HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-08-19, Page 7•
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Copyright Act online
To the Editor;
In June, our government introduced
important amendments to the Copyright
Act to bring it up-to-date with advanc-
es in technology. Our approach is in
line with international standards. It
should be clear, however, that it is a
`Made -in -Canada' approach that will
benefit all Canadians.
Canadian educators and students
stand to benefit from uniquely
Canadian reforms that would allow
greater use of material posted on the
Internet, the legal delivery of course
material through the Internet, and elec-
tronic delivery of materials loaned
between libraries.
Our `Made -in -Canada' approach
strikes a proper balance between all
stakeholders. It promotes the protec-
tion of creators' rights, and access by
students and researchers. It means con-
sumers can enjoy everyday uses of
copyright material. And it provides
Letters
opinion
fairness and clarity for industries that
operate in the digital environment. It's
uniquely Canadian provisions recog-
nize that we all have a stake in fair
copyright laws.
The government has set up a web-
site: http://copyright.econsultation.ca/,
where you can find important resourc-
es about copyright and the moderniza-
tion process to date. I encourage you
to participate in these consultations
online or at the town hall and/or round
table meeting in Toronto on Aug. 27.
There is limited space available for
members of the public — but even if
you can't be there in person, you can
still participate via web streaming.
Ben Lobb, MP
Huron -Bruce
Godench Signal -Star, Wednesday, August 19, 2009 - Page 7
100 -mile diet feasts in Huron
To the Editor;
Once again a group is riding the
local food trend, and making plans to
feast on the Huron County harvest
this fall.
Several books have challenged
folks to eat local food, promoting
'the 100 -mile diet'- eating food that
has grown within 100 miles. The
goal of the group will be to celebrate
our abundance of good food, support
each other in the challenges and
strengthen community. Best efforts
will be made as we attempt to follow
a local food diet for 100 days from
September to December.
There are many reasons to eat
locally -grown food. Eating locally
builds relationships with local pro-
ducers, builds the local economy,
and has us eating food when it is
most nutritional and at it's freshest.
Food that travels fewer kilometres
from the farm to the plate results in
less transportation pollution.
Anyone who is interested in attend-
ing an initial meeting is invited to
442 Mill Street, Blyth, on Tuesday,
August 25 at 7:30 p.m. Come share
information about local producers,
canning, drying and preserving ideas,
and recipes.
For more information call Gary or
Kathy at 519-523-4380.
Kathy Douglas
Blyth
The Empire smokes back and Queens Park wants its cut
Last week, I happened upon a story
in the London Free Press (Bad Smokes
Snuffed, Page Al August 6) about a mas-
sive illegal tobacco bust in South Lon-
don.
Police seized 1.8 million cigarettes in
total - a staggering figure to be sure - but
while they were concerned with the sell-
ing of contraband, our government had a
different angle.
It wasn't that these bootleggers were
poisoning people faster with poor -quality
cigarettes that sparked the ire of the Pro-
gressive Conservatives and Liberals alike.
It wasn't that they were selling a contra-
band substance.
The big stink was that our government
was being cheated out of precious tax
dollars clawed from every pack of cancer
sticks grown and sold in stores from the
Great Lakes to Hudson's Bay.
The guilty party could be paying 25
cents per cigarette up to a maximum of
$450,000 as well as serving jail time.
Perhaps I' m biased, but I found that dis-
turbing.
Worse still, the province (the main ben-
eficiary) is blaming the feds because most
of the contraband is bought from our First
Nations reserves. Ouch!
If illegal cigarettes are grabbing the at-
tention of Queens Park that much, perhaps
the truth of the matter is, smokers are a vi-
tal part of Ontario's GDP. This pet theory
becomes more plausible by the province's
dodging responsibility on the matter.
True, smokers cost the health care sys-
tem millions, but nobody ever mentions
that they also pay more consistently into
it than most.
