The Lucknow Sentinel, 1982-05-12, Page 6f;M
The
LUCKN .Or111i SENTINEL
"The Sepoy Town" Established 187Y
SHARON J. DIE1Z . Editor
PAT LiVINGSTON - Office Manager
MERLE ELLIOTT Typesetter
JOAN HELM . Compositor
Lueknow Sentinel, Wednetldel'; M*y 12, 1982 -Page 6
fir Aimmom a r_
Business and Editorial Office Telephone 528.2822
Mailing Address P.O, goy 400, Lucknow, NOG 2HO
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$udg�tjitters' •
Elsewhere on this page, is a column submitted to The
Lucknow Sentinel by Murray Elston, MPP for Huron Bruce.
To be sure, Elston takes the Liberal viewpoint as the
province prepares for the upcoming budget. Not all readers
will agree, of course. •
However, there's no doubt that all Lucknow and area
residents will concede that waiting for the provincial budget
is something akin to waiting for the guilotine to descend.
The only, hope is it willbe over in a hurry - and as painless as
possible.
Opposition Leader David. Peterson no doubt hopes to gain
support for his Liberals with his seemingly common sense
demand that the provincial budget should not result in an
increase in taxation until all wasteful spending has been
curtailed, and until white elephants such as Minaki Lodge
and Suncor are put on ice;
Unfortunately as everyone knows, common sense to those
on the outside looking in can be nothing short of madness to
those on the inside looking out.
The best Ontario's citizens can hope for is that Premier
Bill Davis and the boys will take a long hard look at the
wisdom of all provincial government spending, andmake
the appropriate cots and savings for the .greatest long-term
good of the people.
Debate goes on
By Murray Elston, M.P.P.. [Uu ron•Brud el
--SJIC.
The Ontario purchase of 25 per cent of Suncor developed
into heated exchanges in the Legislature between Leader of
the. Opposition David Peterson and two Cabinet Ministers,
Treasurer Frank 'Miller and Minister of Energy 'Robert
Welch. '
The latest debate surrounded an analysis, of the purchase
by The Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper which indicated
that Ontario' paid at least $300 million too much for the
shares.
The analysis was based upon only those, facts known at
the time of the purchase and does not reflect recent changes
which have caused a downward turn in world oil prices.
To .assist in the analysis The Globe received help from
independent experts although the experts were not named.
It was discovered that the government placed too high a
value on the company's, future earnings, did not reduce
share value to take into account that control ,stili remained
with the United States parent of Suncor, and may have
underrated the extra risk involved in waiting until 1994 and
beyond' for large-scale profits. •
In addition, it must be pointed out that Suncor has
recently been delcaring dividends, the first to its ;parent
company the day before the Ontario deal was consummated,
the second for this quarter when in fact the company had a
"no dividend" policy prior to the Ontario deal.
The first dividend cost the company 878 million and the
second dividend cost .20c per share although the company
only earned .02c per share.
The Opposition has continued to press the government for
a release of all the information concerning the purchase, but
to date the government refuses. A call has been made • for a
public inquiry into the purchase, but that has also been
denied. The Leader of the Opposition" has introduced a
non-confidencemotion which was to be debated. yesterday,
May 11, in an effort to ,force disclosure of Suncor details to,
the taxpayers.
Ontario has been singled out the Conference Board of
Canada as the province which will experience the severest
economic decline. A 2.1 per cent shrink has been forecast
for Ontario while Canada's overall decline will be 0.4 per'
cent. In addition, it is expected 'unemployment will jump, to
7.5 per cent this .year, from 6.6 per cent.
Treasurer Miller concedes that Ontario had a rough time.
over this past six months. Mr. Miller will deliver his budget
Thursday, May 13 and an increase in both .taxes and the
provincial deficit is probable.
Opposition Leader David Peterson has indicated that
taxes should not be increased in the btfdget until the
government has eliminated all wasteful spending and
divested itself of such white elephants as Minaki Lodge,
non-productive land acquisitions like Edwardsburg and the
• Premier's jet.
The proposed members have again blocked a private
'Members bill in the House. This week they prevented Ed
dyhilip, M.P.P. (Etobicoke), from having his bill voted on. it
.dealt with amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act.
However, the Government did not prevent 'ts members,
Bill Barlow, M.P.P. (Cambridge), from having his
resolution debated and voted on.
The "Buy Canadian" resolution received support from all
sides, but Don Boudria, M.P.P. (Prescott -Russell), brought
to the attention of the Legislature that the . Ontario
Government does not have a good record in that area at all,
are manufactured outside Canada ,even though
tht which
displaying many standard pieces of office equipment
there h
comparable items produced in Canada.
redtrees
'd
by don canrapbeul
In the summer of 1843, a bird's eye
view of the settlement in the Caledon
Hills would ' have revealed small
irregular areas of space amid the
forest. in each clearing, log cabins in
various stages of erection, were still
the main preoccupation of the new-
comers. At this time, the craftsmen
were the most important members of,
the group. They not only had . the
arduous task of building, but teaching
and supervising others in the ways of
bringing civilization to :a green wild-
erness. .
' Chippy Chisholm . was a leader in
this respect. He moved around from
one crown grant to the next, imparting
his knowledge in the finder details of
log construction. He rarely stayed long
in one place and, having completed his
task at the Brodie cabin,' turned his
attention to the ,,new general store of
Ian Jamieson.
Mrs. Brodie was both disappointed
and relieved when Chippy finally left
her son's cabin. Secretly she had
hoped that the old . carpenter, no
matter how clumsily, ' would again
approach the subject of marriage. But
the widow was also a realist and.knew
only too well that words of sweet
nothings, are not a replacement for .a
wedding ring. Since little had resulted
from Chippy's •overtures, she hoped
she would be spared the gossip and
perhaps ridicule of her friends and
neighbours. .
