Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1989-12-27, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, December 27, 1989 Times Established 1871 Adso(ale Established 1881 Amalgamated 192-1 Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S0 Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. Phone S19-235.1331 nes PCNA ROSS HAUGH Editor HARR1 DE►RIES Composition Manager ItM BECKETT Publisher & Adserlising Manager DO's SMITH Business Manager SUBSCRIPTIQN RATES: Canada: $27.00 Per year; U.S.A. $68.00 Bad news for tourism The news out of Ottawa and Grand Bend this past week certainly is cause for concern in the business of tourism in our coun- try. Out of Grand Bend comes the ,news that Archie Gibbs of Parkhill has won his bid to claim ownership of about 1,000 feet of beach at the popular sum- mer resort. The news from Ottawa came from Sta- tistics Canada figures which show a $2.7 billion tourism deficit in 1988. As this is being written, very little is known about the specifics of the Su- preme Court decision and what effect it will really have on the .use of the beach by the public or if .it will deter summer visitors from coming to Grand Bend. While the money spent by visitors in Grand Bend each summer may be only a drop in tie bucket as far as the national tourism industry is concerned, any loss to the local economy will be felt. On the national scene, Canada's Con- ference Board indicates.that Canada's travel account, which shws the differ- ence between what foreign visitors spend in Canada and what Canadian tourists spend abroad, is deeply in the red. Theboard and the Tourism Industry Association think the deficit will worsen to $3 billion when this year's figures are recorded. The reason for the deficit, say the ex- perts, is a decrease in American. visitors. Despite an increase in overseas visitors, the deficit increased by $200 million over 1987 figures. . Americans make up 80 percent'of Can- ada's foreign travel market and through September of this year there had been a 5.3 percent decrease in U.S. spending at least one night in Canada. The decline . of Americans at Grand Bend has also been very visible at Grand Bend over the last couple of years. The reason for the decline is obvious to anyone in the tourism industry. It is simply too expensive to visit Canada. The recent rise of the Canadian dollar certainly won't help and add to that the expected goods and services tax. While their numbers may be dwin- dling, American tourists are easy to identify. They are the individuals with the shocked look on their . faces when they have rented a room, filled up their vehicles with gasoline or purchased a bottle of Canadian liquor or beer. The taxes on all three are enough to drive visitors back across the border and leave Canadian tourist operators in the lurch. The ever -worsening tax situation is a double-edged sword. Not only are fewer Americans coming over here to visit, fewer Canadians are staying at home. Tourism has been described as the growth industry of the next 10 years, but if taxes continue to increase and they ap- pear to and tourism operators have to up prices to keep up some type of profit margin, that increase in tourism is sure to happen. But, elsewhere and not in Canada. By Ross Haugh All dressed up - can't go Christmas '89 was one of the. strangest I have ever spent. Some sing of Christmas in larney. Others wax poetic over A Child's Christmas in Wales. My song was I'll Be Home for Christmas, whether I wanted to be or not. Don and I had planned to have Christmas dinner with, my sister and two nephews in Clinton. I was glad I wouldn't have to cook, as i had discovered last wcck my wrist was not sprained - it was broken. A long, diagonal fracture of the clna that had not shown up on the first x-rays was dramatically obvious on the second set. At four o'clock all systems were go. An hour later, with blinding white snow blocking thc sight of drift -clogged, un plowed roads, we cancelled cr travel plans. Unfortunately . I had not prepared a Plan B. •T'was Christmas, house Just our long-awaited and all through the two 'creatures were stir- Reynold's Rap by Yvonne Reynolds ring, me and my spouse. Our frig and our cupboards were empty and bare We were invitt ,. didn't care. When what to our hr e C.i d. But a i v ''ad storm dumping .;now far and near. We weren't, going anywhere, we accepted our fates., We had. only one worry: • what could we put on our plates? Our dinner was -leftovers, not fancy but good. We bowed our heads and thanked God for our food. Then I thought anew of the first Chri,sunas Day, Of Mary and Joseph, and a I babe in the hay. I'm sure their meal was quite simple, soon done. More important than eating was the birth of God's Son. And I knew 1 alt'eady had all the things that are blest Love and good health, family, friends, all the rest loo's Christmas for me, and n , ish fOr you Is that you I too will enjoy Gods gifts all year through. HAVE AN OPINION? lie Times Advocate welcomes letters to the editor. They must be signed and should be accompanied by a telephone number and address should we need to clarify any information. The newspaper also reserves the right to edit letters. Letters can be dropped off at the Times Advocate Office or mailed to: Exeter Times Advocate Box 850, Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by j.W. Eedy Publications Limited "DAMN YOUR CONSCIENCE,SPtTTLE! REMEMBER- IF WE DON'T POLUITE, SOMEONE ELSE WILL!" ffiP Spend too much? Did you spend too much during the Christmas season? The answer would likely be "yes" from most Canadians. While Canadian and area stores didn't report much rise in busi- ness for the first few weeks of December, the last few days of the hustle and bustle of Christmas turned into a last-minute panic as people scrambled to get ready for the big day. The Morningside show on CBC radio reported people seemed to be sending fewer cards this Christmas and asked why? Those surveyed blamed lack of' time and the high cost of postage. About 135 families within our subscription arca took advantage of our season's greetings page in • last week's issue to send their Christmas message. Card sales may have been soft- er this year, but according to the Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs, that didn't stop people from going into debt buying Christmas presents.' Apparently