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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1988-11-09, Page 5THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1988. PAGE 5. Reader remembers celebration of Nov. 11, 1918 BY LOIS [ROBINSON] TASSIE I was about five years old on Armistice Day, 1918 but 1 can recall vividly that day, over 70 years ago. Although there had been rumours of a possible peace, none were substantiated, until that morning MargaretHawkins(the Anglican rector’s daughter) came running down to our house and excitedly announced “The war is really over! My daddy told us, and he never tells a lie!” Yes, hostilities had ceased and what rejoicing everywhere. School was let out, ordinary tasks were forgotten and plans were quickly made for a big celebration. And what a celebration it was! It was a mild night for November and by dusk all the villagers had gathered at the corner of Dinsley and Queen, just close to the spot where the Blyth Memorial Hall was built a couple of years later as a Memorial. People were milling around every - where, so happy and elated. All animosities were forgotten. Grits shook hands with Tories, Protes­ tants chatted with Catholics and the town kids played tag with the country kids. Oh, it was a glorious night. There was a torch-light parade, the Brass Band played lustily, and the Reeve spoke above the cheers about the brave boys and there was a concert of local talent. The stage was the balcony of the Commercial Hotel and Harvey McGee (HuronCounty’s own Harry Lauder) in full kilt was at his best. We all sang along with him and some people wept. But the highlight of course was when the huge bon-fire was lit and finally the effigy of Kaiser Bill strung above it was ignited. Such a roar set up! And the smell and sound of fire crackers! The memory stays. A few already “returned’ ’ men were there, but they seemed just to hold back. One was on crutches and another had an empty sleeve. They just leaned against the warm bricks of the Hotel front. Then it was over and time to go home. We knew there never would be another war and as we kids knelt to say our prayers, mamma said we could now leave out the last part “God bless the Allies and kill all the Germans’’. Lest We Forget. The writer is a Blyth native now living in Port Albemi, B.C. Letters to the editor Doubts about Free Trade answered by writer THE EDITOR, 1 read with interest the editorial in the November 2 issue of The Citizen. The writer is quite correct in deploring the emotionalism in the debate. This emotionalism, how­ ever, applies on all sides of the Free Trade dispute. All three leaders frequently get into a frenzy and one expects foam flying from their mouths. All three accuse each other of scare tactics and all three are correct. Let me, as a supporter of the Free Trade Deal (FTA), and a senior citizen, please, explain some of the questions in the editorial as I see it. First the assertion by opponents that we can’t compete with low wage areas in the US and still maintain our social programs. We have already proved that we can. Eighty percent of our trade with the US has been free for a long time. Includedinthisfree trade are the highest paid industries in Canada (Autos and Steel). Our auto manu­ facturingvolume is considerable higher than the Auto Pact demands and the U.S. has put import quotas on our steel products because their own industry can’t compete with ours. In all this the social programs in our country have not suffered. Not only that, but the social programs for their high paid workers are well above the average Canadian bene­ fits. Despite the red herrings by the battling politicians, our Unemploy­ ment Insurance is not in danger. When fishery industries in the U.S. tried to call this a subsidy, their own laws threw this contention out. The problem of Canadian manu­ facturers moving to Mexico has nothing to do with the FTA. This wenton long before this deal was negotiated. The argument by the editorial writer that the environment is in danger is based on the same assumptions as those regarding our social programs. Again, we compete successfully now with those indus­ tries where tariffs do not exist. Why should that be different for the remaining industries? The concern regarding our supply managed marketing boards is valid. It is not certain that they will suffer, but it is quite possible. This depends solely on the determination of the government to put finished product on the import control list. The real danger here is not with the FTA but with the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT). It is the European Community (EC) who are demanding fair trade for their grapes and it is they who demand free access of subsidized red meats in our markets. But the GATT is another concern. Agriculture in total will benefit from the FTA. This is shown in the support of the deal by commodity groups representing the majority of farmers e.g. The corn association, soybean marketing board, wheat board, hog board and cattlemen’s association. Most farm­ ers with supply managed commodi­ ties also produce one or more of the above and will benefit from the FTA in that section of their operation. Subsidies, again under U.S. and international law and as defined in the FTA, are those directed at certain industries and then only if the U.S. competing industries can show that they are injured through such subsidies. Broad based ones, like those for health and unemploy­ ment insurance, are not considered subsidies, either under U.S. law or under international law. Other subsidies, like the $6.25/100 litres milk subsidy are excluded in the agreement and under the GATT. A new twist has been added last week when Mr. Broadbent said that he fears for our health system because U.S. entrepreneurs will be allowed to build hospitals and nursing homes here. Itis a ridiculous notion, but it demands an answer. CH P's women's policy explained THE EDITOR, I am writing in response to the question of the Christian Heritage Party’s stand on the role of women. I feel the answer given at the All Candidates meeting in Clinton was incomplete. TheC.H.P. affirms that the role of women is equal. There are many capable career women who have a lot to offer in our society. There is also the need for volunteers in all areas of social services, schools, commit­ tees, etc. Many of these essential volunteer services are provided by women and many of them are mothers. Our hospitals, as anyone who reads the papers knows, are chronically in financial difficulties. Would any entrepreneur in his right mind try to compete with non-profit organiza­ tions? We can see this in our nursing homes. Americans already can establish them if they so wish. Why should they suddenly become inter­ ested after a free trade deal when nothing changes? The father of our health care systems, Emmett Hall, got alarmed over the accusations that his baby would suffer and possibly die. This jurist studied the FTA and found nothing in it to substantiate the opposition's claims. Much of the above is not just my opinion, but