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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1987-09-02, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1987. Opinion Candidates show well at debate Judging from how they handled themselves in debate at the all-candidates meeting in Londesboro last week, the three candidates for the riding of Huron in the provincial election next week are a strong group. Often in such debates at least one candidate, although fine on a one-to-one basis, seems to flounder when put in front of hundreds of people. In this case, however, all three candidates put on strong showings, each scoring points in his own way. If anyone looked out of place at times it was the veteran Jack Riddell as he sat quietly, absorbing the brunt of criticism from his opponents. But like a crafty old boxer, just when it looked like he’d taken too many blows he’d land a knock-out punch as when he let N. D. P. candidate Paul Klopp go on and on about the need for a new Ministry of Agriculture and Food office in Huron and how it had been delayed too long by bureaucrats, then he quietly announced that land acquisition had already begun and the construction of the office would soon take place. Mr. Klopp, however, generally held his own in the debate. He showed considerable bravery after Conservative candidate Nico Peters had roused his supporters with declarations that bilingualism would never be instituted by a Conservative government. As the next speaker, facing a hostile audience he quietly said he hadn ’ t taken French in school and now wished he had and he asserted that he hadn’t seen anything rammed down anybody’s throat and thought English and French should be able to get along together. Mr. Peters, for his part, showed himself to be an effective speaker, following the Conservative campaign strategy of taking clear stands on everything from bilingualism to free trade. He seemed to score points early but his abrasive style, over a two-hour period, seemed a little hard to take, except, perhaps, for his adoring fans. Whether one agrees with their stands (or their party’s stands) on various issues, one couldn’t help but admire the way the three men performed in front of an important audience. We should be glad that such able people have taken time to offer themselves for election. TDNAidHow soon we forget Nothing changes the tune of a politician more than moving from the opposition side of the house to the government side. How else can one explain the changed tune of Ontario Agriculture Minister Jack Riddell when it comes to the subject of foreign ownership of farmland. When the topic was hot back in the early 1980’s, Jack Riddell as opposition agriculture critic was one of the harshest critics of non-action by the Conservative government. The Tories said it wasn’t really a big problem that lesss than one per cent of Ontario farmland was owned by foreign investors and it was only a problem in isolated pockets, like northern Huron. Mr. Riddell didn’t buy that argument. Yet last week at the all-candidates meeting at Londesboro, Mr. Riddell was using the same argument: that the foreign-owned land was less than one per cent and that it was a problem, an issue from the past. He said it with a straight face, as if he didn’t know there are all kinds of ways of hiding ownership of land and we have no way of knowing how accurate government figures are. Earlier still, at his picnic he had declared foreign land ownership wouldn’t be an issue in this campaign. Others seem determined to make it an issue despite his objection. Their anger is fuelled by a new round of land-buying in southern Huron. There are some subjects that sound good when politicians make speeches, apple pie and motherhood issues. One of those is the importance of the family farm. One has to wonder, however, if the politicians really believe their own speeches. When governments don’t act to protect family farms and the communities that depend on them, they actually are approving the growth of huge corporate farms. In a weekend newspaper story the head of the corporation that has been so controversial in northern Huron admitted he owns 15,000 acres himself and manages another 20,000 acres for European investors. No matter who owns such companies, how long can we expect our small communities to survive when corporations can amass huge amounts of land like that. While nothing can be done to reverse what has already been done, something can be done to keep it from happening elsewhere in the province. The Huron County Federation of Agriculture wants government legislation similar to that passed in other provinces, legislation that would prevent non-residents of the province and large corporations from owning more than 10 acres of farmland. If we really believe in the future of small rural communities dependent on farming, it seems like a small request. Letter from the editor BY KEITH ROULSTON In a couple of weeks we’ll have a guest in our home and with that visitinmind, Icouldn’thelp but feel sad to watch Pierre Trudeau lastweekashemadealast-gasp attempt to persuade Members of Parliament to reject the Meech Lake Accord. Our visitor, you see, is an exchange student from Quebec (from Brian Mulroney country on the north shore of the St. Law­ rence) who will spent three months in Ontario to improve her English and learn more about the rest of Canada. Her visit is symbolic of the kind of opening up of Canada that many people sought and which seems to be a thing of the past with the acceptance of the Meech Lake pact by all three federal parties and all 10 premiers. The sadness in watching the former Prime Minister being al­ most ignored by the Parliamentary committee was not for him (the old boy hardly needs anybody’s sym­ pathy) but for the dream of all those who shared his vision of a Canada where French and English could live side by side in peace and mutual respect. The Meech Lake people seem instead to have bought an older argument that French and English should live in separate worlds. The “distinct society’’ clause that gives Quebec special status within the constitution so that it can protect Quebec’s distinct society is the object of Mr. Trudeau’s wrath. It perpetuates what he long fought against: the kind of thinking that maderesidentsof that province Quebecers first and Canadians, second. He fought instead to build a Canada where French-speaking Quebecers can feel at home anywhere in the country. His controversial bilingual policies were designed to make it possible for a French Canadian to get service from his federal govern­ ment anywhere so that Quebecers wouldn’t feel they had to hide themselves off in a little fortress in Quebec. But it’s easier to sell fear politically than it is understanding. Politicians have learned this and take advantage of it. Provincial politicians in Quebec have been selling fear of the English for more than a century. Bill 101, the “French only’’ bill is a result. English politicians in Ontario know that when you’re desperate you play up the fear that somehow the French are going to get the better of good, hard-working English Canadians and you’re bound to win support. Larry Grossman’s cam­ paign is a result. MeechLakeis apactbetween politicians afraid to buck the nationalist, “huddle down in fortress Quebec’’ vote in that province and the politicians in the rest of Canada who would just as soon go back to the days when we left Quebec alone and they left us alone. It’s a victory for the small-minded people like Rene Levesque who have the kind of “good fences make good neigh­ bours” attitude that keeps people from mixing too much and getting Continued on page 24 [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. 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