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9-. . 4â€"Sti ThomasTl‘imes-Journal. Tuesday. February 18, 1992- _Qpinion bomments way out of line Just hold it, Brian Just who does Brian Mulroney think he is? He told about 1,000 angry protestors in Peterhorough on Friday that they were “crackpots” and “vulgar”. 4 That is cbuite a charfifrom a person who is arguably the most contempti le man to su posedly leading lhlS_ countr Since 1837. And quite a moment t ose commenm were indeed or Bri- an’s ‘feel-good’ and ‘meet the Eeofple’ tour. It’s a bit tricky to keep trac o the latest strategy, but the cur- rent, ‘I don’t care what you think.‘ approach reminds us, uncom- fortably so, of Trudeau and his gunslinger stance. Mulroney was the one who was elected to office and accepted the prime minister’s paycheque with promises of leading us all to prosperit . Those protesters are. rivate citizens who are paying the price llor his Eovernment's fai ures. Just who is the crackpot here? I ‘ Mulroney’s comments don‘t add to any sort of intelligent dis- cussion of the ideas. They just make peop e very, very angry. If Brian doesn’t care about his own popularity. then he should care that he is seriously wounding this country. He has told the public if they don’t like what he does, don’t vote for him. But the emotions, the separation. happening here goes beyond the Con- servatives being turfed out of power. People in this country expect their politicians to listen to them. The ty e of anger Mulroney is Creatin , by so obviously not car- ing to isten, is causing a rift between t e people and any form of government. Mulroney has an obligation when attacked 7 when facing pro- testers ; to answer the qtuestions they ask, address the concerns they raise, not to attack he people, to discount their right to even protest as ‘vulgar’. We are in danger of people considering the federal government to be so out of touch as to be totally irrelevant to their lives. That’s seems farâ€"fetched. but the implications are scary, Frankly, we're scared. REMEMBER, wE’RE BEHIND YOU ALL V r 47-;1 Thomas Timesrdournal. Wednesday. February 19v 1992' l Opinion Farmers say PM }~ had better listen Dairy farmers don‘t take time off lightly. Cows aren't like a field crop, where you could occasionally . leave them untended for a day without major repercussions. l With milkings and feedings to tend to and the knowled e that i any break in t eir routines can cause anxiety and affect t e r0- 5 duc}t]ion ability of a cow, dairy farmers don't just take time 0 ton , 21W 111']. ‘ And that's why Brian Mulroney should be shaking in his boots. Because thousands of milk producers are banding together and travelling to Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Frida to ask the fed- eral government to retain article during the GA T negotiations. They will bclprotcsting a trade deal they fear will open the border i to a Hood 0 cheaper. imported dairy producm and other food items. The Elgin County Milk Committee is ‘oining the efforts of farm- ers from Oxford, Perth, Huron, Midd esex, Lambton and Kent. This area produces about 25 per cent of the provincial total sup- plyrof milk, here are just over 2,400 dairy farmers in this sevencounty area. . A great many of them will be boardin coaches and arriving in Ottawa for a mid-day rally. There they’ 1 be joined by thousands of protesters from across Canada. Poultry and egg producers, who also work under supply maria ement s stems, share the i milk producers‘ fears for the futureo their in ustries. They say we should all fear for a way of life with Canadians taking for granted a guaranteed supply of inexpensive food, he “l 'cause if Americans are allowed to dump on the open market, our farmers will go the way of the dinosaur. It isn't easy for these people to leave their farms for a day. , They are choosing this form of protest because they are very se» rious. i Brian Mulroney should be very certain he listens. 7 fl ‘ SATURDAY, February 22, l992 1/