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Home My WebLink AboutClinton News Record, 2015-11-25, Page 44 News Record • Wednesday, November 25, 2015 L.Li1[I1 www.clintonnewsrecord.com Clinton News Record PUBLISHED WEEKLY — EST. 1860 53 Albert St. P.O. Box 39 Clinton ON NOM 1L0 (519) 482-3443 www.clintonnewsrecord.com EJ POSTMEDIA MARIE DAVID Group Advertising Director - Grey Bruce Huron Division 519376-2250ext514301 or510364-2001 ext531024 NEIL CLIFFORD Advertising Director nei I.cl ifford@sunmedia.ca LAURA BROADLEY Reporter clinton.reporter@sunmedia.ca DAWN JOHNSTON Sales Representative clinton.ads@sunmedia.ca TERESA SMITH Front Office cli nton.classifieds@sunmedia.ca SUBSCRIPTION RATES 1 YEAR $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST) 2YEAR $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) SENIORS 60 WEEKS $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST) 120 WEEKS $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged but that balance of advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of a typographic error advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Ad- vertising is merely an offer to sell, and may be withdrawn at any time. The Clinton News -Record is not responsible forme loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproducing purposes. Publications Mail Agreement No.40064683 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 53 Albert St., Clinton ON NOM 1L0 (519)482-3443 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. Canada' Member of the Canadian Community CnaNewspaper Association and the Ontario Community Newspapers Association Communities can take in Syrian refugees Settling 25,000 refu- gees in Canada before NewYear's may sound daunting. But the way I see it, it comes down to this: one family per town. Canada's small towns could offer part of the solu- tion to the challenge Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his teamwill face in keeping their promise to bring in 25,000 govemment-spon- sored refugees from Syria before the end of the year. Let's break it down to make these numbers more man- ageable. To settle this many newcomers, we'll have to mobilize across the country. Since we've just come through an election, I suy:est we use the federal riding boundaries as away to organize that effort. Just do the math• we're try- ingto settle 25,000 newcom- ers in 338 ridings. That's about 75 people per riding. Now break it down a bit further. Take Huron -Bruce for example, where there are 14 municipalities. Each of those municipalities would be encouraged to take in five or six refugees. One family per town. We're Canadians. We can Column Allan Thompson do this. I'm not saying it would be easy, or without challenges. But it can be done. Most experts are probably assuming that the bulkof the refugees would be settled in big urban centres, where they would be closer to immigrant settlement agencies, lan- guage training and other services. But I think we need to challenge that assumption and make the case that Cana- da's small towns and rural communities could actually make the difference in meet- ing one of the greatest chal- lenges in a generation. There is a case to be made that our small towns might even have more capacity to absorb refugees than do the big cities. The available hous- ing stock in rural communi- ties is probably better - and vastly cheaper- than what can be found in the city. Many of our towns have vacant retail space on their main streets, often with hous- ing in apartments upstairs. The faith communities that are the comerstone of refu- gee resettlement have a stronger base in our small towns, places where people routinely pull together to help their neighbours when the time comes. In fact, you could go a step further and argue that our small towns have much, much more to gain from hosting refugee families than the big cities do. The notion of providing a new home for ref- ugees - something some people regard as a burden, albeit an honourable one - could actually be seen as an enormous opportunity for our small towns and rural communities, a once -in -a - generation chance for eco- nomic development It will take work The kind of hard work that residents of small towns routinely devote on a volunteer basis to minor sports, church groups, the fall fair, historical society or homecoming committee. We can do this. I have another suggestion for how to organize this effort As a candidate in the recent federal election, I built a large team of volunteers, civic - minded people who devoted hours and hours of their time for months on end. My rivals