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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1985-07-24, Page 2EHuron ® . x osi.tor + BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1985 SLICE 1860, SERVING THE COMMUNITY FIRST Incorporating Bruns is Pot 10 Main Street 527-0240 Published in SEAFORTH, ONTARIO Every Wednesday morning HEATHER McILWRAITH, Editor The Expositor is brought to you each week by the efforts of: Pat Armes, Bessie Broome, Marlene Charters, Joan Gulchelaar Gary Hoist, Anne Huff, Joanne Je andi Stephanie Levesque, Dianne McGrath, Lois McLlwaln, Bob McMillan, Cathy Melody, Larry TillSteve Walters. ont Member Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc. Ontario Community Newspaper Association Ontario Press Council Commonwealth Press Union International Press, Institute Subscription rates: Canada $18.75 a year (in advance) Outside Canada $55.00 a year (in advance) Single Copies = 50 cents each SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 1985 Second class mail registration Number 0696 Advertising Is accepted on the condition that In the event of a typographical error the advertising space occupied by the erroneous Item, together with reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. While every effort will be made to insure they are handled with care, the publishers cannot be responsible for the return at unsolicited manuscripts'or photos. Responsible government When Brian Mulroney's Conservatives took over from the Liberals after last September's election, he immediately began blaming the previous administration for everything, including his own mistakes and shortcomings. Now it looks as if the Ontario Liberals are beginning to follow suit. That's a worrisome trend. Th'e Prime Minister's callous lack of accountability angered many people. His refusal to accept responsibility for anything - whether it was the state of the country's economy or patronage or the size of the federal bureaucracy or whatever - began to reveal him as a shallow politician, interested only in his own political survival, He took over from a regime only half the age of that inherited by David Peterson. That made the new Ontario Premier's task much more onerous. At first, the Peterson Liberals took pains to establish their own identity, based on constructive action rather than destructive whining. But all that is beginning to wane now, with the Premier telling us the Tortes had left the province in far worse shape than anyone believed. That, it appeared, was just the beginning. However, at least on the surface, Mr. Peterson's argument would seem to have a little more legitimacy than Mr. Mulroney's. At least Mr. Peterson is sticking to complaints about Tory financial mismanagement, and not looking to pass the buck (a forgiveable pun) on every single issue. That shows, if not integr'y, at minimum a belief that what he's saying is true, as opposed to Mr. Mulroney's petty excuses. Canadians - and Ontarians - deserve responsible government. That's what they thought they were electing in both cases. For the governments they elected to do any less represents only a complete betrayal of trust. — L.T. Student aid is discouraging OPINION There are those who will cry, "Education is a right, not a privilege." There may well be a nugget of truth in that. if it is true, one of the main reasons for the disparity is Ontario's arcane student loan system. Having swallowed his or her pride and taken the step to apply for assistance, the student is often faced with further humiliation. For example, a student whose parents' income exceeds some arbitrary guideline will be denied assistance of any kind, until his or her fifth year out of high school. That applies equally to students whose parents foot their entire educational bill and to those who are completely on their own. No government would ever admit to the existence of such a guideline, preferring instead to cloak its refusal in an argument of help for the truly "underprivileged" - in other words, a student from a poor family. That may look noble, but in actuality can be grossly unfair. A student who works the entire summer to earn his or her tuition and expense money for school is in the same position as any other who does the same thing, regardless of their parents' help. Ability and willingness are not the same thing. Further complicating the situation is the federal grant program. A student who has completed four years oft post -secondary education iS not eligible for a grant. no matter what his or her financial status. The grant program works on a unit -of -study principle. Each semester of school counts as one unit, and after eight units, no more grants are available. That means a masters or doctoral student, for example, is eventually going to have to repay his or her student loans. It also means somebody who goes on to a second program after even a three-year BA is in the same boat. Understandably, the government does not want to finance the careers of professional students indefinitely. However, this still has the effect of penalizing the serious student only in it for the short haul who still needs help. What would be fairer would be a system whereby a student may only apply four times (or eight, for those in semestered programs) for grants, with each application given separate but equal consideration. That would allow a student who truly needs the money a shot at getting it, while preventing the life-long academic from abusing the system. This is only one of the faults of the Ontario educational system. Unfortunately Ontario is among the bottom two or three