The Citizen, 1986-12-17, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1986.
Editorials
Doing it their way
A local movie theatre has been setting attendance records
lately for an Australian movie while it would be hard to
remember the last time it showed a Canadian movie.
‘ ‘ Crocodile Dundee’ ’ has taken North America by storm. The
story about the crocodile hunter from the wilds of Australia has
taken in $100 million in North America alone. It has created a
great interest in things Australian, from fashion to travel to the
southern island. Americans seem fascinated by this different
world.
The irony is that Australia has been cashing in on its
differences while Canadians seeking the pot of gold in tourism
andentertainmenthavebeen trying to be as American as
possible.
Last year a tourism survey showed Canadians should be
promoting their big city events not the rivers and mountains.
And Canadian cities have been dressed up to look like Chicago,
New York and other American cities to make movies aimed at
the massive U.S. audience.
Meanwhile the Australians have been making their mark by
acting like Australians. They’ve been making movies for years
that have been hailed for their artistic merit even if they haven ’ t
been the box office smash that the crocodile hunter has been.
The movies were made for Australians and were so good that
people elsewhere wanted to see them too.
Living beside the American giant we have an inferiority
complex. If the Americans don’t show interest in us, we think
we’re boring. We don’t have the immense wealth to throw at
projects so we think we’re poor. And businessmen often tell us,
we have such a “tiny” population that we have no significant
market. Yet Australia has only two-thirds population of Canada
and has scored big.
Perhaps Canadians need to learn from the example of the
Australians, (and from the example of our own Blyth Festival):
do something for your own people and do it well. If you ’re lucky,
there may be something universal in the result that will take it
around the world. If not, at least you will have done something
for yourself.
Too little or too much?
One of the common conceptions in all Canadian
economic-political thinking over the last four decades is that
there isn’t enough money in Cana4a to finance our needed
growth. TAow some people are saying we have too much money
for the country.
Diane Francis, author of the book “Controlling Interest:
Who Owns Canada” says that the mania for takeovers of one
conglomerate by another in Canada is because there is too
much money chasing too few companies in Canada. The huge
amounts of money available through insurance companies and
pension funds and the like have allowed the big corporations to
go on a buying spree, using Canadian capital for
non-productive purposes other than new growth.
The problem, she says, comes through restrictive
government regulations that said too much of these pension
and insurance funds must be invested in Canada. If there were
fewer regulations the money could be invested outside the
country and take the pressure off the buying spree, she said.
The same thoughts seem to be behind the deregulation of the
financial industry that has been brought in by the provincial
governments in Ontario and Quebec and seems about to come
in frcm the federal government. Opening up the stocks and
bonds business to Canadian banks and insurance companies
and, later, to foreign investment, is supposed to allow
Canadian financial institutions to become big enough they can
taken on the largest financing projects in the world.
So we have on one side the government telling us we must
open the country for foreign investment because we can’t
afford to finance our own growth while on the other hand they
are saying we need to change the rules so our companies can
invest excess capital in projects around the world.
It seems Canada’s real problem is not too little money, but
institutions that want to put their money into big business
instead of putting it in the development of new business and the
growth of small business that makes the economy vibrant and
exciting.
Now that's
not democracy
A few weeks back the backbenchers of the Progressive
Conservative party in Ottawa won points for their support of
democracy when they rebelled at rubber-stamping Canada
Post’s business plan with its cutbacks in service and two-cent
increase in first class postage rates.
More recently other members of the party reversed that
commendable support of independence by closing down the
committee hearings, over the objections of opposition
members, afteronly one witness, Donald Lander, head of
Canada Post, had been heard. At the time, many groups were
just getting organized to present their case against
deterioration of the postal system. Too bad. For a while there it
looked like the Conservatives really believed what they said
about opening up the Parliamentary system.
