Times Advocate, 1999-10-20, Page 6TIMES -.ADVOCATE
6
Exeter Times -Advocate
Wednesday, October 20, 1999
Editorial&Opinion
4.116%
PUBLICATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER 07511
Jim Beckett
Publisher and Editor
Don Smith
Deb Lord
General Manager Production Manager
Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited
424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850
Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 • (519) 235-1331.
EDjT•RIAL
Parentin ave
plan has a number
of gaffs
Ayear of government supported par -
enting leave after the birth of a baby
sounds like a dream- corse true; -at
least to those who will be able to take
advantage of it.
Before we applaud the federal Liberals' recent-
ly announced plan to extend parenting leave from
the present 25 weeks, to 52 weeks, we must
acknowledge it will only help workers who qualify
for employment insurance benefits. It excludes
the many who are self-employed, own their own
small businesses, work on a short-term contract
basis, are relatively new to the work force, or do
casual and seasonal work.
It also excludes most men. Like it or not, the
primary responsibility for child care in this soci-
ety still falls to women.
To date, government officials have been careful
to refer to the time off as parenting leave, not
maternity leave. One would have to be pretty
naive to believe fathers will utilize the program to
anywhere near the same extent as mothers. At
some point, someone - as likely to be a disgrun-
tled male as a supporter of women's rights - will
point out the plan is, to all extents and purposes,
something which "benefits" women, not men.
Of course the plan will have its critics. At the
top of the list will be the workers who do not
qualify for the year's paid leave, and who would
dearly love to be hame with their infants. Close to
the top will be the people who, through age, gen-
der, or personal choice, will not be able to collect.
Critics will also include employers who have
noticed how difficult it is to replace a worker for
six months and who do not want to even think
about doing this for a year.
Workers themselves may feel uncomfortable
about the prospect of leaving the work force for a
year of parenting leave. A few months is a long
time; a year could mean retraining and updating
skills and qualifications. Two or three years off
work in a 10 -year period is a lot, perhaps too
much, especially in a fast -paced technology-based
industry.
With these factors in mind, the plan is a step in
the direction taken by many other countries in the
industrialized world. Allowing only a few weeks
off work after the birth, .or adoption of a child
seems cruel to both parent and child. Caring for
an infant is an emotionally demanding, labour-
intensive job. The person best qualified to do this
particular job is, indeed, a loving parent.
This is not saying the parent Is the only person
qualified to provide infant care. What tbis plan
must not do is become an excuse for denying the
need for government subsidized day care.
As has been pointed out, many families do not
qualify for parenting leave. Those who must, or
wish to look at alternatives, should have access to
good, affordable day care.
This plan must also not be used as an excuse to
not hire well qualified women of child bearing
years. The potential for such abuse is lurking very
close to the surface. There is a very short distance
between "Parents (i.e. mothers) should have the
opportunity to stay home for a year with their
infants," to "Mothers should stay home..."
What parents need is not a "one size fits all"
solution to the problem of what to do with the El
surplus, and demands for affordable day care, in
one fell swoop, but options.
If this plan is regarded as one option to assist
some parents, all well and good. But it must not
be the only option.
AT LAST!
THE CI4RETIEN LIE3ERALS
TAX BREAK PACKAGE...
Today's NHL is an inferior product
It's that time of year again. Hockey time. Forgive
me if I don't sound too excited, but what was once
called the fastest game on earth has been trans-
formed into a slow, boring, clutch -and -grab game
played by brutes with little talent.
This is the NHL I'm talking about — I still get a
thrill wherever I watch minor hockey or the local
junior teams. Watching the . NHL now is about as
exciting as 'watc g Jack Nicklaus stand over a
putt for five minus or a baseball pitcher scratch
his crotch and spit out a wad of cheap tobacco.
What's the problem with the NHL ? Too
many teams. The league was fine when it
had 21 teams but the rapid expansion over
the past decade has spread the talent pool
So thin that the best teams in the league
' have one or two elite players and fill the
rest of their roster with muckers and
grinders, many of whom never would have
m ade .the NHL 15 years ago.
Whdre are the offensive superstars?
Where are the skilled players who can
skate from end to end and score a big goal?
Those players are few and far between in
the NHL these days. Because of this most
teams play a boring dump -and -chase system, effec-
tively eliminating the creativity and beauty of the
game. The Toronto Maple Leafs are among the few
teams who actually play an exciting, offensive -
minded game.
It took Anaheim's Paul Kariya five games to score
his first goal this year. It took Eric Lindros four
games to score his first goal for the Philadelphia
Flyers. These are two players who are supposed to
be among the best in tate league.
The league has done' Many things to increase
scoring. It has reduced the size of pads worn by
goaltenders, altered the- hated in -the -crease rule
and even reduced to four the number of skaters
teams will. ice in overtime. It's too early to tell if
the overtime will improve with fewer skaters on
the ice but the only thing the NHL could do to
increase scoring and improve the game would be
to eliminate eight or nine teams from the NHL. And
that will never happen.
This all comes down to greed by the owners and
the players. The owners get money each time an
expansion team enters the league. That's why
hockey hotbeds such as Atlanta, Nashville
and Florida have been given teams. Never
mind the fact that fans in those places can't
tell a puck from a soccer ball, they have
lots of money to spend and the NHL owners
want to get their hands on it. The result is
an inferior game that is wearing thin on
Canadians, who see their game being stolen
away from them by the U.S.
And Canadians are right. The owners and
players, primarily concerned with lining
their own pockets, don't care if any teams
stay in Canada. Commissioner Gary
Bettman can pretend to be worried about
the future of NHL teams in Canada but if the
Montreal Canadiens move to Salt Lake City tomor-
row he won't bat an eye.
So, what can fans do around the league to com-
bat an inferior product? For one, stop going to the
games. Maybe if owners start to feel the pinch at
the box office they'll start worrying about improv-
ing the game. But as long as we keep filling the
seats, the owners and players will keep going to
the bank.
SCOTT
NDCON
AND
THING
ANOTHER
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