Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1991-03-20, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 19. a. Fairness limited The agreement between the Ontario Hospital Association and the Ontario Nurses Association has won praise from experienced nurses and general agreement from the public that nurses should be rewarded better for their work. Most people have been sympathetic to the plight of nurses and won’t begrudge the senior nurses the nearly 30 per cent increase in wages they received. The huge increase brings nurses back into the same range with teachers that they had 25 years ago. In the name of fairness people applaud the move. Except that fairness only goes so far. Fairness only can work within government or huge companies with plenty of resources and the ability to control their incomes. From this settlement to pay equity to so many other programs which try to bring “fairness” to society there’s an insulation from the real world many people in the private, small business sector have to deal with. While senior nurses, for instance, were getting a 30 per cent increase in pay, Agriculture Canada was predicting a 23 per cent drop in net farm income, the pay cheque that farm families get. Many of our local employers have been laying people off. Businesses on our main streets have been tightening their belts to the point their circulation is cut off. There is no fairness for owners or workers in small business these days. Pay equity? Equal pay for work of equal value? Let’s face it, no matter how good our doctors and nurses are, no matter how hard they work, they wouldn’t be able to help many of their patients if they were starving because they couldn’t get good, nutritious food. Farmers then, under the rules of government pay equity legislation, should at least be worth as much as a doctor or nurse because if they didn’t do their job well, the medical professions couldn’t keep up with the problems. But farmers have to live in the cold, hard world of the international marketplace. Most farmers would be delighted to make the S32.000 starting salary for nurses that many of the young nurses were complaining about, let alone the $50,000 salary of experienced nurses or the much richer income of doctors. Under fairness and pay equity, many other private sector workers might also be able to demand equal pay to those in the government sector. But it doesn’t work that way. There is one set of rules for government sector and one for non-unionized small business. The result is exactly what has been seen in the cases of nurses and farmers: the gap between the incomes of those in the public and private sector is growing. We can’t all work for government. Somebody still has to grow the food and run the shops and bake the bread. Society has to find someway to properly compensate those people or there soon won’t be anyone to pay the taxes to allow fairness to function in the civil service. Not politically correct On top of honesty and integrity is political correctness now a prerequisite of being a cabinet minister in Ontario? The firing of Peter Kormos as Consumer Minister by Premier Bob Rae Monday raises some disturbing questions. Mr. Kormos seems to have shown some rather questionable judgement,in the last few weeks but his offences hardly seem serious enough offences to call for his firing. He first hit the front pages when he appeared as a “Sunshine boy” in the pages of the Toronto Sun days after calling for an end to sexism in advertising. He has since been called a “pin-up” which creates the impression of him lounging in a pair of bikini underwear but he was fully clothed to the point of having a tie on. If the same picture had appeared on the business page nobody would have said a word. It was a silly mistake but it was hardly as bad as critics have made it out. But many in the women's movement howled outrage at what they said was a sexist act on Kormos’ part and Bob Rae seems to have agreed that Mr. Kormos was insufficiently politically correct to continue. His second sin was hiring a convicted criminal to work in his department. If this man had been a convicted murderer who had served his time, or a former bank robber Mr. Kormos might have been hailed by party insiders as doing good work to try to help reform unfortunate criminals. But the aid had been convicted of assaulting his wife and the added fact he was advising Mr. Kormos on ridding advertising of sexism set up a howl from the party faithful. One would think that under the kind of non-discriminatory beliefs of the NDP all that should matter was whether or not Mr. Kormos was doing a good job, not his political correctness. But his firing seems to indicate a kind of left wing version of the McCarthy era when all a right winger had to do was accuse someone of being a communist to destroy him. Do we now have a case that if someone is accused of not living up to the party dogma he or she should b£ fired? Melt down Looking ckward ONE YEAR AGO MARCH 19, 1990 The Board of Directors at the Blyth Festival selected Peter Smith as the new artistic director of the Festival. Alan Caldwell, 41, of RR 1, Londesboro along with his two sons and two neighbours were working in the sugar bush east of their house when the accident occurred. There was a tree leaning on another tree over the sugar shack where they make the syrup, and the men decided they should get it down before it fell on the building. While proceeding to cut it down, the tree unexpectedly split in two, then jack-knifed, striking Mr. Cald­ well on his head and shoulders. He was transferred to University Hos­ pital from Clinton Public Hospital. At the Good Roads Association Convention in Toronto, Harry Gil­ lis, RR 3, Brussels was honoured on his retirement after 40 years service to the road industry in Grey township. Mr. Gillis received a certificate for his service. THREE YEARS AGO MARCH 16, 1988 Dora Shobbrook, former Londes­ boro correspondent for The Citizen and other area newspapers was given a plant as a small token for her 17 years service, when a gathering of the newspaper’s cor­ respondents was held in Blyth Thursday. Grey Township council was an­ gry over the charred carcass of a calf which was dumped at the Grey Township landfill site. It was not only a violation of landfill site regulations, but contrary to Ontario’s Dead Animal Disposal Act, the carcasses of a chunk hog and of several lambs were also dumped off. Two local boys, Dwayne Evans and Gerald Knight were with the Listowel and District School Choir which sang in St. Peter’s Basidia in Vatican City. The choir toured Italy and Greece and was scheduled to sing at several places. Bailie Parrott was presented with the 65-year jewel and a framed certificate at a ceremony held at the Lodge of the Independent Order of Oddfellows Western Star #149 of Brussels. Retired and living in Clinton, Mr. Parrott joined the Lodge in 1923 and has held a Continued on page 6 The Citizen P.O. Box 429, BLYTH, Ont. N0M 1H0 Phone 523-4792 P.O Box 152, BRUSSELS, Ont. NOG 1H0 Phone 887-9114 The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $20.50/year ($19.16 plus $1.34 G.S.T.] ($40.00 Foreign]. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited. Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are S Copyright. Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel, Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships. Editor & Publisher, Keith Roulston Advertising Manager, Dave Williams Production Manager, Jill Roulston Second Class Mail Registration No. 6968