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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2018-03-22, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018. Editorials Opinions The squeeze continues President: Keith Roulston • Publisher: Deb Sholdice Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny Scott Advertising Sales: Brenda Nyveld • Heather Fraser The Citizen is published 50 times a year in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $38.00/year ($36.19 + $1.81 G.S.T.) in Canada; $160.00/year in U.S.A. and $205/year in other foreign countries. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited. Advertising Deadlines: Mon. 2 p.m. - Brussels; Mon. 4 p.m. - Blyth. Canada MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40050141 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON NOG 1H0 email: info@northhuron.on.ca Provincial ministries continue to change regulations, costing local municipalities more money to operate. At the same time the provincial government gives rural municipalities less money, requiring choices that aren't what local residents want. Last week's front page of The Citizen provided two examples of the squeeze that continues to plague municipal councils. In one story, Huron East Fire Chief Marty Bedard explained that new certification requirements for firefighters will drive up the cost of fire protection and make it more difficult for volunteers who will need to miss work in order to attend training courses. Nobody from the province, of course, is promising additional grants to help offset these costs. Elsewhere on last week's front page, North Huron Reeve Neil Vincent was answering criticism of reduced snow removal voiced at a community meeting held by the Blyth Business Improvement Area. Blyth residents, accustomed for many years to prompt and regular snow removal, were unhappy to find out snow is now removed only three days a week as a cost-cutting measure. Reeve Vincent explained that since Wingham has never had the level of service Blyth received, if Blyth residents want better service they'll need to pay more taxes to support it. When municipal councils are squeezed, such as this year with higher costs due to the government's mandated increase in the minimum wage, while at the same time the province gives no extra money to cover the costs, (and perhaps even cuts funding), it's local councillors like Reeve Vincent who are left to take the flack. It's unfair that the nameless, faceless civil servants and provincial politicians who impose these higher costs, get to hide while others take the heat. — KR Liars do figure U.S. President Donald Trump's admission last week that he simply lied to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau while they discussed which country had a trade surplus with the other, shows again that perception is as important as reality in this sort of dispute. Trump keeps insisting to his political supporters that Canada has a large trade surplus and he's going to fix it. No matter which figures you look at — and there are certain sets of figures that show the U.S. has a surplus while others say Canada does — any surplus either way is relatively small. He'll always choose the figures that serve his purpose. But sometimes Canadians fool themselves with inaccurate perceptions. For instance, when Trump complains U.S. dairy farmers are treated badly by Canada's supply management restrictions, most Canadians would likely agree. Actual figures, however, show that in 2016 Canada imported $632 million worth of milk and dairy products from the U.S. while shipping only $113 south — a ratio of five to one favouring the U.S. What's more, even before the Canadian market for dairy products is opened up for more imports under the new Trans - Pacific Partnership trade agreement, Canada accepts three times as many dairy imports, as a proportion of our market, as the U.S. Canadians — particularly most Canadian media outlets — are quite ready to give in to Trump on this particular trade issue but they need to know the facts before they agree so readily. — KR Risking lives to keep the peace After hedging for more than two years on its promise to get Canada back into the peacekeeping game, the federal Liberal government on Monday finally committed to sending personnel and helicopters to help the United Nations mission in Mali. It's a politically dangerous move. The UN's Mali mission has been one of its most dangerous with 162 peacekeepers killed so far, 99 of them as a result of what the UN calls a "malicious" act. Canada has negotiated mostly to provide air support for the troops from various African countries that do most of the dirty work on the ground. Still, there's a very real possibility that some Canadian peacekeepers may die or be wounded. Overseas commitments that see bodies of dead Canadians being flown home can quickly turn the public against a mission, as it did with the war in Afghanistan. Peacekeeping today seldom resembles the sort of missions we were used to in places like Cyprus and Sinai when we were the world's most prominent peackeeping nation. In those cases, the warring parties had already agreed to a truce and UN peacekeepers were there only to provide a dispute -settling referee between the two sides. Nobody wants to see Canadian soldiers die on foreign soil, but there's also the moral issue of taking