Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 07, 2014, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE 11 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Winnipeg Free Press Friday, February 7, 2014 A 11 POLL �� TODAY'S QUESTION Did the province go far enough in liberalizing liquor laws? �� Vote online at winnipegfreepress. com �� PREVIOUS QUESTION Would a junk food tax deter you from buying unhealthy treats? YES 26% NO 74% TOTAL RESPONSES 4,174 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 VOL 142 NO 88 2014 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: 204- 697- 7000 BOB COX / Publisher PAUL SAMYN / Editor WFP JULIE CARL / Deputy Editor SCAN TO VOTE ON TODAY'S QUESTION I N his Feb. 4 article Ken Osborne states " preparing the young for democratic citizenship" is a fundamental role for our schools. I agree with this statement. I disagree, however, with his suggestion that allocation of educational resources to " boosting high school skills and career development" does not support that very same goal. " Talk of skills and career preparation" need not, indeed should not, be seen as " replacing education for democratic citizenship." The opportunities to nurture the qualities of inquiry, collaboration, respect and self- confidence exist not only in history, geography and literature. These attributes can also be nurtured in applied areas of study such as physics, automotive mechanics, computer programming, graphic design and electronics. Regrettably, too often knowledge and skills are presented as unrelated areas, with one being more lofty than the other; the best of talent is evident when the two are seen as complementary. A surgeon has both knowledge and skill as does the qualified tradesperson or technician. Preparing students for opportunities in the job market is an honourable goal for education. Indeed we do a great disservice to those who are not adequately prepared to seek employment. Some will make the transition before high school graduation, many immediately upon graduation and others following some level of post- secondary study. Most will eventually be " looking for a job." Those who enter more directly deserve as much attention as those who follow an extended program of studies. Osborne acknowledges that a balance of knowledge and skills is the best preparation for citizenship. Citizen participation requires knowledge and skills which shape personal attributes - communication skills, ability to engage others, respect for diversity, a sense of responsibility, ability to reason and, fundamentally, a sense of personal selfworth. Many of these attributes will be shaped by experiences encountered in families, as well as in educational settings and in community. These same qualities are essential in meaningful employment, an essential component of our citizenship role. The absence of employment leads to frustration and poverty, this marginalization in turn leads to disengagement in the democratic process. There are countless reports than identify school- to- work transition as a major gap and a major source of frustration for students and parents. I applaud Education Minister James Allum for the attention he brought to this matter in making his funding announcement. Perhaps his announcement and Osborne's article will nurture the required discussion amongst educational leaders and parents on the role of schools in preparing students for transition to work. There is indeed " more to schools than jobs," but without meaningful engagement in the workforce, the role of a citizen in a democratic society will not reach full potential. A joint report ( 2002) from United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) and the International Labour Organization ( ILO) made the following statement: " It is our fervent hope that this publication will inspire member states to put in place technical and vocational education and training policies and programmes that will facilitate the effective preparation of people for the world of work and responsible citizenship." I support the sentiment of this statement as a laudable goal for education in Manitoba. Leonard Harapiak is a former school principal, NDP cabinet minister and director of the Winnipeg Technical College. U NLIKE the Sochi Winter Olympics, at the first Winter Olympics held in Chamonix, France, a village in the Alps from Jan. 25 to Feb. 4, 1924, there was no threat of terrorism, little security, no drug testing, limited newspaper coverage, and definitely no $ 50- billion budget. There was, however, a similar distress about the mild weather. Four days before the competition was to start, the temperature in Chamonix was spring- like and the outdoor venues - all sports including hockey and curling were played outdoors - were slushy. Then, on Jan. 25, winter returned and it was clear, cold and crisp for much of the week. At Sochi, an estimated 2,500 athletes representing 88 countries are participating; at Chamonix, there were only 258 athletes from 16 countries. Canada's 1924 contingent consisted of 13 members - 12 men, of which 10 were on the hockey team, and one woman, Cecil Eustace Smith, 15, from the Toronto Skating Club. The Chamonix games were not technically called the Winter Olympics in 1924; that retroactive recognition happened a year later. Though figure skating and hockey had been featured at earlier Summer Olympics, the