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The Citizen, 2003-11-19, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2003. Editorials & Opinions Impossible expectations If Jean Chretien was a prime minister who surprised people because they expected so little of him, Paul Martin comes to the office with such impossibly high expectations people seem sure to be disappointed. Probably not since Pierre Trudeau rode Trudeaumania to electoral victory in 1968 have people heaped so much hope on one man’s shoulders. If Martin can accomplish half of what is expected of him, Canada will be an exciting place to live. Martin is supposed to mend the rift with the United States and bring peace between the provinces and Ottawa. He is supposed to fix health care but also manage the economy better than Chretien. He’s supposed to reform Parliament to make the work of ordinary MPs matter again instead of just the advisors in the prime minister’s office. And the list goes on. But setting out to accomplish these goals and attaining them are two different things. The assumption behind these aims is that the problems were caused by the misjudgement or stubbornness of Jean Chretien but Martin may find out fault lies elsewhere a, well. It’s fine and good to want to improve relations with the U.S., for instance, but if a stubborn American administration insists that their way is the only way, as they have in the past, Martin can only bring American approval by giving up Canada’s independence in foreign policy. Canada has long promoted action through groups like the United Nations or NATO while U.S. president George W. Bush has been unwilling to compromise to get international co-operation, sure that he alone has the right course. Now he desperately wants help to get out of the mess he got himself into in Iraq. Peace with the provinces? Canadians would love to have harmony in the land but how do you bring it about? What will make the premiers so content they’ll praise Ottawa instead of using the federal government as a handy whipping boy every time they want to shift blame to someone else? In the past some federal politicians have proposed buying peace by gutting the federal government and turning the provinces into 10 mini states controlling nearly everything except the things they don’t want to be bothered with like national defence. Is this the kind of peace we want where provinces are so independent that moving from one province to another requires adapting to a whole different set of rules? Similarly with health care, how does Ottawa improve the situation. Certainly Ottawa should give additional money to the provinces but what if they decide to use it for additional tax cuts as the Eves government did in Ontario? Perhaps the one place Martin can easily reverse Chretien’s policy is in parliamentary reform. The current prime minister has governed through a close-knit group of advisors and friends. Making use of the combined wisdom of all elected MPs would be a great step forward. — KR Talk about Huron East Exciting initiatives underway By Heather Boa Welcome to a new column that provides information to Huron East residents, businesses and visitors. Huron East comprises the urban centres of Vanastra, Egmondville Seaforth, Walton and Brussels, strung together by thriving agricultural properties and vast woodlots. It is a diverse region with unique clusters of people, business and industry. The challenge for municipal government, and now for the Business Growth and Economic Development Office, is to create an identity of which its residents can be proud and by which visitors will be intrigued. To that end, there are plenty of exciting initiatives taking place in our comer of the county. One area of development is the expansion of the community website, www.huroneast.com, designed for easy use by residents, business and visitors. The revamped website will have a wealth of relevant information on subjects ranging from garbage pickup to mill rates, snow removal to policing, recreational activities to hall rentals. As well as providing a comprehensive look at municipal services, the website serves as a one- stop access to information on community events, business and community directories, health services, tourism highlights, agriculture news, and statistical information. The website will be a living document; folks will not only be encouraged to take information from the site, but to play an active role in providing information to the site. We invite the community to take a look at the site, and to keep us informed. We are especially proud of the virtual museum currently under construction. We envision an on-line museum that provides a glimpse into the history of Huron East, complete with old photos, photos of actual exhibits, movie clips and aerial photos. The purpose of this museum will be to entice visitors to come see the sights for themselves. The virtual museum will also provide maps on general tours, walking tours and motorized tours for self-guided visits. And residents and visitors are being encouraged to contribute information about local items to add to the site to make it the best possible. The second initiative of the Business Growth and Economic Development Office is the launch of a Chamber of Commerce. In research this summer, we discovered there are well over 600 businesses in the municipality, of