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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1986-09-17, Page 2OPINION SINCE 18.69i SEIV,/fh!G THE COMMUNITY FIRST BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1985 incorporating Brussels Post 10 Main Street 527-0240 Published in SEAFORTH, ONTARIO Every Wednesday morning ED BYRSKI, General Manager HEATHER McILWRAITH, Editor • The Expositor Is brought to you each week by the efforts of: Pat Armes, Bessie Broome, Marlene Charters, Joan Gulchelaar, Anne Huff, Joanne Jewitt, Dianne McGrath, Lois McLiwain, Bob McMillen, Whit Melody and Patrick Rehm Member Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc. Ontario Community Newspaper Association Ontario Press Council Commonwealth Press Union International Press Institute Subscription rates: - Canada $20.00 a year, In advance Outside Canada $60.00 a year, in advance Single Copies - 50 cents each SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1986 Second class mall registration Number 0696 an CBC declawed? Not singing in the rain [FROM THIS ANGLE by Patrick Raftis Rain. No matter how hard it falls and in what quantities, there is always some turkey who tries to tell us we need it for the crops, or for our gardens, or to prevent forest fires, or some other equally important reason. That is, Until this past week, when we were blessed with more of the crop -saving fluid than anyone has seen since a man named Noah built a floating version of a Humane • Society shelter a considerable number of years ago. I challenge anyone to tell me last week's monsoon was a necessary evil to be endured for the sake of the crops. Quite the reverse is' probably true. For once; the rain probably lulled far more crops than it saved, At any rate, rainfall at the rate we received it last week, roughly five inches in 24 hours, created some seldom -seen sights in this area. At the Lions Park, a bridge which normally spans the Bayfield Fiver instead led directly into the middle of it. Out near the golf course could be seen a small tractor submerged up to the middle of its oversize wheels in a field 'near a drainage ditch. Perhaps strangest of all, was the sight of three local youngsters who took advantage of the occasion to do a little canoeing in the usually bone-dry confines of Optimist Park. If we needed last week's rain at all, it was surely only for comic relief. How do I know all these unusual things were happening? Because I, like other members of the media all across the area, was busy taking the obligatory "storm pictures." It matters not whether the storm in. uuestion involves rain, snow, sleet, hail, dark of night (okay, maybe not dark of night. It doesn't photograph. well), if there is a storm brewing anywhere,'•you can rest assured that somewhere, there is a reporter slodging around taking pictures of it. Rest assured also, that he is undoubtably less than pleased with his current assignment. It is one of the ironic facts of life in this business, that a blizzard which forces school buses, delivery trucks and all manner of other traffic off the roads and streets, also forces reporters and photographers out onto those selfsame treacherous roads and streets. This, your editor will tell you, is necessary in order to provide news coverage of, the storm, for those poor souls who could not bring themselves to venture from their warm, dry houses to witness it in person. Take my editor (please!), who, while not to be found in the office when I arrived (tardy as usual) Thursday morning, had apparently been there long enough to leave word that I should occupy myself by immortalizing on film, the flooded situation created by the previous night's' storm. I would not have minded this assignment so much, had the previou&'night's storm ended the previous night. However, as it was still going on when I set out to photograph its results, I felt unduly put upon. At the lions Park, my foot sank ankle deep in a mud puddle. Out by the golf course, rain formed another puddle in the front seat of m' car when I opened the door to photograph the aforementioned tractor. At the Optimist Park, I risked contracting pneumonia as I stood urging the youthful canoeists on to different poses while the rain rolled unhalt- ingly down my neck and soaked through my clothes. And so I urge you, the next time you see pictures of any form of weather-related phenomenon in your local broadsheet -- at least be sure and look at them. Look at them twice, even three times, show them to a friend. Somebody probably had one heck of a good time taking them. QUESTION: Why should the government pay for broadcasting networks which produce programs which often make their policies look bad? ANSWER: Because to do otherwise would make them look even worse. The question above is one posed to Canadian Broadcasting Corporation president Pierre Juneau by un -named politicians who wish to pullsome of the teeth from the CBC's news and public affairs programs. The answer, while not Mr. Juneau's, Is, one which should be evident to any Impartial observer. Mr. Juneau, in addressing an international