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16 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, August 12, 1986 This week's photograph shows the hamlet of Ashburn, looking west along the Myrtle Road, as it appeared in 1907. Most prominent in the picture is the Ashburn General Store which was believed built by Noah Bates around 1850. At the time the photograph was taken, the business Take a Look Back was operated by A.W. Ellis, whose family is shown standing in front. Ellis later sold the business to Thomas Allen Fisher, who operated it for many years. The business and residence are still standing at the four corners of Ashburn, and are now run by Moyra Griffin. Viewpoint War! the headlines say. Man your stations! Trade war with the U.S. looms.! First it was the horrible shakes and shingles theatre of operation ... now it's the steel industry battle. But wait a minute. Listen for the sounds of the heavy tariff artillery and hear nothing. but silence. Well, all right, maybe a few popguns at most. What will happen with the steel importing disaster remains to be seen. What is easier to decipher, having a few months to dwell on it, is the furor over the lumber industry. So-called experts are getting the shakes and shingles. Maybe they should switch to decaf, because the furor over cedar tariffs hasn't made one bit of difference ... it doesn't mean the free trade roof is falling in. Far from it. There is no question that individuals will be hurt by the tariff on shingles, and that's distressing, as is any job loss, under any cir- cumstances. But to see it as a death knell for the free trade talks is to give a relatively minor action by a major power too much weight. The same must be said about Canada's own reaction to the cedar affair. The U.S. move triggered such an emotional, overblown response north of the 49th that Ot- tawa had to be seen as doing something. Hence, the token tariffs on books, periodicals, computer components and other items. Lost in all this foofaraw is the fact, that, at the same time President Reagan agreed to tariffs on Canadian shingles, he also went along with similar action on German and Japanese machine tools. We take things so seriously up here. | It's all because of an American setup in which any company or industry can seek pro- tection through the president from what they perceive as unfair competition. If the Inter- , national Trade Commission supports the ap- by ROXANNE REVELER plication under Section 201 of the U.S. Trade Act, the White House then has 60 days to re- ject, approve or modify the plan. And Section 201 complaints aren't always successful. In the midst of the cedar shake- up, Kenhar Products Incorporated won its battle against two U.S. companies who sought their own 35 percent tariff on the Guelph manufacturer of lift-truck forks. Had the action succeeded, Kenhar of- ficials said they would have had to move the company and 140 jobs to the States. But the U.S. trade commission ruled that Canadian imports were not the cause of financial troubles in the American fork industry and Kenhar, rejoicing, stays put. But the problem was the media, and hence Canadians, did not find this anything to get hyped about. There was no way to point the finger at the big, bad U.S. of A, so why report it? In the case of cedar, Reagan softened the original 35 percent tariff for five years so that it decreases to eight percent at the end of five - years. The upshot is that the Canadian shingle industry will lose only about 20 percent of sales since the U.S. supply cannot meet the country's demand. The problem in this case was simply tim- ing, so that the action appeared to fly in the face. of the fledgling freer trade talks. But Reagan had no coatrol over that, given the constraints of the law. Of course, Reagan might have saved Brian Mulroney a pain in the butt if he'd have let our PM know what was happening, that I will grant you. But that's a public relations gaffe, not likely to threaten the trade talks. What these cases do point up is the crucial nature of those very talks, and, more impor- tant, the fact that Canadian industries such as Kenhar can, and do, compete and win in the international marketplaces. Why else would they be targets of section 201? Turn to page 18 Editorial Comments Two Weeks to Racism There are just over two weeks left before racism begins in Canada. You see, official racism will begin on September 1, when a new federal policy goes into effect, forcing companies doing business with Ottawa to hire predefined numbers of women and "visi- ble minorities." Since the government now consumes 55 percent of every dollar spent in Canada, many firms will be affected by the latest example of federal engineering. Leave aside the issues of women and equal pay. Let's focus on the interesting question of what Ottawa terms "visible minorities.' Such people must now be hired according to a formula devised by federal employment officials. Surprise inspections will monitor com- pliance. Firms failing to meet Ottawa's targets will be given up to Canada's version of the Inquisition ... the Human Rights Commission. To some, this may sound like a great idea. But think for a mo- ment about the law's not-so-obvius implications. Per example: Acme Industries is told it must hire 12 '"'visible minorities." But who are they? Inuit and racial minorities says Ot- tawa, plus other "disadvantaged" groups. If these 12 people are hired, what happens to the people who were formerly holding down those positions? They get their little pink slips presumably and join the ranks of the unemployed. This would appear to be discrimination in reverse. The good old Canadian WASP is being punished because he is not a racial minority member. Would a coat of iodine on the skin satisfy the know-it-alls in Ottawa.? But let's get back to Acme. They go out and hire six Inuit, one Chinese, two "'Pakistanis" and three "blacks," thereby meeting Ot- tawa's order for 12 minority workers. Inspectors come back and, check the books and interview the minority employees. One of the "blacks," a honey-skinned lady from racially mixed Jamaica says the majority of the blood flowing through her veins is white ... therefore, she too is white. One of the "Pakistanis" says he is actually an Indian Brahmin, and thus as white as any European. ~ Suddenly, Acme is violating federal law. Who then will determine a person's race? Why civil servants of course. No matter that societies in the West Indies, Latin America, Africa and Asia each have a myriad of racial nuances, Ottawa recognizes only black and white, minority and majority. Brings to mind an article written by William F. Buckley in the beginning of July. He mentioned the fact that the Supreme Court had ruled against sheet metal workers in New York City because the union had flagrantly discriminated against minorities. By August 31, 1987, the Supreme Court stated the union in ques- tion is supposed to have in its work force, 29.23 percent black or Hispanic workers. To quote Buckley ... *'l doubt that Einstein would have specified 29.23 percent parts uranium in the atom bomb with any confidence, and certainly Maxim's would not specify 29.23 per- cent minutes in the oven for a baked Alaska. The idea of the U.S. courts spending their time measuring in hemidemisquavers com- 'pliance with anti-discrimination statutes gets to the shakey empirical question, and we are still left with the moral question." A little lengthy, and over-wordy to be sure, but it hits the nail right on the head. A new race bureaucracy will, of course, have to be created, pro- bably called the ministry of human relations, or some other preten- tious name, staffed with "experts" from the post office. It will make those terribly difficult decisions about how to classify a half-Nigerian, half-white man. Is he white or is he black ... oh, such decisions ... If he is ranked black, he will be in line for preferential hiring. Will it come to the point that a white man will claim to be black to be able to get a job ahead of other people? Is a Chinese from a visible minori- ty? Is an Arab, a Cambodian, a Greek? 'Are Americans a visible minority in Canada? Are lesbians and gays a minority that must receive consideration? What about the very fat? Right now there is a law suit going on in the States charging a firm with discrimination because it refused to hire a 250 pound woman. What about that great and silent minority ... the ugly? As unemployment in this country grows, such questions' will become vitally important to many people. Xaviar Whatnot, born in Barbados, claims he is black, but looks white. Ottawa's racial bureaucrats will have to check his family background for a few genera- tions back. Counting the number of teeth is also a good indication of race, don't forget that, and so, of course, are tests of the hair, skin and blood. Once racial and sex hiring quotas are extended to all business, as they likely will be, it might be easier for Ottawa to introduce identi- ty cards showing a person's race. That way disputes could easily be avoided. You all know how great that idea has worked in South Africa for years and after all isn't that a small price to pay for stamping out discrimination in the work place? Don't laugh ... it's coming. At least that's the way it looks to me.