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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1993-03-10, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 1993. ditorial Freeze frame Photo by Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot Letters THE EDITOR, The recent resignation of Brian Mulroney as Prime Minister may gladden many and sadden some but it will not solve the serious problems with which his policies have left Canadians. As we look at the devastation of the Canadian Economy during the Mulroney years it is important to remember that the process of shifting the tax burden to the middle class and poor as well as the free trade negotiations was started under the Liberals. Both have followed a transnational corporate agenda when in power. Mulroney earned the animosity of the Canadian people by refining to an art form the ability to say one thing and do the other. The Jobs, Jobs, Jobs slogan in support of a free trade deal he knew would devastate Canadian manufacturing is perhaps the saddest example. It is important to recognize that it will take years to undo and reverse the legacy of the corporate agenda which Mr. Mulroney followed. Canadians want and deserve an alternative plan. Canadians are tired of a corporate vision that views us as a source of cheap raw materials. We needs this vision of Canada as a community and a country where we work together to meet our needs within a sustainable economy. If your readers would like a copy of the 6 page summary of the "Strategy for a Full-Employment Economy" recently released by NDP leader Audrey McLaughlin, they should P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM 1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1H0 Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 PAID Equal break for the big guys Now that the Huron County Study into reorganizing county structure has been fair to the little guys, maybe it's time to be fair to the big guys too. When the provincial government began pressing Huron and other counties to restructure, the fear of small municipalities was that they might be wiped out in the process. The province, after all, had suggested that municipalities be reorganized so there was a minimum population of 4,000. That would mean a drastic redrawing of boundaries in Huron since only the town of Goderich had a population that met the criteria at the time. Rural municipalities worried they might be lumped in with larger urban communities and the special needs of rural areas would be lost in the shuffle. Villages worried they'd cease to exist after more than a century of controlling their own affairs. Wisely, the county decided to leave well enough alone. Huron municipalities have already been showing co-operation in trading services back and forth so why move government further from the people. Huronites know, too, that the efficiencies of scale that are supposed to come with fewer municipalities, often are illusionary. That wise decision, however, has created a new problem. If you continue to have municipalities with populations from 800 to 7,000, how do you design a voting system that gives fair representation to all without becoming unworkable? That's the dilemma that has stymied Huron County councillors now as they try to decide how the voting representation should be setup. Council last week deferred a final decision until its meeting in late April. Let's hope in that time someone comes up with a better idea than what has been proposed so far. Councillors were split last week on a proposal that would raise the point at which a municipality got a second seat at county council to 5000 electors (an elector is a resident or property owner in the municipality). It would reduce the size of council from 32 to 27 members and leave only Goderich with two representatives. Exeter and the townships of Goderich, Hay, Stanley, and Stephen would lose their second representative. Some of the reeves from smaller municipalities don't see a problem with this. They feel they represent their municipalities, not the individual voters of the municipality. All municipalities are the same. Perhaps they'd see the situation differently if they were a resident of one of the communities that will lose representation under this proposal. It's going to be hard to tell the 4000 people of Exeter, or the 3000 people in Clinton, that they should only have the same vote as the 1000 people in Blyth. Our country has a long history of representation by population and even if we also recognize that size and distance must be balanced against pure voter numbers, there needs to be the appearance of some kind of effort to even things out. Councillors are hamstrung by trying to keep the number of councillors to a manageable total and are worried about the complications of giving representatives from large municipalities more than one vote (currently only the Goderich reeve has two votes). However, there's a bigger concern. If the representation system adopted is too obviously unfair, might provincial bureaucrats be tempted to step in and force a fairer reform pattern? The more people who are unhappy with their representation, the more likely the province might be to notice what is going on and to try to fix our problems for us. It's in everybody's best interest if a system can be found to give fair representation to voters of both small and large municipalities.—KR Victimism carried to extreme If some blacks in Toronto have their way, the play Showboat won't be opening the new arts centre in North York in October. Claiming the show is racist, the group has been pressuring Garth Drabinsky to cancel the show, even though $2 million worth of tickets have been sold. Led by a North York Board of Education trustee, the group complains Showboat, the story of a travelling theatre on the Mississippi river a century ago, portrays blacks as lazy and shiftless. Not all blacks agree. Lincoln Alexander, former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, calls the decision to protest the show before it opens silly. Mr. Drabinsky points out that Showboat argues against racism. As in the arguments against other "classics" like To Kill a Mockingbird, there seems to be a move to block anything that doesn't portray blacks in a modern light. Ironically, these shows helped sensitize white and helped bring about an atmosphere of support for the civil rights movement of a generation ago. These protests might actually contact me. Tony McQuail RR 1, Lucknow, Ont. NOG 2H0 THE EDITOR, Winter is "thinking time" in the rural community. We're thinking about sharpening our pencils to tackle those income tax forms, thinking about the seed varieties for spring planting, thinking about changes and challenges in our lives and on our farms. Sometimes thinking turns to worrying and grinds us down worse than a stuck vehicle in heavy snow. Worrying can be like spinning your wheels — the more you spin, the deeper you go. One thing is for sure this winter — just as common as stuck vehicles so are farmers worrying about where the money will come from for spring planting, how long will their spouse's off- farm job last and can they make it Continued on page 6 itizen The North Huron 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; $31.03/year ($29.00 plus $2.03 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. Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth. We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are Copywrlght. Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Sales Representatives, Publications Mail Registration No. 6968 Jeannette McNeil and Julie Mitchell Serving Blyth, Brussels, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel, Londesborough, Walton and the surrounding townships.