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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1983-04-06, Page 6editorial page Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesd, April 6, 1983.—Page b LUCKN(��SENTINEL "The Sepoy Town" Established 1873 1110M-z1Nt1\14'\Uti Sli ARU's ; t)Il t / 1 .ittor PA LIVIN(,STON Offi.t 'Vlan,+or JOAN HELM • (omposnor MERLE EL.LiU'IT - 1 ‘ pcectter ManaRrr 11 ~mess an,t 1 ,tnortc.! Utticr• l ;,phone -2tc. 222 \tatitnc A tdre'' I' O tiox 400. . I ucknow, N.04, 110 sw, and (1,.,, \Ian kcwstrat+on'\urnhcr Uha- Satbscriptlon rate, S15.25 per ear in ade once Senior Citizen rate, 512.75 per near In adeance t .S.A. and Foreign, S38.00 per Bear In atance Sr. Cit. L .S.A. and foreign, 536.00 per rear in adeance PAPA CHIN'S LUCKNOW RESTAURANT NEVER GOES SHORT ON CUSTOMERS! • • aro •3:.. Catherine Macintosh of Walkerton submitted this picture of the Chin family of Lucknow which appeared in the Toronto Star while the family lived in Lucknow. Seven sons and three daughters posed for The Star cameraman following their return from Sunday School, Three sons were in the armed forces. According to the cutline, magically enough all were ready and armed with hockey sticks, which in this day of shortages proves that Papa Chin can work magic in more ways than one. It was four in the morning after Setup. editorial Help the unemployed Easter and spring, a time of hope, but for the many unemployed in Canada, the hope of ever finding work again is fading fast. Men and women with 30 years' experience are laid off and sent home without so much as a thank you and the young, the graduates who had visions of job offers like sugar plums dancing in their heads, are looking at a future of despair as their career dreams vanish. Honest hard working individuals have lost their self respect and their dignity as they have been forced from the Unemployment Insurance line to the welfare rolls. Unemployment takes its toll in suicides, despair, broken relationships and child abuse. Listening to the unemployed as they are interviewed on radio, television and in the newspaper articles, there is one consistent theme. The government of Canada doesn't care. According to one unemployed woman from Oshawa, if the politicians can work diligently to bring home the con- stitution why can't they apply themselves as diligently to creating work for the thousands unemployed in Canada. Unemployment in this area is relatively low compared to other areas of the country but the receivership of Knechtel Furniture in Hanover last weok ctrilriw ^1^^ "^°�'^ ns any of us want to see. Finance minister Marc Lalonde will bring down a new budget this month. To continue with the single minded at- titude that inflation must come down at all costs would be morally wrong and unjustifiably irresponsible. The Liberal government in Ottawa is responsible for the policies which have brought this country's economy to a halt and it is their responsibility to provide incentives to get this country back to work. Lalonde should not hesitate to increase the national deficit to provide work incentives in the upcoming budget. The private sector cannot do it without the government's in- itiative. Put Canadians back to work now, Mr. Finance Minister! Plan your Jamboree 83 project now letters 606 day's hockey game ere the Chins had looked after the last cafe customer. The Chin fami- ly all work in the cafe except the hockey players, George, Bill and Albert who sit in state and are admired. Usually they are accompanied by their teammates and coach "Pelt" McCoy. It is a regular Lucknow custom to entertain the hockey team after their home games. This is done on a community basis and everybody enjoys the entertainment.' Dear Editor: An article in The Lucknow Sentinel March 16, entitled Damage Farmers Credibility bears some clarification. It was not Allen Wilford's fast in a Stratford jail that was damaging farmers credibility, but people speak- ing out in ignorance rather than in fact against people and policies dedicated to improvements for everyone. This article was particularly critical of Allen Wilford. Anyone that saw Allen Wilford interviewed on Front Page Challenge or The Journal could only describe him as a clever and responsible man and a credit to the organization he is president of. Allen Wilford did grab media atten- tion and focus public attention on the dire straits of farmers. One can only say it was a commendable action rather than a sad comment on the association he represents as stated in the editorial. The present society only recognizes some form of strike action to maintain a reasonable standard of living. Almost every other profession or in- dustry uses strike action to ensure their present standard of living, doc- tors, nurses, teachers, industrial workers, endanger lives, withhold goods and services often at in- tolerable costs to society during strike action Allen Wilford used a form of strike action withholding nothing and with little cost, to achieve some recogni- tion for farmers. Surely this can only enhance the image of farmers rather than discredit them. Compare Wilford's actions to the striking Quebec teachers and ask yourself which actions you would sooner pay for? In regard to the Farmers' Survival Organization, there seems also to be some very damaging misconceptions in this article. The statement, "by dwelling on the sensational aspects of the Farm Survival Association, the media is ignoring the real progress being made by farm organizations". I am curious. What is the real pro- gress? The article also stated that the Turn to page 7• one foot in the furrow by bob trotter The actions of Allan Wilford, presi- dent of the Canadian Farmers Sur- vival Association, have been chronicl- ed by the press from coast to coast. Mr, Wilford refused to sign a bond to appear in court, He went to jail and refused to eat until the federal govern- ment passed legislation which would prevent banks from foreclosing on farmers. The picture`of the slight, 34 -year-old Arran Township beef farmer, risking his life for his fellow farmers, brought sympathetic gestures from other sec- tors of the economy. His wife and family were also shown in a sym- pathetic light attending a special prayer service outside the Stratford jail where Wilford was incarcerated. It worked. A private member's bill to amend the Farmers' Creditors Arrangement Act was given swift second reading. The amendment will allow farmers facing foreclosure to seek a court order to give them time to find alter- nate financing or to wind up their business in an orderly fashion, It will also, if it receives third reading, allow judges to order reduc- tions in a farmer's debt and allow farmers to pay a loan ahead of schedule with a small penalty. It is similar to legislation which was in ef- fect during the Great Depression years. Mr. Wilford has become famous. He was in westerri Canada shortly after his release from jail, speaking to farmers there on how to form a sur- vival association. But a lot of surveyors of the farm scene view such tactics with a jaun- diced eye, Mr. Wilford is entitled to do what he thinks is right but I am of the opinion that a great many farmers do not agree with actions that border on blackmail. For that is what Mr, Wilford almost did. He said he would continue his hunger strike until Parliament passed the bill to help farmers in trouble. He used his health and well-being to coerce Parliament. Is it tantamount to blackmail? If every person in this society with a legitimate complaint — and Mr. Wilford's complaint was legitimate — decided to go on a hunger strike, the democratic system in Canada would be killed. It would die from outside pressure. The governments of this country, right from municipal councils to the House of Commons, are under severe pressure to please many segments of society. It is impossible to satisfy them all. To paraphrase Abe Lincoln, you may please all the people some of the time; you can even please some of the people all the time; but you can't please all of the people, all of the time. Mr. Wilford took drastic action and he got results. But suppose every banker in Canada decided to go on a hunger strike to allow banks to use legislation to foreclose? The situa- tion could be carried to inane lengths if every individual who thinks he has a grievance decided to fast or use some other form to exert pressure on Parlament. Parliament's concern is to decide on the merits of the laws, based on the •justice of those laws and not on an emotional binge. Such bizarre methods can lead, if carried to the extreme, to anarchy.