spenders in the country when it comes to education. For a province which considers itself the cornerstone of the country's economic well-being, that is inexcusable. If the Liberals are really serious about improving the quality of life in Ontario, this is something they should examine very seriously. Otherwise, their rhetoric will ring just as hollow as the predecessors they worked so hard to replace. -- L.T. r CUTTING THE RIBBON at the opening of Ryan Drying's new centre. To his right is Brad `Ford, Branch Manager of the Walton facility last week was provincial agriculture minister Jack, Riddell, operation, and to Mr. Riddell's left Is Cook's Chief Executive Officer Bill Harvey. (Till photo) Rockers show humanity In the cynical 1980s it sometimes seems the Grinch has not only stolen Christmas but every other day of the year too. William C. Heine, a former editor of the London Free Press who still writes a column in the paper, recently took a , rap at the tornado relief effort in Ontario, calling it a lot 'of foolishness. There is, he said, insurance to cover losses from things like tornados and if the people didn't have it, it's their own fault if they're in trouble. If they argue they couldn't afford to buy enough insurance, they should not own a house in the first place. I've heard at least one other person express the same opinion. It's easy for all of us, of course, to be glib like this as long as we're not personally involved. Yet the reaction of the general public to the plight of the tornado victims is one of the few reassuring things about human nature we've seen since the "me" generation started to take over a few years ago. From the crews of Mennonites and other volunteers to the concerts given by big stars like Ilona Boyd to raise money for victims, the outpouring of brotherly love in the Ontario population is a welcome reaffirmation thateople still do have a heart in the hard-headed 805. Equally reassuring is the response to the BEHIND THE SCENES by Keith Roulston African drought by the public in general, but particularly by the rock stars of Britain, the United States and Canada. The recent live Aid concerts and television shows will probably have earned more than $100 million when all the money is counted. How ironic that the so-called bad boys of the rock music industry, the people who so often seemed to be out to prove how cynical, how outrageous they could be, are the leaders in humanitarianism. Compare this to the present attitude of baseball players, the all-American, clean-cut symbols for young people of so many generations who have been pleading mistreatment from the owners of baseball and threatening to strike unless they get a better deal. The poor dears only earn an average of $300,000 a year. Even marginal players earn more than $100,000 a year. And we haven't seen baseball players organizing any effort to help the Ethiopians. Oh the grinches stand in wait of something to criticize about the Ethiopian situation too, telling us this is just a "band-aid" solution and soon, but the effort is, in the long -run, as important as the results. Those people who suffered from the tornado would have eventually rebuilt their lives without the generousity of the Ontario public. They will probably admit they were lax in not having the right kind of insurance or not being vigilant enough in keeping their insurance up to date with the latest inflationary costs Chow many of us are guilty of that one?). But they gain so much more than just money from the tornado relief fund: they gained a feeling that people still care about others. Left to their own devices, the victims would have suffered through but probably been bitter for the rest of their lives. Instead they have a new faith in their fellow humans. Whose who would, like Mr. Heine, make everything in this world a business trans- action, are, like those who would make everything a government responsibility, cheating us of the important need for people to pull together in times of emergency. Mesmeranda Summer Summertime in this country is a mixture of so many wonderful things that I would happily leave for the next world, at once, if someone said to me, "Sorry, old boy, but you'll never be able to spend another summer in Canada." Perhaps the fascination of a Canadian summer might be compared to falling in love, once a year, with a passionate, unpredictable woman. Just as you are never quite sure where you're at with such a dame, you are never sure of what a Canadian Summer has in store for you. She might greet you with the warm, seductive scents of June and, just as you are about to seize her, retreat into a frame of mind so chilly that you're diving for your recently discarded woollies. In July, she turns on the charm full blast, clutching you in a sizzling embrace that makes your head reel and your feet falter. But when you throw caution to the winds and submit yourself entirely to the affair - in short, when you go on your holidays - she has a change of mood and weeps for two weeks without pause. When August comes, her murmurous SUGAR AND SPICE by Bill Smiley Iangor, the sheer, delectable sight and smell of her, sends'you running once more into her round, golden arms - and her perfume gives you hayfever. On Labor Day, leaving you frustrated, exasperated, exhausted and broke, she smiles once, enigmatically, and heads south to look for fresher lovers and bigger bankrolls. Ah, she's a bad one, old Mesmeranda Summer, She delights in making kids whiny or sick, giving them sunburn, and directing them into patches of poison ivy. This for the sake of tormenting their mothers. She