conference in Edinburgh last week, indicated he believes support for the political Independence of the CBC Is being eroded and hinted he has some lit cl ns to take thef h edge off news andcomm commentary programs p the network produces. While Mr. Juneau said he has witnessed no attempts by governments to Interfere directly with Information programs, he suggested the much -publicized tightening of the network's purse strings could be linked to politicians' irritation with unfavorable publicity. The public network was a major target when the Conservatives began their cost-cutting exercise shortly after taking power in the fall of 1984. However, Mr. Juneau Indicated the support for the Independence of government -run news organizations has declined for the past 16 years. While the government may feel somewhat put out at times, by being put In the position of financing their own critics, they should take a hard look at the consequences of turning the CBC Into a propaganda agency before they take any steps In that direction. News Is news, and to report it only In a self -praising manner, or to color It In any way, diminishes its worth as Information. Even though the private networks would supposedly continue to criticlze government policy when warranted, the public would still be confused by apparent eonfHcts•comhig'e t of.er°proPagandlzed-nationa4 network.. Today's educated public would not long tolerate a national network run with tax money, that publicized no opposition to government policy. Few people are not familiar with the names Tess and Pravda, the government -run Soviet news agencies, and fewer still would fall to recognize the similarities between them, and a toothless version of the CBC. Even if the government were to simply drop all news on the CBC coverage, rather than to censor It, this would still be perceived by moat as simply a form of censorship by ommisslon. To create a situation like this would be to do an Injustice to everyone who Is used to Informed, un -biased news coverage from the CBC, which broadcasts In some areas where the private sector media Is not an alternative, such as the northern portion of the country. By tampering with the CBC, the government could expect to receive exactly the kind of negative news coverage, that it seeks to avoid. And they would deserve it. — P.R. Battle of wits tort It would appear the federal government has once again lost its battle of wits with the United States. The federal government's imposition of a 10 per cent tariff on imported books and periodicals, in retaliation against the Arrterican government's 35 per cent duty on imported shakes and shingles, is a regressive policy which will punish Canadian book publishers, booksellers and consumers. It also defies Ontario's stand on free trade and drags books and periodicals right to the centre of the free trade bargaining table. In view of those facts Minister of CitIZenshiP and Culture, Lily Munro is more than justified in calling for a repeal of this federal book tariff. According to Dr. Munro the tariff "gives Canadians the dubious distinction of being the only civilized nation to tax reading, to tax ideas and the exchange of intellectual Information and creativity.' And all that distinction done at the hands of our leaders - who, we keep telling ourselves represent a democratic government, one truly comrtrrrlited to preserving the freedoms of Its people. One soon begins to think our government should be committed in the other sense of the word. This federal action does nothing but ensure that Canadian consumers, book publishers and booksellers, not the American government Or American industry, are the losers. Imposition of this tariff will ensure Canadian consumers and publishers in Ontario will bear the brunt of this tax, since 85 per cent of the English IanguAge publishing sector is located here. Not only that. Estimates Of the industry flidicatetoo that the cost of the tariff to Canadians will be approxit�tratelq 00 Million a year, with $15 million coming in the toren of higher book prices to Canadian consumers. What a deterrent to self imp'raveftlent though reading, marketdoing to erode an already fragile Without a doubt his tariff ls' and decrease the current market for Engilah laii'tivage Canadian books - a market which is already under 20 per cent, WhenVis,, 1# has will the federal government learn to think before it a r. s muchm 'for already put its foot i ifs mouth once too bften: Certainly there cant b more rebel ''vital; — Bridge in troubled waters of world -- appalling by Patrick Raftis Ihave to honestly say the state of the world apphas bes n moorreilthan evidee thst nt thae of tecades it tensions between world factions and individual leaders have been rising, and to the point where peace doesn't appear to stand much of a chance in today's society - as much as we'd like it to. But more than the political tension that seems to hold the world in a vice, it is another type of worldwide "ailment" which concerns me. Even more distressing and perhaps closer to the hearts and minds of most Canadians, is the growing