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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2000-04-19, Page 5Canadian money: strictly for the birds A reporter once asked the then-Premier of Ontario, William Davis, how come he was so successful given that he was so, well, boring. Davis smiled his trademark Cheshire cat smile and murmured “Bland works.” It sure does - in Canada anyway. How else to explain charisma kings like Preston Manning and Joe Clark? Our reverence for curling? The fact that a TV program as sopophoric as Front Page Challenge stayed on the air longer than the Ming Dynasty? We Canucks seem to work at bland - but every once in a while somebody throws a change-up and we become (albeit briefly) downright fascinating. It happened in 1986 when, out of the blue, The Bank of Canada inexplicably issued a whole new series of bank notes. Gone were the fussy, dowdy old ones, fives, 10s and 20s. The new bills were technicoloured works of art. A gorgeous kingfisher perched on the back of our five-spot. The $10 bill featured an osprey, wings spread, clutching a fish dinner in its talons. The 20 had a loon on it; the 50 showed a magnificent snowy owl against a International Scene By Raymond Canon Too much, too fast A little while ago I wrote about some of the questions involved in exporting our fresh water to the United States. In this I pointed out, among other things, that one reason for being somewhat hesitant in rushing out to cash in on the Americans demand for water was that they were not being very economical in their use of the water they already have. I would like to follow this up by relating an experience which the Australians are having in trying to make water do a job nature did not intend it to do. I would imagine that your geographical knowledge of Australia is close to minimal so just imagine a mountain range from which some rivers run relatively quickly into the sea and others flow the other way, meandering across a large swath of land before they finally empty into the sea about a 1000 kms. (455 miles) away. The first river is called the Snowy River and the powers-that-be looked at it and decided that its water was going to waste by emptying so quickly into the ocean. They decided that engineers could devise a plan whereby the water would be steered in the other direction and help irrigate an area of land that suffers from that perennial Australian problem - a lack of water. Fifty years ago the Snowy River, by a series of tunnels under the mountains, reversed so that it now runs through power generators and then on to supply irrigation to dry inland plains. It has long stood as a triumph of Australian engineering but unfortunately the true costs of the project are now coming to light. Although the diverted water from the Snowy River adds to that of two of Australia’s largest rivers, the Murray and the Darling, it is asking too much for the sum total of all these rivers to do the job required. In short, the system is sunset-pink Barren Lands background. The century note sports (so I’m told) a gorgeous Canada Goose. In short, suddenly we Canadians were getting a kaleidoscopic pleasure jolt every time we opened our wallets or purses. Our currency was spectacular. It made U.S. paper money look like Eleanor Rigby on a bad hair day. Canada had the most beautiful folding money on the planet. So naturally, the geniuses in Ottawa have decided to scrap it. That’s right - the birds have been shot down. They are to be replaced by - are you ready for this? - portraits of famous Canadians. How famous? Not very. Okay, Nellie McClung may be a household name, but have you ever heard of Emily Murphy? Louise McKinney? Irene Parlby? Henriette Muir Edwards? Well, you’ll be carrying them around in your pocket before long. No knock on the ladies - they did a lot to convince Canada’s antediluvian Supreme Court that women were in fact actual human beings. (Honest to God, our Supreme Court ruled to the contrary in 1928). The ladies changed that and deserve recognition. Fine. Putting them on a plaque would be okay by me. Erect statues of them in a park if you want - but why wreck our perfectly good­ being overworked and to their horror the governments involved are finding that, thanks to all the tree clearing, farming and irrigating, the salt levels are steadily rising and the resulting damage is costing about $1 billion a year in lost production and damaged land. Add to this the increasing difficulty of finding drinking water for the inhabitants of the region and you have a first class disaster in the making. One of the solutions proposed is radical, changing the farming habits of the area to concentrate on crops which are far less water intensive, such as olives and grapes.' Any change is not going to come cheap and Australians, like Canadians, are loathe to have their governments take such radical, costly steps. (Witness how we have been dragging our feet on pollution controls). Imagine, if you Letters to the editor are a forum for public opinion and comment. