Being taught ethics... from Straight White Guy
.. you know, I never really thought about it... but I have to admit... Kate's right... I was an abused child... although Tennessean instead of Canadian... we should probably form some kind of support group...... [Read More]

Tracked on June 26, 2005 6:02 PM

THE BENEFITS OF UNDERAGE LABOR from Peaktalk
Like Kate, I was exploited as an adolescent as I was forced into hard labor. You know, working the assembly line in a metal sheets factory, in a candy factory (where the sweet stench of favoring materials would almost make... [Read More]

Tracked on June 26, 2005 6:15 PM

THE BENEFITS OF UNDERAGE LABOR from Peaktalk
Like Kate, I was exploited as an adolescent as I was forced into hard labor. You know, working the assembly line in a metal sheets factory, in a candy factory (where the sweet stench of flavouring materials would almost make... [Read More]

Tracked on June 26, 2005 11:02 PM

The big lie and the youth from Being American in T.O.
July 2 - This post by Melanie Phillips on The big lie cut straight to the chase and when it reminds readers of the known links between al Qaeda and Saddam. The gem is in the concluding paragraph:The anti-western left... [Read More]

Tracked on July 2, 2005 5:52 PM

Amazing post! Wow!

Just think of all those depression era kids who were abused: put out to work to help support their families. Wonder what the statute of limitations is on depression era abuse? BTW, did you see that piece in the NP yesterday about the new horse registry the gov't is setting up? Not a joke. They're worried about possible the equine equivalent of mad cow. You can see where this is going, can't you? Another gun registry, to say the very least. Let's hope folks tell the feds to screw themselves. Better still, vote Tory and dismantle every type of registry but sex offenders'.

Shit... I was a framers helper, pumping gas, and changing oil in cars at that age. I think i'll sue all my former employers so I don't have to work anymore..... NOT!! ... what a bunch of garbage... The Globe is really getting desperate for readership by making something out of nothing.

Those idiots really live a sheltered life out there don't they. I have kids asking me for casual work every month still, and when I got it, they get it, and it isn't going to change just because they say so, as most of them really want to earn the money, and I'm not going to discourage it.

The bleeding hearts call it child abuse! Most people
that raise children call your upbringing as a normal farm kid upbringing.You and your siblings,(I did also), had the "work ethic" instilled.The "brain stem" bleeding hearts, cannot comprehend this value,they don't have to. They get a cheque every 2 weeks from the govt.Prov,Fed,Municipal, no matter.
As long as they can con the "L" media(not hard to do), they can, in their own little world, justify their reason d'etre.This country was built by people
that had "work ethic" in their genes,not by pathetic pencil pushing pimps of the system.

Kate,

Government child care will cure all children for life of any desire to work, and at the same time convince them they must be a member of a union.

Now you can really despair.

Mark
Ottawa

AFIAK, Canada don't exist anymore anyway, and is a land far away, so I really don't care what they say out there.

I come from the country of Alberta where we teach our kids work ethics, responsibility, and discipline. If that's what there teaching over there, remind me never to visit the place.... need more Rat Patrols on the border dammit.

Prime minister arrives for Alberta flood tour even though rivers have receded.

HIGH RIVER, Alta. (CP) - Touring the scenes of major flooding in the past weeks that has already receded, Prime Minister Paul Martin blamed the vagaries of a minority government Friday for his late visit to the inundated regions of southern Alberta.

Librano$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ at your service.

Captain AdScam CSL Martin:Hello, I'm from the government and I'm here to help you.

Well Kate, now you know why I get mad when many Canadians like a buncha sheep say that Canadians won't work and that immigrants are better than we are?

I got my first job when I was 13 (my first paying job from strangers of course because before that for years I helped at home and with my family's business). I got my first payroll job when I was 16 and worked hard and saved all my money. I was able to pay for private college almost entirely from my savings.

But compare me or you to spoiled unionist lefties... many making big paycheques based on their loyalty to some political ideal and having benefits up the wazoo and a feeling of security... I still hate them. Not because I am jealous of any of them but because they are weak and spoiled and not the least aware of what they are.