in the recent election - the Conservative incumbent who won as well as the NDP and Green Party candidates - also mobilized impressive volunteer organizations. What if we joined forces, as recent candidates, and appealed to our volunteers to come together and sign up with the local groups now working to sponsor Syrian refugees? And what if politi- cal candidates across the country did the same, reach- ing out to thousands and thousands of campaign vol- unteers nationwide to join in this new effort? Of course, it won't be easy. And there will be challenges and inevitably, some pushback. Many have already raised con- cerns about security screening for those who will be invited to move to Canada. I'm confident that our security services, working with international counterparts and applying all the research and intelligence at their disposal, will be able to do their best to make sure that those chosen to make a new life in Canada would not pose a threat. There will also be those who say, "Hey, wait a sec- ond! Wasn't it in small-town Canada where Stephen Harper's warnings about refugees, immigrants and niqabs actually resonated with many voters? And that's where you want to send Syrian refugees?" My answer is yes, pre- cisely. Let's appeal to the better nature of Canadians who live in our rural com- munities and engage them directly in the challenge of a generation, an exercise that will once again define just who we are. And I'm convinced that the good people in our small towns, once they meet face-to-face with a Syrian family living next door or down the street, will see them for what they are. Neighbours. Allan Thompson was the Liberal Party of Canada can- didate in Huron -Bruce in the recent federal election. He can be reached atallan@allan- thompson.ca Letters to Editor Wasaga Beach resident perplexed by G2G opposition To the Editor, I'm thrilled about the planned Goderich to Guelph rail trail and look forward to being a frequent user as Ivisit family in the area often. However, I'm per- plexed at the strong opposi- tion of certain groups - one would think hordes of noisy, littering, vandalizing people were set to invade! Living near Collingwood for 25 years, I am near a number of different rail trails that go past mostly farmland but also forests, orchards, businesses and towns, with many busy road/highway crossings, yet I have never heard anything negative about them, be it complaints, incidents, gar- bage etc. In fact I biked 185 km one day on rail trails from Dundalk to Owen Sound, then east through Meaford, Tobermory, Collingwood and finally Wasaga Beach, without noticing a single piece of lit- ter to pickup (like many outdoors people, I like to leave a place better than I found it). I have run or biked many trails in Simcoe, Bruce, and Grey Counties, Guelph/Cambridge, and even on holiday up north or in the US, and notice the people the trails attract (cyclists, joggers, the odd hiker or dog -walker) are overwhelmingly a quiet, respectful lot, rarely travel- ling in groups of more than four. Existing local issues (e.g. ATV use, trespassers, par - tiers) will probably decrease due to better bar- riers and simply because these people won't appre- ciate the increased risk of being caught or reported. Adjacent prop- erty owners often take pride in "their" section of trail with flowers, plants or even a park bench for peo- ple to use and being by the trail is actually seen as a selling feature. Local municipalities seeing the economic benefit are look- ing for ways to encourage even more use of the trail, bicycle tourists in particu- lar are seen as profitable as they frequent local restau- rants, shops, inns, and bike shops for those inevitable repairs. On a recent visit to the states, my husband and I planned our route specifically to include such opportunities, including a lovely rail trail in Pennsyl- vania. Besides the economic benefit, Huron County with its dubious distinction of having the highest obesity rate in Ontario (a whopping 37.1% of adults were obese in 2011-2012 according to Stats Canada), should also be promoting the great health benefits to having such an extensive and safe place for people to get out and be active. Hopefully the remaining issues sur- rounding the G2G will be resolved soon, and I'll see you on the trail soon! Barbara Steele Wasaga Beach CLINTON NEWS RECORD — HOURS OF OPERATION MONDAY: 9:00 - 5:00 • TUESDAY: - CLOSED • WEDNESDAY: - 9:00 - 5:00 • THURSDAY: - 9:00 - 5:00 • FRIDAY: - 9:00 - 5:00 • SATURDAY & SUNDAY: - CLOSED ADVERTISING DEADLINE: FRIDAY AT 2:00 • PHONE 519-482-3443 • FAX: 519-482-7341 www.clintonnewsrecord.com