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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1993-06-30, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, June 80,1993 Pubtisher: Jim Beckett News Editor: Adrian Matte BusMass Manager: Don Smith Comlpositlen `Mil er: otth thiol Publications Mail Registration Rustier 03sb aunacilienouBAIL%-.111111110A WItAM 40 miles ((66 Inn.) eddlMNd to on letter eerier otld eases $30.00pa s43.10 Q.S.T. Out*kte 40 tittles (65 km.) or any Idl/s 1/iMareddress 400:00 plus $30.00 (total 60.00) +441043.6.T. .S.T. Outside Canada S8I00 Always room for improvernent 1. fieither.wereall in favour of it or not, Exeter is'zwell-:on its way to: -a user -pay garbage collection system. The free tags we'll be putting on town garbage as of July 5 will be the same tags that will cost $2 acy.by. next Janu. _ary. We must not make the blanket con- clusion that 'the town is now charging :us -for a service that used to be free. It was never free, .and the -reality 'of waste management these days is that it's get- ting more and more :expensive all the time. Witness the planned expansion of the town landfill site. In .order to certify that land already owned and set aside by the town for a dump will meet min- istry standards, a $115,000 engineering study is needed to get a foot in .the door. Neither can Exeter rely on the County's plan to -create a Huron -wide landfill. With few municipalities. lining up to be the home of the county's "su- perdump" and even fewer residents wanting to live next door, the Waste Management Master Plan is going round in circles trying to certify that elusive site. It will probably cost a mil- lion dollars by the time they've satisfied e ministry request. ' pilm obvious solution to the whole itprbblem is to try to get people to throw away:less. Canada is the most wasteful society on the planet, so there has to be room' for improvement. 'Fortunately, there are options open to Exeter residents, some of which did not exist only a year ago. The Bluewater Blue Box program has been expanded considerably since its inception. In ad- dition to the original bottles, cans, news- papers -and plastics, you can now send off for recycling plastic bags, cardboard, boxes, and magazines. With a composter in the back yard there remains very little to send to the dump for most families. The two -dollar tag istheincentive the town hopes will urge people to reconsider what they are buying, what they are throwing away, and What use they are making of recy- cling programs. The -enthusiasm the program's support- ers have is infectious; and so it is easy to overlook the fact that not everyone will welcome the tag program. Some are bound to want to avoid the fee, and that means seeing garbage turn up in places it shouldn't be. For several days this past winter, a gar- bage bag sat out on the ice in thermiddle of the river in Grand Bend: a prime ex- ample of the abusesossible when a for- merly flee service �; joins user -pay bandwagon. A.D'11. "Men are never so likely - to settle a question rightly as when they discuss it freely." . . .\ Pubttsked ?teh'WWA$dle itylMet t 424'I11111n St., Fleeter, Ontario, tNHM lite by J.W. E MMteettorts Ltd. Telept►owe 1.619-23541331 O.S.T. S*1O6210015 tette- tt' E.o;te I said it before: to me Canada Da) is not a celebration of "Canada's Birthday" at all. True, 126 years ago the British North Amcnca Act came into effect. Big deal. All it meant was that the British colonies of Canada (meaning Ontario. and Quebec), Nova Scotia and .New:Blurts- wick - were given a new label and a joint government. Interest- ing, especially for constitutional lawyers, but not really an earth- shaking event. The Canada as we know it to- day didna come into being till later. politically speaking. On the other band. Canada. the country we all love and call our home. didn't just begin in 1867. The ancestors of .today's Indi- ans have lived in this .tlry for 40.000, year. Qur .Sioemfid Blackfoot. Cres and Ojibway, Algonkins and Micmac laugh when we celebrate "Canada's Birthday", and so do the descen- dants of French-Canadian set- tlers who founded New France and called it Canada almost 400 years ago. • I count -my blessings I get all chokd;d up on July 1, not because of some boring stat- ute of the British Parliament. but because 1 count my bless- ings. 1 take stock and -reflect. I look at this beautiful country, and I want to cry with joy. And i want .to. thank all those who have helped to build it: the Indians who owned it and were • forced to surrender it; the fur traders and explorers who .bladed -the trails for European colonization; the early settlers from francs, the United $s, the British Isles and the °emi- nent of Europe who turned some of the wilderness into hteme- Celebrating Canada Day steads; and all the millions of hard-working, law-abiding. fru- gal. and persevering people who never -made it into the history books. but who made.this coun- try. Peter's Point • Peter Howl They built this country so that we can enjoy it today. How easy arc our lives in comparison with theirs! That's what we rho t. remember and celebrate on Cs., i a Day. If it hadn't been for them, where would we bc'' Look around you! Read the headlines and watch the news on TV any evening of the week' Where would you rather live'? • What I'm celebrating. I wouldn't hive .anywhere ex- cept, in Canada, and I'll tell you why. Because of its unique his- tory and geography, but primari- ly because of its people, Canada - in spite of all its problems and faults - offers more opportuni- ties -for freedom, peace, enjoy- ment of life and fulfilment of dreams -than any place I know. And -that is what 1 am celebrat- ingonJuly 1st. Call me a super -patriot or any over -zealous Canadian if you wish. -I ;Admit that 1 am a pas- sionate believer in Canada. c are by no marts perfect Nothing in this world is. Taking the pessimistic view, we could paraphrase Winston Churchill and say: "Canada is a very inad- equate country indeed, but it's the best we've got". And what a country it is! Sure, many of us have seen some hard times. We must control unem- ployment (like most of the west - em world). We must eradicate poverty, crime, drug and alcohol abuse. But we mustn't -sec these negative manifestations of a "post-modern" society out of context. We must see them as the flip side of the coin, not the coin itself. I agree that it's rotten to be unemployed, but 1 would rather be unemployed in Canada than in Brazil. Poverty is a curse. But poverty in Canada is a picnic in comparison with pover- ty in Ethiopia or India. Canada- countrp of hope The big .difference, i think, is hope. Canada is a country of hope. No matter how badly someone may be off today, there is a good possibility that things will be -better soon. That is one reason why Canadian immigra- tion offices around the world are swamped with applications. On July 1st 1 will congratulate myself for having Canada as my home. 1 will light not a birthday candle, but a candle of gratitude because my children are growing up here and nowhere else. On second thought, i will take the whole family down to the park to watch and fireworks display and regard every one of those coloured stars as a candle of gratitude. 