Christmas shoppers raised their credit card balances to $12 billion. It will take us until June to pare that accumulated debt down to $9 billion. That's a large increase in sales and in credit card use, but it isn't necessarily a sign of our economic health. What it really boils down to is that we don't have as much in the way of disposable income and have to borrow and pay lat- er: This also means we will From the editor's disk by Ross Haugh have less money -to spend in the months to come. For all of the current year, in- terest payments on bank and store credit cards will be over $1 billion. Despite the high cost of using them (20 to 29 percent ), credit cards are growing in populari- ty. The number of cards issued in 1987 rose to 19 million from nine million in 1978. Transactions using credit cards flew up to .490 billion from 151 billion. The average annual sales climbed to $1,563 for each credit card from $545 in 1978. Much of this growth is the nat- ural outcome of easier access to credit cards. Changes in .bank lending policies have also con- tributed to this spectacular growth. • Retailers could be jumping for joy at the end of the year, thanks to their generosity in ranting credit cards, but will they be just as happy in June when their cus- tomers are still struggling to pay their debts incurred at Christmas time. We would guess that many people may curb their spending over the next couple of years once they realize how long it takes to climb back out of debt. it's the same. thing as thinking you could be overweight, but it's only when you stand on the scales that you realize you have really put it on. We would like to take this op- portunity to vv ish all of our read- ers a "Very Prosperous, Happy and Blessed New Year." Thought for the Week: Blend a bit of faith with your doubt and you will produce hope. Goodbye 80s By Peter Hesse! Perhaps you are glad to leave the 1980s behind. In our family, we have mixed feelings about them. They have special signifi- cance for us. After all, they are . the first decade our kids have known. Alexander was 10 months old when thc 80s began; Stephanie and Duncan were born in 1981. The $Os have been good to us. All the children's activities start- ed in the 80s: school, cross- country skiing, hockey, figure - skating, piano 'lessons, Beavers and Brownies. Sad things happened in the 80s, too. Some very dear people - close relatives and friends - arc no longer with us. The 1980s turned out to be their last dec- ade. The children have learned to moum, and they needed our help in dealing with their grief. Our tiny hamlet has grown in the 80s. Since we moved here, the number of houses has dou- bled, and so has the popula•ion. This little village, founded in 1840 by Elizabeth's great -great- grandfather, now has its own "subdivision". What else happened in Canada and the world? Others will give you a complete rundown on im- portant events in the 80s..I am listing just a few of the high- lights that come to my mind. The 80s have produced some genuine Canadian heroes, espe- cially in sports: Brian Orser, Elizabeth Manley, Gactan Bou- chard, Steve Podborsky, Alex Baumann, Wayne Gretzky, ian Millar and his horse Big Ben. A group of Canadians scaled Mount Everest, and Marc Gar- neau became our first man in space. My favorite Canadian hero was Terry Fox, whose Marathon of Hope became a national sym- bol. Long remembered will be thc man who shamed us all by turn- ing gold into tarnished brass: Ben Johnson. Notorious Canadi- an villains of the 1980s included mass murderer Clifford • Olson, an inflation rate that hit 12.8 • percent in 1981, an unemploy- ment rate that soared to 13.6 percent in 1983, the federal defi- cit, acid rain, and PCBs. , Among renowned Canadians who died in the 80s, I remember pianist Glenn Gould, journalist Gordon Sinclair, Quebec pre- mier Rend Ldvcquc, swimmer Victor Davis. And the race horse Secwtariat. One of thc proudest moments in reocnt Canadian history was also a personal highlight for me: I was privileged to spend three weeks in Calgary before and during the Winter Olympics. There have been some disap- pointments in the 80s. We were disillusioned by crime, corrup- tion and immorality among poli- ticians and clergy. Major Cana- dian companies such as Scars and Amway were caught cheat- ing and defrauding the public. The scourge of AIDS began to change our sexual attitudes and habits. The abortion debate con- tinucs to evoke emotional re- sponses from the unreasonable extremes of the "pro life" and "pro choice" camps. In the 80s, Quebecers voted against Sovereignty - Association, deciding to remain in Canada. Will Qucbcc be part of Canada at the end of thc 90s? We acquired a made -in -Canada constitution and a Charter of Rights a mixed blessing. Per- haps we should call it our Char- ter of Conflicting Rights. As the Trudeau age has given way to the Mulroney era, not too much has changed. Many Canadians still live in poverty. We still have one of the highest illiteracy rates in the western world. Our native people are still waiting fora fair deal. Women have • achieved a high degree of equality. But too many women, children, and sen- iors arc, still physically and emo- tionally abused. Alcohol and drug addiction, prostitution, and organized crime continue to be major concerns. internationally, the 1980s have seen one of the most far- reaching developments of the century - the breakdown of com- munism in Eastern Europe, the end of the Cold War. What be- gan with Lech Walcsa's Solidar- ity movement in Poland, has culminated in the opening of the Berlin Wall. - Mikhail Gorbachev, in my opinion, is one of thc greatest statesmen of the century. Ile has paved the way for democracy in the Soviet Union and its former satellites. Will western leaders cooperate with him in the 90s, to bring about economic restruc- turing in Eastern Europe and global disarmament? Goodbye, 1980s! Will our children - perhaps in the twenty - twenties - remember thc 80s in a wave of nostalgia? Will they have 80s parties, restore antique Tempos, watch 80s videos, and say things like "Have a nice day?" i sure hope so. And I wish you a Happy New Decade. NOTE: Peter Vessel's book entitled "Pe- ter's Point" will be available shortly. For an autographed copy, send a S20 cheque or money order payable to Kichcsippi Hooks, RR N3, Amprior, Ont. K7S 309.