HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2004-09-23, Page 1e Citizen
Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County
Volume 20 No. 37
Thursday, Sept. 23, 2004
$1 (93c + 7c GST)
Good-bye barn
A group of 30 Mennonite workers were busy taking down a barn on the Brussels Line, just
south of Amberley Road on Sept. 15. Unfortunately, tragedy struck when 18-year-old Amon
Martin of Howick Twp. was knocked off a beam and fell 30-feet to the ground. He was rushed
to Wingham and District Hospital then air-lifted to Victoria South Street Campus in London
with serious head injuries. The Ministry of Labour and Farm Safety Organizations will be
further investigating the accident. (Elyse DeBruyn photo)
NAFTA challenge pressures U.S.
Inside this week
Pg. 7
Pg. 8
AMDSB staff defend
recommendations
Belgrave fair results
begin
a Schoolwork wins at PS. "" Brussels fair
Pg. 14 Groups help Drive
Away Hunger
Ag minister stops in Ps. 4,0 Belgrave
Terry
Fox Run
raises
$8,510
locally
By Elyse DeBruyn
_ Citizen staff
It was another successful year for
the Brussels Optimist/Lions Terry
Fox Run.
Under bright sunshine and warm
temperatures. 74 area citizens hit the
pavement either by walking,
running, biking or rollerblading
through their choice of a two km
route in Brussels or an eight km
route around a country block.
With each participant 'gathering
pledges and an Optimist road toll, a
total of $8.510.60 was raised.
Though the numbers were down a
bit from last year, which saw 101
participants raise $9,478„ Doug
McArter said the run
was"awesome" this year.
Honourable mentions go to the
Brussels Lions who donated $1,000
by challenging their members to
participate, Debbie Seili, last year's
Terry Team Member, who brought
in $910 in pledges as well as
McArter and family who collected
$835 in pledges.
Jason Rehkopf of Brussels
Foodland provided hot dogs and
refreshments for the participants.
The Brussels Optimists and Lions
once again provided the volunteers
to make the Terry Fox Run an
enjoyable event for all.
"A small town like Brussels never
ceases to amaze when it comes to
raising money for worthy causes,"
said McArter.
On Sept. 18, 2005, Brussels will
he celebrating the 25th anniversary
of the Terry Fox Run .
Grey
meeting
set for
Tuesday
By Bonnie Gropp
Citizen editor
A public meeting will be held on
Tuesday to look at de-amalgamation
for Grey.
A group of concerned citizens
began informal discussions about
breaking from Hurim East some time
ago.
"People had just started talking.
They weren't happy and we thought
that maybe we should meet and
discuss it further," said Dianne
Diehl.
Though no municipal
representatives were at the initial
meeting. the Grey councillors were
asked to attend a second meeting at
the end of August.
"We decided it was only right that
they be there." said Dave Diehl.
Mayor Joe Seili showed up as well.
"unannounced, but not unwelcome."
said Dianne Diehl.
"The idea of having the Grey
councillors there only was that this is
strictly about Grey," she added.
The issues that have prompted the
meetings primarily stem from a
sense of isolation that some Grey
taxpayers are feeling. "We want our
identity hack as a rural community.
The decisionS that are affecting us
are made in Seaforth," said Calvin
Semple. "There is nothing we have
against the rest of the municipalities
in Huron East, but six members of
that council don't know .our needs or
the area."
The fact that . the administration is
located in Seaforth also adds to the
sense of detachment for those in
Grey, said Dianne Diehl.
As well, said Semple, while there
has never been a concern about
sharing 'costs for things such as the
Brussels arena, many now feel that
taxes are being spent on services that
don't benefit the ratepayers in Grey.
"We can't see where our portion of
the taxes are coming to our
community," said Dave Diehl. "The
size of the works staff has decreased
but the area lias increased so we
don't seem to see the kind of service
here we used to."
