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The Citizen, 1993-04-07, Page 4!Idle hands Letters THE EDITOR, The state of the economy was the subject if discussion at this week's caucus meeting. The Minister of Finance briefed us on the latest economic news. The recession may be over for some but government - revenue is still lower than predicted and the employment picture is still bleak. This translates into a double bind for Ontario. Demands for public services such as social assistance continues yet revenues have not grown. The changes in the federal unemployment insurance will put many people in a desperate situation and they will have to turn to the province for help. As part of our long-term plan to put Ontario back to work, we are continuing to reduce overall government spending and to control the debt. We will continue to maintain investment in jobs. As Bob Rae said Ontario faces tremendous fiscal and economic challenges and if we do not succeed then we put at risk health care and our ability to invest in jobs. If we fail I feel that we would in essence be returning to the political economic jungle of the 1930's depression when peoples' lives were sacrificed in the name of free enterprise. There are those in power in Canada and England and until recently in Washington who feel that capital is everything and people are nothing. When we formed the government Ontario faced a recession which Ottawa refused to acknowledge and which it made worse by high interest rates, the high dollar, and the GST. By using an anti recession Photo by Bonnie Gropp program to create jobs we fought the recession. These were projects which were essential to the economic well-being of the province. We are continuing to maintain investment in jobs through jobsOntario Training and jobsOntario Capital. The government's operating expenditures have been contained. The Minister of Finance said that we've managed to hold our operating costs for '82-'93 to a three percent increase from the previous year, or about one percent if you exclude public debt interest and social assistance. Revenues have remained stagnant and we cannot continue to let the deficit grow. Now we are looking at the toughest job cuts to services and programs, and to public sector jobs. This will be very hard because we must be fair and we are dealing Continued on page 5 VERIFIED CIRCULATION PAID PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7, 1993. ditorial L Congratulations! One of the fringe benefits about hanging around a hockey arena for a few years is watching youngsters who started out hardly able to stand up on skates turn into talented young athletes. For regulars at the Blyth and District Community Centre arena over the last few years, watching a group of young men capture the All-Ontario "E" Bantam championship this past weekend was the culmination of years of watching the growth of the team. One parent mentioned the championship had been a long time coming. This particular group had been winners so many times over the years but the pieces just never came together to take them all the way to the top. In 1993, the team finally showed its full potential, sweeping the All Ontario final series against Lefroy by a three games to none count. It's been a long wait for Blyth too. It's 21 years ago that a Blyth team last won an all-Ontario title when the Pee Wees of that era took the crown. Championships like this are important to a whole community. It helps people feel good about themselves. In the long run, however, it is the athletes themselves who have given the most and will reap the most from their accomplishments. Each and every member of the team should be congratulated on his effort. Congratulations should go too to the parents who have spent a good part of their lives in the last 10 years taking these boys to the rink for practice and games. The coaches and managers should also take credit for the job they have done in moulding this group of youngsters into a winning team. Congratulations to all.—KR Have they missed the boat? One of the marvellous things about business leaders is how quickly they can change their tune and become advocates of ideas they once ridiculed. Such is the case now about Canadian programming and the future of Canadian television. For years television stations complained loudly about the regulations that said a certain percentage of Canadian programming had to be broadcast by all stations in Canada. The TV executives complained people didn't want to watch Canadian shows and that producing such shows cut into the profits they could get by showing American shows. Their argument seemed backed up by the success of cable television in Canada. Cable boomed because people, even those far from the U.S. border, were suddenly able to watch U.S. channels. Now as we stand on the verge of the next revolution in telecommunications both the TV station owners and the cable operators seem to have been converted to the need for Canadian programming. The thing they complained about for 30 years might now be their only salvation. The change in attitude comes because of the "deathstar" satellites that will be launched within the next few months. These satellites will be so powerful that homeowners with even a small 18-inch satellite dish will be able to receive their signals. It will mean hundreds of channels are available for those willing to pay $1000 for a dish plus a fee to watch the programs. Given this revolution, will anyone watch Canadian stations? Will anyone bother paying for cable TV? The one reason they will watch Canadian TV is if it is different than anything they can get from an American satellite. The one thing that can be different is Canadian content. If programs that tell people more about what it's like to be a Canadian are shown, at least some portion of the population may opt to watch Canadian stations or cable networks. What is needed, TV and cable executives now sing in perfect harmony, are good entertaining and informative Canadian programs. Each group has been pleading with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to keep Canada on the television screen by giving its members the support they need (meaning ability to make money). Good Canadian programming is something that has been needed all along, of course. Commercial TV, however, has always seen it as a necessary evil, a regulation to be circumvented as much as possible. Many of the shows produced by stations other than CBC have been so bad no one would watch them. Cable TV, in the meantime, has grown rich by selling people on watching American channels. Can they now turn around and produce good Canadian shows? Will anyone, given the opportunity to watch more than 100 channels on a U.S. "deathstar", bother even giving the Canadian channels a try? Perhaps the very people who downplayed the importance of Canadian programming for Canadians all these years will now be the victims of their own negligence.—KR P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM 1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 The North Huron itizen P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1H0 Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $20.50/year ($19.16 plus $1.34 G.S.T.) for local; $31.03/year ($29.00 plus $2.03 G.S.T.) for local letter carrier in Goderich, Hanover, Ustowel, etc. and out-of-area (40 miles from Brussels); $60.00/year for U.S.A. and Foreign. 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: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. Blyth. We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copywright. Publications Mall Registration No. 6968 Publisher, Keith Rouiston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Sales Representatives, Jeannette McNeil and Julie Mitchell Serving Blyth, Brussels, Auburn, Be!grave, Ethel, Londesborough, Walton and the surrounding townships. )