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The Citizen, 2018-02-15, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018. Editorials Opinions President: Keith Roulston • Publisher: Deb Sholdice Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny Scott Advertising Sales: Brenda Nyveld • Heather Fraser 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 $38.00/year ($36.19 + $1.81 G.S.T.) in Canada; $160.00/year in U.S.A. and $205/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: Mon. 2 p.m. - Brussels; Mon. 4 p.m. - Blyth. Canada MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40050141 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON NOG 1H0 email: info@northhuron.on.ca We've got jobs, but not people We often have an impression, living here in Huron County, that our population is stagnant because we don't have enough jobs. That preconception is disproved, however, by the fact the County's Economic Development Department and several local employers recently needed to hold a job fair in London to attempt to fill vacant jobs in the county. It turns out that county employers such as Hensall Co-op and Seaforth's Design Concrete have dozens of vacancies they have not been able to fill. What's more, many of these are not the sort that require highly technical skills, but are openings for general labourers. We need to find a solution to the strange paradox that's crippling our county's future. We need to grow our population so that we have enough people to support necessary infrastructure from shopping to arenas. If we don't have these community facilities we won't be able to attract the doctors and nurses and other professionals we need. With a relatively inexpensive cost of living it shouldn't be so hard to attract workers to fill the vacancies employers have open. We must find a way to sell the county as a great place to live. — KR When the right thing's wrong It must be hard to be a Prime Minister trying to be progressive and on the right side of issues. Sometimes it leads Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to say the wrong thing. Last week the Prime Minister put his foot in it while trying to show he's in touch with the anger of many Indigenous protesters over the acquittal of a white man in the death of a First Nations man. Colten Boushie, 22, was shot after he and four friends drove onto Gerald Stanley's farm when their truck had a flat tire. Stanley claimed his pistol went off by accident. A jury, none of whom were visibly Indigenous, found Stanley not guilty of second-degree murder. For Boushie's family and supporters, it was one more example that there is no justice for Indigenous people within Canada's justice system. Trudeau seemed to agree when he said: "I'm not going to comment on the process that led to this point today, but I am going to say we have come to this point as a country far too many times. I know Indigenous and non -Indigenous Canadians alike know that we have to do better." Meanwhile Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott both took to Twitter to express their support for Boushie's family and say improvements are needed. The Prime Minister and Indigenous leaders are right when they say that too often the justice system has not provided justice to Indigenous people, but to single out this particular case is going too far. Trudeau, Wilson-Raybould and Philpott did not sit in the courtroom and listen to the evidence. While there were discrepancies in Stanley's testimony, did these really prove his guilt "beyond reasonable doubt"? A jury spent 15 hours deliberating before they decided they didn't. These people have been branded racist for not accepting the victim's family's belief that Colten Boushie was murdered by a racist. By whole-heartedly supporting critics of the verdict, the Prime Minister is also slurring as racists the people who gave their time to serve on the jury. Perhaps the justice system can be made fairer for Indigenous people. Certainly the preemptory challenge that allows defence lawyers to dismiss jurors simply because they don't like their appearance (which in this case was used to eliminate First Nations' jurors) seems like a place to start. When it comes to one confusing trial, however, the politicians should not be taking sides. — KR We need to make a hard choice After Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte last week cancelled a $234 million deal to buy Canadian -built combat helicopters because the Canadian government questioned if they would be used in his vicious crackdown on rebels and drug dealers, Canadians are left with the question: do we even want defence contractors and the jobs they provide? Duterte's abrupt cancellation of the deal for 16 Bell 412 helicopters, made near Montreal, came after International Trade Minister Francois - Philippe Champagne announced he was going to review the deal. The government had been criticized by human rights activists for selling weapons that could be used by Duterte against his own people. Instead of buying from countries like Canada that have moral scruples against his governments' civil rights abuses, Duterte may turn to Russia or China that don't care how equipment is used. This is the second military equipment deal that's been questioned because the weapons might be turned against internal opponents, the