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fa et -- - RDFRPTRE ES -------- TEER --_--_--S; a ERB Dg ARAL ¥ & g E i ES g & > { £ g 8 5 2 L i 2 : 3 SE Le EET SE > ay -- 6 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, February 16, 1988 The day men can have babies is the day they should receive maternity benefits. At least that's what I thought until I talked to the local Employment & Immigration Canada office. Now, with equal rights and all, I have to say fair's fair. If women can get benefits, men should too. The issue was raised by a Kitchener man whose wife died of a brain tumor while eight months preg- nant. Her body was kept alive until the baby was born and now the man is on welfare while he stays home to care for the newborn. My first reaction was sympathy for the man, but a firm belief that in terms of qualifying for benefits, caring for a baby in no way compares to actually car- rying that baby for nine months and then going through delivery and the recovery period. The benefjts are for the woman because she is physical- . ly unable to work. To consider men for benefits was like comparing apples and oranges. Maybe not so, according to the information I received. The system does make provisions for the fact that the woman may not be able to work right up to delivery, either for personal health reasons or because the job is too strenuous, and it provides for time off needed for the actual delivery. But it also allows time to care for the baby and to simply spend time with him or her. It's entirely up to the woman when her claim begins. She could file up to eight weeks before the birth or wait until the day after. In either case, she "receives benefits for the full fifteen weeks. (A man- datory two-week waiting period brings the total time off to seventeen weeks). It's all up to the mother. If she requires time off prior to birth, she loses time for the caring for her child afterwards. However, if she's able to work right up to the birth, she has longer to stay home with the baby. It's entirely her choice whether she wants the time before or after. And that's why men should be able to receive the benefits as well. If the woman can have up to fifteen weeks to care for the baby, with no regard for actual One Woman s View by Chris Carlisle physical need, then men should be able to have fif- teen weeks as well. However, would that mean one baby is entitled to fifteen weeks with each parent -- who no doubt have both been paying unemployment insurance -- or fifteen weeks total with only one parent? The argument remains that not all pregnant women's bodies are capable of working, and after delivery, especially in the case of a Caesarean, they are definitely unable to immediately report for work. ° So why should non-bearing men get equal time? According to the official I spoke with, if a woman"s baby remains in the hospital for a few weeks after birth, the mother may go back to work. When the baby comes home from the hospital, she can then take her maternity benefits to stay home to care for it. So if the mother is allowed time off to care for the baby after she's able to work, the man should be allowed the same consideration -- especially if the mother dies. What we need is an entire overhaul of the system. Allow so much time for the actual physical process of having the baby. It could be like sickness benefits with mothers qualifying in the usual way ---- with a doctor's note. Then, after the birth, either mother or father could be allowed so many weeks of "parental care" benefits. When the day comes that men can have babies, they too will be able to receive the additional "mater- nity" or "paternity" childbearing benefits. (That day isn't so far ahead. Scientists have discovered that a fertilized egg can grow outside the womb, and they believe it could be implanted in a man's abdomen. Hormone supplements to the father would allow him to nurture the fetus and of course, a Caesarean section would be necessary to deliver it. They've already done it with male baboons who carried to the four-month stage in a seven-month proczass). : In the meantime, if we really are serious about equal rights, men must get equal parental care time. Truck cab, trailer stolen in the night Durham Police say a 1987 Mack truck cab valued at about $80,000 was reported missing from Nick- A-Time Transport on Regional - Road 8 in Port Perry during the night of Feb. 10-11. Also missing the same night from the same general area was an empty van trailer, white in colour. Police suspect the truck cab was used to haul away the trailer, which is owned by a Cambridge company. An investigation into the theft is continuing. Auditorium, Friday evening. ble, France. of Commerce. El Yesterday's Memories (From Page 5) an 8-4 count to down the Uxbridge crew in the first game of their best two out of three O.M.H.A. play-offs. 20 YEARS AGO Thursday, February 15, 1968 Lynne MacGregor, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. MacGregor, was crowned Queen at the Annual "At Home' held in the High