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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2000-02-16, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2000. C itizenTheNorthHuron 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 ($25.2.4 + $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 Editorial When cheap fuel isn’t cheap After years of living on cheap petroleum products, Canadians are feeling the pinch by cuts in petroleum production which have driven up the cost of fuel for our various needs. People who make their living transporting goods around North America by truck are in financial trouble because of the soaring price of diesel fuel. As local farmers go to work to plant their crops this spring, the low prices for many crops will be made worse by the high cost of fuel for their tractors. And the rising cost of home heating oil has some poor families having to decide between spending precious dollars on heat or fuel. For those middle-aged and older, all this has a familiar ring, bringing back memories of the oil embargo of the 1970s when not only were petroleum prices expensive, but there were places where people couldn’t buy gasoline at any price. There was a massive change in our economy back then as people prepared for a future without cheap fuel. Houses were insulated and energy efficiency was legislated for gas-guzzling cars. But 25 years is a long time for people to remember lessons learned. After that scare the unity of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was broken, petroleum prices went down again and we once again built a society based on access to plenty of (relatively) cheap fuel. All the trends of today are based on the idea of cheap transportation. Globalization requires shipping goods from the least-cost producer countries (often in southeast Asia) to the rich markets of Europe and North America. What happens if the economics of cheap transportation are removed? Will we face another era of intense inflation as we did in the 1980s following the last crisis? On a local basis we are killing our small-town shopping districts and depending more and more on regional shopping centres. What happens if gas prices go up and, because there is no shopping left in our own town, we have to drive many miles using expensive fuel to buy anything? The predictions are that these high oil prices won’t last, that eventually exporting countries will turn the tap on full blast again and prices will fall. Given history, the predictions are probably right. Still, it gives us cause to wonder whether the very foundation of the economy now being created might be built on a slippery slope of cheap oil. — KR Right and wrong aside The debate over the safety of genetically-altered foods recently turned ugly, like a family fight, when Dean Rob McLaughlin of the Ontario Agriculture College called Ann Clark, one of his own professors, a biotech opponent, “unethical” because she commented on genetics when she was a specialist in pasture management. The accusation caused a drawn-out debate in the pages of one of Canada’s largest newspapers and among university staff. McLaughlin, after all, seems to see nothing wrong with Gord Surgeoner, an entomologist, or Doug Powell, a communications specialist on food safety, (neither a geneticist) being vocal, all-out supporters of GMOs and using their university credentials to lend their argument credibility. McLaughlin finally issued an apology to Clark this week saying he should not have used the word “unethical”. But in doing so, McLaughlin said: “Issues surrounding genetically-modified foods and the Canadian regulatory system are extremely critical to Canada’s future ability to participate in a global marketplace.” In other words, he seems to be saying Clark’s repeated questioning of the thoroughness of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s policy of not doing any independent testing of genetically altered foods (GMOs) is endangering trade. Whether Canadian critics like Dr. Clark raise questions or not, Canada’s world trade is already endangered. With support of our governments and universities we have committed whole-heartedly to a technology some of our consumers reject. In Europe and Japan consumers have turned strongly against the idea of GMOs. Our government’s answer has been to try to force these countries to accept products they don’t want, with no labeling that genetically-altered foods are contained because it would be expensive and inconvenient for us to keep genetically-altered food separate from non-altered foods. Questioning, especially of what we eat, is always important. Perhaps if more people like Ann Clark had questioned before we accepted GMOs as the way of the future, we might not be caught going in the opposite direction as the rest of the world. — KR Photo by Bonnie Gropp Looking Back Through the Years From the files of the Blyth Standard, Brussels Post Feb. 12, 1975 Ontario Health Minister Frank Miller said in Clinton that no hospi­ tals in Huron County would be closed as a result of the controver­ sial Mustard report on health. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture was studying a plan to protect the income of Ontario farm­ ers in times of poor prices. However, judging by the reception it received by Huron County farm­ ers it appeared it might be a long time before such a plan would see the light of day. The news was not good as it was reported the Blyth Agricultural Society’s future was in doubt. The Society which had hosted a fall fair for over a century, had been facing declining attendance, but two years ago agreed to operate a booth at the grounds on pony racing meets and at the Thresher Reunion. However, they had now decided that it needed to re-establish the fair or disband. The farm of James Armstrong of Wingham had been selected by the Ontario Plowmen’s Association for the 1978 International Plowing Match and Farm Machinery Demonstration to be held in Huron County. Blyth Little Theatre was to pre­ sent its first production of the sea­ son, Laughs Aplently Feb. 14,1990 When the Blyth Festival announced a seat sale to get new seats at Blyth Memorial Hall nobody thought they were going to sell the seats. But, due to the suc­ cess of the sale there was to be nearly 500 padded seats in the the­ atre waiting for summer patrons. The 1990 summer festival was announced. There were to be three premieres of new plays, a repeat of 1989’s biggest hit and a classic comedy from Quebec. The shows were Local Talent by Colleen Curran, Field of Flowers by Laurie Fyffe, Albertine, in Five Times by Michel Tremblay, Firefly by Carol Sinclair with music by John Alcorn and The Perils of Persephone by Dan Needles. With a fourth-place overall finish and an award for the Most Outstanding Program at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships in Sudbury, the free-skate pair of Kevin Wheeler of Brussels and Michelle Menzies and North Huron Citizen made an indelible impression on skating judges and audiences throughout Canada. Hullett Reeve Tom Cunnigham was at the heart of the French debate when he attended the Rural Ontario Municipal Association con­ vention in Toronto. Steel Magnolias played at both the Park Theatre in Goderich and the Lyceum Theatre in Wingham. Feb. 15,1995 Three local men threw their hats into the ring to represent the Liberal party in the yet-to-be-called provin­ cial election. John Jewitt of RR 1, Londesboro, Doug Garniss, a Wingham area farmer, and Rick Mclnroy of RR 1, Walton all sought the nomination. A resolution was to be prepared for the next meeting of Blyth coun­ cil, asking the province to look at alternatives to using landfill sites to get rid of municipal garbage. Little Women played at the Lyceum, while Nell played in Goderich. The Brussels Bulls Western Junior C quarterfinal series ended with the Bulls coming out ahead of the Wiarton Wolves.