Pages THE HERALD Wednesday August 16 Terra Cotta postal service opens Canada Mexico race for Japanese investment In the race for Japanese invest Canada may be losing out to Mexico our emerging rival to the south The Japanese have not been big investors in Canada Of total Japanese direct foreign invest plant and equipment Canada garnered only a small fraction in 1986 the latest year for which numbers are available That amounted to roughly billion US Meanwhile Japanese invest ment m Mexico has grown seven fold over the past decade albeit to a still modest 3 billion S With the freetrade deal Canada had hoped to lure more Japanese money By investing in plants and equipment in Canada Japanese companies would be able to enter the big S market through the backdoor so the thinking went Apparently the rich American market has more than one back door The Americans who have been growing increasingly protectionist lately resent these ends runs on their domestic market It seems they would rather have the Japanese set up plants in the United States employing Americans rather than Mexicans or Canadians TRADING ILLUSIONS The way the trade figures work exports to the United States from Japanese companies situated in Mexico show up as imports from Mexico not from Japan So while the US trade deficit with Japan may be easing from its record high in truth the Japanese are still flooding the S market with their goods Canada would like Japanese in vestment because new plants create jobs for Canadians But if the Japanese can get cheap labor in Mexico why should they set up shop in Canada There are reasons For one thing Canadian workers are far more skilled and so more than their Mexican counter parts For another our exchange rate helps to make Canadian made goods competitive in the US market t Perhaps there s a bigger ques tion here Mexico may desperately need the Japanese to move in and set up manufacturing plants along the MexicoU S border but does Canada It not as if we re short of capital Canadians save more money than Americans do creating a big pool of capital to finance business and government spending Unfortunately most of that money goes to government Trouble is not all Canadian com are inclined to expand their domestic operations Instead some prefer to build in the United States or yes Mexico Perhaps it about time we sat down and asked ourselves Why JAPAN HAS THE MONEY Rather than running to Japan to beg for our share of their corporate largesse perhaps we ought to be calling on Canadians to invest in the country s future In the great global monopoly game Japan has ended up with most of the money It about time North Americans won some of that money back Let s not forget that the miracle of Japanese management used as its model early century American caphtahsts the pater founders of corporate America has smgl vented modern consumer society Mind you in the late 20th century growing environmental concerns are calling the whole enterprise in to question Rebuilding and diversifying the Canadian economy will not be an easy task But it not apparent that North America lacks the money and corporate savvy to do it Two months of negotiating and weeks of planning have put Terra Cotta General Store back on the list of local post offices Owner Ted Rombough opened postal services Monday for Terra Cotta residents Mr Rom bough began contract talks with Canada Post in April thai ended in success For the next 10 vears Canada Post and Ted are part There is no question postal boxes installed in the store will make it easier to distnbute mail he said Residents hae Iheir own keys and can open postal boxes They hid a choice and preferred mail boxes to mat slots Terra Cotta s success with Canada Post comes on the heels of a contract dispute between the owners of the Limehouse Genera Store and the postal corporation Last December Delia and Michael Gaskill Limehouse store owners opted out of a postal contract that they said paid too little When contract talks looked bleak this for Mr he got a telephone call from Peel MP Garth Turner Mr Turner intervened in the talks He called Ottawa and the per son from Ottawa came down Mr said I don think Mr Turner was getting hot and heavy into the postal issue at first The rural post office as the heart of the community will still exist said the Terra Cotta store owner People will still come in and 1 11 still say hi There stdl be some contact The loss of rural postal services in Canada and in has been an issue with Rural Dignity a group formed to preserve what they say is part of rural Canada s heritage Erin resident and Rural Dignity member Liz Armstrong has been active with both the Limehouse and Terra postal decisions OFFICE MAGIC FOR ALL YOUR OFFICE STATIONERY NEEDS STEVEN C FOSTER BALLB BARRISTER SOLICITOR 37 MAIN ST SOUTH GEORGETOWN ONT L7G 3G2 fax 41 68734962 Canada Post is attempting to privatize and close down rural post offices across the iountry Ms Armstrong said But she said not all postmasters and postmistresses have an MP to help fight their cause as Ted and Don Rombough did in Terra Cotta Mens Wear SUMMER CLEARANCE id SALE SPORTS WEAR By JULIAN 3050 OFF SUMMER SUITS ByHASPEL SHORT SLEEVE DRESS SHIRTS 50 OFF ALL TIES off SPORTS JACKETS i 3050 OUT OUR SELECTION OF SUITS FOR FALL AT 10000 OFF COUNTRY SQUIRE CHAPS MERIT 211GUELPHST GEORGETOWN CENTRE 8777361 SUMMER MondayFriday 9M Saturday POP N JOT DISPENSER Rafill Pad 1 Pkg Yellow Tap Flag Orange Tap Fttg Whan you purchase on Pop n Jot Retail Value 6 Attractive contemporary compact design specially designed fan folded refill POST IT note Inducted CODE C 75KR DESCRIPTION SPECIAL Dispenser SI LIQUID PAPER Cove up to and stakes seconds No mess unbreakable IB ml plastic bottle CODE DESCRIPTION Thinner White JustFo Copies Pen and Ink SPECIAL SI 19m SI 19ta STENO NOTEBOOKS 1 19 bound Sue IJOpagotwtthto COOE DESCRIPTION AT30 Whit no centre 304 AT4 WhltO AT60B Oman HANGING FILE FOLDERS TABS able stock Support a action on a Is tor and loga Colours Rod Blue folders pack CODE DESCRIPTION 600 Letter 700 Legal 642 Tabs 3