School A grand old lady in this community, Mrs. Marietta Raines, celebrated her 96th birthday on February 2nd. Mr. Arnold Roach was chosen chairman of the Scugog Retard- ed Children's Education Authority at its inaugural meeting held last week. Scugog Centre School is to house classes for these children. Anna Forder and Richard Stephens placed 16th of an entry of 17 pairs from 15 different countries at the Olympic Games at Greno- : 10 YEARS AGO Wednesday, February 15, 1978 Durham Board of Education officials are hoping that the worst of the winter is over, as bad weather caused the loss of one complete school day and three part days. This is about the same number of days lost as the last three years combined. Scugog council agreed to circulate a notice of intent to pass a by-law designating a "BIA" Business Improvement Area in downtown Port Perry. The request was made by the Scugog Chamber The Kinsmen Club of Port Perry, under the leadership of presi- dent Jim Lawrence, were hosts to local businessmen at their first annual Appreciation Night, which they used to thank local business people for their support since their Charter in 1971. Random Jottings by J. Peter Hvidsten SUNDAY, SUNDAY Sometime this year, the Sunday shopping is- sue is going to come to a head, and you can bet it's going to be a very contentious issue before a deci- sion is made. In fact, the lines are being drawn now on what could be a nasty battle between those for and those against Sunday shopping. There are already at least two groups formed to fight tho legislation which would allow stores to open on Sunday; the Coalition Against Open Sun- day Shopping; and the People For Sunday Asso- ciation of Canada. Both these groups are fighting to keep Sunday a day of rest, when friends and families can be to- gether and enjoy leisure activities. The CAOSS has claimed, in Alberta, where Sunday shopping is a way of life, "many small stores are out of business because the couldn't compete with the larger stores; that Merchants, af- ter just six months began to make six days of sales in seven days; and there was a noticable decline in family events." But Jack Chesney, general manager of the Ed- monton Chamber of Commerce says it is hard to make these assumptions. He says that many of the stores going out of business were due to an economic crisis and near record low oil prices, which sent bankruptcies soar- ing and layoffs climbing. : Although there has been a shift in the market. share of the food retail industry since Sunday openings, he pointed to overall record retail sales despite the province's eccnomic turmoil. In fact, retail sales have climbed steadily in Al- berta since Sunday opening became a reality. And Chesney claims that as far as an erosion of family life because of Sunday shopping, "mine hasn't changed." But that is just one man's opinion, and this is- sue will not be settled by one man, or one woman. Those opposing shopping on the seventh day claim it will be more difficult for friends, relatives, and families to spend time together on Sundays because many people will work or plan to go shop- ping. They also conclude that the consumer will end up paying higher prices for products because retail- ers will have higher overhead costs due to longer weekly hours, thus forcing everyone to pay higher prices even if they do not shop on Sundays. But Tony Andrejicka, president of Retail Man- agement Services says that using antiquated views of family life with daddy at work and mommy at home with the kids is misleading and inaccurate. "That went out with the 50's , says Andrejicka, today only about 10% of Metro's population are one-income familes." But regardless of what the so-called experts say, or the very emotional "anti shopping groups" say, this fight is far from over. Premier Peterson has created a very hot ball to juggle, and before any legislation is passed throw- - ing the Sunday opening decision into the laps of lo- cal municipalities, there is going to be a lot of screaming from local policicians and the public. Whether Sunday openings become a reality or not in 1988 will depend a lot on public pressure, both for and against. Public pressure is the one thing that polititicans do not like to have to contend with and it will probably be the most vocal group that ends up winning. Unfortunately, it is not always the vocal groups that represent the majority of the people. It is a proven fact that those opposed to anything, always make more noise than the "silent majority." HIGH PRICED SPORTS Sports figures are making more and more mon- ey each year, and yet they are still not satisfied with what they are being paid. Baseball players are now in negotiations with their owners, with many of the "top players" not sat- isfied with salaries close to $1 million dollars. It appears now that there is no limit to the amount being paid atheletes, and many are head- ing for one year contracts over $2 million dollars. Unfortunately, it is the fans who ultimately pay the bill, as the price of tickets continue to rise. >