International Olympic Committee ( IOC) decided to hold a separate " International Winter Sports Week" in 1924 in conjunction with the Paris Summer Olympics that were being held a few months later. Once the IOC decided to hold the Winter Olympics every four years ( the winter games were held the same year as the Summer Olympics until 1994), Chamonix was re- designated " I Olympic Winter Games." The Canadian team participated in only three events. Smith placed sixth, beating rising star Sonja Henie from Norway, who was only 11 years old, but within a few years became one of the world's greatest figure skaters. Melville Rogers from Ottawa ranked seventh in men's figure skating and speed skater Charles Gorman from Saint John, N. B., came in a collective fourth in the three competitions he skated in. Canada did not participate in curling, played by three men's teams from Great Britain, which won the gold medal, France and Sweden. The sport was largely ignored after that, though it was played again in 1932. It was not until the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, that curling again achieved official Olympic status, and the first time that Canadians team competed and won medals. In contrast, and in another constant over the decades, the one sport at the Chamonix games that Canadians excelled at and which captured the imagination of Canadians back home was men's hockey. Hockey was first introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium; the tournament, also recognized as the inaugural Ice Hockey World Championship, was held in April. Until the 1990s, the Canadian team was represented by senior amateurs, the winner of the Allan Cup, and from 1963 to 1970 by Canada's National Team. In 1920, the Allan Cup victors, the Winnipeg Falcons, won the tournament and gold medal in Antwerp; while in 1924 the country's best senior team was the Toronto Granite Club, which had captured the Allan Cup in 1922 and 1923. The IOC and the other seven teams participating at Chamonix accepted the rules of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association with one exception: U. S. hockey officials demanded goalies had to stand throughout the games. No flopping was permitted, though photographs do show goalies down on one knee. The Canadian team arrived in France a few days before the games were to start. They were impressed by the outdoor facilities. The rink, according to goalie Jack Cameron, was " twice the size" of the one at the University of Toronto. In an article he wrote for The Canadian Press, Cameron commented about the large grandstands and iced snowbanks surrounding the ice, as well as the " loud" and " colourful" sweaters favoured by many of the 10,000 or so spectators who had descended on the village ( 213,000 spectators are expected at Sochi). " Breeches and golf knickers, dominate both men's and ladies wear," he added. " High boots and shoepacks with loud- checkered and stripped golf socks are also in fashion." One problem marred the good feelings almost immediately. A day before the first matches were to be played, the Canadians skated onto the ice for a practice, which they believed had been approved. Within minutes, officials from Sweden, Finland and Norway complained the practice was in fact unauthorized and the Canadians were ordered off the ice. Patrick J. Mulqueen, chairman of the Canadian Olympic Committee, was furious. " I expected to find sportsmanship here but it does not exist," he said. " We have not been on the ice since we left Canada and now we are barred from a little practice because of Scandinavian protests." Mulqueen suggested Canadian athletes would not march in the opening parade, but that threat was withdrawn after an acceptable practice schedule was confirmed. The U. S. men's hockey team came to Chamonix fearing only the Canadians, a valid concern. The word " dominant" does not quite describe how the Canadians overwhelmed their three opponents in the round robin play. In three games, the Canadians outscored the other teams 85- to- 0. In the game against the newly established country of Czechoslovakia, Canadian forward Harry Watson scored 11 goals in a 30- 0 victory, and then a record- setting 13 goals two days later in a 33- 0 rout of Switzerland. Because so much of the play in all of the games was spent in the other teams' end, goalie Jack Cameron frequently went for a leisurely skate near his net to keep loose. The final match for the gold medal against the Americans was a bit closer and rougher. Journalists later called it, " the " hardest fought and swiftest hockey that Europeans had ever seen and were thrilled by the desperate stand made by the United States under the pressure of the better co- ordinated Canadian team." When it was over, Canada had won the gold with a score of 6- to- 1. Canada's victories starting with the 1920 Ice Hockey World Championship and the 1924 Winter Olympics marked the beginning of 35 years of near Canadian supremacy. The return of the Soviet Union to the World Championships and the Olympics in the early 1950s changed all that and Canadian amateurs suddenly, and inexplicably from a Canadian viewpoint, found themselves facing a fierce adversary on the ice. After taking the gold again at the 1952 Winter Olympics, Canada would not win another gold medal until its NHL stars did so at the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002. Now & Then is a column in which Winnipeg historian Allan Levine puts the events of today in a historical context. NOW & THEN ALLAN LEVINE By Leonard Harapiak Auto mechanics also teaches qualities attributed to humanities Canada put stamp on Olympic hockey in 1924 O VER the past two months, there have been considerable media articles and commentary regarding an under- count of Manitoba's population. Manitobans should understand the issue and why it is important. As chief statistician of Manitoba, I categorically state Statistics Canada has substantially underestimated Manitoba's population. The issue is about statistical methodology which has serious consequences for Manitobans. An under- counted population has significant negative impacts on fiscal transfers, resulting in the province not receiving its rightful share. Every five years, Statistics Canada conducts a census. Before population estimates are finalized, they complete a follow- up study to estimate how many people were missed by the census. MBS's concern lies with that follow up study and statistically unusual results, which have led to an under- count of Manitoba's population. Statistics Canada's new population estimates were released Sept. 26, 2013, and effectively delete approximately 18,000 Manitobans. Before September, Statistics Canada had stated Manitoba's 2011 population estimate to be 1,251,690. Now, they reduced it to 1,233,728. The following is an overview of the situation. Prior to Statistics Canada finalizing its population estimates in September, the Manitoba Bureau of Statistics along with other provincial and territorial statistical agencies were involved in a six- month population evaluation process with Statistics Canada. This evaluation process occurs every five years. The latest process was to determine the new population series based on the 2011 Census counts adjusted for estimates of the number of persons not completing a Census form. Due to these discussions, Statistics Canada's preliminary estimates for Manitoba and the other provinces and territories were revised a number of times. Statistics Canada's own evaluation analysis identified their estimates of Manitoba's counted and missed persons were statistically very unusual and stood far apart from estimates for other provinces and territories. In fact, the Manitoba results were extreme, having never occurred before for any province or in any time period. MBS raised concerns on the statistical challenges of the Manitoba estimates at meetings of federal- provincial- territorial statistics officials. These were followed up with written position papers that identified the issue, as well as recommending options to correct the statistical " errors." MBS's position, based on Statistics Canada's own evaluation analysis, concludes the likely cause of the statistical estimation concerns lies with the samples of Manitobans selected by Statistics Canada to determine the number of individuals missed by the 2011 Census. There is strong evidence these Manitoba samples were biased and not representative of Manitobans, in that they contained too many of the individuals who tend to participate in the census and an insufficient number of persons who tend to get missed in the census ( e. g., immigrants, First Nations, Metis, young adults, inner city and northern residents and non- permanent residents). This resulted in a serious underestimate of Manitoba's population. Statistics Canada's new population estimates for Manitoba are not consistent with available independent evidence. Before the deletion of 18,000 individuals from the population estimates, Statistics Canada had estimated Manitoba's population grew by 5.7 per cent between 2006 and 2011. This is fairly close to the 6.7 per cent increase in the number of individuals filing income tax returns over the same period. It is also consistent with the strong economic growth Manitoba experienced over this period. Statistics Canada's revised numbers for Manitoba now estimate the population grew at only 4.2 per cent over that period. While Statistics Canada has acknowledged there are statistical issues with their population estimate for Manitoba, they have not been able to isolate the issues or " errors" and decided to make no adjustments at all to the province's 2011 population estimate. Again these " errors" are unique to Manitoba. MBS strongly disagreed with Statistics Canada's decision. Our position is that Statistics Canada's revised population estimates for Manitoba have statistical errors and have underestimated our province's population and a resolution is required to ensure a more accurate estimate. An MBS evaluation that brings Manitoba statistically in line with other provinces indicates that the under- count is 16,200, worth about $ 100 million in federal transfers, a significant amount of money. MBS continues to have discussions with Statistics Canada on its underlying methodology. We trust there can be a resolution to Manitoba's population estimates that is reflective of the actual number of persons resident in our province. Wilf Falk is chief statistician, Manitoba Bureau of Statistics. By Wilf Falk ALLSPORT HULTON / FILES Action in Canada's 6- 1 defeat of the U. S. team at Chamonix, France, on Feb. 8, 1924. Statistics Canada underestimated Manitoba's population Cham A_ 13_ Feb- 07- 13_ FP_ 01. indd A11 2/ 6/ 14 7: 46: 33 PM ;