Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 13, 2012, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A11 I MAGINE a world where your car insurance company charges everybody the same premium; the premium doesn't depend on your driving record or the number of claims you make. Nor does the premium depend on your age or other characteristics that increase your risk of getting into an accident. Such a system seems absurd because it benefits bad drivers at the expense of good drivers. But this is how Canada's employment insurance operates. In an attempt to " make Employment Insurance work better for Canadians," the federal government recently proposed some changes to EI - a program that cost more than $ 16 billion last year. Unfortunately, the changes do not address fundamental problems with the EI system. To truly reform EI for the benefit of Canadians, the EI system needs to operate like a true insurance system where premiums are adjusted for the risk of making a claim. One of the many problems with EI is that premiums are not adjusted this way. Employers and workers pay the same premium rate ($ 2.56 and $ 1.83 per $ 100 of insurable earnings, respectively) regardless of claim history or occupation. Predictably, EI is prone to misuse since the system provides an incentive for seasonal employers to game the system by offering workers enough hours to qualify for EI, laying them off, and then rehiring them next season when they are needed again. After all, no penalties are levied either in the form of higher premiums or lower benefits for workers. Not surprisingly, some workers structure their work life around the EI system. A study by economists David Card and Craig Riddell found evidence that " Canadian workers have increasingly tailored their labour supply behavior to the characteristics of the [ EI] system." Specifically, the study found that over time there was an increase in the number of Canadians who became unemployed after working the exact number of weeks needed to qualify for EI. Another study by David Green and Timothy Sargent examined the EI program in the late 1980s and early 1990s and found evidence of " substantial tailoring of job durations" in seasonal jobs to meet EI eligibility criteria. Put differently, the study found that some workers plan the duration of their employment based on qualifying periods for EI benefits. The federal government recently proposed reforms that clarify what constitutes " suitable employment" for those on EI. What's suitable will depend on an EI recipient's claim history and how many weeks they've been on the program. Compared to infrequent EI users, frequent users will have to accept employment that pays a lower percentage of their previous wage ( as low as 70 per cent). All EI recipients will generally have to accept jobs that are within a one- hour commute from home. While the proposed rules are intended to get EI recipients " back to work" quicker, they do not address underlying problems with the program. The practice of " experience rating" would significantly improve EI because premiums would vary depending on one's risk of making a claim. With experience rating, employers that regularly lay- off and rehire workers would pay higher premiums, as would workers who use the system more often. The federal government briefly experimented with a form of experience rating in the 1990s; the reforms were implemented in 1996 but ultimately repealed in 2001. Despite being in effect for only a short period, research by professors Alice Nakamura and Erwin Diewert suggests that experience rating successfully reduced EI program expenditures. Several U. S. states have also experimented with various forms of experience rating. The U. S. evidence shows that experience rating reduces temporary lay- offs and unemployment. A 1998 study published in the Journal of Labor Research also examined the impact of state policies on county and metropolitan unemployment rates and found greater experience rating is associated with lower jobless rates. Employment Insurance should provide temporary assistance to Canadians who unexpectedly lose their job through no fault of their own. If Canadians want a system that achieves that goal while limiting opportunities for it to be abused, then EI needs bolder reforms to allow it to function like a true insurance system. In this regard, experience rating is a must. Charles Lammam and Amela Karabegovic are economists with the Vancouver- based Fraser Institute Defending an icon Re: History sent packing by cuts ( June 12). I will not be surprised if when St. Boniface MP Shelly Glover decides to finally speak about the Conservatives' decision to put Manitoba's historical icon out of sight, she defends it, even if at her core she is against it. I will not be surprised if Winnipeg South MP Rod Bruinooge remains absent from public scrutiny on the matter, Harper- style. Louis Riel, after whom we Manitobans have named a February holiday, fought to protect his countrymen; Harper crushes dissent. It is no surprise that he should choose to defund all things Canadian; after all, he told American media that when he is done with Canada, they will not recognize it. I would like to say to Glover and Bruinooge, stand up for the people who elected you and tell Harper no! Be proud, not ashamed, of who we are. GERALD DANAIS Winnipeg �� Before everyone jumps on the bandwagon now known as the closure of the Riel House, let's remember that the government sometimes has to cut services to maintain others. So instead of stamping your feet and holding your breath like spoiled children, do what other cultures do to