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Home My WebLink AboutThe Times Advocate, 2005-08-24, Page 44 Exeter Times–Advocate Wednesday, August 24, 2005 =CNA Editorial Opinion TIMES ADVOCATE PUBLICATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER 07511 We acknowledge the Financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing casts. Jim Beckett Publisher and Editor Deb Lord Production Manager Published by Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd. Iletroland i 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850 Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 • (519) 235-1331 EDITORIAL Stand firm on trade The U.S. confirmed last week what the rest of the world already knew — that our neighbour to the south is only interested in free trade when it works to their benefit. In a typical but shocking decision, the U.S. government thumbed its nose at Canada and the free trade pact by stating it would ignore a decision by a free trade tribunal that ruled the Americans had no right to impose tariffs on the import of Canadian softwood lumber. The issue has been going on for years, with the World Trade Organization and NAFTA dispute panels routinely ruling in Canada's favour. Still, and as usual, the U.S. has done exactly as it pleased, collecting $5 billion in tariffs. The latest ruling in Canada's favour, from the Extraordinary Challenge Committee, was supposed to be the final word. Ironically, it was the Americans who originally insisted the Extraordinary Challenge Committee be formed. But that committee, and the whole free trade agreement, has been exposed as a joke, with the U.S. arrogantly playing by its own rules. The Canadian government, rightly, is angry and recently cancelled planned meet- ings with the U.S. on softwood lumber. But it won't end there — Canada will no doubt appeal to the World Trade Organization and follow that up by imposing tariffs on U.S. goods imported into this country. A trade war is a possibility. Of course, that won't be good for anybody, but Canada needs to be strong on this issue. All of a sudden, free trade doesn't sound so free. While a number of adjectives have been used to describe Prime Minister Paul Martin, "forceful," "tough" and "decisive" aren't among them. It's time he changed that. The softwood lumber issue is an example of U.S. protectionism at its most blatant. We can't accept it. GOOD NEWS/ KIDS.-, THE GOVERNMENT SAYS THEVIOLENT CRIME RATE 15 DOWN,,. • oft rSf Iro401 n* a Ori e '/ 1 1A t at i a- 411i3O. .06-111• . a •• -AINIMPRIE •. a • Feds not helping gas prices Mark this down for the history books — Stephen Harper had a good idea last week. Instead of his normally pointless complaints and neg- ativity, Harper, responding to gas prices in Canada that finally jumped over the magical $1/litre mark, said the feds should give Canadians a break by reduc- ing the taxes on gas. "There's no reason for the federal government to profiteer when consumers are hurting," Harper told Canadian Press last week. "They could knock the GST off of the excise tax. They could knock the GST off of gas above a certain price level. These are the things we propose." While Harper certainly isn't the first person to suggest the government reduce gas taxes, he makes a good point. Provincial levels vary across the country, but on average, gas taxes account for 38 per cent of the pump price. Included in that 38 per cent are taxes imple- mented by the feds in the mid-1990s to help pay down the deficit. But while the deficit disap- peared in 1998, the taxes remain and the gov- ernment continues to treat our reliance on gas as a cash cow and a way to keep surpluses in the bil- lions. And the higher the price of gas, the more money the government collects in taxes. Pretty good deal for Ottawa, eh? This won't change anytime soon. Finance Minister Ralph Goodale shrugged off the idea of cutting gas taxes, claiming that, because of the constantly fluctuat- ing prices, a tax cut probably wouldn't help out gas consumers. Sorry Ralph, your explanation is lame — could you possibly sound more disingenuous? "I'm interested in finding ways that we could actually have an impact on consumers and not just have the benefit gobbled up in the pricing mechanisms of the oil companies," he said, echoing the same nonsense gov- ernments have been saying for years in response to high gas prices. There were apparently no reports on whether or not Goodale's nose was growing when he made the statement. Cutting taxes obviously won't solve the problem of high gas prices. Lowering taxes by five cents a litre still leaves prices at about 97 cents/litre, not exactly a bargain. But it would be a nice gesture if the government at least made it look like they cared about our increasingly -empty wallets. On the other hand, I've always found the obsession Canadians have with the price of gas to be highly interesting and entertaining, much like our constant grumbling about the weather and our mindless addiction to Tim Hortons coffee. Canadians will drive around a city for an hour looking to save two cents a litre and then wait in line for 10 minutes, with their engines running, think- ing they're saving money. The irony is wonderful. But while we will moan and bellyache about high gas prices, there really isn't much we can do. We can try to buy fuel efficient cars or drive less, but in a rural area it's rather difficult to get by without a car. Gas prices have become so high recently that last week I almost started to feel sorry for SUV drivers .. . then I regained my sanity and chose to laugh at them instead. SCOTT NIXON AND ANOTHER THING About the Times -Advocate Address & Office Hours Times -Advocate, 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850, Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6. Our office is open Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Closed on Holidays. Contact Us By Phone or Fax Classified ad & subscription sales ....(519) 235-1331 24-hour automated attendant (519) 235-1336 Fax number for all departments (519) 235-0766 Subscription Rates One year rate for addresses in Canada: $38+GST Two year rate for addresses in Canada: $70+GST One year rate for addresses outside Canada: $130 Call (519) 235-1331 to order a subscription. Classified Rates Word ads: $11.00 for 20 words, 20¢ for each addition- al word+ GST. 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The Times -Advocate Team Publisher/Editor Jim Beckett ext. 109 ADVERTISING Deborah Schillemore ext. 112 REPORTERS Scott Nixon ext. 105 Pat Bolen ext. 113 Nina Van Lieshout ext. 107 CUSTOMER SERVICE Sue Rollings ext. 101 Kim Hern ext. 102 COMPOSITION DEPARTMENT Manager Deb Lord ext. 114/103 Sharlene Young, ext 103 Heather Bilcke ext. 103 ACCOUNTING STAFF Anita McDonald ext. 104 Ruth Slaght ext. 106 Christina Scott ext. 108 MargPertschy ext. 111 Heather Clarke