Editorial

'Mad Dash' good for info sharing

The thousands of cattle industry members and supporters who took part in the Mad Dash for the Border convoy that travelled from Edmonton to the Coutts crossing in Montana Saturday will likely never know the exact impact their trip had on our neighbours to the south.
But one thing is certain: by physically crossing into the United States, they might well have created ‘news’ that might never have otherwise hit even the back pages.
We all know that for the most part, our American neighbours have limited knowledge when it comes to their neighbours to the north. They often don’t hear or read about what’s happening north of the 49th parallel.
That’s because unless we’ve done something really good – like rescuing hostages, or something really bad – like refusing to take part in the war against Iran, we’re pretty much a non-entity.
Anyone who has picked up an American newspaper in Mexico, or other points outside the US of A knows there’s little, if anything, about Canada in those papers.
Of course Americans in the cattle industry ‘loop’ will know about BSE — Mad Cow Virus, the closed borders and the impact reactions from the United States and countries like Japan are having on Canadian cattle producers.
But we’d bet folding money that the average Joe Q. American – even those living close to the closed borders – knows very little about the impact the closures are having on thousands of Canadians.
Perhaps some American senators have heard about the dilemma in passing. But it’s more likely they’re hearing about what a bonus the closure has been for producers in the US, not the devastation it’s wreaked on Canadian producers. And for that reason, we doubt if they’re worried enough to try to do something about it.
Reports from the Coutts crossing reveal that producers just south of the border realize what their Canadian counterparts are going through. And now that the 2,000 or so Dashers dropped in on that sleepy little border crossing community to chow down thousands of Canadian beef burgers, we can be assured at least a few more Americans will be talking about the dilemma. And with any luck they’ll be talking to the right people – the influential people – who can make some changes at the border.
But if nothing else, the trip, BBQ and Adam Gregory concert will have attracted some media attention. (Because let’s face it, unless there’s an election brewing or a war raging, summer is a slow news season).
And maybe, just maybe, the Coutts event was unique enough to garner a little attention beyond Montana borders. And that would definitely be a good thing, because the more Americans are talking about the crisis to the North, the more likely that someone with a little influence will begin to understand that it really was just one cow – and that officials in this country are doing everything they can to ensure that no more mad cows appear in any food chain.
Beachin’ on
Congratulations once again to the many hard-working volunteers that ensured that the Sand Sculpting championships were a resounding success. Of course their work was aided by the folks out at ChevronTexaco who’ve made beach cleanup at Devonshire their July priority for the past two summers.
Now if we could only convince our friends in Sustainable Resource Development that tourism here could go through the roof if volunteers could cleanup just a little more beach area – on a regular basis.
No offense, but they really are our beaches too.
And given the opportunity, we’re sure Slave Lake and area residents would do a fine job of making Devonshire a showpiece for all Albertans to enjoy.