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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1997-09-03, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3,1997 C itizenTheNorthHuron P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM 1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1H0 Phone 807-9114 FAX 887-9021 E-mail norhuron@huron.net 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 [.............. ..................... .1 Get real! Ontario's small business owners don’t have a very high opinion of the local governments apparently. According to a survey released by the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses last week, only one municipality in the province got a passing grade as to the job the Federation’s members thought their local government was doing. Overall, municipal governments got a grade of less than four out of 10. Small-business people traditionally have a poor opinion of governments at all levels but this is a new low. One would think that local government might be most highly regarded because there is a disproportionate number of small-business leaders on municipal councils. The survey seems to show that business owners who aren’t involved in local politics don’t think much of the job being done by the business owners who are involved in politics. The survey results make one wonder what business owners think local government should be doing. The scope of local government is very limited: fix the pot holes, make sure the streetlights work, put up with whatever rules the provincial government says you have to live by. What's more, 50 per cent of the taxes you get blamed for go to education costs over which you have no say. The survey seems to be brutally unfair to hundreds of hard-working councillors across the province who put in a lot of hours on behalf of their communities for very liitle financial gain. Given these results, how many of them will want to run for local councils this fall? Meanwhile the critics can sit back and tell everybody how they would do things better if only they had the time to run for council. Quite frankly if business people think they can do so much better than the people who are currently councillors, they should run for election themselves. They might get an education. One thing the survey does clear up: the reason for the disdain that the provincial government has for municipal councillors. Since it came to power the Harris government has made municipal councillors the bogeymen of government, claiming there are just too many of them. Since many of Harris’s biggest supporters come from small business circles, now that dislike is understandable. — KR Betraying a generation Hundreds of thousands of young people are heading off to colleges and universities this week but instead of starting off on one of the biggest adventures of their lives, for many it will be a time of worry about the future. These young people are caught in a terrible financial crunch. At a time when the current economy keeps most from being able to find summer jobs, they are also seeing the cost of tuition go up again, another 10 per cent this year. The same government cutbacks that caused the tuition increases, also caused governments to cut out the grants that once helped students keep their debt within reason. Now the students, at least those not fortunate enough to have parents who can help out, are likely to have to borrow for the whole cost of their post secondary education and could end up $20,000 to $30,000 in debt when they graduate. And their worry has just begun. Huge numbers of young university graduates in the last few years have not been able to find work in fields for which they have been trained. The ambitious ones have turned to menial work in retail stores, but it’s hard to pay those big debts when you’re earning minimum wage. Strangely, while people demanding an end to government deficits have claimed they’re doing it on behalf of the future generation which shouldn’t be burdened by our debt, the result has been to burden the future generation with debt of its own. The generation that benefited from a low cost education, is now complaining about taxes and demanding cost cutting that is impacting on a generation of young people trying to improve themselves. The scary prospect is we start to create a class system in Canada: those who can afford it get a good education and good jobs, those who can’t are stuck in low-paying jobs. Canada’s strength has been in enabling people to escape that kind of trap. Now, through short­ sightedness, we may be falling into a society our ancestors came to Canada to escape. — KR Letters to the editor Fox Run has special meaning for family THE EDITOR, Why does our family participate in the Terry Fox Run? Our daughter Aimee had cancer when she was a baby She is now 10 years old and has been in remission for nine years. In our eyes she has achieved quite a feat, when you consider the fact that she weighed 7 lbs. 1 oz. at birth and only weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz a year and a half later. Had she had cancer 20 years ago Aimee probably wouldn't be with us today, but because of research she is. Please don't get us wrong. We know everyone doesn't make it; our family has seen it firsthand. But each year more and more adults and children make it and go on to live long lives. We believe if it wasn't for Terry Fox making us all see and putting the problem of not enough money for research in our faces most of us wouldn't realize how heartbreaking this disease can be, to the person with cancer and to the people around them who love and care about them. Most of us know someone, a friend, neighbour or family member with cancer. I know when we were told, it terrified my husband and me. Then we had to tell our families and the hardest was telling our son who was only two and didn't understand why Mom and Aimee had to stay at the hospital all the time. The thing our family wishes for the most from doing the Terry Fox Run every year (and yes our entire family did participate in that rain last year) is the day when someone is told they have cancer, it will be about as scary as being told you have a cold. Just imagine, wouldn't that be wonderful? So please on Sunday, Sept. 14 between 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. support the Terry Fox Run in Brussels, sign a pledge sheet for someone you know or come out and see for yourself how great you feel when you have done the run. You don't have to run; you can walk or bike; but please support the dream he started and has asked all of us to continue for him. Yours truly, Allan, Waneta, Jeremy, Aimee and Melissa Leishman. I We welcome your letters