Zurich Citizens News, 1975-07-10, Page 44 - Zurich Citizens News, July 10, 1975
Anything but popular!
Finance Minister John Turner certainly went straight for
Canada's most sensitive squeal -switch when he brought down
the federal budget last week. Like Americans, we do love our
cars and the freedom to go where we want, when we want
and as often as we want. An extra 15 cents a gallon on the price
of gasoline was about as acceptable as a herd of skunks at the
proverbial garden party.
Whether we like it or not, though, the basic reasoning
behind the sharp increase in the price of gasoline was
sound --provided the intent of the new excise tax can be carried
out. With the present threat of dire shortages of energy fuels,
plus the drastic rate of inflation, it was theoretically correct to
impose a tax which would have the effect of curtailing the
amount of pleasure driving, and thus conserve gasoline,
while at the same time raising sizeable tax revenues for
whatever good purposes they might be used.
That is fine in theory, but only time will prove
whether or not the intended benefits will become
reality. One fly in the ointment is that the Canadians who
own and operate cars for pleasure purposes have yet to feel
the real hardships of inflation. Wage rates have, in the majority
of cases, more than kept pace with the increased
costs of food, clothing and shelter, so a lot of fam-
ilies will grumble, but they will continue to buy as much
gasoline as ever.
The collection of the excise tax and the administrative tasks
involved in rebating commercial users will eat a big hole in
the extra revenue...if, indeed, any equitable and foolproof
system can be evolved to distinguish between purchases of gas-
oline for business and those for pleasure driving only.
The very disturbing factor in the higher cost of motor and
heating fuel is its inflationary nature: The added costs of operat-
ion for business will be felt sharply by the consuming public.
The cost of delivering goods to and within the marketplace
is already very high and will now go even higher and
those costs are always added to the price we pay for goods we
must purchase.
In addition • to higher costs of Iiving we will see an inc-
reased number of bankruptcies in smaller business firms and
consequent loss of employment. In fact Premier Davis of Ontario
has already spoken of a loss of at least 15,000 jobs in this prov-
ince alone.
There isn't too much point in crying. We elected the men who
drew up the budget-- and their guess is at least as good as ours
about how best to handle an economic situation which has
every expert in the world totally baffled. One point to be recall-
ed however, is that Finance Minister John Turner did not dream
up the new regulations on his own. What that budget cont-
ained was the consensus of the entire cabinet. It is stupid to
demand the death of the messenger just because he brings bad
news. (Mt. Forest Confederate)
Facts worth knowing!
Increasing numbers of Canadians are taking off for foreign
countries on tours of exploration and pleasure. The federal
Department of External Affairs has issued a colorful
little pamphlet to provide a few basic warnings of the "do' s and
don'ts" for travellers. Here are a few examples:
Wherever you go you need a passport, visa, medical certif-
icate and in some cases an entry permit. Without them you may
find yourself on the next plane home.
When abroad don't lose your passport, tickets or wallet.
Loss by theft or carelessness can get you into trouble with
local authorities, who take a dim view of insol-
vent, unidentifiable foreigners.
Authorities of many countries don't tolerate long hair, beards,
or sloppy dress. Not a few "unenlightened" countries object
to bare arms, hot pants and microskirts. Some countries have
specific rules about where you can and cannot point
you camera. Your best bet is to observe the local customs
and ask when in doubt.
Carrying a parcel for a new-found friend can land you in a
foreign jail. There are several hundred Canadians now wasting
their prime of life in squalid prisons. They won't be coming
home for a long, long time. They were convicted after being
found inossession of drugs—sometimes very g small amounts
Where you born outside Canada? Are you married to a non -
Canadian? If you plan to visit the country which may also
consider you its citizen, verify you dual nationality status with
a representative of that country before you leave Canada.
Otherwise you may run the risk of military draft, jail for having
avoided the draft or a prison term for leaving the country illeg-
ally.
For additional and more detailed information you may
refer to the booklet "Information for Canadians Travelling
Abroad" available from the Dept. of External Affairs, regional
passport offices, public libraries, university and college libraries,
Information Canada, or your travel agent. Regional passport
offices are located in Ottawa, Halifax, Montreal, Toronto,
Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver. (Mt. Forest Confederate)
ZURICH Citizens NEWS
PRINTED BY SOUTH HURON PUBLISHERS LIMITED, ZURICH
HERB TURKHEIM, Publisher
Second Class Mail Registration Number 1385
ei,„canadiart
Member: Weekly. Newspapers Association %
Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association .
Subscription Rates: $6.00 per year in advance in Canada;
$8.00 in United States and Foreign; single copies 20¢
International Scene
(BY RAYMOND CANON)
DIFFERENT KINDS OF HEAT
My last article came directly
from Baghdad, one of the most
fas^inating cities I have been to
in a long time. This article is
being written in the comfort of
my own office but I wonder
whether comfort is the right
word. In Baghdad I was able to
type in an air conditioned hotel
room which sheltered me from
the intense heat outside. Here I
have no such conditioning, only
the hot humid air that prevails
in Southern Ontario summers
at times, so perhaps I was more
comfortable in Baghdad than I
am now in Canada.
Before I left the Middle East,
at Kuwait the temperature during
the day got up as high as 45
degrees celsius. I'll leave you
to figure out that in fahrenheit
in case you are not used to the
new system yet but needless to
say it was hot. However, it was a
dry heat and, although it was
oppressive, it was, I think, less
so than the humid heat to which
I referred above. Nevertheless,
at times I was almost wishing
Icould borrow one of those Arab
headresses to cover my neck
because of the hot sun. At least
I can say that I now under-
stand why they wear them.