maintain their heritage. They rally within their culture and raise money on their own to keep their traditions alive. Seldom if ever do they cry to the government about it. AL SANSREGRET Winnipeg �� Our MP, Shelly Glover, can easily make up for the funding shortfall by reducing the great number of form letters and questionnaires she sends to constituents. Based on the frequency and volume of such items received at my household, I'm sure the franking privileges exceed the funding cutback. ELMER PAWLIUK Winnipeg �� The St. Boniface Historical Society has had a small contract with Parks Canada for interpretive services at Riel House since 1980. The minimal funding has been reduced drastically in the last 10 years. The society has already done much of its work on a volunteer basis or funded the site from its own limited revenues. If Parks Canada is looking to other M�tis organizations and volunteers to fill in the gap, and ensure the same level of integrity and quality of services, they are living in la- la land. When I retired as a M�tis and francophone history specialist with Parks Canada in Winnipeg, in 2006, my position was not filled. Apart from maintenance of the house and grounds, Parks Canada relied on the Riel House director and interpreters for program needs. There will be no more educational school tours at Riel House and there are no programs or facilities for non- personal presentations. Oh, yes, there is the Parks Canada website, which will be open to " visitors." DIANE PAYMENT Winnipeg �� In my opinion, they can shut this place down at any time. I don't want my tax dollars used to fund something I will never see. Also we had to re- write history just to make a hero out of this guy. If it means so much to the M�tis, the answer is simple: Get off your rear ends and raise the money to keep it open. Stop always looking to the government to do everything for you. DAVID YASKIW Winnipeg �� It is time for the M�tis to rise again. Where is the new Louis Riel? Remember, there was a Conservative prime minister in Riel's day, and he chose to favour the Protestant Orangemen in Ontario over the Catholic M�tis of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with the ultimate result being Riel's death. Alas, nothing seems to have changed. And while I'm on this rant, why doesn't the city turn over that $ 7 million set aside for a water park to save our history? KATHLEEN TEILLET Winnipeg Heartless comment Re: Cost of early death ( Letters, June 9). I was stunned to read Gwen Gibson's heartless comment regarding Steve Cancilla's loss of his partner, Kendall Wiebe, killed in a tragic accident. Gibson actually scolded Cancilla for bringing to light the paltry value that Manitoba Public Insurance places on human life. Yes, many of us have suffered losses, but when that tragedy occurs as a result of a car crash, it is incumbent upon MPI to provide a suitable settlement to family survivors, not to add insult to injury. Wiebe was only 27. Surely her life was worth more than $ 57,000. Just ask her children. AL YAKIMCHUK Winnipeg Consider whole package Your June 11 editorial, Teachers' pay should vary , focused solely on the issue of the teachers' salary grid, when in fact you need to consider the total compensation package. As well as salary differences between school divisions, there are differences in a number of non- salary benefits that have a cost to them, such as leave provisions, working conditions and group benefit plans. Specifically in Seven Oaks' case, the school board pays an annual extended health benefit premium of $ 1,088 for each teacher, which no other board in metro Winnipeg pays for its teaching staff. When this benefit is considered in addition to the salary grid the teachers of the Seven Oaks School Division compare very favourably with the other teachers of metro Winnipeg. WAYNE SHIMIZU Seven Oaks School Division Winnipeg �� It's hard not to be sympathetic to the Seven Oaks teachers who are at the bottom of the pay scale, hobbled as they are by tenure. If this archaic concept were done away with province- wide, then all teachers would be free to move where they are most appreciated and be paid on merit rather than on how long they have held a position. CLIVE RUSSELL Winnipeg Penny wise, pound foolish Re: Airport sniffer dog among budget cuts ( June 9). The plan by the Canada Border Services Agency to eliminate the Detector Dog Service team at the Winnipeg airport invites criminals to move drugs across the border at this location. With the deterrent factor gone, extra fallout will result in increased costs of chasing down more drug traffic. As it should be, we are ready to spend thousands of dollars on enhancing our security to protect travellers. But the same logic does not apply to protecting the public from the increased drug trafficking at the Winnipeg airport which will surely result if this measure goes through. JOANNE ROTHBERG Winnipeg Saying rings true Re: Manitoba's own highway of heroes ( June 8). As a retired career soldier, I, and I'm sure my colleagues, appreciate and fully support this very important initiative by the Selinger government. That old saying " It's never too late" rings true here. However, this honour should have been bestowed a number of years ago, during the peak of the combat mission in Afghanistan, which ended in July 2011. TERRY MEINDL Teulon HAVE YOUR SAY: The Free Press welcomes letters from readers. Include the author's name, address and telephone number. Letters may be edited. Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, R2X 3B6. Fax 697- 7412. Email letters@ freepress. mb. ca Letters represent the opinions of their writers and do not reflect the opinions of the Winnipeg Free Press or its staff. �� LETTER OF THE DAY Re: Cowbell flip- flop just a silly mess ( June 12). Now that the Blue Bombers have relented on the noisemaker issue, they might like to look at food and drink offerings. Last year, my wife, son and I were fortunate to go to a rugby match at the Olympic Stadium in Sydney, Australia. One of the things that impressed us was the variety and quality of the food. Besides the expected burgers, fries and dogs, they also had healthy alternatives, like chicken and salad wraps and even some vegetarian options. If the Bombers are going to prevent fans from bringing in any of their own food, then they should look at offering choices for people who don't want to have the high- fat, high- sodium and sugar- loaded items their concessions sell. Also, I suppose people who follow a kosher or halal diet will have to go without. In addition, since they're not allowing people to bring their own bottled water, maybe they could sell the water at a price competitive with convenience stores instead of charging two or three times the going price. It's interesting that the MTS Centre isn't afraid to have water fountains. By the way, the stadium in Sydney had superb, multi- level parking facilities. What will we have at the Investors Group Field? TIM PROSKURNIK Winnipeg 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Winnipeg Free Press Wednesday, June 13, 2012 A 11 POLL �� TODAY'S QUESTION Which riverfront location would be the best for a statue of paddler Don Starkell? �� Vote online at winnipegfreepress. com �� PREVIOUS QUESTION The Bombers reversed their decision to ban cowbells. Your reaction? KILL THE BELL39% MORE COWBELL 61% TOTAL RESPONSES 2,409 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 VOL 140 NO 210 2012 Winnipeg Free Press, a division of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Published seven days a week at 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6, PH: 697- 7000 BOB COX / Publisher MARGO GOODHAND / Editor JULIE CARL / Deputy Editor J ALALABAD, Afghanistan - The first time Sanga Jabarkhil's family heard her give a broadcast report on the radio, they were mortified. " All my family members stopped talking to me," she said. " This lasted for a whole year." Even today, one of her older brothers remains firmly opposed to her career as a broadcast journalist. " My brother didn't talk to me, he didn't look at me and even avoided coming face- to- face with me," she said. " He told me, whenever I am sitting with friends and you appear on the TV screen, everyone looks at me and asks whether you are my sister. I feel ashamed; it's like dying." Like most young women in Nangarhar province, it hasn't been easy overcoming long- held prejudices. Just being allowed to attend school was a struggle. She credits a teacher with helping her acquire an education. " One day, my brother stopped me from going to school," she said. When she finally arrived in class, her teacher asked why she was late. " I told her my family wouldn't let me attend school," she said. " So the teacher came to our house and persuaded my family to allow me to complete school." Jabarkhil, 21, now the head of the state- owned Radio Television of Afghanistan office in Nangarhar, has finally managed to win over the rest of her family. She acknowledges that her mother, Nuria, has always been quietly supportive of her career. She said she first became interested in broadcast journalism after listening to BBC and Voice of America radio program as a youngster. At 15, she began working for RTA , balancing her job with her studies. To avoid suspicion, she told her family she was working for a local women's magazine. So, hearing her first broadcast report, on arranged marriages, came as an unwelcome shock to the entire family. Their greatest concern was that their daughter was working alongside men at the radio station, something considered by many here to be immoral. She went so far as to invite skeptical members of her family to the radio station's office to demonstrate that men and women worked in separate offices. Still, they feared that her high- profile position in the province would make her an unattractive marriage prospect. Despite the fact that she wears a headscarf when appearing on TV and conceals her face when out in public, Jabarkhil has become something of a provincial celebrity. " I still get phone calls from strangers. Some express admiration for my voice and beauty, while others are angry with me because I'm working in television," she said. " I answer them all by just saying - thank you - and hanging up. It's a way of saying, ' Please don't bother me.' " Some wonder why any woman would choose such a prominent job. While attending a wedding recently, Jabarkhil said one of the other guests approached her and asked, " Why are you so hard on yourself, my dear? You are such a beautiful girl, yet you're still working in television." These days, however, it's Jabarkhil's mother who comes to her defence. " I'm very proud of her," her mother quickly declares. Hijratullah Ekhtyar is a reporter in Afghanistan who writes for The Institute for War and Peace Reporting, a non- profit organization that trains journalists in areas of conflict. - McClatchy- Tribune Service By Hijratullah Ekhtyar Resistance to Afghan women in ' public' roles continues By Charles Lammam and Amela Karbegovic EI reforms stop short of proper fix Next step for Bombers Investors Group Field viewed from across the Red River on River Road. A_ 11_ Jun- 13- 12_ FP_ 01. indd A11 6/ 12/ 12 8: 45: 37 PM ;