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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1998-07-01, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 1998. C he Cn itizen O A P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont. NOM 1H0 NOG 1H0 Phone 523-4792 Phone 887-9114 FAX 523-9140 FAX 887-9021 E-mail norhuron@huron.net Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising Manager, Jeannette McNeil •40 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 North Huron Death by irrelevancy As Canadians celebrate the 131st anniversary of the founding of their country (if we ever really celebrate this holiday), we don't face the dangers of past generations during the two World Wars or even the fear of break-up following the most recent Quebec referendum. It may be that we face a greater danger, however, that Canada could fade into irrelevancy. Canada is being torn by two movements that, added together, could mean there's little reason for the country to exist any longer. On one hand there's the movement to decentralize power to the provinces. Regional grievances and provincial premiers who want more power, arc reducing the ties that have drawn us together over the years. Take a look at Quebec as an example of what can happen in the rest of the country as the trend continues. Since the 1960s, Quebec has been allowed to opt out of federal programs and the province has been given the money that would have been spent anyway. The result is that Quebecers don't feel the federal government does anything for them. At the same time as Canada is decentralizing, new international trade regulations are hampering the ability of our government to create a truly Canadian society. As Heritage Minister Sheila Copps asked recently, what other country exports 96 per cent of the revenue created in movie box office? Yet any attempt to promote a Canadian movie industry is protested by the U.S. and stymied by international trade laws. Recently, for instance, the World Trade Organization ruled Canada cannot prevent American magazines from selling Canadian advertising in editions destined only for Canada. The move reverses a Canadian policy that created a magazine industry in Canada. In the 1960s Time and Reader's Digest magazines were soaking up most of the advertising dollars by providing cheap advertising in Canadian editions (they'd already paid their costs in the U.S. editions.) Canadian magazines couldn't compete with this cultural dumping until the Canadian government said advertisers could no longer deduct as a business expense, the cost of advertising in non-Canadian magazines. The Canadian magazine industry was born almost overnight and today there are hundreds of magazines where once there were a handful. But if trade laws (the Multilateral Agreement on Investment is the next danger) prevent Canada from having different rules than the rest of the world, then what is the sense of having a country at all? This is the danger that faces Canada as the new century approaches: will there be any reason for the country to exist? After 131 years of fighting to create a country that now is recognized as one of the best in the world to live in, it would be a terrible tragedy to lose it all. — KR Curious policy differences As U.S. President Bill Clinton visited China last week it was hard not to think about the difference between the U.S. position on China and Cuba. Here was a U.S. president, less than a decade after the 1989 massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators, meeting with Chinese government officials who are still unapologetic about the army crackdown. Yet China, because of its huge potential for economic growth, will get little more than a scolding from the U.S. There's too much to be gained by big business for the government to try to punish China. Cuba, however, that's another story. The economic blockade of Cuba has been going on for decades. Recently, unhappy that other countries were still trading with Cuba and that Premier Fidel Castro is still in power, U.S. legislators passed the Helms-Burton law that would punish non-American companies that did business in Cuba. Yet for all his many faults, for all the lack of freedom in Cuba, Castro has never carried out anything like the Tiananmen massacre. The lives of many Cubans have been helped by education and health reforms. Indeed if not for the American trade embargo, there might be more freedom in Cuba than there is. It's ironic that if the U.S. had carried out the same open policies with Castro that they have with China, Cuba might never have become as isolated as it has. The U.S., pushed by anti-Castro Cuban refugees and businesses that lost their privileged positions following the 1959 revolution, tried to drive Castro from office. Forty years later, that policy is a failure, Perhaps that's why there's a different policy with China.— KR E ditorial Daisies, daisies Photo by Janice Becker Looking Back Through the Years From the files of the Blyth Standard, Brussels Post and North Huron Citizen July 5, 1989 Plans were finalized for the Brussels Fun Fest activities, including the annual Lion's Duck Race, Optimist's beef barbecue, and family dance. The Blyth Festival was planning a 14th anniversary party in the new rehearsal hall, the "garage". Huron County councillors voted on a proposal to build two, rather, than three homes for the aged in the county. The North Huron and Clinton Huronview proposals were to be built, but not one in the southern part of Huron. Wingham was one of 26 Ontario communities chosen by the health ministry to receive extra funding for ambulance needs. A total of $9 million was to be divided among those communities. After 30 years, Lloyd Tasker sold the Blyth funeral home. David Beattie, along with Neil Elliott will operate the home. Jeremy Ten Hag, Christina Roul- ston, Elaine Poore, and Deanna Lyon of Central Huron Secondary School named Ontario Scholars. Movies playing that week were Roadhouse, starring Patrick Swayze at the Lyceum Theatre in Wingham and for the third week Batman, starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson played at the Park Theatre in Goderich. July 2, 1997 The Bluewater Kennel Club All Breeds Dog Show and Obedience Trials in Blyth brought 1,174 entries. For the first time, a craft show featuring dog apparel, dog toys, and, for cat lovers, cat stands and other such items. Among the awards received at the Brussels Public School gradua- tion were the awards for overall academic achievement. Recipients were Nicole Bernard, Megan Bragg, Katie Clark, Jen Cowan, Kate Kuepfer, Jen McDonald, Tri- cia Teeft and Andrew Garland. Booze Days in a Dry County opened at the Blyth Festival. The play was a collective created and written by the entire cast. Sharon Bakker, a Blyth Festival actor won the Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award for Outstanding Performance by an actress in a lead role. She earned the award playing Hagar Shipley in The Stone Angel at Theatre Network/Workshop West, Edmonton. A promise to maintain 24-hour access to care and emergency hos- pital services in Huron was made by the provincial government. In a report from the Brussels, Morris and Grey Recreation Board, it was said that the Brussels Lions Club would be spending $15,000 on the playground and pool site. A weekly feature on the Brussels page was a 'Jumble' advertising the 125th Homecoming which was held later in the summer. THE EDITOR, On behalf of my wife Kathy and myself, I would like to extend my very best wishes to all of the residents of Huron-Bruce, and indeed to all Canadians, on this the 131st birthday of Canada. On July 1, Canadians have an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of living in this country; a nation that has been built firmly upon the values of peace, open- mindedness and tolerance. Our society places such a strong emphasis on equality and co- operation that we have gained considerable global praise and Continued on page 6 Letters