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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1978-06-08, Page 5-GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 1978 sijkes Draw for the battle lin s, man the ships, lock up the women and children and head for the high seas. The War is on. . That's right friends, we are at war, with the most powerful country in the world and ourgenerally amiable neighbours, the United States. And what was the coup that touched off this explosive international incident you ask? Fish. The whole affair is somewhat in- comprehensible. Both Canada and the United States have been fishing in each others' coastal waters by mutual agreement until iast week when the Canadian government banned com- mercial American fishing ships from the Canadian offshore limits. The Americans retaliated by banning Canadian commercial fisherman from their 200 nautical mile coastal waters. They then carried the ban further announcing that Canadian sport fishermen were not welcome in American waters. The incident is relative to two kids arguing about sandbox and Tonka toy rights in their backyard. "If you touch my dump truck, I'll shove it up your nostril." "Oh yea. If you step in my sand box, you'll need the dumptruek to get the pieces home." Canadians and Americans have been trolling each others' waters for years under a loose arrangement. The catch has been good, and like enterprising businessmen Canadians have sold most of.,their catch back to the Americans. What the Americans do with their fish is not really known. They either eat a lot of fish.or are big on fertilizer. The Canadians, however, were quick to make some qualifications on their ban. While we don't want them hording catches of scallops, halibut and cod from our coastal waters, tourists .are most welcome to pack up their tackle box and drop a line in our lakes and rivers for fun. The government isn't willing to give up the tourist dollar that American fishermen bring into this country and they are even willing to advertise in major American dailies begging tourists to fish in Canada. Fishing for fun and profit, but mostly profit, and in our pockets. . But the Americans wouldn't go that far and any fisherman who drops a worm in foreign waters will be fined. An unsuspecting Canadian fisherman, going after the big one in an American stream, may see a state trooper rise out of the water with snorkel, fins and a camouflage coating of algae ready to slap on the cuffs. The State of Michigan has announced it will riot enforce the tough laws on Canadian sport fishermen. They can smell the money too, though they disguise their intentions as fostering good relations. The U. S. Coast Guard hasn't even gone as far to warn Canadian fishermen in U.S. waters which gives an indication of }tow ludicrous the ban is. It is not likely- to develop into a full scale war and so far is rather low key but the media jumped on the op- portunity to give if full play. And you can't blame them. Finally, national unity, unem- ployment, the bleak summer em- ployment prospect for students and soaring beef prices were put off to the back pages of newspapers as the media reported from the battle zones of the fish war. It's time we had a battle just for the halibut! THE WEEK., AFTER INFORMATION, BACKGROUND AND OPINION New Democratic Party leader Ed Broadbent visited picketers at Fleck Manufacturing in Huron Park Monday and the federal leader said the bitter strike is becoming a national symbol of the female fight for pay equality in the workplace. The strike at Fleck manufacturing is now entering its fourth month and Broadbent told the strikers that if the small . . union local had been predominantly male, the strike would have been settled long ago. Broadbent showed up at 6 a.m. to lend support to the strikers but because PROVINCIAL of , chilly weather conditions the demonstration was limited to a couple of marches around the building_ Broadbent said that wages at Fleck are at the poverty level and that company offers have been a disgrace to the employees. Hourly rates at the plant are $2.85 and reach $3.24 after 10 years. Before negotiations between the United Auto Workers and the company broke down the union was considering an offer of 22 cents an hour in the first year and 15 cents in the second year. But negotiations broke down over the question of union security. , Broadbent also said that the Fleck strike was symbolic of the way Canadian society was turning. , He claimed that Canadian women earn just over half what Canadian men earn and added that the Fleck situation was a justified stf i'R . The picket lines with Broadbent numbered about 70. There were a few strikers members •of the UAW from Toronto and also members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees. The CUPE members also gave the strikers a cheque for $1,450 to help them through the strike. During the DINTS stroke several UAW members from across the province have supported the workers at Fleck. Broadbent and UAW international representative Al Seymour said the money was indicative of how people felt about the strike and the cause even though they were not affiliated. None of the non -striking employees attemptedto get into the plant while Broadbent was there but several of them slipped in the front door later in the morning while picketers were at the back of the building. The police also paid some attention to the federal NDP leader as he circled the building and photographers using still and movie cameras photographed Broadbent from four different locations. Police actions during the strike have come under strong scrutiny especially after their bill for protection of non -striking employees