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Ian Oliver Publisher Robert Glasbey Advertising Director Norman Alexander Editor Geoff Hill Circulation Director Teri Casas Office Manager Tim Coles Production Manager And speaking of statistics, consider these: in the past year, 123 plants have closed and 250,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost. And 1993 has started off in the same vein, with announcements of more plant closures in the Niagara Region and permanent layoffs announced at General Motors‘ massive Oshawa production complex. If there is some good economic news to be found, it‘s that Oakville conâ€" tinues to weather the recession relatively well. With Ford‘s future here assured for the next seven years at least and with a new Lear Seating plant coming here, the year locally has been more upbeat. So what do we have to look forward to this year? Look for more layoffs like those at Oakville‘s General Electric plan as large employers rationalize their global operations. And look for smaller entrepreneurial companies to be the main drivers of the economy. Gone are the days of massive plants with hundreds or thousands of peoâ€" ple on the payroll. Today, more goods will be produced cheaper with fewer people. That‘s the reality of the economy of the 1990s. Unfortunately, that doesn‘t hold any weight with the thousands of workâ€" ers who have been put on the unemployment rolls over the past couple of years. There is a danger in quoting numbers about the economy and the people of StatsCan have fallen into that trap. But hot on the heels of the StatsCan announcement came the declaraâ€" tion from Finance Minister Don Mazankowski, that this good news won‘t mean lower unemployment. That‘s where things get confusing. As a whole, the country may be pulling itself out of hard times but in Ontario, the news has not been good over the past two years and we‘re still looking for more positive signs of recovery here. C at,, rraryr? 4 EDITORIAL The road back hen the number crunchers at Statistics Canada say the recession is over, you‘d better start worrying. StatsCan cites the growth in the second half of the year as a sign that we‘re pulling out of the 467 Speers Road, Oakville, Ont. L6K 354 Classified Advertising: 845â€"2809 Circulation: 845â€"9742 or 845â€"9743 _A sampling of the best answers will published in the next Weekend edition of the Oakville Beaver. What should the province do to ease traffic congestion on the QEW? Give us your opinion on this topic by calling 845â€"5585, box 5012. All callers are allowed 45 seconds to respond and must provide their name, address and phone number for verification. The Oakville Beaver, published every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, at 467 RdL.“OakaIe.'imn of the Mero::\ng" (mm Publishing . group of s newspapers Pum c.th?ws Advertiser, ;%.Te »gvancs Banpm @Gadmbsnufilfi;bn lingwood Conni n, Etobicoke Guardian, Bfl]%' independent Acton Free Press, Kingston This Week, Lind is Week, Markham Economist and Sun, Stoufiville/Uxbridge Tribune, Milton Canadian chgmlon. Mississauga News, Newmarketâ€"Aurora Eraâ€"Banner, North York Mirror, ie Beaver, Onllia Today, Oshawa/Whithy This Week, Peterborough This Week, Richmond HilÂ¥ThomhilWVaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror. All material published in the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Any reproduction in whole or in part of this material is strictly for n wi the consent of the publisher. 4mP! Ho hum. Yet another entry in the most popular timewasting pursuit north of the 49th paralâ€" lel â€" the ongoing, neverâ€"ending party quiz game that asks you to answer the question, "What is a Canadian?" Wake me when it‘s over. Defining Canadianism is a pastime that‘s been obsessing folks in these parts for years â€" ever since that famous boozeup in Charlottetown a century and a quarter ago, when a gaggle of politicos in stovepipe hats got together over a couple of cases of whisky to thumb tack and scotch tape this country togethâ€" er. The Fathers of Confederation did a fair job of uNP! ce anada is a private joke shared by all Canadians, but we don‘t like other people getting in on it. Of course, it‘s a nitwit country; of course, there are too few of us and we‘re racially prejudiced; of course, we bumâ€" ble around and we‘re always cold and we keep building enormous monuments to a Canadian culture that doesn‘t exist. Of course, we keep electâ€" ing foolish people who make us promises we don‘t believe they‘ll deliver. But it‘s our priâ€" vate joke â€" we‘ll laugh at it, but nobody else had better. en When it comes to Canadians, the last laugh is on ourselves Sean Kelly It‘s a book by Heather Brazier which I fourid in the toe of my Christmas stocking. It‘s called Which Do You Prefer: Chunky or Smooth? The book is 268 pages detailing what Canadians eat, watch, read, buy I don‘t propose to try and answer the question here today. Life it too short. But I think it‘s my public duty to announce that there‘s a whole new data base out there for people who do want to make the attempt. The best definition I ever heard came from Irving Layton. The Montreal poet decreed that a Canadian is any person who goes around asking ‘what it is a Canadian?‘ In the 125 years since, scholâ€" ars and soothsayers, proselytizâ€" ers and pundits have all had a go at nailing down exactly what it is that makes Canadians neiâ€" ther American nor British, nor French. There have been some dandy definitions, but none of them are ever quite...perfect. cobbling those early provinces, but they forgot to whip up a worldâ€"class national identity for us. Which Do You Prefer: Chunky or Smooth? By Heather Brazier, published by Harper We might be able to identify Canadians by checking their mouths. There‘s definitely a sweet tooth in there. Canadians chomp their way through 274,888 kilograms of chocolate daily. As to the question posed by the title: it‘s smooth. Canadians prefer smooth to chunky peanut butter by a three to one margin. Collins. On an average day, Prime Minister Mulroney receives 274 letters (it doesn‘t say what perâ€" centage of them are xâ€"rated); we drink 55,575,000 cups of coffee; and at least one of us gets caught smoking in the washroom on a Canadian airâ€" plane. Which may explain why 28,493 of us start a new diet or weight loss program...on the same average day. Did you know that on an average day Canadians spend $9,589,041 on lottery tickets? That 214 of us get divorced? That 223 Canadians give up booze? That 13,699 of us say ‘Chuck it‘ approximately, and take the day off to go fishing? and do...on an average day. The contents are enlightenâ€" ing â€" with occasional excurâ€" sions into incredible.