Loading...
The Citizen, 2016-11-03, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2016. Editorials Opinions Publisher: Keith Roulston Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny Scott Advertising Sales: Brenda Nyveld & Nicole Gillespie 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 $36.00/year ($34.29 + $1.71 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. PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40050141 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON NOG 1H0 email: info@northhuron.on.ca The Citizen P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont. NOM 1H0 NOG 1 HO Ph. 519-523-4792 Phone Fax 519-523-9140 519-887-9114 E-mail info@northhuron.on.ca Website www.northhuron.on.ca Canada ..ocna CCNA Member of the Ontario Press Council We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or Department of Canadian Heritage. photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright CMCA AUDITED It's looking like a party summer As we head into the short, dull days of late autumn and winter, at least local residents can look forward to a party summer in 2017. The committee organizing the 140th anniversary of Blyth's incorporation kicked off its efforts with the Beer and Brats party on main street on Saturday. Already plans are well advanced for East Wawanosh's 150th anniversary celebration next Canada Day weekend. Since 2017 is Canada's 150th birthday, no doubt other communities will be making plans too. And, of course, the 2017 Walton International Plowing Match will top off the summer. Get involved. Feeling the pride of working together with your neighbours on behalf of your community is the only thing that's more fun than simply attending these events. — KR Undermining democracy Whether it's support for Donald Trump in next week's U.S. Presidential election, those who voted for Britain to leave the European Union last summer, or a significant number of voters in Iceland supporting the anti-establishment Pirate Party in last week's election, it's obvious that people in many countries are becoming cynical about democracy. Our politicians just don't seem to get it. In Ottawa, Karen Shepherd, Canada's lobbying commissioner, is investigating expensive fundraisers held by Liberal Party cabinet ministers. She wants to see if the politicians might feel a sense of obligation to support lobbyists who support them. Similar complaints of the Ontario Liberal Party's "pay for play" fundraisers, at which people pay big bucks to party with cabinet ministers, finally brought reform to political fundraising here, though not enough change for some critics. South of the border, Hillary Clinton, Democratic Party candidate for president, has held dozens of fundraisers at which people paid up to $350,000 per ticket to attend. It's reported she has raised $65 million for her campaign from the financial industry, fueling the doubts of those who worry she's too close to Wall Street to protect the interests of ordinary citizens against the rich and powerful who would like laws written in a way that will make them even more rich and more powerful. It costs a lot of money to run an election campaign these days, particularly in the U.S. where the next campaign seems to start only days after the current election. Still, the greatest danger democracy faces right now is that an apparently growing portion of the population feels governments represent the two per cent not the 98 per cent. Politicians must clean up their act to reaffirm our faith in democracy. — KR CETA - the jury's still out There's nothing like being told you can't have something to make you want it, and so Canadians almost cheered on Sunday when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), even though many Canadians previously wondered if the trade deal was a good thing. Having the deal nearly blocked by the opposition of the Wallonia region of Belgium suddenly made many Canadians feel as if they'd been left standing at the altar, until a last minute compromise salvaged the pact. Now that CETA is signed, we can go back to figuring out how we will be affected. Here in the heart of Ontario's dairy belt, there will no doubt be pain from more dairy products being imported. The government has promised to assist farmers affected but how fair will that compensation be? Since the agreement is with Europe, which has among the world's highest environmental and workplace standards, at least Canadian workers needn't worry their jobs will be undercut by cheaper wages or lax regulations — in fact it was concerns that Canada had less rigid standards than Europe that fueled Wallonia's attempt to block the treaty. One fear for many Europeans is the part of the agreement that lets companies sue governments if they create regulations that hurt the corporation's profit. All citizens on both sides of the Atlantic should worry that governments remain free to act in the best interests of their citizens, even if it hurts the bottom line for multinationals. Ordinary Canadians must be the beneficiaries of CETA, not corporations. — KR Letters Policy