reached $1 million. During Broadbent's visit there were five police cruisers parked nearthe plant watching the demonstration and there were at least another dozen cruisers near the site. Industry and Tourism Minister John Rhodes said he 'hasn't received any complaints from Huron Park residents asking the government to limit the picketing' at Fleck. Solicitor -general George Kerr asked Rhodes to seek a court injunction but Rhodes refused. Kerr explained that limiting of pickets would reduce the policing costs at the site. Rhodes said that the responsibility of seeking an injunction rests with the company and the government, which owns the park through the Ontario Development Corporation, would be involved if other tennants of the park were barred entry by picketers. Most of the picketing has been confined to the Fleck plant. CANADA On Monday at noon, patrol vessels countries blew 'up last Friday when from Canada and the United States officials of both countries accused each prowled their respective fishing other of violating a 1978 interim fishing territories to enforce a ban on fishing agreement. The agreement was one of that was' imposed by both countries. \ several temporary pacts drawn up Now U.S. fishermen working "hile the two sides hassle over en- forcement of the 200 nautical mile off- shore fishing limits of both countries. Canada revoked the interim agreement last Friday because it felt the U.S. couldn't live up to the agreement. The Canadian government told U.S. fishermen to stay out of criminal prosecution that could bring Canadian waters as of noon Monday as much as one year in prison and and the United States government $100,000 fine. replied with similar ban. The fishing dispute between the two But the U.S. carried the ban a little Canadian waters will be open to im- poundment of their catches and charges carrying fines of $55,000 to $25,000, depending on the size of their catch. The penalties for violating the U.S. fishing ban range from a warning to IOW IN SEVEN farther as they threatened to chase both commercial and„sport fishermen out .of their waters. External Affairs Minister Don Jamieson and Fisheries Minister Romeo Leblanc were to reply to the U.S. hard-line attitude in the House. of Commons. But as the, Canada Fisheries Act does not cover recreational.' fishermen, Canada will not consider evicting U.S. sport fishermen from its waters. Initial reaction from fishermen on both coasts has been in support of the government's decision. Despite the ban, the right of innocent passage will remain in effect allowing U.S. fishermen to remain in Canadian waters as long as they are not fishing. The torrent of words between Ottawa and Washington disappeared almost without trace after the ban came into effect. Neither coast guard laid a single charge on either a commercial or sport boat Monday. An official of the U.S. Coast Guard's Great La e's headquarters in Cleveland said his en ere not going out of their way to ase ny Canadian boats out of their waters but said they would be more likely to warn the fishermen. He said the ban was silly since the two countries enjoy such good relations. The Canadian Coast Guard felt the same way about the ban because the group works very closely with its American counterpart on many Great Lakes search and rescue missions throughout the summer. The 6,000 man Canadian Coast Guard relies heavily on the much greater resources of the 42,000 man U.S. Coast .Guard to adequately patrol the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway and the two seaboards. A commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard said. his men will not be hunting down American fishermen in Canadian waters. He said that fishery enforcement is the job of the depart- ment of fisheries and the coast guard only helps out if they call,` but they havep't yet. The fisheries dispute between Canada and the U.S. first surfaced in 1976 when the' U.S. extended its territorial limit to 200 nautical miles and the Canadian government followed suit Jan.' I', 1977. But in the case of the George's Banks near Nova Scotia the limits overlap. Canadian fishermen have been discouraged because American fishermen have larger quota restrictions that hamper the Canadian catch. 40k, I U. S. security men burst in on a Russian inside a secret electronic listening post after crawling down a tunnel discovered under the U. S. Embassy in Moscow. The sudden confrontation in the espionage tunnel climaxed the latest round in the U. S. Embassy's long battle against Soviet electronic sur- veillance. The incident happened last week after U.S. security officers discovered an array. of Soviet bugging equipment ' hidden ina shaft in the embassy's south wing. The devices were reported to include a dish -,shaped receiver - transmitter of a type which could be WORLDWEEK used to pick up the noise from typewriters and provide enough in- formation for monitors to establish what was being written. The investigators traced the wires from the intelligence gathering devices down the vertical.shaft to the tunnel leading into an apartment buiding adjacent to the embassy. One of the navy men assigned to handle construction in the embassy's classified areas was sent into the tunnel and had a confrontation with the Soviet eavesdropper operating the monitoring devices. The startled Russian technician was seated in front of a bank of consoles and fled when the Americans entered. Embassy per- sonnel then bricked up the tunnel. U.S. officials in Moscow and Washington were examining the sophisticated surveillance devices and trying to assess the degree to which the embassy's security had been breached. The U.S. embassy in Moscow tried to cloak the incident