It is easy to understand why you are a conservative Kate, and thanks for educating the younguns' so they can understand why people think the way they do.

We are talking about working for a group of people who actually cared about you as a young person or working at home for your family. Then everyone pitched in & did chores. I doubt that MCDonald's or some of the other companies will look after a 12 yr. old kid in same way the person who hired you for your first job watchd out for you. I began babysitting when I was 10, but the people I babysat for ensured that I got home ok every night, & were also very conscious of school nights.
I must admit, I am rather bothered by the fact that in Alberta, we will allow 12 yr. olds to be hired as an employee.
I know in Alberta, there is a serious shortage of people to work at McDonald's or doing dishes in some restaurant & I suspect that is why they have decided to allow younger people to be hired. My question to Mr. Klein is how will they ensure that these young people are being fairly treated? A 12 Yr. old should only be concerned with attending school & doing well there, not worrying about a part-time job. And how many kids will fall asleep in class now?
Parents--- you must be the ones to tell these companies when your child will or won't work. Do not leave this up to the kids or the companies!!!!

Lou Lou,

I call Bull$hit, it just doesn't work that way at all, and you know it. 99.9% of all companies will take care of younger people all the way, and make sure that there not in a position to get injured etc.

I even see kids working at A&W mopping floors and cleaning up while under supervision. It's not just the money there being taught, it's a whole set of values which needs more emphasis, not less.

Are you kidding? McDonalds not protecting a 12 year old on the payroll?

(And kids fall asleep in class because their assinine parents allow them to stay up until 11 pm.)

I feel for you Kate! I, myself, have just realized that similar happened to me.

I posted an account here (too lengthy for a comment)

http://www.proudtobecanadian.ca/threads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=9078&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=&vc=#Post9078

Now that hits home! Glad to see that someone else holds the belief that more responsibility at a younger age (compared to "society's expectations") is not a bad thing! Well said!

I wonder why the Globe doesn't attack Canadian Tire? They only hire highschool or university students, and you've only got a job until you graduate. If you quit part-way through university, you will be laid off and your job given to another student. If your grades are good, they'll contribute a scholarship.

If a child can be left home alone at 12 (legally) and babysit at 12 (legally), bearing the responsbilities of caring for other children (which we all took for granted when we were doing it, but ask me how many 12-yr-old babysitters I've ever hired in my life LOL...that would be NONE), then they can get a job at the corner store if the store wants to hire them. My expectations are that there will be a limit set on the number of hours worked in a week, and the window of hours worked (my guess is probably 10, 12 hours? no later than 8? maybe 9?), and that the pay is appropriate (it should be minimum wage - I don't want my child taking a job from a highschool or university student so Wendy's can save a buck).

The Globe can throw all the hissy fits it wants, they just want to AB bash.

As for PMPM's visit, I blogged about it. He's so full of it.

Kate:
What a wonderful post. I enjoyed every image it invoked. And savoured the sense of resourcefulness and ingenuity.
You were lucky to have had such a rich childhood. Many of our children will not enjoy such experiences. Warehoused in 'daycare' or over indulged by affluent parents they would long to live on a farm and enjoy that freedom and sense of accomplishment if only they could possibly imagine it.
Oh, boy, does this country need to get back to it's roots in many ways.
We need to start from scratch again and remember the lessons of OUR youth and our parents.
We have hope though. There are excellent examples of our young generation who have outstanding potential.
We need to work to diminish the influence of government in our daily lives and return it to the parents who have always known best in general and when they haven't that's when we need outside influence.
Thanks for a wonderful peek into the life of a farm child.

Wonderful post. Beautiful tractor. Is it still around?

That's just a photo I grabbed off the net, but yes, there is still at least one Cub tractor around and still at work, as well as a John Deere of similar vintage.

Any Cockshutts out your way? Just wondering.

About the Grope and Fail -- it has to be remembered that they are trying to be The Toronto Scar. They are fighting for a bigger share of the Toronto-and-suburbs, white guilt, comfy couch socialist market. Nothing that appears in either paper can be taken seriously.

