The Citizen, 1996-05-29, Page 4BLUE
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
Photo by Les Cook
Letters
THE EDITOR,
It is time once again to ask for
help in gathering humanitarian aid
for the 1996 Canada-Cuba
Friendshipment venture which is
departing by ocean freighter from
Montreal to Havana in late June or
early July. We are co-ordinating the
collection of hospital and medical
supplies, bedding, school supplies,
paper and miscellaneous items to
support the overwhelming needs of
the impoverished Cuban people.
Clothing will also be accepted,
although this is not as high a
priority as other items. Shoes, in
good condition, are always useful
and badly needed.
Surplus hospital and nursing
home equipment would be
welcomed, as would any clinical
supplies from local medical centres
and surplus stock from local
pharmacies. Security can be
provided for medicines. We are
also hoping to round up some older
computers and software.
Through the efforts of the
American Pastor for Peace
organization, and the Toronto-
based Canada-Cuba Friendship
Committee, materials will be
gathered from across Canada and
the United States. They will be
funnelled by road and rail across
the continent to Montreal. All items
will be gathered together and
loaded on to a sugar freighter
headed back to Cuba. Aid will be
delivered to the Martin Luther King
Centre in Havana, and redistributed
from that location across the island
to places of the greatest need.
We can assure donors that all
items will reach their intended
destination and will be distributed
directly to the people across the
island. We have been present to
witness this happening. Cash
donations (payable by cheque to
Paul Carroll marked for shipping
costs, or to the Canada-Cuba
Friendshipment Committee for
direct donations) can be directed
for specific purposes as well.
Items - well-packed in labelled,
cardboard cartons - can be dropped
off at our residence address at 131
West Goderich Street in Seaforth -
no later than June 17; or folks can
call us at 527-1860 and we'll make
arrangements for pick-up. You can
also leave a message in Goderich,
at the home of Evelyn and Howard
Carroll, at 524-7969.
Thanks for your help; it is sorely
needed by the Cuban people. We're
hoping to surpass last year's Huron
County collection of over 400
cartons of humanitarian aid. We're
not sure whether we'll be able to
send any school buses - the Helms-
Burton Law has dried up the
Cuban sources for gasoline - and
regular powered vehicles are too
expensive for them to run.
Mary and Paul Carroll, Seaforth.
THE EDITOR,
150 years in Hay Twp. is about
to be celebrated in grand style
during the Homecoming Weekend
of June 28 - July 1, 1996 at Zurich.
The weekend will be filled with
events to please the entire family.
School and church historical
displays depicting township life
will be open for public viewing for
the weekend. Quilts made in Hay
Twp. from 1846 to the present will
be on view in the Old Township
Hall. The kickoff event will be the
Homecoming Parade which
commences at 10:30 a.m. on
Saturday. Other activities such as
the international Tug of War
tournaments featuring two teams
from Switzerland, five U.S. teams,
and Hay resident teams will be part
of the entertainment; bus tours will
take you to places of past
prominence and to places of current
interest detailing some historical
trivia; supervised children's
activities will be conducted by the
Huron County Library staff and the
Huron County Pioneer Museum
staff.
If you plan on attending any
events during the weekend and
have not already registered, please
do so now. Send us the names,
addresses, and telephone numbers
of the persons who will be
Continued on page 5
PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 1996
C The North Huron
itizen
Publisher, Keith Roulston
Editor, Bonnie Gropp
Advertising Manager,
Jeannette McNeil
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Publishing Company Inc.
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Publications Mail Registration No. 6968
Tough competition law needed
As Canada entered the age of globalization through the free trade
agreement in 1988, we were supposed to get better protection to
guarantee there was fair competition in the world of marketplace giants.
We're still waiting.
Ironically, in a country that
seems to model itself after the
U.S. more and more, we don't
have the kind of tough anti-
combines legislation the
Americans have had since Teddy Roosevelt introduced anti-trust
legislation at the turn of the last century. While U.S. law required the
American communications giant AT&T to split up because it
dominated the market too much, Canadian law has hardly ever had a
conviction for predatory practices by monopolies. Our laws are a joke
yet no government seems ready to tackle the issue and give Canadians
the protection they deserve.
The topic is timely because Conrad Black and his Hollinger Inc.
have been moving in the past few weeks to take over much of the daily
newspaper industry in Canada. After a buying spree that saw him
gobble up papers faster than most people can read them, Black last
week topped things off by purchasing controlling interest in Southam
Inc., one of Canada's largest newspaper chains. With a few more
purchases, Black will control half the daily newspapers in Canada and
all the newspapers in some provinces.
With such clout, Black is making moves that will hurt some smaller
chains and independents. Black has demanded that Canadian Press
(CP), the co-operative of newspapers that provided national and
international news to Canada's newspapers, have its budget slashed. As
one of the biggest members now, he stands to save money and cripple
his opposition at the same time.
The move had implications for local daily newspaper readers. Two
of the last independent newspapers in Canada are the London Free
Press and the Stratford Beacon-Herald. The proposed cutbacks to CP
would mean they would not be able to provide the kind of news
coverage people have come to expect, and need.
Unlike some newspaper magnates of the past, Black is not a hands-
off owner and with his far-right-wing views, if he starts pushing his
point of view through his papers, it may be hard for Canadians in many
parts of the country where he has a monopoly to get balanced news
coverage. Democracy requires information. Newspapers are still the
best way to get indepth information to citizens.
It's one more example of the need for the kind of anti-trust
legislations Americans have enjoyed for a century. If we're going to be
more American, let's at least pick up the best of what they have to offer
along with the less attractive features we've been taking on for years.
Is understanding old-fashioned?
Once, the goal of society as expressed through everything from
movies to newspaper columns, was to create greater understanding and
tolerance between people. Today, everywhere we turn, people seem to
be asserting a view that people can't get along together, so they should
be kept apart.
The foremost example of this in Canada is, of course, Quebec where
the dreams of building a bilingual country where Quebecers could be
comfortable wherever they travelled has apparently been rejected and
Quebecers have retreated into a little corner that they can have all to
themselves.
There are other signals of the same mood, however. The National
Action Committee's president, Sunera Thobani is retiring after bringing
forward many of the policies for women of colour that she had hoped to
introduce but she insists a woman of colour should replace her to
continue her work. White middle class women, who have long
supported the organization, feel they can represent all women of all
colours. Moreover, they feel that though there must be concern for the
plight of new immigrants and women of different ethnic backgrounds,
the organization will lose its relevance for the mainstream if it goes
overboard.
Surely tolerance must work both ways if we are to build a civilized
country. The majority must give understanding to the problems of the
minority but not to the exclusion of all other issues. — KR
E ditorial