in silence. Details released through the media and government indicated that the Soviet eavesdropping operation was one of the most extensive ever un- covered by a Western embassy in Moscow. In Washington, State Department spokesman Thomas Reston ,said the United States had lodged a formal protest with the Soviet foreign ministry. There was no immediate comment on the incident by the Soviet Government or any official news agencies. - U.S. reluctance to comment on the incident was apparently due to concern about the impact on already strained relations between the two• world powers. A U.S. diplomat told a reporter that the Russians could easily suspect a deliberate U.S. leak to the press to , embarrass them ata time when the two nations are exchanging constant criticism over Africa and the arms buildup. An official in Washington said there was physical penetration of the em- bassy by Russians . without the knowledge of the United States. He said the equipment might be linked to the mysterious Soviet microwave bom- bardment of the embassy. Since the early 1960's the Russians .have been aiming microwave beams at the .em- bassy's upper floors, which contain the offices of senior diplomats and a variety of electronic intelligence - gathering equipment. The peak strength of the radiation has been focussed on the vicinity of the ambassador's office on the ninth floor, located about 80 feet from, th shaft where the bugging gear was discovered. Speculation about the purpose of the microwaves has included possible use of the beams to energize Russian bugging devices or to try to foil U.S. electronic eavesdropping devices. U.S. security men found the bugging devices after a routine search. They found a mysterious wire behind a radiator that led them to the ventilation shaft. The embassy was originally built as an apartment building and turned over to the United States in 1952. A friend of mine recently bought a new van and apparently was elated with the deal he had struck with the car dealership. He was happy with the price he had agreed upon and was satisfied that he would be purchasing a quality vehicle because it was made on Wednesday. Not paying much attention to that bit of news I failed to grasp the true meaning of the fact thathis new van was made on Wednesday. It wasn't until a few weeks ago when I learned of his depression because of a change in the deal that the manufac- turing date had any meaning for me. -Apparently he had contacted the dealership and discovered that the vehicle he had originally arranged for would not be sent to him and the replacement'van had been made on a Friday. "So what's the big deal?” I asked confused. "Everybody -knows 'you don't buy a car made on Friday," -he said. "You buy a car made in the middle of the week. The guys in the factory don't work well on Friday or on Monday either. On Friday they just want to get home and on Monday they're thinking of the weekend that just ended. In the middle of the week they do their best work." "Makes sense," I reasoned. "But if you're. going to buy a car made on Wednesday what time is the best time to have it made." I' asked the question with a bit of a smirk because I really didn't see the importance of the manufacturing date. I could see ,that the•giiys in the factory may not be giving their job their ut- most attention on Friday afternoon but 1 couldn't believe that the car they made that day would be,a high risk for a new owner. "By that reasoning if they produced 12 cars a day then at best one maybe two cars a week are good, the rest are questionable?" I asked. "Sure," he said. "They I -:ay not have serious problems but they could have a rattle here or a loose bolt there that will be bothersome to the new owner. Sometimes the owner gets stuck with a real lemon because he didn't ask when it was made. Five will get you ten's a Monday or Friday car.,,' "I can't believe that. If that was. common knowledge then car - manufacturers would have to have super duper sales to dump all their Monday and. Friday cars. Everyone that bought a new vehicle would want to know when it was made and would ask for a cut rate price to take a chance Quite seriously he told me the best on a Fri4lay afternoon car." , Wednesday after coffee break. He said vehicle to purchase is one made "Naw," he scoffed. "The manufacturing date has nothing to do early in the morning the guys take a with the price you pay. If you want a little time to.warm up and aren't really -deal you buy late in the month because in the groove until after coffee. A cup of the salesman will probably have made waren brew and they're at their gest. his quota and will be willing to let the car go cheap just for the few extra bucks commission." "But if you bought early in the month he may be willing to let it gb cheap to assure that he makes his monthly quota," I. challenged. "If he's got any experience he won't," my friend retorted. "He won't get panicky until the middle of the month and when he realized that if he's behind on his quota he'll have to hustle some deals." My friend offered a, few more tidbits such as acting dumb and trying to have the salesman take pity on you. Go in towards quitting time and stall and he'll give you a great price just to get rid of you. I took all this information and came up with an approach that may get me a great deal ort a new car. I walk in and ask the guy to show me his Wednesday morning line. That should take care of' the acting dumb part. I go in in the third week of the month when the guy's either made his quota or has to hustle for it. When he shows me the number of suitcases I can put in the trunk I suggest that the vehicle will be cheap to run with no engine. jeFf Seddon