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The Times Advocate, 2007-10-10, Page 44 Times–Advocate Wednesday, October 10, 2007 OC =CNA T. 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 costs. Canada Jim Beckett – Publisher Deb Lord – Production Manager Scott Nixon – Editor i CNA 2007 BLUE RIBBON it The Times -Advocate is owned by Metroland Media Group Ltd. Metroland 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850 Media Group Ltd. Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 • 519-235-1331 Doug Rowe -General Manager, Southwestern Ontario Division EDITORIAL Save a Canadian job he competitive streak in all of us is beaming with pride at the idea of our Canadian dollar being worth more than the American dollar. There is a little voice inside us that wants to cheer for the underdog — especially when we are the underdog. Remember those snide little jokes about the Canadian peso? Look at who is laughing now. If the laughter seems a bit forced, it is with good reason. We are unsure of the impact this will have on our economy. We have done reasonably well having a dollar worth a lot less than that of our giant neighbour to the south. By all reports, the Canadian economy is thriving; we have escaped the mortgage fiasco and other financial woes that have plagued the U. S. recently. We are told the verdict on the rising Canadian dollar is mixed — it will be good for oil and gas as well as minerals, but not so good for manufacturing and tourism — in other words, great for Alberta, bad for Ontario. To put it in simple terms, when our little old Canadian dollar was worth a lot less than the American one, American indus- tries found it saved money to manufacture at least part of the product in Canada. But now they have no incentive to set up branch plants here, or buy our manufactured goods. In fact, they have a strong incentive to shut down Canadian plants and move production elsewhere — like Mexico, the biggest supplier of automotive parts, or China The same thing, on a smaller scale, is true of the tourism industry. When the Canadian dollar was low, American tourists flocked across the border to spend their money here. They stayed in our motels, dined in our restaurants, and enjoyed shopping in our stores. The tourist industry in this country got a boost. Now the American tourists are staying home, waiting for Canadian loonies — or rather, Canadian shoppers with their pockets filled with loonies. On second thought, the initial statement was fairly accurate. Anyone who would risk his or her way of life in a quest for a quick bargain would have to be crazy. Yet that is exactly what Canadian super -shoppers are doing as they gleefully plan shop- ping junkets south. They may indeed save a bundle on new cars or widescreen televisions but they may not have jobs to pay for all the merchandise when the credit card bill arrives. Every dollar spent south of the border has its negative spinoff at home — a refrigerator collecting dust on a showroom floor, a local store operating in the red instead of the black, a clerk at the store getting hours cut back to the point where she cannot support her children, a merchant who has to say no to the hockey team requesting sponsorship, a 'for sale' sign where there used to be a friendly neighbour. Local retail has a difficult enough time competing with the "big box" stores in the city. Over the past couple of decades, small towns have seen an increasing number of businesses closing their doors for the last time. Most of us live in this part of the world by choice — some of us chose to stay close to our family roots while siblings and classmates headed to the city, and some of us migrated from the city in the hope of finding a better way of life here. We have another choice to make now — whether to boost the economy of some American town at the expense of our own, or whether to keep our wits about us. Are we looking at a chance to save money, or an excuse for a shopping frenzy? An impulse buy often proves to be extremely costly. We must keep in mind any purchases made south of the border have to be declared at customs. After factoring in travel costs and duty, a warrantee that may be worthless, and our time, we may decide a purchase from a local store makes more sense. The job we save by keeping our loonies at home may be our own. — FROM THE MIN1'0 EXPRESS SUGGESTED SALLOT FOR MMP ELECTORAL REFORM REFERENDUM: f Ontario adopting a txed-member favour om Are you in favour system? proportional representation P P-IECK ONE) J Yes Whatever hut? Mixed -what? Repeat the question IYs called common courtesy Why is it that everywhere I go, it seems people do not understand what common courtesy is? It's not a hard thing, it's supposed to be "com- mon," but it's just not, not nowadays. After an incident occurred the other day, right here in Exeter, I knew I had it. I was waiting patiently to cross Main Street, wait- ing for that perfect opportunity. A lady in a vehicle was driving and stopped for a moment to let me cross, waving her hand to signal me to walk. And then, out of nowhere she starts driving again — as I'm crossing in front of her car. So here I am trying to get around her car while she starts driving again. It wasn't like I was moving slowly. I don't get it. Why would you start driving after allowing me by? Maybe I should have run? Who knows, maybe she's not a fan of my columns, and wanted to give me a little scare! OK, so here's another example. One that made me upset and angry. I was speaking with a candidate for the upcoming election, explaining to this person that I was a landed immigrant. Well, this person had the nerve to tell me if it was their choice, they wouldn't have allowed me in the country. Excuse me, come again? This person also dissed my mother's decision to bring me here. See, this is when common courtesy should be used. Unfortunately, some people just don't know what that is. And besides why do people give their opinions in the first place, when they are not needed or asked for? In this case, this person explained to me that they weren't trying to be ignorant, but come on, any con- versation that starts out like this, "I'm not trying to be ignorant but...," is obviously going nowhere fast. And while we're on this topic, why do people feel they can say whatever they want to you or behind your back? What honestly gives people the right to come up and say, for example, "Boy, you're looking fat today, have you gained some weight?" And why do people feel they can make up hurtful lies behind your back too, as has happened to so many people. Bad news travels faster, around a lot longer. Yes, common courtesy is lacking. And maybe that's why people are fed up. Well, guess what, so am I. But, I'll keep my faith in others and hope for the best. And on a positive note, thank you to the woman that let me use her South Huron District High School Commencement program last Friday night, and thank you to the people who have graciously let me cross the street, and thanks again to those people who have accepted me into this country. NINA VAN LIESHOUT KICK THIS AROUND and sticks About the Times -Advocate Address & Office Hours Times -Advocate, 424 Main Street South, P.O. 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Deadline: Fri. 2 p.m. E-mail Us Web site: www.southhuron.com TA e-mail addresses consist of the person's first initial and last name followed by @southhuron.com. For example, Jim Beckett's e-mail address is <jbeck- ett@southhuron.com> Our general e-mail address is ads@southhuron.com. The Times -Advocate Team Publisher Jim Beckett ext. 109 ADVERTISING Deborah Schillemore ext. 112 EDITOR Scott Nixon ext. 105 REPORTERS Pat Bolen ext. 113 Nina Van Lieshout ext. 107 CUSTOMER SERVICE Sue Rollings ext. 101 Jennifer Skonieczny ext. 102 PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT Manager Deb Lord ext. 103/114 Nikki Cyr ext. 103 Kelly Gackstetter ext. 103 ACCOUNTING STAFF Anita McDonald ext. 104 Ruth Slaght ext. 106 Marg Pertschy ext. 108 Heather Clarke ext. 111