To the Editor:

Is Haiti a lesson to us, as well? Why were 80 per cent of the Haitians living in abject poverty in Port-au-Prince?

It seems until 1950 they were self-sufficient in supplying rice to themselves, then the International Monetary Fund convinced the Haitian government to remove their embargo on rice imports. Texan rice flooded the market, Haitian farmers went bankrupt and had to move off the land, to Port-au-Prince.

When the NAFTA agreement was being negotiated with the Mexicans and Canadians, our former MLA told me about hearing the Iowa corn lobby tell the Mexicans that “Iowa was the source of corn, not Mexico.” So the Mexican farmers have gone broke with Iowan corn flooding their market.

I would like to bring this analogy home. What was all this ruckus about Canadian lumber entering the U.S. market? How many millions — or was it billions — of the logging industry money did Canada concede to the U.S.A.?

And now, where are all those logging mills? Why are there so many mills shut and we thank god every day that we have a couple still operating in our valley?

Imperialism is not such a wonderful concept, is it?

God help the Haitians and God help the forest industry of B.C. No, we don't eat trees, but the good salaries are largely gone, and we produce very little of our own food — it seems it all comes from the U.S.A.

Holly Pender-Love

Creston

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