Loading...
The Citizen, 1997-10-22, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22,1997. C itizenTheNorthHuron P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. NOM 1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. N0G1H0 Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 E-mail norhuron@huron.net Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising Manager, Jeannette McNeil _f*JO 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 + $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 E ditorial L ... ZZ.........Z.Z.J ‘Illegal’ term a red herring Much has been made of the fact that if Ontario’s teachers carry out their threat to strike to protest changes the provincial government wants to make to the Education Act they will be breaking the law. Of all the issues involved this is the least important. The teachers may be right or wrong on the various contentious points in the government's legislation but to harp on the legality of the strike is missing the point. Here we have one side, the government, that can change the rules under which teachers work and it's all legal. The other side, the teachers, has a choice: they can go along or they can break the law. Both sides seem to be mesmerized by their own sense of power. This government has always been, from the days when it rammed through the Omnibus Bill which gave it greater power than any Ontario government since the days of the Family Compact, leaned to blunt power rather than the subtler arts of negotiation. The unions, particularly the secondary teachers' union under Earl Manners, has also been spoiling for a fight. Unfortunately it will be others, not the belligerents, who will pay the price. But there are those who say the teachers are setting a terrible example for their students by striking illegally. Would the teachers be setting a better example by not standing up for what they feel is right? By knuckling under to brute force? Whether we agree their cause is just or not is not the point. In Ontario, too few people have been standing up for what they believe in. Municipal politicians, even though they feel amalgamation will not save money and will reduce the ability of people to influence their local government, have been grudgingly moving toward amalgamation anyway because they fear the power of the Harris government. They've accepted downloading of highways without much of a fight, even though they argue they’re being stuck with extra costs at the same time the province cuts its support for local roads. On issue after issue, people have just accepted things they think are wrong. A teachers' strike would be disruptive, and destructive. It should be avoided if possible. But if there is a strike, let’s at least admire the teachers for fighting for their principles, something that few people in Ontario seem prepared to do these days. — KR Democracy loses again It's been 10 years since the great "free trade" election of 1988 and in that time the power of Canadians to set the agenda of their government has been greatly reduced. A new international agreement now being quietly negotiated, may put the final nail in the coffin of the theory that people can democratically control their country. The Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) is virtually unknown by most Canadians. It is, in effect, a bill of rights for investors. It will mean that if a majority of Canada's 30 million people want to set up a law to encourage some activity but that goes against the interests of one foreign corporation based in Tokyo or New York, the rights of the corporation will supercede those of the people. Such an agreement will be signed by Canada without even the debate that took place before the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement which followed the 1988 federal election. A government spokesperson said Canada has little alternative but to support the agreement because Canadian companies abroad would be damaged if Canada didn't sign. The National Farmers Union says the MAI could be used, for example, to demolish the Canadian Wheat Board. An international grain trading corporation could argue that the monopoly of the Wheat Board prevented them from doing business in Canada and the government would have to dismantle the Board, even if a vast majority of wheat producers support it as a way of giving them some bargaining power with the giant companies. Similarly, the MAI prevents the formation of new marketing boards without compensating the companies that formerly did the marketing, the NFU says. We have been on a path, since the signing of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, of giving more and more power to multinational businesses and taking more and more power from democratically elected governments. Someday we'll wake up and realize what we've done and want to change. Agreements like MAI, however, will leave us powerless to regain control from the corporations. — KR Letters to the editor THE EDITOR, Monday, Oct. 6 I had the opportunity to attend a Grey Twp. council meeting where a petition was brought forward by a group of township residents concerned with the number of large barns being built on insufficient land to handle the liquid manure generated .by the livestock housed in that bam. If we allow this to continue, the quality of our groundwater, the productive ability of our land, and the land value will be affected; not for the better. Yet, we must be competitive in the world market, but land stewardship should not be the cost. Grey Township has adapted a nutrition management plant that applicants for building permits must complete, but there is no followup to enforce this plan. This plan allows 4,000 gallons of liquid manure per acre, twice per year. This is far too high. Building permits are granted, but no followup takes place to ensure the structure meets permit specifications. These finds are very disturbing. If we don't control this type of expansion now, we will have a chronic situation to clean up in the near future. I would like to continue drinking my well water, and drive our roads without being forced off by large equipment, and breathe air now fowl with the uncontrollable smell from such a large operation. This fall we have a chance to vote in a council that will say NO to building permits to poor stewards of our land, air and water. Let's work NOW to prevent a mess that could cost millions to clean up, and preserve the quality of country life for future generations of all residents. A concerned resident and taxpayer of Grey Twp. THE EDITOR, The situation in Ontario has become far more serious than anyone could have imagined at the onset of the current common sense power grab. We've been lulled into believing that the Tories were simply catering to their rich friends. We were hypnotized into thinking that it was a fight; the "right" against the poor, the working class, the unions, the nurses, the doctors, the mayors, the teachers, the children, the parents, the women and the caring. We were fooled into realizing that there was no thought behind legislation after legislation. In fact there has been a common thread; a plan from the start. Legislate as much power into as few people as possible and make it unnecessary to follow democratic principles or legislative procedures. Also, make it impossible for any retribution, legal or otherwise to be had against the one-made-powerful no matter how stupid their decisions are. This is the real game; complete unbridled, unquestioned, unchallenged and absolute power. Oh, it has been noticed and commented on but there have been created so many crises and diversions that the real intent of this government remains for the most part, hidden. It is a complete disemboweling of democracy, and a total subjugation of these who do not tow the party line followed by unfettered power. We need to open our eyes. Angelo Ippolito.