Since I am talking of heat, I
would like to point out that all
the heat in the Middle East
does not come from the sun.
There is the political kind which
is constantly being generated
in the various capitals. While I
was in Baghdad, Prince Fand
showed up with his entourage
from Saudia Arabia to put a bit
of political heat on the Iraqi
to settle their border differences
with tiny Kuwait. The consensus
of opinion before I left was that
the attempt was unsuccessful
and so we may expect to read
more about this dispute in the
future.
If you wonder why big Iraq
wants to take some land away
from Tiny Kuwait, take a look
at a map of the area and you will
understand why. Iraq has only
a very small coastline on the
Persian Gulf and the only port,
Basrah, isn't even on the coast -
Dashwood
(intended for last week)
Sharon Rader, London, vacat-
ioned with her parents, Mr. and
Mrs. Irvin Rader last week prior
to attending the Pfaff -Glanville
wedding at Thames Road United
Church where she was maid of
honour.
Pastor and Mrs. Arthur Rader,
Marc and Sarah, Calgary, Alberta
vacationed with Mr. and Mrs.
Elgin Rader and Brian.
Vacation Bible School starts
July 7 at Zion Lutheran Church
All children from 3-14 inclusive,
are welcome. those in charge
hope for a good enrolment.
Spike Nagel, Anne Baynham,
Susan and Chris, Oshawa spent
the weekend with Mr. and Mrs.
Ernest Koehler. Susan and Chris
are spending two weeks here.
Miss Selma Eifert, Detroit,
Mr. and Mrs. Dick Weins, Kit-
chener, Mr. and Mrs. RFobert
Miller and Joel, Arnprior, and
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Rest-
emayer, Alliston spent the holi-
days with Mr. and Mrs. Albert
Miller.
A number from here attended
•
the Taylor-Grenier wedding at
St. Marys Church, Grand Bend
and the recpetion at Hensall in
the evening.
Mr. and Mrs. Dave Rader
and Stacey attended the Dixon
Reunion at Centralia, Sunday.
line, it is about 50 miles up
the Euphrates River. The Iraq
are building another port with a
name that I won't even try to
spell and the main channel to it
happens to go past a couple of
islands that Kuwait owns but
Iraq would like to have. At one
time the Iraqis claimed that
historically all of Kuwait belong-
ed to them but they have soften-
ed this claim considerably and
at present are angling for the two
islands. If they can't get them,
they will settle for a 99 -year
lease on them but so far Ku-
wait doesn't seem too enthusiast-
ic about the idea.
To my mind the most heat in
the Arab world is generated
by the Palestinians who are all
over the place. To understand
this better, you must realize
that all these Palestinians who
were uprooted when the state
of Israel was created do not live
in refugee camps. Many of them
were well educated and have
found jobs in the other Arab
countries. All this is well and
good until you realize that many
Arabs resent the Palestinian
presence in their country. In
only one country, Jordan, have
these people even been given the
right to carry the passport of
the country but, before you get
to thinking that the Jordinians
are the only ones well disposed
towards the Palestinians, let me
remind you that it was King
Hussein of Jordan who got so
exasperated at the rnacchinations
of the Palestinian terrorists in
his country that he mounted an
attack on them. In a week of very
bloody fighting, in which many
innocent people were killed,
he managed to drive these Pal-
estinians out of the country
and into Syria and Lebanon.
Even now, more than half the
population of Amman, the capital
of Jordan, is Palestinian, not
Jordanian, and a conservative
estimate is that they own three
quarters of the land in the city.
Right now Hussein is quietly
easing them out of responsible
positions in his government and
army replacing them with Jord-
anians whenever he can find
somebody qualified.
Another interesting fact is that
the Palestinians are so trouble-
some in the eyes of the other
Arab countries that they are
frequently put under house arrest
wheneve foreign dignitaries are
visiting. Kuwait even has so
many of them that the tiny
country once told Ameican Sec-
retary of State Henry Kissinger
that they could not guarantee
his safety if he were to visit there
and so the visit was cancelled.
The fact remains that the Arab
countries' could absorb all the
Palestinian refugees if they
wanted to. They obviously are
not that keen and furthermore,
they are a convenient club with
which to beat the Israelis over
the head at the present time.
Better, then, to leave them in
refugee camps or plot terrorist
raids on Israel.
As long as these Palestinians
are a problem, the political temp-
erature will stay hot in the Middle
East. Hot and Humid!
TODAY'S CHILD
BY HELEN ALLEN
Paul, aged 10, looks just like one's mental picture of
Huckleberry Finn with his reddish -brown hair, blue eyes, fair
skin and freckles. He is in excellent health.
Paul is in a country foster home where everything about the
life suits him. He is perfectly happy just to be in the open air. He
loves fishing and is fond of animals.
Though Paul likes sports and joins in all kinds of games at
school, he doesn't mind that no organized games are available
near his foster home. A contented, good-natured fellow, he can
entertain himself.
Considered low average in ability, Paul is in a special class
but is integrated into regular grade three classes for music,
physical education, special studies and science. He needs
parents who will value his winning personality, give him much
love and not be concerned about academic achievement. This
outdoor boy would like to live on a farm.
To inquire about adopting Paul, please write to Today's Child,
Ministry of Community and Social Services, Box 888, Station K,
Toronto M4P 2H2. In your letter please tell' something of your
present family and your way of life. For general adoption in-
formation consult your local Children's Aid Society.
......•.. ..n� :4V".+..k.::+J��y.:::.+n}.:i`3 n,''?'.. is ii:Y::;{i',
LOVES THE COUNTRY