which about 200 are farms or farm- related. Of the remaining 400 businesses, about 85 are represented Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Advertising, Jamie Peters and Alicia deBoer The Citizen is published 50 times a year in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $30.00/year ($28.04 + $l .96 G.S.T.) in Canada; $80.00/year in U.S.A, and $l00/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 newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) toward our mailing costs. Publications Mail Reg. No. 09244 Canadian Publication Mail Agreement No. 40050141 P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. N0M 1H0 Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 E-mail norhuron@scsinternet.com Website www.norfhhuron.on.ca >cna<*™« > Member of the Ontario Press Council mEJEMI ’’The scaries; McCallum's ess stand! You'll scream as Bill faces the axe! at Susan's Ful wailing! I Paul Martin in C 11 i .\x XasO [ \ 'qg||g ■Pw’tAW • n n PYM Looking Back Through the Years Nov. 19,1958 Brussels residents were without water for two days due to corrosion of parts of the pump. A dance was held at the Ethel Community Centre with Ken Wilbee’s Orchestra playing. A bazaar was held at the by the Seaforth BIA group and another 55 are represented by the Brussels Business Group. That leaves well over 260 businesses and most farm businesses in the municipality without a collective voice for municipal issues, joint advertising, promotion opportunities, supplier group offers, etc. To provide all businesses equal access to these opportunities, a Huron East Chamber of Commerce is being established. It will be open to all farm businesses, manufacturing, retail and other businesses. It is anticipated the chamber will start as an association of interested parties and evolve into an incorporated body represented by a board. Fees for membership will be one dollar annually. Any projects undertaken will be funded separately. As an incentive to the first 40 businesses registering and willing to participate in incorporating the Chamber, the fee for an advanced listing in the business section of the website will be waived. For more information on either of these initiatives, contact Ralph Laviolette, Business Growth and Economic Development, Municipality of Huron East. Phone 519-527-0305 Seaforth, 519-887- 8813 Brussels, or e-mail edo@ huroneast.com Cranbrook Community Centre with home-baking, sewing and knit­ ting. Importer Elliott Glasser examined one of three giant-size pieces of opal which made up a single 125-pound stone, believed to be the largest ever found. It was discovered in Australia and was worth about $175,000. Nov. 21, 1973 Donald. M. Young of Auburn was appointed attendance counsellor for the Huron County Board of Eduction. Earl Plowman of Auburn, was featured in a Toronto Star article about Plowman being an auctioneer in the burgeoning North of Toronto area where auction sales became a big business. Paul Thompson who created The Farm Show was back in the area with a new play, Them Donnellys. Canada’s unemployment rate dropped from six per cent to 5.8 per cent in October. A special meeting was called for the Ladies of St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church in order to re­ organize the Catholic Women’s League. Terry Tweed starred in the a new CBC-TV comedy about unusual on­ goings in a smalltown barber shop, called Delilah. Mr. R. Stevenson, a mathematics consultant from the London Regional Office of the Ministry of Education, visited with all the grades at Hullett Central school. Nov. 16,1988 Rhea Hamilton-Seeger of Auburn, became the new deputy-reeve for West Wawanosh council during the municipal election. It was back in business for Bruce McCall and his son and partner Ross, when the first sale was conducted under the new name, McCall Livestock. It was formerly known as the The Citizen P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1 HO Phone 887-9114 FAX 887-9021 Brussels Stockyards. The Brussels Curling Club celebrated its 25th anniversary. Nov. 17, 1993 A harvested field of cornstalks was being burnt off when a northwest gust of wind came up and blew the fire into the neighbour’s field. The Ontario Home Health Care Providers Association was set to initiate a legal ba’ttle with the Ontario government over its policy which drove commercial agencies out of home care. The policy included restructuring of the long-term care system 2nd limiting the amount of home care purchased cial agencies less. A Brussels north on County Road 19 in Grey Twp., in a Buick, when he came across a number of cattle on the road and was unable to avoid hitting one of the cows. The Belgrave Guides sponsored a Home Sweet Home Craft and Bake sale at the Belgrave Community Centre. The Brussels Legion Ladies Auxiliary donated a cheque for $2,000 to the Legion for the building fund. from commer- to 10 per cent or man, was travelling Nov. 18, 1998 Marian Doucette and her Cobweb Witch puppet show, entertained youngsters in Blyth, while moms and dads took advantage of the many sales offered by the Blyth merchants. Pathologists determined that the geese at Sparling’s Pond in Blyth were victims of lead poisoning. Fritz Datema and Anne Vincent were recognized by the Auburn Horticultural Society for their outstanding contribution and work with the flowerbeds in Manchester Park .