As 'Chippy laboured , on the new
store, . he was assisted by young
Edward • MacQueen. Every day after
school, . and whilst. the summer even-
ings were botb bright and long, he
fetched and carried for Chippy, and
marvelled at the old man's skill. Of no
less a wonder to the boy, was Chippy's
agility. It amazed Edward that such an
ancient character amongst the set-
tlers, could climb ladders and balance
on a roof with the dexterity of a circus
performer.
One evening as they paused to take
a bite of bread and cheese, Edward
could no longer contain his curiosity.
To satisfy his inquisitiveness, he
posedthe question which he had been
wishing to ask for some time.
"Uncle Chippy)" Do ye no think
ye're a wee bit auld tae work frae sae
Lang and sae hard?"
Chippy swallowed hard oft the last
piece of ' his meal. He had never
thought of himself as being old. The
face of man maycarry the wrinkles of
age, but the mind lives in eternal
youth. To find time to . formulate his
answer, he took out his new clay pipe
and stuck it into his mouth. Producing
a block ilof tobacco from a small well
worn pouch, he pared off a few thin
slices from the end with his seaman's
knife, and began rubbing them to=
gether in his hands. '
"We canna know when it is time tae
one foot in the furrow
meet the Maker. Some gae soon, like a
babe at the moment of birth, and
manyy a braw young lad meets his end
on the field of battle. if I am auld, then
1 am auld enough to be thankful tae be
alive."
He rose from his seat and stretched
himself. It had been a long day.
"All I can tell ye lad, is that 1 no
worry about the dying, whilst I can
still work tae stay alive." He chuckled.
"One thing .I know. Auld Chippy is
here the noo, and 1 hae the felling that
he will still be here tomorrow!"
This basic philosophy did not satisfy
Edward's curiosity. A child does not
see life in the same way as an adult. In
his eyes any person over fifty had one
foot in the gravel
Chippy would have resumed his
work,' but the boy had no intention of
allowing him to evade his original
question so easily.
"But Uncle Chippy, 1 heard it said
that you've been lookin' at the Brodie
woman. I hae thought that a man sae
auld as yesel, wouldna be wantin' tae
go a courtin'." a .
' Chippy placed a ladder against one
of the trusses of the roof, and carrying
hishammer with him, he climbed to
the .top. Only then did he turn and
reply`
'.'When ye get tae my age, ye will
know• that a woman is as old as she
looks, an' a manis old, when he stops
lookin!"
by bob trotter
Great concern has ; been voiced
about the land in Canada being bought
by foreigners,
The concern may be valid but
another. more: dangerous, way to lose
land has been under way for 20 years.
Every growing season, thousands of
tons of top soil are lost to the eroding
powers of wind and water.
In the United States, between four
and six billion tons of topsoil are
moved each, year by various forms of
soil erosion. Soil losses are sosevere
in someparts of that nation that 12 per
cent of the croplands. and 17 per cent
of the range lands will be unproduc-
tive within a few short decades: Add to
that the millions 'of acres being lost
every year to urban encroachment and
the number of acres becomes stag-
gering.
In. Canada, the problem is not acute
but whatever happens south of the
border is reflected here, sometimes a
few years later and sometimes a few
months. •
Few farmers in this . country are
willing to face this serious threat to the
land. Only one organization, the
Christian) Farmers Federation, has, to
my knowledge even acknowledged it.
When the subject is broached,
farmers respond by saying the finan-
cial crunch and technological treadmill
give them no choice but to exploit the
land,
The switch to corn; crops in recent
years is compounding the. problem.
No matter what steps are taken to
preserve land through planning' and
zoning, it is too seldom recognized
that these laws or ,regulations do . not
save soil. Farmers know it. They try,
oh .yes, they do 'try, " to manage
resources as part of the day-to-day
work. They do what they have the
knowledge and skill to do and what
seems, in ;their own calculation of
costs and benefits, the 'right' thing to
do.
But protecting farm land involves ,
additional costs. The farmer must
make investments to preserve soil
such as forego • income when cash
crops are replaced by soil -building
crops. These investments in time and
money seldom result in immediate
cash returns.
The problem -is, you see, any profits
from protecting farmland do not come
until future generations take-over.
The farmer has great trouble
justifying these added .expenditures.
A bushel of corn, for instance, which is
produced under careful soil steward-
ship brings no better a price at the
farm gate than a bushel produced on
land being allowed to wash or blow
away,. The farmer had a higher of
production but that Means nothing in,
the marketplace. in fact,if such a
figure - were added to .the _ cost of
production in a marketing board's
price -setting formula, every consumer
organization • and all the rest of those
organization that;get their kicks out of
bashing marketing boards - would
holler all the way to Queen's Park 'and
Ottawa.
Farmers will tell you they have to
fight for economic survival in times as
tough as these. And it is a workable.
strategy as long as it doesn't last too
long: But mining the land's fertility
must stop. The actions of the last two
decades 'are cathing up with us.
Much of• the national farm debt is
secured by the value of the lard yet
soil erosion and farmland lost to urban
expansion continue to eat slowly into
that value.
When soime of this land is reclaimed
by the banks, how much good will it be
when it is farmed Out? Maybe that's
why some farmers are already walking
out and' leaving their keys on ' a
banker's desk..
These are big questions and they
concern everyone; not just farmers.
Every Citizen who expects to continue
living the good life in this country
should be concerned.
When farmers march for more
money, they are not just demanding
more money; they need better prices
so they can be good farmers and help
preserve the land.