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Times Advocate, 1998-06-10, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, June 10, 1998 Publisher & Editor: Jim Beckett Business Manager: Don Smith Production Manager: Deb Lord Advertising; Barb Consitt, Chad Eedy QLews: Kate Monk, Craig Bradford, Katherine Harding, Ross Haugh Production • Alma Ballantyne, Mary McMurray, Barb Robertson Brenda Hern, Joyce Weber, Laurel Miner Transportation: Al Hodgert Front office Qt Accounting; Sue Hollings, Carol Windsor Ruthanne Negrijn, Anita McDonald, Cassie Dalrymple, Ruth Slaght, co». 64 There's no life like it,"'accord- ing to the recruiting posters, which show attractive young men and women in uniform, standing next to some high- priced military hardware., The modern soldier portrayed in those Canadian Armed Forces recruiting pos- ters is intelligent, comfortable with technology, well 'educated and dedicat- ed. These days, that person could easily he female. The upper echelons of to- day's military have' decided there is a place fqr more women in roles which go well beyond the traditional nursing and office work. Recent news stories - scandals = re- veal a dark side of life in -the Canadian Armed Forces, particularly for women. The stories include sordid tales of ram- pant alcohol abuse; sexual harassment and rape. Many women considering a career in the Canadian Armed Farces haven() doubt set their plans aside; Women are fully, prepared to accept' the risk of physical injury at the hands of the ene= my, but being subjected to the same ' dangers at,the hands of their male co- workers is unacceptable. The unfortunate part of it is sexual ha- rassment probably happens no more ' frequently in the armed forces than in the civilian world, especially in non- traditional occupations. Probably is a key word, because the military tradi- tionally handles such matters on its ' own. , The Exeter Times -Advocate is a member of a family of community newspapers providing news, advertising and information leadership EDITORIA • No place for certain leaders In most ,civilian workplaces these days, employers are well aware that at- tempts to intimidate female staff through cave man tactics are likely to result in lawsuits or, at the very least,' unwelcome attention from the media. This does not normally happen in the military. In manyways the Canadian Armed Forces is a law unto itself, with its own set of rules and even its own polide. The lifestyle is,unique. Members are mostly very young, and they spend most of their time a long way from Publications Mail Registration Number 07511 SUBSCRIPTION RATES; One year rate for Canada subscribers - $35.00 + OST Two year rate for Canada subscribers - $63.00 + GST OTHER RATES Outside Canada - 8102.00 Published Each Wednesday Morning at 424 Maln St., Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S6 by J.W. Eedy Publications Ltd. Telephone 1.519-235-1331 • Fax: 519-235-0766 emall:ta@eedy.com G.S.T. 1R105210835 their homes and families. They are trained to be tough, to be aggressive. Most of them are decent human be- ings. Some are true heroes. But as in the civilian world, there is the occasional red -necked idiot who sees women not as co-workers but as prey. •Add to this a substantial number of military men who feel certain trades are not appropriate for women, and there is potential for accusations of abuse and cover-ups. In the civilian world, a woman being victimized by the office bully goes home at the end of her eight-hour day. In the military, that work day could well be a straight 48 hours in the middle of no- where. The woman is obliged to eat meals with the bully, socialize with him and live in close proximity to him. There is no escape. At least in theory, she has the option of going to her superior officer to make a complaint. In most cases it is not a valid option. She faces the real possibility the -officer would not see sexual harassment and assault as creating a problem in his unit, but the woman doing the complain- ing. Thechances are, a female soldier sub- jected to continued harassment will eventually resign, which is the purpose of the whole exercise. It is a crude, ugly way of saying "no girls allowed". Except sometimes the media gets its hands on a juicy, story, and the military gets another black eye. Whether of not it is deserved is debatable. The irony is the stories have probably have done more to discourage women from,signing up than all the cases of harassment put together. If the Canadian Armed Forces be- lieves its own advertising, it cannot af- ford loose cannons who unnecessarily endanger their own troops, and the repu- tation of the organization. There is no need for sensitivity, sympathy or, heav- en help 'us, a series of studies and gather- , ing of statistics. The only action needed is a firmly enforced regulation or two. reprinted front Saugeen City News Speak Out 1 Letters to the Editor The Times -Advocate continues to welcome letters to the editor as a forum for open discussion of local issues, concerns, complaints and kudos. The Times Advocate reserves the right to edit letters for brevity. Please send your letters to P.O. Box 850 Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S6. Sign your letter with both name and address,. Anonymous letters will not be published. Kate's takes By Kate Monk Crossing the generation gap 6 When does a person become a member of the older generation? Does it happen quickly or in stages? Does a person immediately realize it when it happens? Parents are reminded each day they're over the hill. Their clothes are old-fashioned, their music is horrendous and their kids (especially 'teenagers) generally find them to be un -cool. Being