Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1999-06-30, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 1999. C itizenTheNorthHuron (*CNA P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1H0 Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising Manager, Jeannette McNeil Member Ontario Press Council P.O Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM 1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 E-mail norhuron@scsinternet.com The Citizen is published 50 times a year 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 $100/year in other foreign coun­ tries. 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 newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright. Publications Mail Registration No. 09244 Canadian Publication Mail Agreement No. 1374990 Is Canada lost? In 1980 author Hugh MacLennan who helped define Canada to Canadians through such landmark books as Two Solitudes, wrote: “Our nation is still worthy of love. She has not sold her soul outright to the men of greed and power. She still has a conscience and this may be why she finds is so difficult to make up her mind even about herself.” If MacLennan were writing today would he still have the same sense of Canada’s worth? Built by people who journeyed half a world away from their homes seeking the simple dignity of owning their own land or creating their own jobs, Canada seems bent on creating the same class system the settlers fled Europe to escape. The “men of greed and power” seem to be shaping the agenda of the country as never before. The lessons learned by the pioneers, that we must work together to survive, have been lost in a country where those who have succeeded seem willing to let their less successful neighbours sink. A compassionate nation has hardened its heart. A class system is a wonderful way to organize society — if you happen to be in the upper classes. It is so comfortable to believe that you deserve your exalted position because of your own hard work or, if you inherited your wealth, because you have greater intelligence than the masses. In this way you have a right to your wealth while the poor deserve what they get. Canada has not gone that far yet. We still, from time to time, show our compassion whether for refugees from war-torn lands or victims of nature’s violence here at home. Yet the signs of a hardening heart are there as people resent helping the less fortunate and feel put-upon by being reminded of their responsibilities. Those with good incomes concentrate not on how well off they are in world terms, but on how much more money they might have if there were no taxes. In order to keep more of their wealth, they are willing to dismantle the programs like free medical care and unemployment insurance that have helped this land be so well regarded around the world. After all, if you have money, you don’t fear unemployment. If you have money, you go to the front of the line and get the best care in a free-market medical system. The Canada MacLennan admired is in danger of being lost. If we cannot turn public opinion around, the things Canada has stood for will be abandoned in the name of harmonizing trade rules with our huge neighbour to the south and reducing taxes for the well-off. If that happens we might as well go ahead and erase the border with the U.S. and lower the maple leaf flag.— KR Corporate welfare bums If former federal NDP leader David Lewis was alive today he might revive his “corporate welfare bums” charge at the sight of National Hockey League teams bullying the federal government about tax breaks. Rob Bryden, owner of the Ottawa Senators, has threatened he will move his team to the U.S. unless he gets tax relief. The six Canadian teams say they lost $170 million between 1996 and 1998. Part of the reason is that hockey players make their ridiculously high salaries in U.S. funds while the teams make their money in Canadian funds, losing nearly 40 per cent on the transaction. But the teams also point out they pay $21.8 million in property taxes to the cities where they have privately-owned arenas. Meanwhile the 21 U.S.-based clubs pay only $4.1 million in property tax. In many cases U.S. cities provide taxpayer-funded arenas for their teams. Imagine this were any other trade issue and the positions were reversed. American teams are being subsidized by their taxpayers. Because of their lower costs they bid more for players, driving up player costs, and thus driving up the costs for Canadian teams. Canadian cities, meantime, provide the neighbourhood rinks on which the majority of NHL hockey players still develop their skills, further subsidizing American operations. Canadians are boxed into a corner on the issue. No one wants to see more teams follow the example of Winnipeg Jets and Quebec Nordiques yet it’s ridiculous for millionaire hockey players and millionaire owners to be subsidized by hard-working taxpayers who can’t even afford to go to NHL games because ticket prices are so high. NHL teams, and particularly NHL players, have the means to solve the problem but instead they demand the government provide the solution. — KR Photo by Ashley Gropp Looking Back Through the Years From the files of the Blyth Standard, Brussels Post and North Huron Citizen June 27, 1979 The stories of new Canadians opened the fifth season of the Blyth Festival. The production was called This Foreign Land. In its five years the Festival had grown from a two play, 14 performance season to a season of five plays and 61 perfor­ mances. The new Hullett Twp. shed was officially opened. July 5,1989 Two meetings were held to final­ ize the plans for the Brussels, Morris and Grey annual Funfest. At least 11 teams had signed up for the Funfest challenge. Brussels, Morris, Grey, and Blyth Councils were to compete, as were teams from the Brussels Hotel, CIBC, Jamestown, Walton, Molesworth, Bluevale and Belgrave. The chal­ lenge consisted of six different games. Huron County Council voted on the proposal to build two, rather than three homes for the aged in Huron County. Close to 200 professionals involved in the areas of child pro­ tection, health care, education and law enforcement attended a semi­ nar on the investigation and prose­ cution of child abuse at the Bluewater Youth Centre in Goderich. Blyth Festival was announcing its birthday party for former board members, and former members of the company. CHSS named its Ontario Scholars. Jeremy Ten Hagg, RR1, Auburn; Christina Roulston, RR3, Blyth; Elaine Poore, Blyth; and Deanna Lyon, Londesboro were among those students. Kelly Cook of Blyth topped all students in the Grade 10 honours list. Rev. Carolyn McAvoy was inducted as minister of Melville Presbyterian Church in Belgrave. June 29,1994 On the opening night of the 20th anniversary season, the Blyth Festival announced th establish­ ment of the Roulston Roy Play Development Fund. The fund was specifically directed towards the creation and development of new scripts by Canadian writers with a particular view towards the possi­ ble production on the Blyth stage. The fund is named after Festival founders James Roy, Keith Roulston and Anne Roy. The Bluewater Kennel Club’s annual dog show was in Blyth. Dorothy McDonald was the win­ ner of the grand prize from the Brussels Lions Elimination Draw. Blyth Christian Reformed Church welcomes a new minister, Rev. Adrian Van Geest. The Rutabaga Festival was laud­ ed a huge success. The Londesboro Squirt Girls ball team got new uniforms due to the generosity of the Londesboro Lions. The province announced JK funding for Huron schools. Pat Hulley and Karen Webster, with the assistance of Rena Kolkman and Joanne Van Amersfoort, earned a Director’s Incentive Fund award from the Huron County Board of Education for Blyth Public School. The $500 was for taking the lead role in assisting the students with Almena keyborad training. Glengarry Schoool Days was a promising start to the Blyth Festival’s 20th season. . Members of the It’s Not My Theatre Company presented Grimm at the Blyth Festival. Letters THE EDITOR, I am appealing to the residents of Huroji County that have had a family member or know of someone who has attended the Huron Adult Day Centre program in Clinton over the past 22 years to contact their Huron County council representative and explain how beneficial the program has been for the person concerned and the family caregivers. As many residents know, the Day Centre is a non-profit organization Continued on page 7