Huron Expositor, 2007-12-12, Page 4Page 4 December 12, 2007 • The Huron Expositor
Opinion
Proprietor and Publisher, Bowes Publishers Limited, 11 Main St., Seaforth, ON, NOK 1W0
Cattle and hog
farmers need help
from government
immediately
The growing pressures facing Ontario cattle and
hog farmers continue to be a focus of discussion
locally with Huron and Perth farmers holding sev-
eral meetings - including one planned for tomorrow
night in Listowel.
At the federal -provincial -territorial agriculture
ministers' meeting recently in Ottawa, Ontario
Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
Leona Dombrowsky also expressed her concern.
"There was a strong consensus on the need to
respond to the rapidly developing financial prob-
lems facing these livestock sectors. We have agreed
to take quick action and will accelerate support`
under existing programs with interim or advance
payments," said Dombrowsky in a press release.
"We have also directed our staff to meet and dis-
cuss proposals being put forward by the hog and
cattle organizations as soon as possible.
"We need to look at marketing, regulations, pro-
cessing, and other competitiveness improvements,
but it is important to send a signal of support now."
Now. That's the. key word. Not next year, or next
month, or even next week.
Now.
The Federal Minister of Agriculture, Gerry Ritz, "
is well aware of the dire conditions facing pork and
beef farmers and has been duly informed, said
Perth -Wellington MP Gary Schellenberger who was
present at an emotional meeting, in Mitchell Nov 8.
And, we hope that both provincial and federal
representatives throughout the region are also well
aware of the crisis.
The time for talk is over. Governments need to
put their money where their mouth is.
Sure, comprehensive reviews are being completed
and will be discussed at a meeting early in the new
year, but for many, that's too far away, even if it is
just a few weeks.
With Christmas fast approaching - the most won-
derful time of the year - it would be a blessing if
our elected politicians in both Parliament Hill and
Queen's Park acted before it's too late.
Mitchell Advocate
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•
Good intentions towards the
environment are only the start
While environmentalists
have been promoting the use of
reusable shopping bags for
decades now, I only decided to
get serious about the situation
over the summer.
As a number of municipali-
ties throughout North America
talked about banning plastic
shopping bags and a number of
stores began putting reusable bags up for
sale, I decided it was finally time to get on
board.
Or, that was my intention.
I bought the bags but then began the chal-
lenge of remembering to use them.
Inevitably, each time we entered the gro-
cery store, my 11 -year-old daughter would be
asking me, "Mom, did you remember to bring
the bags?"
On good days, her reminder would send one
of the family back to the parking lot to
retrieve the bags in the van.
On bad days, well, we hadn't even packed
the bags into our vehicle - they were still
hanging from a hook in our kitchen.
I really should have a permanent bruise on
my forehead from the number of times I've
slapped myself in the head for forgetting the
darned bags.
Of course, because plastic shopping bags
are still free and readily available, I am not
being inconvenienced or penalized for my for-
getful ways.
But, I'm really not setting a very good
example for my kids after commiting to one
very small way of making a difference for the
environment.
It's estimated that a traditional plastic bag
Susan
Hundertmark
takes 1,000 years to dissolve.
A bylaw in Leaf
Rapids, Manitoba - new last
April - prevents retailers from
selling or distributing plastic
shopping bags. Ignoring the
ban could result in a $1,000 -a -
day fine.
The Ontario govern-
ment is apparently hoping
Ontarians will cut their plastic shopping bag
use in half during the next five years. Right
now, we use 7 million plastic bags each day —
that's about 4 bags per person every week.
While the province is using the voluntary
approach, Seaforth Coun. Bob Fisher last
week asked Huron East council to step up
and set an example by banning plastic shop-
ping bags within the municipality.
His suggestion fell flat with at least one
councillor expressing concern that local shop-
keepers might be penalized by the move.
But, it will be the shoppers, not the mer-
chants, who will have to change their ways if
plastic shopping bags are banned.
After my experience over the past several
months, I'm not feeling very optimistic about
the voluntary approach.
Maybe I am more forgetful than most but it
seems to me that as long as plastic shopping
bags are available, we will be using them.
We have become so used to being catered to
by those who want to make it as easy as pos-
sible for us to spend our money that we've
become the ultimate mindless consumers.
When it comes to making better environ-
mental decisions, good intentions - so easily
forgotten - are not going to take us very far.
Ron & Dave
Teacher says every
time a bell rings,
an angel gets his wings.
I love these old Christmas
movies..They're pure sentiment,
and no crass commercialism
TONIGHT'S MOVIE I5
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
SCUMMY SOAP...THE
OFFICIAL SOAP OF
CHRISTMASI
by bavid Lacey
Hey, don't
worry, we
still have
Cinco de
Mayo.
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