Editorials - Sept. 4, 2026
The national anthem
U.S. President Donald Trump’s dismantling of the North American Free Trade Agreement and his unfettered use of tariffs is causing uncertainty, disruption and steep cost-of-living increases across all of the industrialized world. Canadian businesses hit by retaliatory tariffs are facing unprecedented challenges after decades of building strong cross-border alliances and shared business interests.
With manufacturing and auto sectors getting the lion’s share of the attention in the press, other industries are also reeling from cost increases, border delays and general disruption to their business. One local company is demonstrating the kind of resilience that Canadians are becoming known for. While once our international presence was that of politeness, we have been forced to shake off that persona and become a nation of “elbows up”. Chapman’s Ice Cream, as reported on CKNX NewsToday.ca, has a plan to source new suppliers of ingredients that they previously purchased from the U.S. Since 2025, they have been changing their supply of things like cherries, almonds, pecans, cones and wafers for sandwiches. They are on track to have a 70 per cent reduction in purchases by 2027 and an ultimate goal of 100 per cent by 2028.
Companies could just absorb the costs of tariffs, raise prices or shrink their markets. Instead, Chapman’s is an example of rolling up our sleeves, refocusing business relationships and persevering. – DS
Anyone can play guitar
The Canadian Cadet program has a proud history. It endures to this day with strong, thriving divisions in local communities like Brussels, Wingham and beyond. It occupies its own corner within the youth program landscape. Farm kids have 4-H. Active kids have baseball, soccer and hockey leagues. Bookish kids have the wide swath of offerings from their local libraries. Stage-ready kids have theatre programs like the Blyth Festival’s Young Company to turn to. Young people who desire structure and tradition turn to the local Cadet Corps. The Cadets, like any other of these groups, thrive on leaders who are pillars of their community. They give of their time and intelligence, all in an effort to help shape the next generation into tomorrow’s leaders.
Along their journey, they learn not only the structure of the chain of command, but also about partnership and teamwork, both of which run on the fuel of compassion and understanding. They, and others, learn these principles in their youth and put them into practice as adults.
It is against this backdrop that you see those who skipped these formative steps, installed in some of the world’s highest offices not for their credentials, but for their sycophantic loyalty to a leader who has never earned anything honestly, abandon those principles or perhaps not even consider them in the first place as they navigate those offices.
A reality show host knows not of the decency and compassion one needs to effectively govern a population. A weekend television host is devoid of the morality needed to seek peace and not yearn for war.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s cruel, high-school bully post on the former Twitter aimed at two female Cadets is, as has been said, beneath the American office. Yet, this is the new normal. – SL
Everything in its right place
There is something satisfying about moving into a new office, even when that “new” office is an old one.
North Huron Publishing Company has crossed the street and moved back into a space, one that previously served as home. It may not have been a long journey, but anyone who has moved a business knows that the work involved has little to do with the distance travelled. Moving a publishing company brings its own brand of chaos. There are computers to reconnect, phones to relocate, desks to move, files to organize and boxes to label. And, of course, there is still a newspaper to produce.
That is the tricky part. Deadlines do not stop because the office is being rearranged. The work of gathering news, selling advertising, answering questions, meeting deadlines and preparing the next edition continues, even while the office is in a state of transition.
Co-ordinating all those details while keeping the business running takes effort. There are surprises, but eventually the boxes are unpacked, the cords are untangled and everyone can breathe again. There is also some logic to returning to an old office. Farmers know that rotating crops can help prevent pests and disease from taking hold. Perhaps newspapers can benefit from a little rotation, too. A change of surroundings can give old ideas a fresh perspective, while familiar surroundings provide a sense of continuity. The important thing is that while our address has changed, our purpose has not. North Huron Publishing Company remains committed to being part of the community, telling its stories and providing a place where local people and local news can meet.
So, if you are passing by, come on in and have a look. Drop in, say hello and check out the new digs. The building is different, but the community remains the same. – SBS