HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1987-01-28, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JANUAJRY 28, 1987.
Editorials
3 years is too long
The current three-year term of municipal councils is barely
one third over and, with the resignation of a Blyth councillor last
week, four of the nine municipal councils in The Citizen’s
coverage area have been forced to go through the process of
replacing a councillor. It’s further evidence that the three-year
council term is not a boon to democracy.
Municipal councils from smaller towns, villages and rural
municipalities have been trying to convince the provincial
government for some time that the three-year term is just too
long. The longer term was brought in by pressure in cities and
regions whererunning an election campaign has become
almost as expensive as running for parliament. There,
expensive brochures and lawn signs and extensive, expensive
mailings are important for the candidate who hopes to get
elected. A three-year term means that the investment is spread
over a long period of time, and that over a career in politics, the
councillor doesn’t have to run so many campaigns.
But in large municipalities the rewards are higher. In cities,
the job of councillor or aiderman is a full-time position with pay
to match. In smaller municipalities the job is pushing more
toward being full-time every year, but the rewards are still
small. We are asking more and more from our councillors and
we’re finding it harder and harder to find people to fill the jobs.
The last election, in November 1985, saw too many posts
filled by acclamation. Since then there have been four
vacancies on local councils, only one of which has been filled by
an election by the public. In other cases, the selection has been
made by established councillors, many of whom themselves got
their jobs without going to the polls either. That’s not their
fault, just a fact.
It’s time the provincial government took a look at the realities
of the situation in rural areas. If it is necessary to have one set of
election rules for cities and regions and another for smaller
communities, so be it. The importance here is not the rules but
the effectiveness of democracy.
Closing borders and minds
Aside from the direct effect it has on Canada and other
countries, the current isolationist mood in the United States is a
sad development for a big country and a frightening thing for a
world affected by this giant.
While the softwood lumber incident and shakes and shingles
have dominated the headlines, there have been other issues
that have shown the defensiveness of the current mood in the
U.S. Almost unnoticed, for instance, have been new
immigration regulations that make it difficult, if not
impossible, for all but superstar performers from outside the
U. S. to get work permits to go into the U. S. to perform. It means
that a star like Brian Adams is today would still be able to do
concerts in the U. S., but the small, unknown act which might be
the Brian Adams of next year, won’t get permission.
Americans, as a dominant culture, only hear voices
from outside when they want to. Major television networks
virtually never carry television shows that aren’t produced
inside the U.S., and which promote current American thinking.
Even news coverage is filtered through the eyes of American
reporters. Movie theatres seldom show anything but American
films. American magazines smother the magazine racks. And
now this regulation means that even small concerts by foreign
performers won’t be allowed to give Americans a view from
outside their borders.
It is sad that Americans have so little chance to learn for
themselves more about the outside world, and it is frightening
that such a major power will have such an insular knowledge.
Alternative thinking
Peter Bowers is out to prove again that there is more than one
way to skin a cat. Bowers, a free-lance commercial artist from
Owen Sound figures if you can’t beat the railways, join them.
When Canadian National Railways made application to
abandon several rail lines, including the one that linked Owen
Sound with other major centres in Ontario, Bowers figured if
the railway doesn’t want the branch lines anymore, why don’t
the people in the communities take them over? There’s a
precedent in Alberta, where a small local company took over
172 kilometres of abandoned rail-line, and so far seems to be
doing quite well.
Whether Bowers succeeds or not, just coming up with the
thought proves again that there is more than one way to skin a
cat. For the last several decades too often people in our area
(and indeed the whole country) have thought the only way to
makesomethinghappenisthroughgovernment action or
through getting some big corporation interested in investing
locally.
There was a time when people in rural areas looked to
themselves to solve their problems. Our imagination is one of
the most important assets we have. If there is a problem, we
nearly always can find a solution for it if enough people put their
mind to it. Sure, sometimes those solutions may fail, but some
of them will succeed. At the very least, they have the benefit of
getting us in action, giving us the feeling that we control our
own destiny, and that we are not just pawns of fate, or of big
government, or of big business.
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] gatherfor morning coffee
break, otherwise known as the
Round Table Debating and Fili
bustering Society. Since not just
everyone can partake of these
deliberations we will report the
activities from time to time.
MONDAY: Hank Stokes was talk
ing this morning about the “flip”
the friends of that cabinet minister
down in Quebec did with that land
down in Quebec to see the price of
a piece of land triple from $1 million
to $3 million in just eleven days. “I
was always a little backward,”
Hank says. “I guess I never
learned to “flip” properly. I
learned the backflip instead. I
bought a farm 11 years ago and
today it’s worth a third of what it
was then.”
Billie Bean says he guesses
we’re doing something wrong in
these parts. Not only don’t we get
the new industry that brings jobs
and makes things grow, but we
don’t get the graft either. It’s
pretty bad when you’re willing to
sell your soul to get rich but nobody
wants it, he says.
TUESDAY: Tim O’Grady was
mentioning an article he saw in the
paper where the International
Joint Commission is looking at
ways of lowering the water levels
on the Great Lakes. They figure
they can’t do anything major but
they’re thinking of letting more
water out through the St. Lawrence
Seaway.
Ward Black was saying that it
will sure make some people in the
southern U. S. sit up and take notice
of our problems. He was down in
Arizona a couple of winters ago and
they can’t get enough water down
there. They’ve been talking about
schemes to divert water from up
north to give them more.
Billie Bean wondered if we
agreed to divert our rivers into the
U.S. if they’d let us float a few log
rafts down them like in the old days
so we could help out the soft-wood
lumber industry.
Hank was saying he was reading
Continued on pace 6
[Published by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. ]
Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel,
Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships.
Published weekly in Brussels, Ontario
P.O. Box 152 P.O. Box429,
Brussels, Ont. Blyth, Ont.
NOG 1 HO N0M1H0
887-9114 523-4792
Subscription price: $15.00; $35.00 foreign.
Advertising and news deadline:
Monday 2p.m. in Brussels; 4p.m. in Blyth
Editor and Publisher: Keith Rouiston
Advertising Manager: Beverley A. Brown
Production and Office Manager: Jill Rouiston
Second Class Mail Registration No. 6968