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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1992-06-17, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17,1992. Same old game Across Canada this weekend, thousands of ordinary people joined in neighbourhood parties to celebrate Canada's 125th birthday and many must have been wondering what Canada will look like by the time the country is ready to celebrated the 126th anniversary of Confederation. For most of those who showed how much they cared for their country by singing the national anthem, there must have been a sense of frustration that despite their best wishes, there's little they can do to influence what's going to happen in the next few months. A relative handful of people sitting in closed rooms, will determine if this country is going to hang together or hang separately. Talks between high level delegations from nine provinces and the federal government apparently broke down again last week. Premiers like Alberta's Don Getty seem ready to take up the dice formerly rolled by the Prime Minister in driving the country to the brink of disaster in order to get more power. Nothing will get done if he doesn't get his Triple E Senate he says and rejects any compromise which would give a combination of western and Atlantic provinces the same powers as Ontario and Quebec, instead of each province being as powerful as the two largest provinces. On the surface, it seems easy to say let the little province have equal power in a new, more powerful Senate, but would that just lead to more political stagnation in the future? The fact remains that while many Canadians just want a country that works, the provincial leaders have been playing a high stakes gambling game, trying to bluff and up the ante in an attempt to scare others into giving in to their point of view. And as if it isn't bad enough having having nine premiers sitting around a table wheeling and dealing, the 10th, Premier Bourassa of Quebec, waits the outcome of their talks so he can get in on the posturing too. It's a pretty sad situation for a country that has managed to survive for 125 years with the current situation and where despite how bad our government system is supposed to be fouled up, we only have the world's best over all standard of living. Maybe the premiers should just have gone out to one of those community parties and stopped bargaining.—KR Unions not always victims When you come to an issue with the viewpoint of being a victim, it's hard to admit you're ever wrong. The provincial government's new labour legislation looks on labour as a victim in labour disputes and ignores the fact that labour can be a problem too. Looking at picket line violence at the strike of the Toronto Star, it's hard to think of unionist being victims. The Newspaper guild members have been virtually holding delivery truck drivers hostage, not letting them out of the printing plant. Their aim is to allow no more than one truck through every 15 minutes, the maximum time they're supposed to hold up vehicles trying to get through the pickets. Some of the trucks have been heavily damaged in making their journey. Union members, including reporters, would have been appalled at similar damage caused by Yonge St rioters a few weeks earlier. But union members, see themselves as victims and as such, anything they do is justified. That's the thinking behind the NDP government's legislation. With a solid backing from labour, schooled in 50 years of thinking of union members as victims of employers, the government seeks to even the odds but making it illegal for companies to hire replacement workers if a union goes on strike. The mindset of the government is that employers are heartless, scheming union-breakers who would have slave labour if they could, while unionists are harmless, honest, wise ordinary people who want only a fair break. The legislation ignores human nature— that people on both sides tend to get carried away. There are no doubt many large employers who would break the union to get larger profits if they could, but there are also union members who get so wrapped up in their own little world that they see the employer only as a rich fat cat who can pay any amount or money if he really wants. Give one side or the other too much power and there is bound to be abuse. The NDP argues that workers are as important as the bosses and the investors in a company, a view that makes a lot of common sense. But The Toronto Star strike shows that workers think the company really belongs to them and others in the company have no right to be able to publish the paper while they're on strike. If the NDP gives unions more power, the company really will belong to the workers and companies will have little option but to give in, no matter how extreme the union demands.—KR Looking Back Through the Years ONE YEAR AGO June 19,1991 Brussels Public School teacher Phil Parsons took over the position of vice-principal of the Learning Resource Centre in Clinton. Mr. Parsons was a teacher at Brussels for five years. Four area students from F. E. Madill Secondary School were honoured at an athletic banquet in Wingham. Award recipients were Christine Carr, Brussels, Junior Girls Volleyball award for effort, dedication and improvement, Jason Gropp, Brussels, medal for break­ ing the school's triple jump record, Ryan Finch, RR 1, Ethel, Most Valuable Runner, Midget Boys Cross Country, and Peter Albers, RR 2, Bluevale, Junior Boys Soc­ cer Rookie Award. Members past and present gath­ ered at the Moncrieff community hall to mark the 40th and final anniversary of the Women's Insti­ tute. Due to declining membership it was decided to disband the wom­ en's group. Author Roy Bonisteel was in Blyth for the opening of the Blyth Festival, and to autograph copies of his new book at the Blyth Book Shop. THREE YEARS AGO June 14,1989 Brussels village councillors called for yet another crackdown to rid the community of dogs running at large. An animal control firm was called in to make a concerted blitz over several days to round up the stray dogs. Brussels village council adopted a fine of $10 per day for those who fail to comply with the village's property standards by-law. FIVE YEARS AGO .....<..........'.............................. June 17,1987 A Morris Township farmer nar­ rowly escaped death when the trac­ tor he was using to move a rock off a roadway on a steep hillside rolled down the hill, crushing him beneath. Norman Wattam of RR 4, Wingham, suffered several broken ribs, a broken jaw, and internal injuries in the mishap. Lori Appleby, of RR 2, Blyth placed seventh in the shotput at the Ontario Secondary School Track and Field Meet held at McMaster University in Hamilton. At F. E. Madill's annual banquet, Lori was presented with the most valuable seniors girls track and field award, and the "top female athlete" trophy. The Citizen was the recipient of two awards in a national competi­ tion for weekly newspapers by the Canadian Community Newspaper Association’s Better Newspaper Competition. CitizenTheNorthHuron P.O. Box 429,P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont.BRUSSELS, Ont Publisher, Keith Roulston N0M1H0 NOG 1 HO Editor, Bonnie Gropp Phone 523-4792 Phone 887-9114 Sales Representatives, FAX 523*9140 FAX 887-9021 Jeannette McNeil and Merle Gunby The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. 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