Loading...
The Times Advocate, 2004-07-28, Page 44 Exeter Times—Advocate Wednesday,July 28, 2004 =CNA Editorial Opinion TIMES ADVOCATE PUBLICATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER 07511 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing casts. Jim Beckett Publisher and Editor Deb Lord Production Manager &Published by Metroland Printing, rt Publishing & Distributing Ltd. Metroland 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850 Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 • (519) 235-1331 EDITORIALS Playing politics with lives For pure political cynicism and contempt for those in uniform, as well as the public purse, few sto- ries of the past decade can match the never end- ing saga of the contract to replace the past their time Sea King helicopters of the Canadian navy. With the Liberal government decision to finally award a contract to an American company, the military may finally get the desperately needed replacement it has been pleading for the last two decades. Any kind of military procurement contracts in Canada can be described several different ways, whether as a football to be tossed from one government to another, a hand grenade no one wants to touch or a gravy train to be spread as a reward and/or bribe to favoured areas. But the helicopter contract was unlucky enough to fall under all three after being awarded by the Mulroney Government to buy the EH -101 from a British -Italian firm. With the end of the Cold War, new Prime Minister Jean Chretien saw the opportunity to score some easy political points and scrapped the contract, ignoring the inconvenient facts of $500 million in penalties and the need for a helicopter replacement that still had to be filled. Gradually awakening to the reality that taxpayers were dying due to a lack of search and rescue heli- copters, the Liberals grudgingly made the decision to replace them in the late 90s but were faced with the uncomfortable reality of the best helicopter still being the EH -101. Faced with the decision of still having to replace ship borne helicopters and with Chretien not willing to admit to a mistake, political maneuvering moved into high gear with two objectives:Delay the awarding of the con- tract until a new leader was in power and tinker with the specifications for the contract to keep the EH -101 company out of the bidding. As the controversy swirled around them, the military stood with its hand out trying to find someone who would make a decision as their helicopters continued to fall from the sky. With the contract finally awarded, details continue to seep out about the final decision which will see 28 heli- copters bought, half the number originally intended. The EH -101 consortium may take the government to court after it was revealed their helicopter was removed from the bidding process despite meeting all require- ments and still being the favoured choice of the military. There are almost no winners in the story, not the mili- tary which didn't get the better machine it needed, not the taxpayers who once again were left with a bill they didn't deserve and certainly not the crews of the Sea Kings who have had to fly a 40 -year-old deathtrap longer than they should have, with sometimes fatal results. The only winner was the man who caused the problem in the first place and who walked away without a thought for the lives of the people he put in danger, Jean Chretien. About the Times -Advocate 2004 Distributed by Canadian Artists Syndicate Inc. Hensall not alone in unhappiness I don't know if Hensall will ever separate from Bluewater or if there will ever be enough interest in that town to warrant such an action, but I do know these unhappy Hensallites aren't the only people in this country angry with amalgamation. In Ontario, there are groups in Ridgetown, Flamborough, Paris and Kawartha Lakes who want to de -merge. Back in June, numerous municipalities in Quebec voted to de - merge. Amalgamation is clearly an emotional issue, with many opposed to it saying their towns are losing the identity they had before amalgamation. Other complaints include a decrease in municipal services and an increase in taxes. Municipalities like Bluewater, South Huron, Lucan Biddulph and Lambton Shores were created because the Mike Harris government made communities believe they had to merge. The word at the time was, "Either find other partners to merge with, or we'll find a partner for you." Chatham - Kent is one example of a massive merger that was forced by the province. We'll never know what would have happened if local towns like Exeter, Hensall, Zurich, Lucan and townships like Stephen, Hay, Usborne and Biddulph had simply refused to amalgamate and told the government to go stuff themselves. Would the province have stepped in and forced amalga- mation? Would it have created even larger amal- gamations than what we ended up with? Or was Harris's obsession with amalgamation simply a continuance of his heavy-handed way of govern- ing — by scaring people. What we do know is that if Hensall ever does leave Bluewater, it's going to take a long time and it's going to take a lot of work for the Concerned Citizens Group of Hensall. While last week's deamalgama- tion meeting in Hensall attracted about 200 people, it remains to be seen how many people in Hensall actually want to leave Bluewater. SCOTT NIXON AND ANOTHER THING Address & Office Hours Times -Advocate, 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850, Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6. Our office is open Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Closed on Holidays. Contact Us By Phone or Fax Classified ad & subscription sales (519) 235-1331 24-hour automated attendant (519) 235-1336 Fax number for all departments (519) 235-0766 Subscription Rates One year rate for addresses in Canada: $37+GST Two year rate for addresses in Canada: $68+GST One year rate for addresses outside Canada: $104 Call (519) 235-1331 to order a subscription. Would Hensall be better off on its own? Would the town improve? Can the town afford to leave? These are all things the Concerned Citizens Group will have to deal with. There is a ton of work ahead of them if they are serious about seeing this through. Topping it all off is the question of whether or not the province will even allow de -mergers to happen. Quite frankly, it's not at the top of their list of priorities, and given Dalton McGuinty's questionable record of keeping promises, I'd be wary of anything he says about the subject. Classified Rates Word ads: $10.00 for 20 words, 20(c for each addition- al word+ GST. Notices (births, deaths, announcements, coming events, memoriams, cards of thanks): $15.00 + GST for up to 50 words, All ads must be pre -paid. The classified ad deadline is Monday at 10 a.m. Display Advertising To place a display ad, (519) 235-1331 weekdays 8:30 to 4:30 p.m. or evenings (519) 235-1336 (leave mes- sage) or toll-free at 1-888-270-1602. Deadline: Fri. 4 m. -mail Us Website: www.southhuron.com TA e-mail addresses consist of the person's first initial and last name followed by @southhuron.com. For example, Jim Beckett's e-mail address is <jbeck- ett@southhuron.com> Our general e-mail address is ads@southhuron.com. The Times -Advocate Team Publisher/Editor Jim Beckett ext. 109 Advertising Barb Consitt ext. 110 REPORTERS Scott Nixon ext. 105 Pat Bolen ext. 113 Mary Simmons ext. 107 CUSTOMER SERVICE Sue Rollings ext. 101 Carol Powe ext. 102 COMPOSITION DEPARTMENT Manager Deb Lord ext. 114/103 Sharlene Young ext. 103 Diana Hardy ext. 103 ACCOUNTING STAFF Anita McDonald ext. 104 Ruth Slaght ext. 106 Patty Case .ext. 111 Christina Scott ext. 108 Marg Pertschy ext 208