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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2000-02-02, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2000. C itizenThe(North Huron Aocna (♦CNA 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 Member Ontario Press Council 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 Little attention to this success E ditorial There’s an old saying that if something isn’t broke, don’t fix it, but like most old tried and true things today, even that truism is under question. That’s so particularly when you talk about the success story in Canadian agriculture — supply management in dairy and poultry products. Recently, Dairy Farmers of Canada conducted eight cross-border shopping surveys to compare the price of dairy products like milk, cheese, yogurt and ice cream in comparable supermarkets in Canada and the U.S. In every case, the basket of dairy products was cheaper in Canada than in the U.S. — from 28.57 to 44.76 per cent, depending on the centres compared. It’s unlikely you’ll read this good news in your daily newspaper or see it on national television, though. You will, however, hear when someone complains about supply management such as restaurant owners and processors did a couple of weeks ago when dairy farmers asked for an increase in industrial milk prices to make up for a phase-out of government subsidies and generally increasing expenses. From the urban media to the processors to the consumers association, marketing boards have been under attack for a generation, accused of being a monopoly unnecessarily driving up the cost of food. Some opponents even term supply management a subsidy, comparing the price Canadians pay for milk to the “world price” which is the price at which countries dump their surplus milk on the world market. Yet the figures in this survey show that if the media, consumers association and processors want to be honest, they should agree we’re getting a bargain in Canada. Since 1975, for instance, the consumer price index has gone up 220 per cent while the cost of dairy products has gone up only 193 per cent and dairy farmers’ returns have increased just 128 per cent. Strangely, while everyone worries about the future of the family farm, urbanites don’t credit supply management with giving farmers a fair return for their efforts and investment. Government support for supply management seems more tentative than in the past even though supply managed commodities haven’t had to ask to be bailed out when world prices collapse as they did with wheat or hogs. Supply management should be a system that is being celebrated, even spread around the world. Instead, in an economy increasingly driven by processing giants, the pressure to abandon the system continues. — KR Moderate alternative needed Preston Manning’s vision of a nation-wide right-wing party to challenge the Liberals came one step closer to reality this week when the Canadian Conservative Reform Alliance won support from his Reform Party delegates. But while Manning sees his dream moving closer, Canadians who aren’t as far to the right as he is should hope for a resurgence of the Progressive Conservatives to provide a real alternative to the Liberals. Using tricky footwork, Manning tried to convince eastern voters, particularly Ontario voters, that the new party would be different, and more moderate than Reform, while at the same time he tried to convince western Reformers that he wasn’t really changing their vision while he tried to win Ontario votes necessary to defeat the Liberals. For eastern voters, it means the new party is a kind of wolf in sheep’s clothing, hoping to sneak in an agenda that voters really wouldn’t support under the old Reform banner. Canadians certainly need a credible alternative to the Liberals. No party can remain in power too long without becoming stale and arrogant. The problem is that we shouldn’t have to get whiplash every time we change governments. In Ontario, the switch from the NDP to the very right-wing Conservatives under Mike Harris was painful because the philosophies were so radically different. For years, Great Britain swung from the left of the Labour Party to the right of the Conservatives, suffering as each tried to outdo the others work. Similar wild swings in philosophy have plagued British Columbia as it ping-ponged between Social Credit and New Democrats. Liberals in Ottawa have already moved well to the right of their policies of 10 years ago. We don’t need their only alternative to be a party as far to the right of the spectrum as Reform to the point of being anti-immigration and anti-bilingual. We need a more moderate alternative, something only the Progressive Conservatives seem possible of offering. — KR Photo by Janice Becker Looking Back Through the Years From the files of the Blyth Standard, Brussels Post and North Huron Citizen Jan. 29, 1975 A study on policing in Huron County was expected to be in the hand of county and municipal offi­ cials. Conducted over four months, the study was under consideration by Ontario’s Solicitor General George Kerr. The study had been requested by the police chiefs of Huron’s five towns and was prompted by the rec­ ommendations of a provincial task force suggesting OPP in towns with less than 15,000 population. Blyth was one of only two Western Ontario stops for the Dave Broadfoot comedy revue, Take A Beaver to Lunch. Telephone subscribers to Maitland Teleservices began paying for directory assistance calls. Hullett hired an animal control officer, Mervyn Batkin. Work was underway on the Ontario Hydro power corridor linking Douglas Point with Seaforth. Mrs. Ken Scott was president of the Auburn Horticultural Society. Little by little the face of Blyth’s main street kept changing. Workmen installed a new sign in front of Sparling’s Hardware. Jan. 31,1990 George Radford Constuction said it was "disturbed" by a letter from Blyth village council which put all blame for the cost overruns in the reconstruction of the Radford Ball Diamond on the construction com­ pany. Thieves absconded with 70 ladies leather jackets of various styles and sizes estimated at $23,325. With the backlog of recyclable materials at the Morris Landfill site, council proposed some changes for recyclables at the landfill site. The War of the Roses and Back to the Future II were playing at the Park Theatre and the Lyceum Theatre respectively. '-Feb. 1, 1995 A group of 42 residents of Walton and surrounding township reeves gathered at Walton Community Hall to discuss the future of the building. Costs were exceeding the revenue generation. The prospects of the 1999 International Plowing match to be held in Huron County were looking very good according to Neil McGavin. Two weeks into a six week tour of Ontario to gather public input regarding the 1995 provincial bud­ get, Brad Ward, Minister without Portfolio for Finance said the gen­ eral outlook for the coming year was optimistic. Two local elementary students, Bronwyn Dunbar of Grey Central Public School and Ashley Gropp of Brussels Public School, qualified to compete at the Provincial Junior High Debating Championship. The initiative of some Grade 7/8 students at Brussels Public School sparked interest in an old game, forming the new Chess club, which expanded from a few to 30 mem­ bers in just a few weeks.