The Citizen welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and should include a daytime telephone number for the purpose of verification only. Letters that are not signed will not be printed. Submissions may be edited for length, clarity and content, using fair comment as our guideline. The Citizen reserves the right to refuse any letter on the basis of unfair bias, prejudice or inaccurate information. As well, letters can only be printed as space allows. Please keep your letters brief and concise. Looking Back Through the Years February 18, 1959 Nearly 100 members of Women's Institutes from throughout Huron County congregated in Brussels for the eighth annual rally. The event was held at Brussels United Church and the District of East Huron were hostesses for the day. There were a number of winners as a result of the annual Halloween party in Blyth, hosted by the local Lions Club. The evening's best - dressed couple award went to Olive Wilson and Bodie Craig, while Ethel Blair of Bayfield was named the event's best -dressed woman and Charles Johnston was the best - dressed man of the night. Agnes Stonehouse, Belgrave's oldest one of citizens, celebrated her 93rd birthday with the help of family and friends. She had been married to her husband Robert for 63 years until he died the previous April. Stonehouse was said to be active in the community with great senses of sight and sound. November 5, 1970 Pranksters were on the loose in Brussels on Halloween night as obstructions twice had to be removed from the village's bridge, while others had been placed across some of the village's streets. Around 4 a.m. that morning, someone had broken into the village's fire hall and a fire truck was stolen. The truck was eventually located behind a farmer's barn just outside of Brussels. Also that night two fire hydrants had been opened and were gushing water into the village's streets, which greatly reduced the department's water pressure, if it were to be needed that night. In addition, someone also set fire to the Brussels sign in the south end of the village, while a vacant house in Grey Township was also set on fire. The Brussels Curling Club held its annual card party where 12 tables of players engaged in games of euchre. Aletha Rann was the evening's high lady, while Ross Cunningham was the high man. Cunningham was also named the winner of the party's Lucky Cup. November 5, 1986 Halloween damage throughout the community was not said to be extensive, but there was enough to be classified as a nuisance according to reports filed by the Wingham branch of the Ontario Provincial Police. The evening began with an incident that had the potential to be serious, however, when volunteer firefighters in Brussels responded to an abandoned and derelict house on Alexander Street that had been set ablaze. The Brussels Fire Department responded to the call quickly, however, and were able to extinguish the fire within a half- hour. As a precaution, some Brussels firefighters then spent the night at the hall in the event further fires were set later that night. The news in the first year of the Brussels, Morris and Grey Pool was good when Pool Committee Chair Paul Mutter announced that the pool had turned a profit of over $12,500 in its first year. Mutter said the profit realized by those behind the pool was largely due to the first-year attendance, which was far higher than anyone had anticipated. In anticipation of the Londesborough Lions Club's 'Back The Biter' campaign, which sought to raise money for club member Ron Nesbitt, Ontario Premier David Peterson donated an autographed tie to try and drive auction proceeds even higher than anticipated. The goal of the day was $30,000, which would go towards purchasing a fully -equipped and accessible van for Nesbitt, who had recently been injured in a swimming accident. November 6, 2002 A prank phone call made to the Blyth branch of the CIBC on Oct. 30. The caller demanded the placement of $100,000 in front of the bank otherwise a bomb in the bank would be detonated at 2 p.m. The hoax call resulted in Sr. Const. Don Shropshall paying a visit to Blyth Public School and speaking to students about the importance of the school's emergency plan. When the Brussels Dam was drained the previous week, it turned out that a well -travelled rumour within the village had turned out to be true. The Brussels Fire Department siren, which had been stolen from atop a main street building in August, was found at the bottom of the river when all the water had been drained. Fire Chief Murray McArter said that while many felt the siren would be found at the bottom of the river, due to how long it had been submerged, none of the wiring was able to work and some of the siren's fins had been broken. Oddly enough, the new village fire siren that would replace the one that had been stolen arrived in Brussels the same day the previous siren was discovered. Winter driving had claimed its first fatality of the season when an Ashfield Township man was killed in a two -vehicle collision just east of Hall's Hill Road near Lucknow.