in need. Non-profit agencies can use the program to help create affordable housing for those in need. Included in this category are families, senior citizens, physically-disabled persons, developmentally-handicapped individuals, and persons who have left institutionalized psychiatric care Preliminary applications for this cate­ gory must be submitted by April 29,1988. Housing for ow-income singles. A portion of the units will be reserved for low-income single persons. Preliminary applications for organiza­ tions wishing to sponsor such projects must be submitted by April 29,1988 Housing for those needing support services. A number of units will be designed for people with support service needs. Included are those with disabilities— physical, developmental or psychiatric: the frail elderly, battered women and other socially disadvantaged persons For groups interested in developing this housing, a special orientation will be held in February at each Regional Office of the Ministry of Housing Preliminary applications for this cate­ gory must be submitted by March 31.1988 Eligibility depends on the degree and nature of care provided For more information and application packages, contact the nearest Regional Office of the Ministry of Housing listed below: Canada ® Ontario Regional Offices of the Ministry of Housing Southern Office 55 Hess St. S. Hamilton L8P 4R8 (416) 521-7500 If long distance, dial toll-free 1-800-263-8295 Southwestern Office 380 Wellington St Ste 1100 London N6A 5B5 (519) 679-7110 If long distance, dial toll-free 1-800-265-4733 Eastern Office 1150 Morrison Dr 2nd Floor Ottawa K2H 8S9 (613) 820-8305 If long distance, dial toll-free 1-800-267-6108 Northern Office 1191 Lansing Ave Sudbury P3A 4C4 (705)560-6350 If long distance, dial toll-free 1-800-461 1190 Northwestern Office 540 West Arthur St Thunder Bay P7E 5R7 (807)475 1465 If long distance. dial 'oil-free 1-800 465-5015 Central Office 4950 Yonge St 4th Floor Toronto M2N 6K1 (416)225-1211 If long distance dial toll-free 1-800-668-0208 Head Office 777 Bay St 2nd Floor Toronto M5G 2E5 (416) 585-6363