is shared by the leader of the Canadian Federation of Labor, I feel the role of a mother with young children is definitely in the home with her children. Yet she still has opportunities to give of her talents and capabilities in other areas. Her children will benefit from a mother who is active in other facets of life. I feel the government has a responsibility to give mothers the choice to stay at home with their children. Who else is willing to provide a warm, loving environment whichyoung children need? Who else is motivated by the intensity of love and pride to give unselfishly of their time and energies? Motherhood is challenging, but Jim McCambly, who disagrees with Shirley Carr and NDP vice-presi­ dent, Bob White, both talking NDP policy. With this letter 1 hope to have met some of the concerns of the writer and of others who think alike. Let us, as non-politicians not fall into the trap of not listening to arguments of opponents. Politicians are trained in turning a deaf ear through their participation in ‘Question Period’ in the House of Commons. If they should change their mind because of honest opposition arguments they will be defeated as Robert Stanfield experienced. We, as voters, are not bound by party loyalty. Let's keep our minds open. Adrian Vos, Blyth. also very rewarding. Will our society suffer when children are raised in a neutral, regulated setting such as daycare? I say yes and I say government has failed all loving, capable mothers who are forced to find a job to supplement their family income. Government may not intro­ duce legislation and tax breaks that will make the choice for mothers to stay at home virtually impossible. The C.H.P. is opposed to the state governing the raising of our pre­ school children. Arlene Salverda Secretary of the C.H.P. for the riding of Huron-Bruce. The International Scene Not too high a dollar please BY RAYMOND CANON I’m going to drag you off to the classroom for yet another lesson on the subject you all like best - economics. Not surprisingly this is going to be on international econo­ mics and more specifically on the value of the Canadian dollar in terms of other currencies. Now, if you will turn off the T.V., hang up the telephone or whatever else it might be that you are doing that would distractyou as I lead you through the lesson, we can begin. The value of our currency is determined by the workings of that most fundamental of economic laws - the law ofsupplyand demand. There are only so many Canadian dollars available for foreign buyers and there are only so many that are demanded on any given day. Out of this comes the price that is going to be paid for the dollars that ours bought. Since the vast majority of our business is with the United States, it is not surprising that we a re most likely to see the value of our currency expressed in terms of the American dollar. So, if you see that the Canadian dollar is trading at 75 cents U.S. this means, in effect, that if we gotothebank with $1,000 to buy American dollars, we will get 750 of them. Jt also means that, if an American wants to buy 1,000 Canadian dollars, he will pay $750 U.S. for them. Got that? Fine! Now let me ask you a question. If an American takes a dollar bill to the bank, how much Canadian money will he get? This may sound elementary but 1 am nothing less than astounded by the number of people who don’t know how to go about calculating this so I’ll help you out. If you know the value of the Canadian dollar in terms of American currency, allyou have to do js to take the reciprocal of it to get the value of American currency in terms of its Canadian counterpart. So take the .75 and divide it into 1. The answer, as you will discover, is 1.33 not 1.25 as some people would believe. There is a supply and demand situation for the value of the Canadian dollar in terms of every other currency of any importance in the world. However, as I said above, by far the most important one is the U.S. dollar due to the sheer amount of business which we do south of the border. Now, because we have what is called a floating exchange rate i.e. thevalueofitisdetermined each day by the law of supply and demand, this means thatthe value will change from day to day. What we have seen of late is an overall increase in the value of our currency in terms of the U.S. dollarfroniabout70 cents to more than 80 cents. To my chagrin this is treated by most commentators as a good thing as if our national prestige were at stake. You have no idea how often I have people tell me how nice it would be if our dollar couldonceagainbetradedatpar with the American dollar. Now comes the crunch of the lesson. Every time thatour dollar fluctuates, there are both winners and losers. If, for example, the dollar goes up from 75 to 80 cents U.S. the losers are: (1) exporters who sell on the U.S. market (2) foreign visitors comingtoCanada (3) people holding any assets in U.S. currency and (4) people who bought money in advance of any trip to the United States. By the same token winners are (1) importers (2) Canadians taking trips to the U.S. (c) foreigners holding assets in Canadian dollars and (4) people who bought Canadian dollars in advance of any trip to this country. Thus if our dollar goes up too fast, exporters run the risk of being priced out of the American market. Given the large volume of trade with the U.S., this could mean a real loss in business and possibly push us into a recession. Itis because ofthisthatldo not get too excited when our currency starts to move upwards as it has been doing for the past number of months. Nor, Local races to be settled Monday Continued from page 1 outlet could be established in the village. In Brussels, seven candidates are seeking four council posts. The public utilities commission posts were filled by acclamation. (For information on candidates see last week’s paper.) In Hullett township there are four people seeking three council seats. In West Wawanosh there are two current councillors battling for the post of deputy-reeve. (Information on candidates in both races starts on page 7.) In Grey township there are two current councillors seeking the post of deputy-reeve and five people for that matter, should you. Our dollar should be at par with the U.S. dollar only when we can safely compete successfully at that price on the American market. Right now we can’t even come close to doing that. In economics, as in any other subjects, things are frequently not what they appear to be. seeking the three seats on council. (Information on the candidates was in last week’s paper.) The voters of East and West Wawanosh and Ashfield will have the only local school board of election with three people seeking the position. (Information on the candi­ dates is on page 17.) With the federal election on Nov. 21 one week later there is concern on the part of some candidates that there may be confusion over where to vote. A list of polls for your municipality is advertised in this week’sorlastweek’spaper. Check it outand makesureyou know where to cast your ballot.