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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1994-02-23, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1994. CitizensTheNorthHuron CNA P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont N0M1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont NOG 1 HO Phone 687-9114 FAX 887-9021 Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Sales Representatives, Jeannette McNeil and Julie Mitchell r<«0 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, Listowel, 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 © Copyright. Publications Mail Registration No. 6968 E ditorial r i Risks essential for peace For a country that prides itself in its efforts to bring peace around the world, Canada can't be too proud of its role in delaying peace in Bosnia. The people of Sarajevo are enjoying calm these days. Children aren't being killed by snipers and mortar shells when they go out to play. People can go to the marketplace without fear it will cost them their lives. Life has some semblance of normality, even if people still live in the wreckage of buildings damaged by two years of war and must do without necessities of life because their city is cut off from the outside world. All this came about because the NATO allies finally seemed to be showing a unity that would enforce their orders for a ceasefire. The Bosnia Serbs, who had been creating the terror from their artillery positions surrounding the city, finally became convinced that NATO would enforce its demands that they pull out the big guns that had killed thousands during the siege. Sadly, Canada was one of the countries that was weakening NATO's will to act. Our reluctance to call in NATO air strikes on the Bosnian Serb positions was understandable, if indefenceable. Unlike the Americans who were the chief promoters of the hard line, we had Canadians on the ground who were in danger. If the Serbs had not withdrawn and the strikes had taken place, the Serbs might have turned on our out-numbered Canadians in the UN peace force. But sometimes risks must be taken. If Canadians truly believe in peace then we must take some of the risks too. Because we were so worried that something might happen to our troops, the killing went on far longer than necessary. We protected our soldiers at the cost of the lives of hundreds of more residents of Sarajevo. This is not the kind of reputation for peace keeping that Canadians can be proud of. — KR Too much compromise Politics, someone once said, was the art of the possible. Sometimes, however politics gets in the way of common sense. There was too much politics and too little common sense in the federal government's decision to slash taxes on cigarettes. One has to feel sorry for Ontario Premier Bob Rae and Treasurer Floyd Laughren in their decision to cut taxes — after the actions of the federal and Quebec governments, Ontario really didn't have much choice. The damage was done beyond the Ontario border. First of all there is the politics of native rights. Quite frankly, whether they believe what the smugglers of the Akwcsasne Reserve (which straddles the New York, Ontario and Quebec borders and through which an estimated 70 per cent of smuggled tobacco comes) federal and provincial officials don’t dare try to enforce the law by going into the reserve. First and foremost, they would face factions that arc armed to the teeth. Police, including native police on the reserve and provincial police on the Canadian side and state police in New York, have been turning a blind eye to the happenings on the reserve because they don't want to risk a confrontation. If they do try to enforce the law they could be looking at something that would make the Oka standoff look like a quilting party. Then there's the politics in Quebec which has played a huge part in driving this sad situation. Small store owners were protesting high taxes on cigarettes (or rather the alternative of the smuggled cigarettes which were undercutting their sales) by openly flaunting the law. With a provincial election coming up and the Parti Quebecois making great hay at the expense of the provincial Liberals, the federal government got trapped into a situation where they tried to help the federalists defeat the separatists. But there is a price to be paid for all this. The worst price will be paid in deaths and medical problems. Because of lower prices, more young people will be able to give in to the temptation to smoke. That will lead to higher medical costs in the future: a study by Health and Welfare Canada predicts an extra S3 billion in medical costs per year with indirect costs being perhaps as high as SI5.9 billion. There's the very direct problem of where the money is going to come from to replace the reduced taxes. While most people want to see taxes reduced, tobacco taxes arc the last taxes to reduce. It means that the Ontario government must either increase its deficit by S500 million a year or find some other way of getting that money out of our pockets. The federal government must find a way to rclace its lost revenue too. Finally, there's the subtle loss of respect for our government, our laws and common sense What this disgusting issue has demonstrated is that crime does pay.__KR Clinging to a vine Letters Teacher writes THE EDITOR, Teachers in Ontario deal with the realities of our changing society on a daily basis. One of these realities is the fact that a significant number of children do not begin the school day with a filling, nutritious meal. In recent years teachers have become increasingly aware of children who come to school hungry and consequently do not fully benefit from their learning environment. Nutrition has become recognized as an important factor in the ability of children to learn. The Ontario Public School Teachers in Huron County believe that a partnership between government, teachers, parents and organizations interested in child nutrition can successfully meet the challenge posed by this threat to our youth. In August of 1992 our federation at its annual meeting created a Healthy Learners Fund to help support existing nutrition programs and to organize programs where a need was demonstrated. It is important to realize that we recognize that child hunger is not just a poverty issue but one of nutrition. Children from all kinds of families, including single parent families and families where both parents are working, are frustrated in their efforts to concentrate on school work because of under nutrition. Ontario Public School teachers in Huron County have raised over $2,000 since September 1992 to support nutrition education and food supplement programs in several elementary schools. Schools have been notified that funds exist on a matching basis and to date all applications have been approved. We have supported programs at Vanastra, Victoria, Blyth, Grey, Seaforth, Wingham, Turnberry, Colborne, East Wawanosh, and Zurich schools. Our funds are certainly not enough to provide long term support to one let alone several school areas but we have been modestly successful in providing seed money to get local projects started. Our winter Meeting scheduled for Feb. 23 at the Clinton Town Hall will feature a presentation by Beth Wilck, the Nutritionist from the Health Unit. We will be once again trying to raise additional funds to support our projects. We have appreciated community support for our program. James C. Binnes President O.P.S.T.F.-Huron. THE EDITOR, As a Huron County public school trustee, I believe that the creation of a shared-facility, public secondary school-Catholic secondary school, deserves broad discussion and input from all residents of Huron county. The bottom line is that this shared building will cost the taxpayers of Ontario at least $6 million by the time this project is complete, without adding al all to the numbers of Huron county secondary school students. Spending this amount of tax dollars at this lime requires careful consideration. But I musi add that the Huron-Pcrlh Roman Catholic Photo by Janice Becker Separate School Board has every right under the legislation to proceed with this project; and as a public school trustee I must support the concept of a shared facility, if they choose to proceed, because a totally separate building would probably cost double this amount. Statements in a report from The Goderich Signal-Star seem to necessitate my comment. First, in response to the statement that Central Huron Secondary School serves about half the students it was intended for: this does not mean that the building is half-empty. Many other services are offered or will be offered when the current renovations are completed. These include adult education (150 people) alternate education i.e. programs with acronyms such as COPE, grade 7 and 8 design & technology/family studies, maintenance services, student services such as psychologist and social worker, and technical equipment resources and repairs such as computer and audio-visual. All these services are county wide and will have to be housed elsewhere. Secondly, a statement was made that educational material objected to by one of the schools would not be placed in the library. I, for one, call that censorship. These are secondary students we are discussing. As they move to adulthood, with many having the right to vote before they leave this school, I cannot envision anything in our library system, or indeed in the other school's library system, that they should not be allowed to read, and form their own opinions, if they so wish. I totally oppose any such censorship in any form. Finally, in these times of fiscal Continued on page 5