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of this publication. THE EDITOR, In answer to non-renewing members who offer such excuses as “The organization doesn’t do anything for me,” “It’s just a donation,” or “It wouldn’t help my business,” here is an item, titled Food For Thought. When we receive a note in response to an annual dues billing that simply states “please cancel our membership,” it really says” • Please cancel our support of the chamber’s promotion of the area for shopping, tourism, etc. • Please cancel our support of economic development efforts such as creating more jobs by attracting new business and industry to the area. looking money to feature postage-stamp portraits of five -admittedly worthy — Canadians? Actually, let’s trim that back to four worthy Canadians. I’m going to have a tough time warming to the monetary deification of Emily Murphy. Ms Murphy was a police magistrate in Alberta and president of the Canadian Women’s Press Club, but she probably would have been more comfortable as recording secretary for the Ku Klux Klan. The woman could easily have broken bread with Joseph Goebbels. Ms Murphy was viciously and publicly anti- Semitic. She blanket-branded all Chinese Canadians ‘traitors’. She wrote under the cloyingly arch pseudonym of Janey Canuck and filled a lot of newsprint hectoring her fellow Lily-Whites about the dire and evil threat of “the black and yellow races”. Quite a role model for Canadian kids, alright. Nobody asked me, but I can think of a way we could both recognize Ms Murphy and cling to our monetary avian motif. All we need to do is pick a bird substitute for the lady and put it on the back of, say, the $1,000 bill, so that not too many Canadians would have to look and see her anyway. The feathered substitute? A natural. The turkey vulture, of course. are a farmer growing either cotton or sheep and have been making a good living at it, being told that the good times are over and you are going to have to diversify out of such things and into something that uses far less water. Obviously all this was not foreseen when the water diversion project was undertaken but there is a lesson to be learned. Nature can be neither hurried or altered without somebody having to pay a price for it. There are times when such common sense is sacrificed on the altar of economic growth, the hallowed Gross Domestic Product, which loves to measure growth, regardless of the effect it may have on the economy. If we were not in such a big hurry to achieve such high levels of growth, we would be more prepared to listen to what nature might be trying to tell us. • Please cancel our support of activities and events which increase the tax base for our village and county. • Please cancel our opportunity for further enlarging our own lists of business contacts. • Please cancel our support of the quality-of- life activities and events sponsored by this organization which help create enjoyment and entertainment, civic pride and hometown spirit. • Please cancel our support of the many volunteers who give so much of their time and their hearts to this organization and the community. Past President of BBA, Bev Elliott. The Short of it By Bonnie Gropp Proud to be among them Sometimes people just make you so proud, don’t they? With talk of drug abuse and gun abuse among teenagers, concerns over school closures, uncertainties about amalgamation, and cynicism regarding just about everything, it’s refreshing to be reminded that society is inherently good. Signs of not just good behaviour, but downright inspiring conduct or deeds restore our faith in each other. When I attended the Blyth Minor Hockey banquet recently much was said, though with humility, about the Midget team’s classy attitude during playoffs. And so it should have been. Despite taunts, physical aggression, and just generally poor sportsmanship from their opponents, the players maintained their discipline and as such won not just because of skill but because of heart. Not everyone wants to watch a hockey game, so there are many who would not have witnessed this team's attributes. However, it’s important that everyone knows how proud they should be to have these young people represent their community. They are a credit to their coaches, who are in turn a credit to this team for the standard they have set. In Brussels a few days later, the community at large turned out to raise money for the Make a Wish Foundation and once again proved what the village lacks in number it more than makes up in spunk. With a goal of $5,000 set to help make a wish come true for a Huron County child, the Brussels Optimists’ volunteerism and the support of the general public brought in over three times that amount, a phenomenal total by any standard. Then last week, students at F.E. Madill Secondary School offered their musical talents as a fundraiser for the cancer society. This was the second annual event, begun by students who had lost family members to cancer. While the disease had touched the lives of several of the performers, there were also those who took part simply because they care. What touches me most when attending this function is the sense of optimism and idealism emanating from these young people, the affirmation that they can, and will make a difference. It is reassuring to see the generation of tomorrow believing so strongly in themselves, their talents and their power. This past weekend, Carry On Cloggers put on their sixth benefit show in 10 years, bringing the total amount raised for chanty to an incredible $22,000 plus. This year’s profit went to Healthy Hearts and the cancer society. These folk are shining examples of the fact that doing good can be fun to do. The negativity which so often presents itself to us, can often bring the perception that society has become self-serving, jaded, even hostile. And yet, there is so much good happening out there, it would be of benefit to us to notice and allow these deeds to shove out the bad. People do reach out to help others every day. People do give of their time, their value, and even their love to make life better for another. People care about issues, ideas and bettering the world for themselves and the next generation. They are doing this with such regularity, that at times perhaps we overlook how proud we should be to walk among them.