doesn't like women, you see. That is, is easwomen. And her malice towards them ily grasped by looking at the costumes she persuades them to wear at the beaches and in town. I wouldn't be surprised to hear her chortling merrily about the topless swim suit silliness, which she doubtless started. Teenagers she likes to tease. She fills them with mysterious urges and yearnings which make them drive like retarded orangoutangs, dance in their bare feet amid broken bottles and rattlesnakes, and fall in love with people who should be put away in Institutions. She's not pure evil, though. She has a rather soft spot for the older folk. She warms their arthritic joints with her hot tender hands. She fills their lonely hearts with pleasures in her loveliness. And she reminds them, in subtle fashion, of the days when they knew her long ago, when they were young and passionate themselves. Every time !feel the cool, smooth hands of children after swimming, every time I walk a lonely beach and see lights across the bay, every time I hear the silken rustling of her garments in the evening trees, I know I am once again in thrall to'that wonderful witch - the Canadian summer. And I'm glad. Meeting the politicians The Ontario Federation of Agriculture had organized a farm rally at Queen's park in Toronto. I was there. It was an exciting and active day. There were about 2,500 other farmers with me. W e wanted . to show the provincial government how frustrated and angry Ontario farmers were. The economic situa- tion is bad out here and we tried to let them know about it. i took the early bus to Toronto and was able to help canvass the individual members of provincial parliament. The first member I spoke with was Luc Guindon, the representa- tive for Cornwall. He was sympathetic to the plight of the farmers. He was too optimistic, though. He confided that he expected the minister of agriculture to announce, later that day, a new interest rate assistance program starting immediately. Mr. Guindon explained he understood clearly the plight of our hog producers who compete with farmers in other provinces, which give rich subsidy payments. Before the election he was an oil dealer who was harmed by the federal government's $800 "off oil" grants. In his case, the situation did not seem to me to be as serious. Mr. Guindon now has a lucrative income as an MPP to help cover his losses. I then spoke with Earl Rowe, the MPP for Simcoe Centre. I told him too our farmers were unable to compete with the treasuries of all the provinces of Canada. He listened sympathetically and pointed out he was unable to be of any direct help because he was a Progressive Conservative and the Liberals were now in power. Mr. Rowe did introduce me to Mr. Allan McLean, MPP for Simcoe East and former Minister without Portfolio. Mr. McLean COUNTRY CORNER by Larry Dillon discussed the situation with us and explained he felt the solution would be supply management. i may have misunderstood him, but he seemed to say we could use quotas to keep Quebec hogs off the Ontario market. !liked that. If we could do it, I was all for a quota system. Mr. McLean introduced us to Ross Stevenson, who had been the Minister of Agriculture for the PC government, before the NDP -Liberal accord overturned it. Mr. Stevenson was not as interested in a quota sytem. He had something Chore important to do. He had a television crew take some shots of liberal constituents (myself and my companion ) talking to him. He was also handing out press releases with the title "Liberals Disappointment to Farmers." He wanted to know how many farmers would be present at the outdoor demonstra- tion, as he was scheduled to make a speech. I assured him there would be at least a couple of hundred. It amused me later to think of his surprise when he found over 2,000 of us waiting out there and demanding answers!, I think Mr. Stevenson used us for publicity purposes, but I didn't mind. Now he would have to talk to us about the situation on our farms. it was a scary talk. He did not want. Ontario to start subsidizing its red meat farmers if it could tie avoided. He called the current subsidy situation "the war between provinces." Mr. Stevenson is right. It is a war between provinces. I was starting to suspect the farmers of Ontario were expendable in this political "war". Later in the interview, he pointed out "Every hog producer in Ontario could go out of business tomorrow and nobody would notice." i was finally begin- ning to understand the position of the politicians. As long as the people of the province did not care about the future of the farmer, politicians had no intention of helping. While attending the rally in front of the Parliament buildings, i had an opportunity to speak with Ontario Treasurer Robert Nixon. He seemed to be very friendly and informative. There was even a news reporter there to take a,picture of us shaking hands. The next day Mr. Nixon released an economic statement which pledged lower government spending and indicated we could expect higher taxes. i learned from all the politicians I spoke to. The message they did not state, but which I interpreted from their responses and at- titude, seemed to be while they would like to help, they could not. I am afraid they will find it necessary to sacrifice the equity of the province's farmers in an attempt to salvage the rest of the provincial economy. If someone were keeping track of the results of my efforts in the big city that day, the score would be Larry 0, Politicians 1,000. However, the game isn't over yet. if I get the opportunity I am going back to try again.