Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 25, 2012, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A12 EDITORIALS WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, MONDAY, JUNE 25, 2012 Freedom of Trade Liberty of Religion Equality of Civil Rights A 10 COMMENT EDITOR: Gerald Flood 697- 7269 gerald. flood@ freepress. mb. ca winnipegfreepress. com EDITORIAL F INALLY, someone has started talking about the validity of the time students spend " in" school. Winnipeg School Division trustee Mike Babinsky certainly is not the first parent to grumble about the number of days students have " off" - in or out of the class - in their school year. As with math standards and " zero tolerance for zeros," this trend, which is eating into instructional time, needs a reality check. A big part of the problem with the whittling away at the daily instructional hours in schools is the fact when the Doer administration decided in 2004 to begin the school year after Labour Day, it did not insist the hours they cut be made up in other ways. The post- Labour Day start dates can cut almost a week from the school year. But that time could have been made up if the agreement had been to trim days from the other vacation periods ( Christmas, March) or from allowances for administration days, professional- development days, or fundraising activities that take students out of the class for extended periods. That didn't happen. Then- education minister Peter Bjornson insisted teachers' inservice days couldn't be reduced. Instead, the reduction from 200 school days ( with another 10 deducted for professional or administration days) came at the expense of instructional days. This year, students spent a mere 183 days in instruction. The definition of " instruction," however, also is flexible. Field trips are seen as learning experiences. But how should a school characterize a half- day at the bowling alley, riding the waterslides at Fun Mountain or walking to Assiniboine Park to raise money for such activities? The exam schedule for middle and senior years reduces the last two weeks of June almost to a complete wash. And there are numerous, smaller events inside the school through the year that eat into the full 5.5 hours required of a full instructional day. Schools send home monthly calendars notifying parents of shortened or eliminated instructional days. It is difficult to track, however, the toll a day here and a day there takes on the year. A school year of 183 days is eroded to 174 days once the calendar of outof- class activities is factored in. That's a far cry from the 190 required until 2004. Mr. Babinsky wants a better accounting, and so there should be, by the divisions and the schools. Parents should be advised of total days each month spent out of the class. Then an honest discussion about the value of " instructional" hours can take place, with a debate on the value of the variety of activities and time reduced in mid- year vacations and in- service and administrative days. Hydro in perspective Re: $ 700 for Hydro meeting ( June 21). Manitoba Hydro spends $ 223 million on consultations for its new generating stations? That's more than is being spent to build the new stadium. It's about the same as what would be collected if provincial sales tax was increased by one per cent. It could wipe out half of the provincial deficit. And all of this just to talk. There is not one watt of new power from this supposed investment. Add this to the $ 1 billion- plus being wasted on Bipole III and it's clear that something is dreadfully wrong. GUY WHITEHILL Winnipeg �� To pay or bribe so- called interested parties to attend public meetings regarding Hydro development is a blatant waste of public money and borders on covert action. Surely there is enough tangible interest within the affected communities to see concerned residents turnout in credible numbers. If this is not happening, what is the point of holding these costly gatherings? Perhaps Manitoba Hydro should consider a different approach. TERRY MEINDL Teulon Glad it's over Re: A fan feels betrayed ( June 20). I for one am happy the stadium- construction saga is finally over. I don't care when it is finished, as long as it is done properly. I would wager that the majority of the most vociferous complainers don't even attend games. I would also wager that most true fans who do attend the games are merely glad to hear that it is settled. To them I say, let's cheer loudly at Canad Inns this year, and look forward to cheering even louder from our seats at our new football home next June. RODNEY PAQUIN Winnipeg �� I live on the west side of Pembina Highway just off Bison Drive and have been watching with awe and great anticipation the building of the new stadium. It has added excitement to our neighbourhood and I am sure that the restaurants on Pembina are all doing a little happy dance as well. This will truly be a magnificent building! I love the design. I think that the opening of it should be just as grand and certainly not rushed. CATHY D'ANDREA Winnipeg Gossip and speculation Scott Malabar's remarks in his June 21 letter, Civil servants must serve, give the impression that he spends too much time in coffee shops picking up gossip. He picks a number ( 95 per cent) out of the blue to suggest that most civil servants have no idea of service. He speculates on employees' reasons for seeking a job in the civil service. I applied