The Times-Advocate, 2002-10-23, Page 4Do me a favour. Stop reading. That’s right, put
the paper down and go look in the mirror. Now
you see who is responsible for the sorry state of
the Canadian military. All of us.
I know it would be easier to blame Pierre, Jean,
Brian, or whoever else has held the scepter in
Ottawa for the last 30 years. But the truth is
they’ve given us exactly what we wanted for a mil-
itary. Which is to say precious little. Don’t get me
wrong, I think the first responsibility of any
government is to protect its citizens and
borders, and our armed forces are inca-
pable of doing that. But Canadians are
smart, and we know we live in a safe
neighbourhood. It’s like living on the same
street as a Mafia Godfather. You know that
it’s safe to leave your door unlocked
because the small-time criminals rarely
venture onto your street. Those that do,
will only do it once. In Canada’s case the
door isn’t there anymore, it rotted off twen-
ty years ago and the entrance has been
open ever since.
Which to many Canadians may not be all bad,
because we have an odd relationship with our men
and women in uniform. We like to think of them
like we do our hockey players, polite, clean cut
young men in the Bobby Orr mold, carrying
weapons only for show on peacekeeping missions.
The idea that they might be more like Bobby
Clarke, ready to do whatever is needed to win, is
distasteful. Despite our talent (and love) for drop-
ping the gloves in hockey and in war, it is some-
thing we prefer not to discuss. When our snipers
in Afghanistan were awarded glowing praise by
the Americans for their service, it was met with an
embarrassed silence here, as if our men had done
something wrong, instead of saving the lives of
their comrades by engaging the enemy.
When polled about paying more to support the
military, Canadians sound like Pat Quinn and his
bosses at Maple Leaf Sports and
Entertainment. Quinn and company
emphatically state that, yes their desire is
to win the Stanley Cup, but it is always fol-
lowed micro-seconds later by the dis-
claimer the Leafs must be run as a busi-
ness and can’t afford the outlandish pur-
chases made by teams such as Detroit and
Colorado. When questioned, Canadians
say yes, they would support a beefed up
military, but when the 800 pound gorilla of
health care spending is dropped into the
mix, it dwarves all other issues. Other
countries in more dangerous neighbour-
hoods of the world, and even those that aren’t,
face their responsibilities honestly, striking a bal-
ance between care of the citizen and care of the
state. Here we are raised on the notion of a God-
given right for free cradle-to-grave health care,
we are content to live on our safe street, concen-
trate on our own problems and hope the world
doesn’t bother us. If it does, we’ll know who to
call.
4 Wednesday, October 23, 2002Exeter Times–Advocate
Editorial&Opinion
Jim Beckett
Publisher and Editor
Don Smith Deb Lord
General Manager Production Manager
Published by Metroland Printing,
Publishing & Distributing Ltd.
424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850
Exeter, Ontario N0M 1S6 • (519) 235-1331
EDITORIALS
PUBLICATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER 07511
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications
Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing costs.
About the Times-Advocate
Address & Office Hours
Times-Advocate, 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850,
Exeter, Ontario N0M 1S6. Our office is open Monday
to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Closed on Holidays.
Contact Us By Phone or Fax
Classified ad & subscription sales . . . .(519) 235-1331
24-hour automated attendant . . . . . . .(519) 235-1336
Fax number for all departments . . . . .(519) 235-0766
Subscription Rates
One year rate for addresses in Canada: $36+GST
Two year rate for addresses in Canada: $65+GST
One year rate for addresses outside Canada:
$104 Call (519) 235-1331 to order a subscription.
Classified Rates
Word ads: $10.00 for 20 words, 20¢ for each addi-
tional word+ GST. Notices (births, deaths, announce-
ments, coming events, memoriams, cards of thanks):
$13.00 + GST for up to 50 words, All ads must be pre-
paid. The classified ad deadline is Monday at 10 a.m.
Display Advertising
To place a display ad, (519) 235-1331 weekdays 8:30
to 4:30 p.m. or evenings (519) 235-1336 (leave mes-
sage) or toll-free at 1-888-270-1602. Deadline: Fri. 4
p.m.
E-mail Us
Website:www.southhuron.com
TA e-mail addresses consist of the person’s first initial
and last name followed by @southhuron.com.
For example, Jim Beckett’s e-mail address is <jbeck-
ett@southhuron.com> Our general e-mail address is
ads@southhuron.com.
PAT BOLEN
BACK 40
VIEW
Canadians insulated from the world
Next year, Ontario’s colleges and uni-
versities will be hit with twice the
usual number of applicants as the
double cohort graduates from high school -
OAC students taking the old five-year pro-
gram, and the first group of Grade 12 stu-
dents completing the new four-year pro-
gram.
It has become clear there will not be places for all
students who qualify for university, thanks to a gov-
ernment-sponsored study which hit the headlines
recently. It may be news to some, but it comes as no
surprise to the students. They have spent the past
four years trying to cope with both the rigorous new
curriculum, and pressure to earn the high grades
which will allow them to compete with the five-year
students.
There is already a lot of competition to get into
certain schools and courses; next year it will be a
nightmare and the kids know it. However the fig-
ures are juggled, it still appears there will be about
7,000 more students qualifying for university than
there are places for them.
Some of the wealthier ones will be able to apply to
universities outside the province or even in another
country. Some may try to return to high school for
another term or two, and hope the “bulge in the
hose” works its way through the system quickly.
Some will apply for community college programs
instead of university, but the double cohort will
have its impact here, too.
Ontario’s universities and colleges will probably
try to accommodate some of the demand by increas-
ing class size, a familiar concept to the post-war
baby boom generation.
However, the place where most of the surplus
high school grads will end up is pounding the pave-
ment, looking for jobs. And they will face the harsh
reality that the number of entry-level positions in
today’s market is limited.
Everyone who has gone through Ontario’s school
system knows that for every action, there is an
equal and opposite reaction. The idea is to ensure
the reaction is carefully controlled, to avoid an
explosion.
Ideally, there would be programs in place to ease
the pressure of the sudden appearance of double
the usual number of students seeking entry into
institutes of higher learning and the job market.
Ideally, there would be funding for Grade 12
grads who want to go back to high school for a term
or two of academic upgrading. There would be
more apprenticeships available, and work-study
programs - the sort of programs which allow people
to get technical training while they earn a living.
Unfortunately, most of the province’s planning
seems to have been devoted to reducing the high
cost of public education, with little thought given to
the kids who will fall through the cracks - other
than conducting studies to see how many of them
there will be.
The Grade 12 grads in the Class of 2003 have
coped with new courses, funding cuts, teacher
strikes and job actions, school closures and textbook
shortages during their four years at high school.
They have coped with such pressure to compete and
succeed that some have given up. They are the
great experiment, the first kids through the new
system. And they deserve much better than a study
that says there will be about 7,000 of them frustrat-
ed in their attempts to enter university.
Something has to be done, now, to get that double
cohort explosion under control.
Not enough room
for Class of 2003