1f you agree with my remarks and share my feelings, please bit down and write a short letter to the editor. Thank you Canada, for being our home! And a Hap- py Canada Day to all my read- ers. Doan -Editor: I was surprised there were not more citizens attending tthe.Deidi- cation .Ceremonies of Harry Burke's' portraits of our heroes at Exeter Legion - Sunday afternoon. After all, had it not been for self- sacrificing servicemen like these local people, we would be living in a much different Canada today. Butsorne memories are short. Bart DeVnes and his troop orga- nized a brief but touching pro- gramme, the band played with en- thusiasm, the Legion ladies served a ale coffee, tea and cake and the Burke paintings are excellent. No modem art this. but life -like portraits, warts and all, in subdued col- ours. Harry Burke is an accom- plished, feeling artist and was the focal point of the Dedication. Wheel -chair bound, he gallantly struggled to his feet to dedicate the memorial plaque. He is quite a man! 1 was intrigued by the portrait of Thomas 'Harold Bissett, whose name heads the list on our Main Se Memorial. I've often wondered what he looked like. A relative of his, Joe Bissett, was Canada's Am- bassador to what was Yugoslavia, and a fine. dedicated diplomat. The -Legion did a good job, and Harry Burke is a fine fellow'. Y ours, Gibby (J.M. Gibson) Exeter SociaI -contract must be shared Dear Editor: Hey, I can live with the social contract, but can my grocer, my paharrnacist, and Ontario Hydro? (My thanks to, Jack McArthur, columnist of the Toronto Star for the idea for this article.) I'm a teacher in Huron County. I've taught for 23 years. I earn a decent income in light of the fact that I spent eight years in universi- ty. I love teaching and have al- ways given my employer and my students the best that I have to give. But now I'm here to negotiate a social contract with the businesses that supply my family and myself with goods and services. Here's the situation. You may as well face facts. After years of mis- managed finances, I am unable to meet my financial commiunent to pay for the supplies that my family requires on a.daily basis. The so- 'cial contract that i propose is to take effect immediately. if the businesses and services do not agree to this cut in funds payable within the time frame given, then i will withdraw my patronage of these businesses. Social coivacliny, is the most promising alternative to this finan- cial emergency. My proposal al- lows all aides to sit down and ne- gotiate a deal. i recognize that the time frame is short but I am sure the service providers involved will be reasonable in light of what's at slake here, We must throw out•ttic old ways of doing busineas and conic. to a collaborative partner- ship. i am not being arbitrary in my proposal; I ani willing to sit down with each supplier and nego- tiate the cuts,in ways that fit partic- ular circwnstances. We will define Sectoral Agreements with a frame- work agreement that delivers cuts in what' pay for services provided. i hear you saying that we already have a contract as to price, but All past agreements arc nullified by this new proposal. (I love the word "agreement"! "lite word denotes that both parties have some say in the conditions of the action taken.) Upon the signing of this new agreienient on what I pay for servic- es, I will assure you of new heights of efficiency in my hour bold. i will pay all my bilis (albeit at a lower scale!) and meet new eaci st- ing demands for my dwiindliag funds. I will search out inefficien- cies. It will,* a,raew beginning for all of us. - 1f you agree to this social con- tract, and 1 know you will because you are concerned about the essen- tial fabric of this and future socie- ties, 1 will offer you my continued patronage. I will get your services at a lower cost -and you will have my continued support. Don't worry that y r bottom line is never paid off. This is a socially responsible solution to my financial problems. 1 did see this coming years ago but i could not neem to manage tic down -scaling that was needed to balance my books. I feel I must inform you that tins social contract does not apply to all of my expenditures, just to the ser- vices and goods that you supply to me. It is not my intenetion to ask all sectors of my financial iridebt- edgeas to accept the same cuts. But I hear you argue that this is not a social contract if it does not Apply generally to all sectors of society - you say that everyone ui society must share the pain to be truly a social contract? 1 am asking you to negotiate a small sacrifice for the benefit of the entire nation. You must sec that this request is socially responsible. One small and inconsequential repercussion of the fact that 1 will be paying you leas for your servic- es is the result that the economy will receive a smaller influx of money because of these Gills but One longer term benefit to my fi- nances out -weighs this concern. I will pay less for the same guests and my money will stretch to do more fur less. If you receive leas money apd have less spending power OW my -.actions, just keep in mind that this is an wrier ericy situation. You arc doing this in the best interests of an entire dation. This is a new age. Joint the hip generation. I don't want to lower expo c:.Wtious for my lifestyle - I just want to pay less.' if suppliers refuse to accept less fur the same services, the public los to be told that you are selfish cppitelists with ole a tio(ight fes a boner future far 'Our province. - Flo Dyck, Ii.lZ.l�2, Scafurth