for my job with the federal government in my field of education, not just a " job." I received further training as well as training in communication. One of the more pleasurable aspects of my career was dealing with the public, media and users in industry, agriculture and aviation. As for sick leave, it was 10 years before I used my first day, and the total number of days I took can be counted on my fingers once. GERALD MACHNEE Lockport �� I am a former dean at Red River College. I started with the province in 1965. My wages were less than they would have been in the public school system, even though I was more qualified than most. There was no overtime and as time proved later on, one could get laid off. We had Filmon Fridays and unused sick days lapsed at retirement. I was held responsible for the purchase of a pencil sharpener my staff had bought. In the mid-' 80s, our employer embraced individualized learning. Ten or so staff of the three colleges in Manitoba travelled to Nebraska to learn first- hand. At the host college, we slept in the well- worn students' dorms and received less than $ 20 a day for meals. I do believe we served our province and earned our keep. I am surprised to read the article $ 700 for Hydro meeting in the same issue. It's not the civil servants who drain the public purse. PETER ELVERS Winnipeg An obvious difference The Conservative government does not seem to differentiate between immigrants and refugees. We invite immigrants to our country because it will contribute to our economy, and the immigrants come because they hope to improve their lives. We expect them to pull their weight and they expect fair reward for their skills and labour. But refugees are not normal immigrants any more than rescued shipwreck survivors are normal passengers on the ship that rescues them. Restoring the health of a refugee is part of the idea of rescuing him in the first place ( unless, of course, the Conservatives don't believe in that idea). Jason Kenney reminds me of some puffedup passenger on the S. S. American pointing at steerage survivors from the Titanic and saying: " Hey, why should they get to sit on the deck with dry blankets and sip hot chocolate while I have to wait till 11: 30 for the dining room to open." GORDON CAMERON Winnipeg Subsidized parking In response to Manny Jacob's June 20 letter, Lots are welcome , I take issue with his assertion that " each parked car represents a significant expense for the motorist." Hundreds, if not thousands, of parking spots are filled by downtown- commuting provincial civil servants who don't use their cars for work and who pay a subsidized rate of $ 50 a month. The full freight is $ 150. ROWENA FISHER Winnipeg 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 Regarding the June 19 column by the law student from Laval University, Do we really need the CBC anymore? , the CBC remains the most wide- ranging and comprehensive resource Canadians have for cultural dialogue, political discourse and exposure to the arts. Travel in other countries without public broadcasting services quickly reveals how important the CBC is for us, and I cringe at the language of this young writer - and at the thought that his uninformed views would be placed in a prime location on your editorial page. Many of his supposed points could be argued at length. For example, he talked about how new media and communication forms make radio unnecessary ( or did he say irrelevant?). Although I use the Internet a great deal, I listen to the CBC to get broad as well as detailed information on how to benefit from new media. Has he actually listened to any programming? This editorial seems to come from a person who has little respect for others. I hope he will grow out of it. CYNTHIA COHLMEYER Winnipeg KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES Defending the Mother Corp. Whittling the school year away A LTHOUGH everyone knows an ounce of prevention is a worth a pound of cure, it doesn't mean they always act as prudently as the adage advises. Take Greece, for example. Or Iceland, Ireland, Spain, Italy and the United States. Housing bubbles in each of those countries largely led to the ruin. With that in mind, and with the very real prospect that Europe's currency crisis could further dampen prospects of economic recovery, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty last week took some steps to save some Canadians from the worst of what may come. Mr. Flaherty reduced to 25 years the length of a government- insured mortgage amortization, from 30 years, and announced million- dollar homes would no longer be insured by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. The announcement marks a retreat for Mr. Flaherty, who in the national prosperity of 2006 encouraged borrowing by raising amortization periods to 40 years. In a time of low interest rates, Canadians were encouraged to take debt against the equity in their homes, and acted in kind. As of late 2011, household debt levels moved to remarkable levels, 152 per cent of income on average. The global reality requires a retrenching to protect Canada's economy, should interest rates go north fast. New homebuyers in some cities will be saving a while longer, waiting for the market to cool. Better to start cutting some expectations than to risk a deep, entrenched recession for everyone. Flaherty retreats A_ 12_ Jun- 25- 12_ FP_ 01. indd A12 6/ 24/ 12 7: 47: 53 PM ;