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The Rural Voice, 1985-12, Page 32, c , c• • 7 . o c- . s MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR RA L SII IE Hompahlros e t • II1III e t Best Wlsh.s From: Ralph Henderson & Family RR 1, Atwood t 356-2656 t 1 t t Custom-designed, top-quality farm and commercial buildings - built to last with reinforced concrete walls and steel siding in your choice of colour. CALL FOR A FREE ESTIMATE Kase Vanden Heuvel Construction Co. Ltd. Kase Vanden Heuvel 524-9176 R.R. 2, GODERICH Ken Janmaat or 527-1858 SEAFORTH (after 6 pm) .;,i�uillltxllNd�liiln` 11111-,.IIIIIIIII 1' 1 "NATURALLY PIGS PUREBRED YORKSHIRE BREEDING STOCK BORN AND RAISED ON CONCRETE SLATS a AM GOV'T HEALTH APPROVED EXCELLENT *** BUY HEALTH & QUALITY - INEXPENSIVELY BRAD GILBERT R.R. 6, GODERICH 529-7761 30 LAMONT'S AUTOMOTIVE & MACHINE SHOP COMPLETE FARM EQUIPMENT ENGINE OVERHAULS REPAIRS Complete Automotive Machine Shop Services — Custom Milling and Machining — Specialized Welding By Tig-Aluminum. Magnesium, Steel — Spray Welding of Shafts — Cold Weld to Block Castings and Heads 553 • 8th Avenue HANOVER, Ontario ENGINE PARTS Complete Coverage For: — Detroit Diesel — Cummins Diesel — Perkins Gas & Diesel — Vapormatic Farm Line of Engine Parts and Accessories 519-364-3680 III RI R \l VOICE FARM NEWS Free trade or fair trade? "Free trade" is a phrase that rarely escapes the meeting floors these days. Not surprisingly, the first question asked by the audience at the Annual Urban -Rural Night sponsored by the "tratford Rotary Club was about free -ade. The question was put to Minister of agriculture John Wise, the guest peaker. The real issue is "fair rade," he replied. "I don't talk free rade because we've never had free rade, and that's really not what the vhole debate — the whole discussion — is about now." "I suppose that your first reaction to free trade) is to draw back, and ;ay, 'Oh, my God. We shouldn't talk about this because of this commodi- y, that commodity, and perhaps >ome others," he continued, "But when you stop and think that 50 per cent of the income for Canadian farmers comes from — where? — comes from the export market. And more than $2 -billion worth of income Canadian farmers receive comes from exports to the United States." To avoid generalizations, Wise chose the specific example of hogs to make his point. "Now, something that is not well known in this country is the degree of protectionism that is growing in the U.S., and it is really growing. There is no question about that.... If we didn't have access to the American market for Canadian hogs, the Canadian hog industry would shrink by one-third. And I don't think we could stand it." Wise went on to say that if Canada did not have access to the U.S. market, the Canadian cattle industry would shrink by two-thirds. "I think what we should do," he said, "is tell them (the Americans) we are interested in these talks. Because I think it is incumbent upon us as a government to secure access to the U.S. market." Wise emphasized that it would be a mistake to ignore the American mood of protectionism. Wise said he now feels more com- fortable about holding discussions because he expects there will be a great deal of consultation and input