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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1997-04-23, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23,1997 itizen The North Huron 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 Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising Manager, Jeannette McNeil The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $27.00/year ($25.24 + $1.76 G.S.T.) in Canada; $62.00/year in U.S.A, and $75.00/year in other foreign countries. 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 I..-................- ....—] A message for the ages On Jackie Robinson's tombstone is inscribed the message: "A life is not important except in the impact it has on others". It's a sentiment that needs to be remembered in the "me first" '90s. In all the attention given last week to the 50th anniversary of Robinson's breaking of the colour barrier in major league baseball, the personal story of the man and his commitment was lost. Perhaps that's how he would have liked it to be. In an old radio interview replayed during the celebration, Robinson was asked how he could endure the constant harassment thrown at him by bigots who strove to keep the races separate. He said that certainly there were times when he wasn’t happy but, in the long run, his happiness didn't matter as much as the impact of the changes he was bringing about. That philosophy allowed him to become a figure of immense strength, to absorb the abuse and not strike out. He proved the bigots wrong, not by his mouth or by bitterly battling back, but by rising above it all and demonstrating by his skills at the game that he was one of the great players in baseball. Robinson's philosophy is one that would be lost on many people in the 1990s. Ours is an era of self-indulgence, not self-sacrifice. The civil rights movement, which Robinson inspired with his quiet courage and strength, has been perverted into a movement in our society where everyone sees themselves as victims. Even the comfortably well-to-do, instead of recognizing their blessings, feel they are the victims of high taxes, being forced to support parasites living off society. We have become a society where the greatest worth someone can have is as a consumer, and the consumer is king. In a world where people are more and more powerless, the one place where people are in control is the power of the dollar. Ironically, we have a generation running the country that sets the pursuit of happiness as its paramount goal, yet seems more unhappy and bitter (han these who sacrificed themselves to the good of others. One wonders how Jackie Robinson would feel if he were alive today and surrounded by people who think that others are supposed to be sacrificed for their happiness, not the other way around. — KR A different approach When Prime Minister Jean Chretien signed an agreement Monday to allow Quebec to take oyer job training, using money provided by the Canada Employment deductions, the reality of that province's innovative approach to the economy got lost in all the politics. The focus of media attention over the agreement signing between Chretien and Premier Lucien Bouchard became whether or not this was an election ploy to buy votes in Quebec for the Liberal government; whether or not it showed federalism is flexible; and whether Bouchard was worried that, in accepting powers Quebec has long sought, he was somehow selling out to the federalists at election time. What was not covered is that with Quebec getting this added power, it will actually do things differently than Ottawa would have. Quebec has a long history of doing things differently that really earns the name "distinct society". Other provinces batter Ottawa looking for a shift of powers, but they're really just looking to increase their own importance. If job training was turned over to Mike Harris, for instance, one could see him using the money to reduce costs for business rather than really helping workers find jobs. But Quebec has long taken a different approach. In Quebec, credit unions have always been a far greater force than in the rest of Canada, providing a powerful alternative to the big banks. Quebec has used provincial employee pension funds to finance business growth. The province's economy has been hurt by the debilitating effects of constant turmoil over whether the province will separate from Canada, yet the departure of many large firms has led to the emergence of a French- speaking business class where once people claimed Quebecois could not be managers. The approach in most of Canada, particularly in the 1990s, is that there in only one way for growth to come, through the entrepreneurial efforts of businesses large and small. Our governments have become stagnant, not open to new ideas. We could use a little bit of Quebec's innovation here. — KR Photo by Janice Becker Letters THE EDITOR, Springtime! Beautiful life giving, reviving spring time. Man perfected it. God made it to regenerate faith in life. Man perfected it to find that faith in life. It was made for spring lambs and green pastures, It was made for planting seeds that will give you pleasure through the lazy, hazy days of summer, It was made for chatting with neighbours, It was made for cleaning home, yard, body and soul, It was made for finding everything that has been covered with snow, It was made for travelling with the window open, It was made for a run with the dog, It was made for new clothes but more importantly, old clothes that feel like new, It was made for barbecued hot dogs with sauerkraut and onions, It was made for warm breezes with birds chirping overhead, It was made for daffodils blooming, apple trees blossoming and winter wheat growing. Spring! It is wonderful, if you can find it... But as long as God creates apple trees, dogs, grandchildren, etc., there’ll always be spring; We just have to wait and look a little longer this year. Lois van Vliet. THE EDITOR, I am pleased to support the announcement from Treasury Board President Marcel Masse that the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, (PMRA), has been provided authority to spend revenues for one year only, after which the agency will undergo an assessment of the impact of fees, agency performance, service level, efficiency measures and re­ engineering before the authority is extended. Over the past few months I have received numerous calls, and letters of concern from many farmers over the PMRA proposed cost-recovery mechanisms. The government has listened to the issues of farmers, and although the nature of the changes have not been released as of yet, I feel confident that the decision made by the treasury board president will result positively in favour of agricultural stakeholders." The PMRA had proposed fee schedules, as pre-published in The Canada Gazette Part 1 over January and February, after consultations with the agricultural sector. All interested parties were asked to comment on the government's cost recovery policy, followed by an agency review of the suggestions expressed. The agency has agreed to consider and change the final fee schedule accordingly, which will be published in the Canada Gazette in the near future. This announcement demonstrates the growing partnership between the agricultural community and the federal government. I believe a fair and reasonable cost recovery mechanism will be the outcome of this new government initiative. Paul Steckle, MP, Huron-Bruce. THE EDITOR, Just this morning, while walking home with my newspaper, an expensive automobile, driven by a local businessperson ran a stop sign at Mill and Wellington Streets. When I pointed out the stop sign, lo and behold, the passenger, also a local businessperson and village councillor offered me that old middle finger signal interpreted as "up yours". I do not appreciate this man using the finger on anyone. But is this is a sample of our representatives on council, God help us. Harvey Burns, Blyth. THE EDITOR, Some have never heard of punctuality! My furnace man for 10 years had come every August to clean the furnace and put in a new nozzle. Suddenly that work was extended to 17 months because of new business I suppose. At around 13 months he said he'd be at my house on "Friday." Well, he didn’t come and the furnace started to expel fumes. Then on the Sunday after Christmas it got rather cold and I phoned him and said I’d go to bed until morning, as these five-day-a-week workers don't like to be disturbed too much. He was late arriving Monday morning and the oil tank was empty. He phoned the oil man who put in 705 litres. Previously the tank was filled every 25 days, then 35 days. I phoned his boss and asked him what he'd do to his distributor if he let their tank run dry. He said, "I'd Continued on page 29