an aunt is not the same as being a mother. Aunts, by their very nature, are generally favored by their nieces and nephews and looked upon with awe. My youngest nephew has just turned 19 and is heading to college in the fall while my oldest nephew is only four years my junior. Because I'm A View from Queen's Park TORONTO - Progressive Conservative Pre- mier Mike Harris and his Flongest starving Tory predecessor of recent years, William .Davis, keep showing they have a common bond -- they dislike each other, Davis has underlined his differences with Harris, which have never been much below the surface since the latter became premier in 1995, by calling on his government to get along better with teachers and school boards. In a speech to educators Davis said he tries to avoid commenting on Harris government policies, but events prompted him. The ex -premier noted "there has been a de- gree of controversy in education for the past lit- tle while" and said educators, the public and government policy -makers need to respect and trust each other and communicate more. When he was premier, he said, communica- tion between educators and policy -makers was paramount. "We paid attention. There never was a breakdown." Davis added " the teaching profession needs and deserves our support" and change in the By Eric Dowd generally closer in age to my niece and nephews than my siblings and am looked upon as part of their generation. These are only some of the factors that led me to believe I was still part of the younger generation. But every oncein a while, an event or incident happens to make me realize that, although I don't have kids and I can still run faster than many 20 -year-olds, I am indeed part of the older generation. A big one happened Friday night. I dozed on the couch while watching a movie but close to midnight, I roused myself and headed to the high school to take the students of the year pictures. While waiting for the announcement, i looked around the room and realized I didn't know the kids very well, but did know quite a few of the parents. I did some quick math and came to the conclusion these students were born the same year I attended my senior prom. As I reflected further, I discovered some parts of my life have changed. On Friday nights, I'd rather rent a movie than travel to London to the big screen. I'd rather dawdle in my. garden than skydive. I enjoy a leisurely Saturday morning with a newspaper rather than sleeping in until noon. I listen to CBC radio rather than FM96. • I don't know whether I've • crossed the generation gap or whether it has come to me but I know it's happened and it's OK. My next question is: when do I get to the next generation gap? elementary and secondary school system should be acceptable and encouraged, "but it has to be thought out." He also declared "I believed then, as I believe now, that no young person "should be, precluded from a post -secondary education due to econom- ic reasons." Davis's comments are a strong rebuke to Har- ris, particularly considering the former premier is renowned for his use of restrained language. Davis has impact also because before becom- ing premier from 1971-85 he was education minister and the architect of the system Harris is changing. Davis has seen Harris policies help prompt Ontario's first province -wide teachers' strike and would not have felt comfortable with Harris telling teachers "mediocre does not cut it any more" and they are workshy and can go sell real estate if they lose jobs. Davis has given crit- ics of Harris including teachers ammunition by hinting he did not think through his schools poli- cyin advance. Harris has.cut funds and allowed universities to increase tuition fees as much as 20 per cent Bond this year and, while he has said like Davis he does n'ot want the poor prevented from attend- ing, he has not guaranteed help to avoid mas- sive debts. Teachers in the community college system which Davis created also recently gave their union a strike mandate over work condi- tions. This is only the latest of many issues on which Davis and Harris disagree. Davis must shudder every time Harris talks of cutting big governnment, because Davis more than anyone built it by opening a new branch for every com- plaint. Davis, who usually tried to smooth the way, clearly is irked by Harris's pitbull style in call- ing every union leader a "union boss," saying he enjoys demonstrations because they enable him to meet a lot of policemen and he had to take away a food allowance from pregnant wel- fare recipients because they would only have spent it on beer. Among many other quarrels Davis, who has campaigned for federal Tories for five decades, views Harris as selfish because he refused help last year and stayed neutral tp repay the Reform Party for not running against him in 1995. Harris has not disguised his distaste for Da- vis's freer -spending policies which led him to pile up deficits as high as $2 billion a year and never balance a budget, while Hams has cut services and costs despite a storm and will bal- ance his budget by the year 2000. Harris feels Davis was too interventionist, buying land, a hotel and even part of an oil company which all had to be sold with losses of hundreds of mil- lions of dollars and getting into programs like rent controls from which Harris, is still having difficulty disentangling himself: Harris once when asked to name his hero cit- ed George Drew, a Tory premier in the 1940s who pushed road -building and more recently said he hopes for an image like Tory premier John Robarts, seen as a "chairman of the board" in running the province efficiently in the 1960s. But he has not expressed much admiration for Davis.