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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1992-06-10, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10,1992. The Other Side By Keith Roulston Recession? What recession? If you have enough money and security to survive it, there’s noth­ ing wrong with a good recession now and then, even a depression if you're particularly well fixed. Many of the big fortunes over the years have been built on people who had the financial resources to take advantage of the bargain base­ ment prices that come along in tough times when most people are in a difficult position. Writer Gor­ don Sinclair, for instance, freely admitted he made his money because he invested during the great Depression when everybody else was bailing our of investments. What's more, a good recession has the added advantage of insert­ ing a little "right thinking" into the populace. Take a look, for instance, at last week's policy reversal by the Ontario NDP government when, after years of fighting Sunday store openings, it decided to pass a bill to allow stores to open seven days a week. Public opinion has changed, Pre­ mier Bob Rae said in explaining why his government went against his party's policy, and a vote by NDP party members at a recent convention. Indeed it has. Few people supported wide open Sun­ day shopping as late as a couple of years ago. The bankruptcy of sever­ al shopping chains, the continuing problem of cross-border shopping, and fears of the continuing reces­ sion have all helped change atti­ tudes about Sunday shopping. Big businesses have complained loud and long that they could compete with the Americans or they could E. Wawanosh school news EDITORS: Ms. Thorpe- Hearn’s Grade Five/Six Class The Kindergartens are making lots of things to do with June like butterflies, and painted pictures. They are reading many books but most of the Kindergartens like "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible No Good, Very Bad Day," written by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Ray Cruz, the best. GRADE ONE Mrs. Brydges’ Grade one class had their first day of track and field on May 29. They LOVED it! Ryan Moran liked the running races, Tony Dillon liked the high jump and Amy Storozuk liked the running long jump the best. Everyone agreed that the worst part of the day was that some people did not win any ribbons. Seven boys and girls went to Howick Public School on Thursday, June 4 to compete at the Regional Track and Field competition! GRADE TWO Mrs. Dodds' Grade two class painted clowns for the School Fair coming this Fall. Friday, June 5, the Grade twos went to the African Lion Safari. Mrs. Hessels' Grade two class is busy doing a butterfly craft. Lately, they have been making lots of books. Those in their classroom who went to Howick to compete in the Regional track and field day were Heather Black, Kim Frieburger, Kristyn Gerth, Samantha Gibson, Travis Hopper, Chris Kuntz, Kenny McCracken, Devin Moffatt, Candace Procter and Katie Van Camp. GRADE THREE save jobs, if only they could remain open. Faced with the continuing story of lost jobs, Ontario residents, like the government, finally gave in and said "let them try". It's been a skillful campaign by big business to gain an edge on, not American competition, but compe­ tition in their own back yard. You'll notice it wasn't the little business people who were pressing for the change. They're the people who usually staff their own shops and will be the ones who will have to work on Sunday if they can't afford to hire more staff. It's the big chains that threatened to open their stores illegally, and finally pushed the government into capitulating. Take a look at the possible results of the move and see who has the most to gain. In days when profit margins are either non-exis­ tent or very small, it's difficult for stores to survive if they lose even a small portion of their business. So a store in the city, beside a competi­ tor that is going to remain open, had better think seriously about being open as well, even if they don't want to. Towns outside the larger cities will likely be affected too if their residents get the Sunday shopping craze too strongly. If stores in Kitchener and Stratford and Lon­ don are open, stores in Listowel and Goderich are likely to open. If stores in those towns are open and shoppers from Blyth and Brussels start driving out of town in appre­ ciable numbers, our local stores will have a choice of staying open, or endangering their future. Even staying open may not help because it will spread their business over seven days, driving unit costs up. Miss Mathers' Grade three class was excited about their trip to the African Lion Safari on Friday, June 5. They have learned how to use division frames and now think that it is EASY! They made bubble letters with their Kindergarten buddies. It was a messy exercise but a lot of FUN! The threes have a bulletin board full of puppets that they made with their Grade five/six buddies. GRADE FOUR Mr. Fisher's Grade four class is finishing their books for Author's Day on Wednesday, June 10. They are having a bean growing contest and learning division in Math class. They are reading the book called "A Journey to the Center of the Earth." GRADE FIVE Mr. Kerr’s Grade five class will be seeing "The Sound of Music" at the Huron County Playhouse in Grand Bend on June 12. On June 9, they went to the Children's Festival in London to enjoy musical performances and to learn from many different kinds of Jirti Qt'Q GRADE FIVE/SIX The class has begun working on Fall Fair activities and also began their Puppetry unit! They made paper bag puppets with their Grade three buddies, and will spend the next few with them making sock puppets. Grade six has completed their study of Mexico while Grade five continues with their exploration of Canada during Social Studies class. The students reading Roald Dahl’s "The BFG" during teacher continued on page 16 The only people likely to gain by the whole thing are the big business owners who will gain more market share at the expense of their smaller competitors. They’ve learned how to use a recession well, the proprietors of big business. Recession means a worry about loss of jobs and that can bring workers nicely into line. That loss of jobs means people are less likely to support environmental regulations if they fear these may result in lost jobs. In general, the voice of big business is more likely to be listened too in tough times than in good times where every­ body feels prosperous and secure. Yup, there's nothing wrong with a good recession, as long as you're rich enough not to notice you've had one. When Canadians work together we can take on the world and win. To succeed in today's world, Canadians must be able to com­ pete because our jobs directly depend on it. Preparing ourselves through training will help us to compete and secure the prosperity we want for ourselves and our children. We have to invest in ourselves and be a country that says ... yes we can. This Ontario company tured 50% of the world market with CorelDraw, a software graphics program for IBM and compatibles. It exports 90% of its products to Europe and the U.S. and attributes Free Trade to the fact that it can operate so success­ fully from Canada, using Canadian talent and initiative. Yes we can. We've got the proof. Canadians are succeeding every day. Many individual and business successes exist... with real benefits for individuals, the com­ munities they live in and for Canadian industry. Hundreds of Canadian compa­ nies are achieving remarkable international success. They're cre­ ating jobs, developing new skills and opportunities for thousands of Canadians and creating markets around the world for Canadian products. Intent on their work Andrew Hodge and Leanne Mullen were just two of the pre-Kindergarten class at East Wawanosh Public School to enjoy some creative work during story time. Last Wednesday was the last day for the future students to spend a morning getting familiar with the school. The Prosperity Initiative's Steering Group is developing a consensus-basedplan of action to be presented to Canadians in September. Canadians told us that they wanted to participate in developing this plan of action. We listened.. Through a series of "Community Talks", thousands of people in 186 communities across Canada have contributed their ideas. They talked about how to address the challenges and opportunities facing us all in the areas of competitiveness and learning. They talked about how to maintain our standard of living and secure our economic future. They concluded that all of us have to play a part...and the govern­ ment is listening. Yes we can. We've got the ability to buila on our successes. We have a history of working in co-operation with others for world-class achievements in peacekeeping, medicine and space exploration. Now, with business, labour, governments, academic and social groups working togeth­ er, we can achieve prosperity through international competitive­ ness. But there is one more critical factor: Canada's ultimate potential depends on the commitment of individual Canadians to being the best. 'T had to make a decision to change careers. 1 chose to go into computer programming and part of my course was on-the-job training at BC Tel where I now work as a programmer analyst. Training really opened up a promising future for me in a fascinating industry!" Yes we can. We've got the people. It's time to focus our energies on our most important economic challenge yet... and prepare ourselves for a more prosperous future. Y?szwecan! Canada