Think of a pack-a-day smoker. Say they
spend nine or ten bucks a day
on tobacco and two dollars of
that goes to health care or other
programs.
That is an extra $14 dollars
a week for an approximate an-
nual total of $728 gone straight
to health care on top of our in-
come tax health premiums.
If I smoke for ten years (and I
have), that's almost $7,300 ex-
tra I've pumped into the health
care system. I've not visited the doctor
once (yet) for anything tobacco -related.
It's all surplus at this point in the game.
Given tobacco demands more and
more attention from its addicts, that dol-
lar amount will continue to grow as con-
sumption increases. More dollars for the
province.
Do we get a receipt for it? No. We can't
claim a cent of that, even though the in-
dustry is set up so that as long as people
stay hooked, the taxes will continue to
roll in. I don't mind paying into the sys-
tem, but I also like to be treated fairly.
Like much of agriculture, the middle-
man is sponging profits from tobacco
growers. While buy-outs or crop changes
for farmers are in the works, it's hard to
raise cattle in a curing shack 'or simply
fire the tobacco pickers and buy a thresher
with the money saved.
And don't forget smokers are consum-
ers. We are regular people too. We don't
like being ripped off, especially when
there are so many limitations put on us
already.
If a bargain presents itself, most will
take it. Is that wrong?
Have you ever gone to one grocery
store over the other because the
price of cream cheese or rib -eye
steaks was lower in one flyer
than the other? Should you as a
consumer be punished for that?
Should the grocer?
If we looked at it graphically,
sure we could see that fewer
people are smoking nowadays.
We could also see that as con-
sumption of tobacco drops, the
price rises.
It seems as though we're not only pay-
ing for our own bad habits, but for those
who broke the shackles of addiction at the
request of a doctor, a family member or
a government-sponsored campaign. Con-
gratulations to them. It is not an easy task
but nor is paying the difference.
Call it a triumph or a travesty that there
are cheap smokes available. After years of
smokers being singled out and ostracized,
government's true colours are showing in
that they still want (if not need) people to
smoke their brands - if for nothing else
but the taxes.
When I first got hooked on the sin sticks,
I was about 15 or so. Back then, they were
slightly more than $3 a pack.
Now, that price has more than tripled,
with no change to the product, just a loss
of revenue for the farmer, of advertis-
ing for the manufacturer and of spending
money for those unfortunate enough to be
a slave to the brown weed.
If you head to a smoke shack for cheap
cigarettes, you are paying less than one-
fifth of the store costs.
While the bust mentioned in the news-
paper was of ridiculous proportions, the
reality of the situation is that a weekend
trip to the Reserve can save a person thou-
sands of dollars each year.
So, is the average smoker, who may buy
a bag or a box at a time, guilty of cheating
the system or just sick of being systemati-
cally cheated?
I don't know. I realize the odds are I will
be one of the three out of four who devel-
ops a tobacco -related illness. I also real-
ize I will most likely require some health
care for that. But people need to realize
every dollar someone saves on cigarettes
is spent elsewhere in the economy.
Nobody is hoarding extra tobacco mon-
ey under their mattress for the day that
premium brands get cheap again. They
use that money to live. The fact that boot-
leggers continue to make a profit from
an inferior product just goes to show the
price isn't right.
Light a cheap smoke and tell me you
prefer the $2 -a -pack brand over the $9.
It's purely an economic choice.
You can say what you like about the
habit - it stinks, it kills, it's ugly, corro-
sive and degenerate. We all know it, and
smokers will be the first to tell you.
The point remains - smoking is still le-
gal so long as you buy it from the right
people.
If you make your sin offering, you can
ruin yourself however you like - ciga-
rettes, booze or even gambling. You can
lose your money, your friends, your fam-
ily and even your life, so long as the prov-
ince gets its cut.
By talking taxes and ignoring health,
government's reaction to illegal cigarettes
is every bit as cancerous as the habit it-
self. Anyone who tells you otherwise is
just blowing smoke.
Ar