The group has looked at the
creation of some administrative jobs
and questioned where the benefit is
for Grey. "New amalgamation seems
to have created jobs on top of jobs,"
said Semple.
Though Semple and Diehl are with
the Grey Fire Department they stress
that their action has nothing to do
with any particular municipal
service. "This is not a fire
department issue as has been
suggested," said Diehl.
"We're not just firefighters. We're
taxpayers, too." added Semple.
While the concerns were there
even prior to amalgamation, citizens
Continued on page 6
By Keith Roulston
Citizen. publisher
A $400 million lawsuit against the
U.S. government over losses to
Canadian cattle producers puts
pressure on the U.S. to open the
border to Canadian cattle, a lawyer
told 120 cattlemen in Brussels
Monday night.
Michael Woods, a Montreal trade
lawyer working for an Alberta-based
group suing the U.S. government
under Chapter 1 I of the North
American Free Trade Agreement.
said with the lawsuit there's now a
ticking clock on both sides of the
border. Before the suit, he told
producers who packed the Brussels
Livestock salts arena, the clock was
only Ticking for Canadian producers
who wondered if they could survive
until the border reopened and prices
rebounded.
"Now a clock in the State
Department is ticking. The 'longer
the border is closed, the bigger the
damages will be," Woods said.
"If the U.S. thinks we might win
the pressure will be on to open the
border," said: Rick Pascal, the leader
of Canadian Cattlemen for Fair
Trade (CCFT), 'the group that
initiated the trade action. Not only
will a successful lawsuit open the
border but it will win compensation
for their losses for those farmers
taking part.
The group's estimates Oil the loss
at $400 per head of cattle. For a
feedlot that's $800 per feedlot space
based on two crops of cattle going
_through in a year. CCFT members
represent 460,000 to 470,000 head
of cattle.
Pascal, who operates a 50,000-
head feedlot with a total operation of
150,000 cattle in what would
normally be a $100 million
operation, (currently his feedlot is
only 26 per cent full) said it's very
important for producers of all sizes
from across the country to be
included in the lawsuit. He's
attending a series of meetings in
Ontario to explain the suit to Ontario
producers.
"The more people who participate
in the suit the better"; added Woods,_
comparing it to the ripple effect of
throwing a stone into water.
"It's a way of fighting back," he
said. "The bigger the case gets, the
more strength it has."
Currently there are 90 producers
who have paid to join the suit, with
about 70 from Alberta and 16 from
Ontario.
Participating in the lawsuit will
cost a producer about $3 per head of
cattle, with a minimum participation
fee of $1,000. Cost of the lawsuit is
estimated at $1.5 million but Pascal
said the group is prepared to add
another $500,000 to $750,000 if
need be.
CCFT is set up like a limited
liability company with participants
as shareholders who will pay the
costs and benefit according the the
size of their participation.
Jim Williamson of Lambton
County questioned the cost of the
lawsuit, saying .he would be
surprised if it didn't cost 10 times as
much.
"We've tried 'very hard to keep
costs down," Woods answered.
"We're committed to keeping legal
costs as low as possible." He said his
co-counsel on the suit is a university
professor so he has an income from
that and his firm has trimmed its
costs.
"We. have put together the
strongest legal team ever in a
Chapter 11 challen,ge," Wood said.
"It's world class."
"The intriguing part of this case is
that you can be a NAFTA Chapter 11
litigant at a very low cost," he said.
One cost that is involved is that
the parties must pay for the hiring of
the trade experts who will sit on the
tribunal to hear the case. That money
has been set aside in the budget,
Woods said.
Ken Alton of Lucknow said he had
spoken with the Canadian
Cattlemen's Association and their
trade advisor wasn't impressed with
the possibility of CCFT winning its
case.
But Pascal said the Washington
advisor to CCA hasn't been involved
in any Chapter 11 cases and those
who have fought those cases in the
past weren't even aware of the firm.
Woods said his company is
Continued on pagt43