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The Times Advocate, 2008-11-12, Page 44 Times -Advocate Wednesday, November 12, 2008 CGNA f Editorial Opinion TIMES -ADVOCATE PUBLICATION 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 /� Deb Lord — Manager 7/ Scott Nixon — Editor Zift etroland Media Group Ltd. CNA 2007 BLUE RIBBON The Times -Advocate is owned by Metroland Media Group Ltd. 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850 Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 • 519-235-1331 Doug Rowe - General Manager, Southwestern Ontario Division EDITORIAL A positive light Vith the news seemingly full these days of doom and gloom from the economy and the manufacturing sector, it s a good time to take some time out and celebrate the accomplishments of the local businesses we have. Several local businesses were honoured at the third annual Huron Manufacturing Association (HMA) Excellence Awards Nov 5 in Goderich, notably Hen- sall s Metzger Meat Products, which won the Manu- facturer of the Year award, quite an honour for the company, and more evidence that local businesses are doing great things. But Metzger Meat Products wasn t the only busi- ness in the Times -Advocate s readership area to win an award other local winners included Kenpal, Andex Metal Products, Iceculture, Exi-plast Custom Moulding, Syfilco, Hi -Tech Industrial Machine and Latec Instruments. We live in times when it seems almost every day we re hearing about plant closures, massive layoffs, or frightening economic forecasts. Here in Huron County, we ve lost CanGro, Dunline and Volvo to name a few notable closures. Just an hour to the south of us, closures and layoffs are decimating St. Thomas, which had been experiencing an economic explosion for years until the recent economic down- turn. We hear depressing news from the automobile companies all the time. The winners of the HMA Excellence Awards should be congratulated for their accomplishments and thanked for the quality of the products they make. In an age when most news from the manufacturing sector is negative, the accomplishments of local busi- nesses offers some hope, even if troubling economic times are still on the horizon. Voter fatigue should be avoided in Canada It was Thanksgiving weekend, and what does one do on Thanksgiving weekend but burn things? This is what we did went to a farmer s field near Exeter, made a large pile of wood, set it ablaze, and began to talk. There was a Canadian election coming up, and my friend knew little about it. I set about educating him, as best I could, so he could make something close to an informed choice on elec- tion day. At one point during our conversation he sug- gested Canada should be more democratic that we should go to the polls on virtually everything. Wouldn t work, I mumbled. People don t even turn out for federal elections anymore not in large numbers, anyway. Would they make their way to a polling booth on every issue that came before govern- ment? And further, would he trust everyone to make an in- formed choice on each of these issues? I am not convinced that even most of our elected representatives do this. Some of this I said, and some of it remained lodged in my brain. I did not wish to have an argument with the man. I preferred that we enjoy the blaze in peace. The idea posed, however, is quite valid. There are oth- ers who think the general public should be consulted di- rectly on many more issues than they are. But would allowing Canadians to vote on nearly every- thing make for a better country? I still do not think so. Often we refer to voting as a right, but we are past that now. Voting is something closer to a duty, and not some- thing that should be entered into lightly. It should be deliberate and thought out. It should in- volve carefully weighing the facts and the implications of each decision. I do not have the time to do this on every bill proposed in Ottawa or Toronto, and neither do you. We might think our elected leaders are idiots, but they are at least in a better position to make an in- formed choe than you or I. The second thing is that voting is costly. Politi- cians in Ottawa and Toronto are paid exorbitant sums to govern, but they are a bargain when compared to the cost of elections. The bill for the recent federal election was near- ly $300 million, and this is not a sum the nation should bear more than once every few years. There are better ways to spend our money. The final thing is that government is much bet- ter when things actually get done. Selecting our leaders requires trust, and this trust is fre- quently betrayed. But it is necessary, because without it nothing be accomplished. If 9 / 11 or Pearl Harbour were to be repeated tomorrow, I would not want Stephen Harper to send out a mass e- mail or set up polling booths so everyone could have a say in what we would do. I would want him to gather a team of experts and make a well -reasoned decision on what to do next. We can all think of examples where the decisions of our elected officials have been folly, but I have more faith in the worst of their decisions over the best of the average person on the street (including myself). Democracy is, as Churchill said, only the world s best way to govern if compared to the remaining alterna- tives. He might have added that it is only the best system if we agree that democracy should have its limits. BEN FORR EST About the Times -Advocate Address & Office Hours Time -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. 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For example, Deb Lord's e-mail address is dlord@southhuron.com Our general e-mail address is ads@southhuron.com. The Times -Advocate Team MANAGER Deb Lord ext. 103 ADVERTISING Deborah Schillemore ext. 112 CUSTOMER SERVICE Jennifer Skonieczny ext. 101 COMPOSITION Nikki Cyr ext. 101 Kelly Gackstetter ext. 102 EDITOR Scott Nixon ext. 105 REPORTERS Pat Bolen ext. 113 Ben Forrest ext. 114 ACCOUNTING STAFF Anita McDonald ext. 104 Ruth Slaght ext. 106 Marg Pertschy ext. 108 Heather Clarke ext. 111