OTphe world view
from Mabel’s Grill
There are people who will tell
you that the important decisions in
town are made down at the town
hall. People in the know, however
know that the real debates, the real
wisdom reside down at Mabel’s
Grill where the greatest minds in
the town (if not in the country)
gather for morning coffee break,
otherwise known as the Round
Table Debating and Filibustering
Society. Since not just everyone
can partake of these deliberations
we will report the activities from
time to time.
MONDAY: Hank Stokes was say
ing this morning that he’s a little
worriedathow much money it’s
going to cost him to be full of
Christmas merriment and cheer
this year.
“Seems like every relative I
have, all the guys who long ago
figured they couldn’t get by on the
kind of living they’d make if they
stayed on the farm, figure an old
fashioned farm Christmas is the
only kind to have so they all end up
at our place for Christmas. Of
course I’m supposed to provide the
turkey and the Christmas pudding
and all that stuff. They think we eat
for free on the farm.’’
Oh well, says Tim O’Grady, at
least it can’t be as bad as what it
costs us to be good hosts to Ronnie
Reagan when he came for the
Shamrock summit back in ‘85.
Seems like with the cost of the
police and the entertainment and
all it costs us is $2.6 million to play
good neighbour. It costs us
$700,000 alone just to have that
gala on television so we could hear
Brian Mulroney warble “When
Irish Eyes are Smiling.”
“Humph,” said Billie Bean.
“Maybe next time we should elect
a Scotchman.”
TUESDAY: Julia Flint says she
always knew Canadians had a
higher moral standard than the
Americans and now there’s proof.
Down in Windsor a group of 50
strippers decided to be in the
Christmas spirit and give a show
for Charity. They raised $10,000
and their boss at the strip joint
matched it for $20,000. But then
the problems began. They tried to
give the money to local hospitals
but they wanted no part of the
money. They finally found a charity
over in Michigan that would take
the money without turning up their
noses. “Now doesn’t that make
you proud to be a Canadian? ’ ’ Julia
asked.
WEDNESDAY: Hank says he
figures somewhere in his township
there is a snowplow operator
smiling. He’s made his first score
of the season.
“Iswear,” Hanksays, “That
they’ve got a pool among the
snowplow operators to see how
many mailboxes they can knock off
in a winter. My guy’s got to be way
ahead. He’s already managed to
knock mine off once and it’s only
the second snowfall of the year.”
THURSDAY: Julia was asking
Ward Black if he was glad he
wasn’t on the town council in that
town down in the States where the
irate taxpayer walked in and shot
the mayor and a councillor.
Ward says nobody’s ever come
into the local council with a gun but
if looks could kill he’d have been
dead several times over.
Letter to the editor
Tim says if this keeps up there
will be demands to let town
councillors carry guns for protec
tion just as there are now for
storeowners to have protection.
Billie Bean says the way some of
the councillors can’t keep from
shooting off their mouths, he’s
sure not going to trust them with
guns.
FRIDAY: Hank said he had to blow
out his lane again this morning for
the third time in two days and he’s
already getting a little sick of
winter.
Julia said she’s no great lover of
snow but she doesn’t mind snow in
moderation before Christmas to
get everybody in the Christmas
spirit.
“Yeh,” says Tim, “Enjoy it
while you can. This is the only time
of the year when we’re in fashion
and the guys out in California are
out of it.”
Protests rights change
THE EDITOR,
Inthe Ontario Legislature re
cently our M.P.P. Murray Elston
voted to protect homosexuals from
discrimination. Because of this,
neither a family with a self-contain
ed apartment for rent, nor an
employer with teenage workers,
will be able to refuse applicants
because of homosexuality.
Now there should be no argu
ment onthisbecausesomeofus
know personally that due to the
nature of their deviation, a sizable
percentage of homosexuals have a
preference for young boys. Good
people should not have to break the
law to protect youngsters. If only
one child is molested or gets
A.l.D.S. because of the new law,
then Murrav Elston’s vote is a
Continued on page 27
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