responsibility as citizens of the world, not just our own country. The situation is similar to that facing police officers. Most of the time being a police officer isn't that much more dangerous than many other jobs but sometimes, to serve society, they put their lives at risk. Here's hoping the risk we're asking our soldiers to take pays off by actually bringing peace to an unfortunate region. — KR We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. nea5ezarec- The Citizen P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont. NOM 1H0 NOG 1 H0 Ph. 519-523-4792 Phone Fax 519-523-9140 519-887-9114 E-mail info@northhuron.on.ca Website www.northhuron.on.ca �ocna M Member CMC AUDITED CCNA Member of the Ontario Press Council We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright TELL ME ANOTHERONE, UNCLE DONALD! ToppFolg* Looking Back Through the Years March 19, 1958 The East Huron Agricultural Society again decided to sponsor two field crop competitions in the coming year, namely Garry Oats and Grain Corn. Anyone interested in entering the competition at the coming Brussels Fall Fair was asked to contact any of the society's directors. Those who had registered their seed the previous year would be allowed to use their own seed this year, but if not, those wanting to enter would have to sow registered seed to be eligible for the competition. March 22, 1978 The ongoing teachers' strike in Huron County was beginning to have a noticeable effect on students, with them having to miss school due to the strike. The Blyth Standard interviewed a number of students who said they were up to a variety of activities in the wake of the strike. Mary Ellen Vodden, a Grade 11 student from Blyth, said she had been doing housework and visiting Toronto for a few days. She added that she felt the strike was "stupid" and that students needed to return to school in order for many of the Grade 13 students to get their year in before they went to post -secondary school. Chris Battye, a Grade 12 student from Blyth, said she had spent her time working at the five cent to a dollar store, in addition to a part- time job at Bainton's. Blyth was among the 12 municipalities that received grants under the Ontario Home Renewable Program (OHRP). Blyth received $9,000 through the program, which has helped to cover local applications that have been on file since the previous December. The Huron -Perth Catholic Separate School Board approved a six per cent increase to the salary of Jack Lane, the board's superintendent of business. Ray Hanna of RR2, Auburn was named a new director with the Brussels Agricultural Society. He replaced Emerson Mitchell at the society's meeting, which was held at the Brussels Library. March 27, 1991 Members of the Ethel community seemed to be accepting of the idea that the community would be losing its post office in favour of a franchised retail postal outlet in June. This was the judged reaction from a public meeting held in Ethel on the matter. Jim Craig, a community relations officer with Canada Post, told the 30 people present at the community meeting that there would be no change to the level of service. Dr. Richard Street of Blyth had been named the community's outstanding citizen for 1991 thanks to his extensive work in Blyth. Street was honoured with the award not just for his nearly 40 years as a local physician, but also thanks to his time on village council and serving with the recreation committee as well as the school board. He had also been a member of the Blyth Lions Club for over 25 years. In addition to being one of the founding board members of the Blyth Festival, Street also served his country in World War II as an Air Force navigator. The Huron County Board of Education announced that its budget would include an increase of 4.3 per cent for the year. Director of Education Robert Allen said that he felt this year's budget was the first in the board's history that included so much input and participation from the board's trustees. The Brussels Sprouts travelled to Bayfield on the previous weekend to begin their Western Ontario Athletic Association (WOAA) journey for glory. The locals would find the glory they sought, winning the regional crown and outscoring their opponents 23-2 along the way, beating a team from Stephen Township in the tournament's final game. March 27, 2008 The Blyth Lions Club was in the early planning stages of a benefit for Mike and Katie Ansley, the parents of Mikayla Ansley, a one -year-old who had been diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare childhood cancer. While Mikayla had been undergoing chemotherapy to try and save her sight, her parents were forced to make sacrifices. Katie had to quit her job, while Mike had to cut his hours down and the Lions Club decided to step in. The Brussels Optimist Club was in the final stages of planning for its annual spring dinner and auction at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Communtiy Centre. This year, the event would benefit the local Make - A -Wish foundation, serving residents of southwestern Ontario. The Brussels Novice Rep team was crowned WOAA champions after a 3-2 victory over Shallow Lake in the final game of a best -of - five series. Goalie Derrick Waechter was named the player of the tournament for the Brussels team and was presented with the Jacobi Trophy to mark his achievement.