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The Citizen, 1996-05-22, Page 4Photo by Janice Becker C The North Huron itizen Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising Manager, Jeannette McNeil The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable In advance at a rate of $27.00/year ($25.24 t $1.76 G.S.T.) In Canada; $62.00/year in U.S.A. and $75.00/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: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth. We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright. Publications Mail Registration No. 6968 BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1995 P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM 1H0 Phone 523.4792 FAX 523.9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1H0 Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 1996 Truth between the lines The battle lines between those fighting on behalf of the poor and the governments trying to cut costs were drawn again on the weekend when the National Action Committee (NAC) held a. conference to teach women how to be more effective in lobbying for assistance for thepoor. All the cliched characters were trotted out: single mothers, forced to live alone by abusive husbands, but now being abused because they were too poor for decent housing and too poor to buy food for their kids, that sort of thing. It counters the arguments, unspoken but understood, of the provincial government that those people who are poor are really just too lazy to go out and get a job. The problem is, of course, that you can find incidences to prove both sides of the argument. There are people who have abused the welfare and unemployment insurance systems. There are those who are quite willing to let society support them. Everybody is sure they know someone like that and it makes them mad to feel taken advantage of when they're working so hard to pay their taxes. It's the kind of thing that got the Harris government elected. But there are also the people who really need a helping hand. There are people who, through accident or birth defects, have no ability to support themselves. There are people who have been looking for years but can't find work. There are mothers who have been abandoned or abused by husbands. The problem is the government doesn't acknowledge the deserving poor while the poverty action groups don't acknowledge the cheaters. Both would have us see things in black and white. Somewhere between the two extreme lines of thought is the truth: there are people who cheat but there are also people who need more help than they're getting. In the time with the worst prolonged recession since the Great Depression, there are likely more of the latter than of the former. The problem for society is how to be generous to the people who deserve generosity without creating opportunities for the cheaters. The government would have us believe that this will all be looked after by the private sector when its tax cut generates thousands of new jobs. This is as much of an illusion as the one harboured by the poverty groups, that the government can wave poverty away with a wave of its magic spending wand. The poor deserve some honesty, from both sides. — KR Muddying the waters As if people weren't sick enough of hearing about the possibility of Quebec's separation, the federal government seems more concerned with stirring the pot than coming up with real solutions. Once again Prime Minister Jean Chretien last week suggested that a simple majority vote in a referendum might not be enough for Quebec to separate from Canada. The idea makes sense, if it had been written into the constitution in advance. Trying to make it a condition now is just asking to cause more bitterness. No, a simple majority vote will have to do. Of course the Quebec government should also recognize a simple majority vote when it goes against its wishes, as it did last October. If Quebec had won the referendum by the same amount it would have claimed legitimacy for separation forever. Since it lost, it wants another referendum. The federal government also created an inexcusable faux pas when the Quebec government revealed that the constitution hasn't been translated into French. Therefore, Quebec argued in a presentation to the Quebec superior court judge hearing a challenge to the Constitutionality of the province's separation, the constitution is not valid. Meanwhile the government seems to be making little headway in getting the provinces to agree to constitutional guarantees Quebecers feel are essential to protect their language and culture. Canadians feel helpless when it comes to their ability to effect the outcome of this debate. They can only put their faith in the government to find a solution to a difficult situation. Unfortunately the federal government, in its dithering, isn't breeding confidence. If Chretien can't find a better way, perhaps he could at least keep quiet. — KR Letters THE EDITOR, Please accept my apology to the Blyth Fire Chief I implicated in causing a stop to the proposed amendment in our fire agreement. My information was incomplete at the time of our meeting. Missing puzzle pieces have been brought to my attention. It is beyond my thinking why the Brussels Dept. cannot simply provide coverage to residents close to Brussels, within easy access of our fire hydrants, without calling another department first. My mistake, Joseph Seili. THE EDITOR, If there are two provinces in Canada that seem to be following the same path, they are Alberta and Ontario. Both governments were elected on a pro-business, downsize- government platform. Until recently, both paid scant attention to environmental issues. But in the national report card on protecting wilderness areas recently released by World Wildlife Fund Canada, an extraordinary difference emerges. This year, the Ralph Klein govern- ment in Alberta vaulted from their previous failing grade all the way to a B score; instead, it was Mike Harris and his Ontario government who got an F. What happened? Mr. Klein, it seems, has discovered that the people of Alberta still want progress in protecting their natural heritage, and that creating wilderness parks is one area where governments can make a big difference without a big pricetag. Perhaps Mr. Harris should be looking to his western friend for one more lesson on governing in tough times. Both governments - in fact all federal, provincial, and territorial governments in Canada - are committed to a program to complete a representative system of parks and reserves by -the year 2000. The Harris government promised to provide a work plan by -the end of 1995 to outline how they would fulfill that commitment. So far, they have failed to deliver even on the plan. Mr. Harris, who prides himself on his "we said it - we'll do it" style, apparently does not apply that credo to his parks promises. In contrast, the Klein government within the past year initiated a Special Places program to complete the Alberta parks system, amended legislation to prohibit industrial development within a major wilderness park, and added almost 700,000 hectares to its protected areas network. Harris has opportunities Mr. Harris has similar opportuni- ties in Ontario, where significant sections of Crown land could be set aside as wilderness at minimal cost. Last use planning processes in Temagami, the Algoma Highlands, and the Madawaska area provide immediate opportunities to establish wilderness reserves of international stature. A wide range of stakeholders have already reached agreement on expansion of the Wabakimi protected area, and the government could move ahead quickly to resolve the few outstand- ing issues and establish park regulations. Another 18 sites have already been approved as future parkland, and await only provincial action to regulate their boundaries. These candidates should only be the beginning. In southern Ontario, where we have already lost 75 per cent of our wetlands and where more woodlands continue to shrink in the face of development, protec- tion of remnant natural areas is critical. In many areas, co-operative arrangements with private land- owners and local organizations offer potential to protect key habitats, but provincial involve- ment and leadership are vital. But instead of leadership in creating these positive relation- ships, the Harris government has done much to undermine conserva- tion efforts on private land. Provincial funding to conservation authorities, which have played the major role in acquiring natural areas in southern Ontario, has been cut by 70 per cent. Similar funding cuts have crippled the ability of the Niagara Escarpment Commission, and the Ministry of Natural Resources has been singled out for a massive downsizing. Legislative amendments to the Planning Act and weakening of the provincial planning policies by the Harris government have hampered municipal efforts to protect significant habitats. These actions go well beyond this government's cost-cutting agenda. By failing to act on wilderness protection opportunities in-the north, and undercutting conservation activities in the south, Mr. Harris is showing his lack of understanding of the vital role of protected natural areas in Ontario's future. At the same time, he is marching out of step with the views of most Ontarians. Why, then, should Mr. Harris develop an interest in wilderness and natural areas prote.ction? The reasons are very much the same as those that persuaded Mr. Klein. Wilderness-related activities across Canada - hiking, hunting and fishing, camping - are a $9 billion a year business. The parks system in British Columbia alone sustains 9300 direct and indirect jobs. In a world where wilderness and natural areas are increasingly scarce, Continued on page 7 E ditorial