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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1992-02-26, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26,1992. E ditorial I zz ', ' ' ''y, "" S'/''/,'' ''w Free trade, or forced trade The current GATT negotiations once again raise some of the same questions that were raised when the Canada-U.S. Free Trade negotiations were underway: what is Free Trade and what is forced trade? Canadian farmers who are getting along quite well under their current supply management system may be forced to change under a proposed compromise aimed at getting an agreement in the current round of talks under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Canada is caught between a rock and a hard place. We haven't been subsidizing grain exports and we'd like that practice to stop. The U.S. and the Europeans are bargaining to get those export subsidies reduced but when Canada says something about them, they ask why Canada wants to keep some trade barriers while getting rid of others. There's a difference, of course, but one that tends to get ignored when there is bargaining to be done and an edge to be gained in negotiations. What Canada wants is not something that will distort international trade. Supply management is designed only to match national supply with national demand to prevent surpluses that will drive down prices. Prices for milk and butter and cheese and eggs and chicken and turkey are higher in Canada than they are on the world market because there are no surpluses. Canadian farmers are really just minding their own business, not hurting anyone else in the world except those who feel they have a right to the Canadian market What the U.S. and the Europeans want, in effect, is forced trade, not free trade. They don't want a country to be able to concentrate on self- sufficiency. It's much like someone telling you you shouldn't be allowed to grow vegetables in a home garden, that you should be forced to buy vegetables in the store because otherwise vegetable growers and store owners will be endangered. While our supply management has plenty of critics, it is a system that works. It has kept the family farm alive in Canada and has cost the consumer little extra. It provides quality food while preventing the kind of corporate agriculture that has devastated the rural areas of the U.S. If, in the name of free trade, foreign governments can demand countries change domestic policies, what future is there in national sovereignty. If, for instance, the U.S. decides our medicare system prevents its doctors and healthcare companies from expanding into Canada, is there a chance we might have to abandon a system that works? If free trade prevents unfair international trading it's one thing. If it means interfering in internal policies that work well, then maybe it is more trouble than it's worth. Still a 70 year old Swede? Looking at Canada's performance in the winter Olympics brings back memories of those ads that used to compare the average Canadians to a 70 year old Swede and find us wanting in physical conditioning. One one hand this was the best Olympics ever for Canada. We tied our record for the most medals and had more gold and silver than ever before. If the Canadian Olympic hockey team had managed to edge the Russians on Sunday, the country would have been delirious. Of course not to be forgotten is the showing of Huron county's own Lloyd Eisler who, with partner Isabelle Brasseur, brought home a bronze medal in pairs figure skating. On the other hand, for a northern nation with a population of 26 million people, our performance was not impressive. Norway, for instance, with a population of four million, won 20 medals. Italy, hardly a northern nation, won 14, France nine and tiny Finland, and Japan tied Canada with seven medals. There are those in the athletic world that will claim we must spend more money if we want to produce winners yet we've been spending more money for years now and don't seem to be making much progress. Surely with the way we throw money around, a rich country like Canada must already be spending more to support our teams than many poorer nations that do very well. Could it be that despite the fact we are a northern country we just don’t act like one? We crowd into cities along our southern border and try to pretend we’re really living in California. We have underground walkways and shopping malls and do our best to pretend winter doesn't exist instead of embracing it. Maybe if we learned to enjoy winter sports we might also begin to win at winter sports. Morning mist Looking Back Through the Years ONE YEAR AGO FEBRUARY 27,1991 Plans for a new front for Bel­ grave arena were boosted substan­ tially when the province announced a grant of $ 117,666 for the project. The Zone 7 Junior Farmers, con­ sisting of members from Bruce, Grey, Huron and Perth Counties, captured the overall championship at the Junior Farmers Provincial Winter Games in Belleville. The Ontario Milk Marketing Board announced that there were more new producers in Huron County in 1990, but overall the number of producers dropped by the end of the year. THREE YEARS AGO February 22,1989 The fight to save the Listowel-to- Wingham CN line through Ethel and Brussels, led mainly by one persistent Wingham industry, was temporarily successful. The Nation­ al Transportation Agency of Cana­ da ordered Canadian National to operate the branchline for an addi­ tional 18 months. FIVE YEARS AGO February 25,1987 Provincial regulation was put into effect making it mandatory for all dogs and cats in Huron County to have up-to-date rabies shots; failure to provide pets with the shots would result in a fine of up to $5,000 for the owner, levied under provincial law. CitizenTheNorthHuron P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. N0M 1 HO Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1 HO Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $20.50/year ($19.16 plus $1.34 G.S.T.) for local; $41.73/year ($39.00 plus $2.73 G.S.T.) for local letter carrier in Goderich, Hanover, Ustowel, etc. and out-of-area (40 miles from Brussels); $60.00/year for U.S.A, and Foreign. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited. 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