Hey, if hiring 8 year olds to work at Wendy's means that I'll actually get served by someone who speaks ENGLISH the next time I order food there, well, I'm all for it.

(Heh. That oughta piss off the right people.)

Alberta is more than just cattle herds and oil rigs. "Snake" country too!

A company that used to go by the name of "BUFFET WORLD" had the habit of "training" workers ie waiters/waitresses, for a period of 1-3 weeks. During this time the student/entry level staff were unpaid.
The reason? They were being trained. Hunhh?

Also any unpaid meals (customer walk away) were taken out of workers wages,no trial no appeal.
Take it or leave it.

Alberta Labour would "investigate", write a letter, and that was the end of things.
There are at least a dozen such investigations involving this one company, on file.

They have since changed their name, but no word on any changes in the way they operate.

My own son worked for a franchise fast food outlet. When the director/owner lost his buisness, $300.00 of my sons wages went unpaid.

Alberta Labour "investigated" and that was about all they did.

WELCOME TO ALABAMA in the thirties!!

Buffet World still exists,in Edmonton, anyways. That "unpaid training" idea isn't owned by them, though. When Dell was opening its call centre in Edmonton, not only were people not going to be paid for 3 weeks of training, they were expected to fork over $500 for the training, to boot. Surprisingly, they managed to find 100 (out of the 500 needed) willing to bite. They had to cave on the fee in order to find people to work for them; I'm not sure about whether they pay employees during the training period, but probably.

There's a sucker born every minute.

What makes anyone think that a failed business not paying wages is a relic of the past, or isolated to Alberta?

Also - check out the dog grooming "schools" where "trainees" pay high tuition to work for free in grooming shops for a few weeks, after which, they are welcome to join the staff at the same entrance wage they would have received if they simply walked in the door....

"When Dell was opening its call centre in Edmonton, not only were people not going to be paid for 3 weeks of training, they were expected to fork over $500 for the training, to boot."

When I was first laid off, my wife asked me if I had though of apply for a job with Dell. I told her that it had, right after I'd had the notion to drive a red hot railroad spike through my penis.

When did"work" become a dirty word? My Dad had a policy,"If you don't work, you don't eat" that applied to everybody, so I can't remember a time when I didn't work. At the age of 13, when my Dad suffered internal injuries that kept him from working for three years, I was able to do what was necessary to keep the family of five afloat until he could take over again.I still finished high school and helped put an older brother through 2 years of college.Do I regret having had to work? Never.
Am I proud of what I did?
Damm right!
I think I can do anything because of that experience.

Kate, I have great respect for your upbringing on the farm.

I used to see a girl who actually grew up to be a lifestyle cowgirl way out in the wild backcountry. Lived there ever since poppin' outta the oven. So I know, from visiting her family's ranch, what very hard work it is (did a bit of it myself) but also that it would be much more peaceful and rewarding in so many ways than living in the city.

If one day I see an opportunity to get a nice little place out in the country, I believe I wouldn't hesitate too long.

You know, it's been over a day since I posted that, and not one person has mentioned the other obvious point I was hoping to make - the everyday risks and hazards inherent in a working grain/cattle operation, the respect we learned for animals and equipment - and how having the piss scared out of you by a yelling, enraged parent when safety rules were ignored - quite a contrast in this day and age of mandatory bicycle helmets and playground equipment legislation.

You almost have to admire the Globe. Such rubbish and propeganda is usually spewed for free -- but they have the gonads to charge you for it and call it news.

Big YAWN for the "Mop and Pail."

But Kate, your little item on growing up on the farm was terrific.

THAT'S a Canada I can recognize.

"playground equipment legislation" - yes, here in Arcola they now have a nice, safe, manufactured play structure in Ed Hanna Park, complete with a chain-and-tires bridge in which the "tires" are plastic look-alikes manufactured for the purpose. Real tires aren't good enough, I guess, so they pile up in dumps instead. Then we try to teach kids about conservation.

I was about 10 when I drove our Farmall Cub. I didn't so much "slip off the seat" as I was required to slip myself off the seat to stand up on the clutch to depress it.