previous case being armored vehicles sold to Saudi Arabia. Weapons manufacturers provide good jobs, but will they want to remain in Canada if we set a high standard for sales? We need to make a choice whether we put morality or jobs first. — KR rre neaSeGarEwns We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. \NELCOME TO niwNiToeA. The Citizen P.O. Box 429, P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont. BRUSSELS, Ont. NOM 1H0 NOG 1 HO Ph. 519-523-4792 Phone Fax 519-523-9140 519-887-9114 E-mail info@northhuron.on.ca Website www.northhuron.on.ca �ocna M Member CMC AUDITED CCNA Member of the Ontario Press Council We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright WE LIKE TO SAY PFAPLE-IToBA,,, The moment Justin Trudeau lost the Town Hall' in Winnipeg. Looking Back Through the Years February 19, 1958 The Safe Driving Campaign Rally was set to be held at Clinton District High School on Feb. 24. The evening would begin with the farm forum broadcast at 8:30 p.m., followed by the screening of a film and a talk by an officer with the Provincial Police. Rounding out the evening would be a junior farmers play by the County Winners sponsored by the Huron County Federation of Agriculture. The Huron County Wheat Pro- ducers were set to host their annual meeting in Clinton on Feb. 24. At the meeting, three delegates would be chosen to represent the organization with the Ontario Wheat Producers Association. The delegates would be elected in order to carry out the wheat marketing plan at the provincial level. February 15, 1978 The Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association awarded The Blyth Standard for having the best editorial page for a paper in its circulation class. The Blyth Village Centennial Committee announced that it turned a profit of $3,500 after a successful year. With a number of worthy causes in the village, the committee decided that the funds made as a result of the event would be divided equally between the Blyth and Area Community Centre and Blyth Memorial Hall. Members of the committee also suggested potentially purchasing a commemorative gift, but the idea was abandoned when no one could reach a consensus as to what form it might take or where it might be placed. The next meeting to plan for Auburn's 125th anniversary was set for Feb. 22. The community celebration was planned for the summer of 1979, but work in organizing the event was already well underway. February 20, 1991 Proponents of bringing recycling to Blyth were being told not to hold their breath, but that Blyth Village Council would listen to them, as well as a representative of the Bluewater Recycling Association, at an upcoming meeting. While Councillor Lorna Fraser said she was eager to hear what the representative had to say, other members of council were not quite convinced. "I don't need someone to talk to me about it," said Reeve Albert Wasson, who had been a vocal opponent of recycling. He said he wouldn't be in favour of the practice until further markets for recycled products had been developed. Councillor Dave Lee was also waiting on markets to develop. "I'll listen to him, but it'll be a long day before he can convince me," Lee said. He said that with the country in the midst of a recession, he didn't foresee many manufacturers converting their facilities to make use of recycled materials. Councillor Steven Sparling said that the change didn't need to happen at the local, waste - management level, but at the manufacturing level in order to cut down on unnecessary packaging. Brussels was told it would keep its rail line little while longer after a ruling by the National Trans- portation Agency earlier in the month in favour of the line. After Canadian National Railway applied in 1990 to abandon the line from Listowel to Wingham through Ethel and Brussels, the National Transportation Agency claimed that while the line may not have been viable at the time, that didn't guarantee that it wouldn't become viable again at a later date. Applications for welfare in Huron County were on the rise after those at the county saw an increase of 58 per cent in 1990 over the previous year. The ongoing recession was again to blame for the increased numbers, although statistics showed that Huron County was still the second - lowest community in Ontario in terms of the percentage of its residents that were on welfare. February 21, 2008 Feb. 16 proved to be the perfect day to host the fourth annual Easter Seals Snowarama in Londesborough and its surrounding communities. More than 100 riders brought their snowmobiles out onto the trails to help support the cause. They travelled over 130 kilometres, which took them through Brussels, Wingham and Lucknow before they met in Blyth for a barbecue to cap the day off. While the numbers had yet to be finalized, it was estimated that nearly $13,000 had been raised through the event, which far exceeded the total from the previous year's event. Plenty of people were out, despite the cold weather, to see the new receiving and processing facility that had recently been constructed at McCall Livestock, just north of Brussels. The project, which was completed by the New Heights Building Group, included a hydraulic cattle squeeze, an electronic livestock scale and a double -deck loading chute, all with natural ventilation throughout.