inabilityof human beings to cope with their respective situations in life, and the increasing responsibilities and expectations that are being launched in the direction of the younger members of society. A recent article about teen suicide appeared in the London Tree Press and aught my attention, touching Me to the point that although I nattily reserve this column for lighter topics I felt compelled to pass on some of the statistics I read. According to the article, which was based on the results of two studies, suicide is the leading rause of death among U.S. adole- sozrits between the ages of 15 and 19 and The Hurori Exposit"Cr. w�lcome� your letter SWEATSOCKS -by by Heather Mcflwraith nearly 1700 youths kill themselves every year. A further 65 per cent of the males interviewed and 57 per cent of the females interviewed have seriously considered killing themselves anent once in their lifetime, and at least 10 per cent of the males, and 14 per cent of the females have actually followed through on that thought, although unsuccess- fully. The studies also concluded that news and feature stories about suidde and television movies on the subject seem to make teenagers kill themselves. The studies concluded teen suicide in - es after television news programs or movies dealing with suicide. One professor stated rmdingthenumberofSuicide attempts in New York city area rose significantly following three of four made-for•televistop movies about suicide broadcast during the fall of 1984 and the winter of 1985. t1ne suicide rate among teenagers was seven per cent higher than usual following 38 television and feature stories about suicides during the 1970s. And suicides in general have tripled since 1950., Perhaps of greater concern than the numbers of teenagers turning to suicide as an alternative to pressure ki the society that is creating those pressures. Perhaps society, in its frenzied push to move ahead in the world, is putting too much stress on its Youth. Perha's it is time society loosened up the progressive reigns, so to speak, and allow the youth of today to enjoy a childhood of the past. • 'there is no point in rushing a tomorrow which may possibly fail to have people to inhabit it. Certainly in some senses our yesterday had some advantages. Riddell attends conference I was fortunate to represent Ontario at the Federal -Provincial A'gritailtnre Minister's oonferenceheld in Van -diver the Iasi week of August. It was the second title I have been able to voffia Ont-ilma Cancans at this natiOnal observen3 Of the forum, grid many 1956 Conference remarkedthatitwasthebest ever. Among the many issues discussed by the ten provinces and theFederal Agriculture Minister i ere trade ssues falling farm incomes and a ramework for a national agridrlt cal development strategy The Ministers' atknowled'ged the Severe damage to 'Canadian farm Mania creathd by the subsidy wars betweenthe 'United States and tf eEurope ti Phdroiiiie Commun- ity in intefitaboiial agricultural commodity Markets. This trade wares reducing Canadian farm income by billions of doliait They supported the need to exaamme all options including deficiency. payments which could be in excess of one billion da tars, to' maintain the competitive position of Canadian producers in the'imme"'ate future There was a clear; collective cotnnutmeht to take action to support the agricultural sector and all the jobs it re-ptresents across Canada JACK'S OTTIRiddell, by Jack MPP during this danigmg hide war. The Ministers agreed re. have a specific proposal to deal with this farm income shortfall ready for theFShst Ministers' trade Meeting on September 17 short-term While Ministers agreed that sits Weald such as deficiency payra ease current farm hash iloW problems, longer-term initiativesa'reneeded to improve the profitability of the food and agricultu'ie md' ttry Agreement in' principle was reached on many elements of a national agriculture and food strategy 10 accomplish this goal. To complete the, strategy, Ministers Mau-acted their officials to incorporate: proposals es ulting fromscu dissions oft the last two d ys. The Strategy, whish is the culmination ofeo•operativefederal provmcialefforts over the past ten months, will be presented to the `First •Ministers' Conferer'rre fit`Vaiicou'ier later this fall. Key policy areas covered by the strategy include: farm finance, disaster relief; re- search and technology transfer, agricultural and food products trade, soil and water co'n'servation and agricultural development. The strategy based on a full reeognitien that the jurisdiction and responsibility for the agri-food sectoris shared between the federal and provincial governments. Ministers dis- eased at length and confirmed the need for greater regional equity when iniplernentin'g national agricultural support programs. The Ministers also discussed farm financ- ing problems, noting that both levels of govemment had introduced measures over the past few months to reduce interest rates on faim loans, to protect farmers facing foreclosure actions" and to lower' firm input cests. tContinued on Page A3)