No entry on this list hurts as much as this one.Ken Dryden is this blogger’s childhood hero having helped lead the Montreal Canadians to six Stanley Cup rings in the 1970’s.
But even that only carries you so far here at 101. Maybe there were one too many pucks to Dryden’s head during that illustrious career because after being elected Member of Parliament for York Centre in Ontario, he seemed to let a few get through the proverbial five-hole.
Dryden campaigned for the Liberal leadership as wanting to be the Prime Minister for 100% of Canadians. Virtually impossible, but I’ll give him credit for some nice political spin. Too bad he blew even the remote chance of that happening before he even started when he flipped off stay at home parents.
Dryden was one of the leads on the Liberal’s National Child Care Program, something the Liberals had promised since 1993 and never delivered on. Seeing the writing on the wall with the Conservatives sniffing around with a program for all parents (the monthly $100 childcare cheque) and the NDP promising some kind of child care program, the pressure was on for the Liberals to do something…well anything. They came up with a different vision than the Conservatives and that’s fine.
However, that vision was chock full of incredible arrogance with Ken Dryden leading the pack.
The Liberal plan (as vague as it was on details) would at best support families in urban centres if they worked 9 to 5. It appeared to offer little to nothing for rural areas, shift workers or parents who decided that one of them should stay at home to raise their own kids.
The last was apparently a big no-no among some Liberals with Dryden being the most vocal.
The Liberals one-size-fits-all bureaucratic scheme would work according to Dryden but apparently only if every single child was in daycare where he obviously thought they belonged. A survey in 2004/2005 showed that when working moms were asked if they would prefer to be at home to raise their own children, the majority said “yes”, that would be their preference. Dryden’s response as the Liberal Minister of Social Development? "If we asked them if they would like ice cream once a week and chocolate twice a day, about the same percentage would say the same."
That kind of arrogant attitude should come as no surprise. Just a few months earlier on CFRA Radio, Dryden completely dismissed any kind of government assistance to help parents who chose to stay at home with their kids. He compared parents who decided not to put their children in daycare with parents who try to treat their children at home rather than take them to a doctor or to a hospital.
A disagreement on a government policy or program is fine, but for having the “big government knows better than you do how to raise your own children” arrogant attitude, Dryden lands on this list. *Sigh*
13 comments:
You are way off on this one.
Dryden had/has a genuine interest in trying to help working families.
Obviously this country (or any other) cannot afford to pay all moms (or dads) that so desire to stay home and raise their children (hence the quote about ice cream and chocolate).
It is not a cold statement; it is realistic.
We should remove EI and Welfare and give some money to everyone? It's the same logic.
Why not give the same tax credit to everyone?
But yet again, the conservatives base their program on populist idea and not real science.
Come on, does someone really believe that people choose to stay at home for 100$ per month? People who are already well off do. Unless I miss something on my last tax return I pay more because I'm more rich.
We just kick the already down single mom who decide to keep his baby but cannot find any place in kindergarden?
I believe in the leadership of our governement to alleviate the plight of the population with social program. You believe that if we give everyone money they will alleviate the need by themself.
And Harper does not recognize the problem, HAHAHA. He just want to defeat the liberals on any program.
55% of your salary cap off at 423$ per week for maternity leaves. This should be a lot more, a lot more. Quebec is on is way and it shows, they have a small baby boom right now.
The points above are actually pretty good but you're missing the reason why Dryden is on the list. He's not here because he had a different thought on child care. He's here for being dismissive and condecending to stay at home parents. Parents who don't put their kids in child care are the same as parents who refuse to take sick kids to the doctor? Give me a break. That's an awful arrogant attitude to have and that's why he's on this list not because of a different vision of daycare.
We've been over this one before Spinks. I say that "quote" is taken out of context. I've asked you before to post the entire story/transcript/interview, yet, it never happens.....I'm assuming you have some sort of source.
Lets have it man.....where are you getting this info?? I'm listening....In context....
By the way, at least you are a habs fan!
wait.....doesn't that offend your right wing/anti-french/rightous anglophone beliefs to be a Habs fan??
just wondering....
lol
Sorry PNB, I don't have access to CFRA's tapes. However Dryden has never come out and denied those comments or even tried to spin them and you KNOW as a politician he would if he could. His attitude and most Liberals on this one was pretty darn clear.
Unfortunately for Dryden and Scott Reid (#81) they didn't keep their comments in the Liberal Caucus Chamber...they went public which is fortunate for us as members of the public so that we can see how they really feel and vote accordingly. Here's a newspaper column from the time of the issue for your reading pleasure. (Blogger is down so its just the url, sorry about that.)
http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Columnists/Corbella_Licia/2005/12/17/1357913.html
Oh and for the Habs, PNB, non. J'aime l'habs. Ken Dryden? C'est triste pour lui et moi. *sigh* encore. :)
As goaltener, Dryden was possibly the best ever. I remember him best for those games the Canadiens used to play against the Soviet Red Army teams, arguably the pinnacle of all hockey history. I would put Vladislav Tretiak (Ironically a Russian Duma Member now) on par with Dryden as far as goaltenders go.
I will also praise Dryden fo his opposition to the Quebec as a nation resolution, but there, I end my positive comments on his public life. I have to side with Spinks on his views on daycare, and I would say that he would be very committed to that socialist idea by virtue of the way he scurried over to the camp of Bob Rae, instead of to Kennedy or Dion when his leadership bid ended.
As much as I agree that the program was the shits for those of us from rural Canada, the evidence shows that kids who start school (i.e. licensed day care) before the 5/6 year old age that we do in Europe do far better in school and, later on, in being productive in the economy.
It isn't day care is better at raising kids than parents, it is structured learning from an earlier age makes better educated people.
Wow. It's like you were reading my mind, Spinks. This is a great post.
My husband is a Habs fan. He now has this love/hate relationship with Dryden too. Cognitive dissonance.
Totally agree. You forgot to mention that with the conservative plan the $100 is taxable, so if you are "well off", you will pay $40-$50 back to the government anyways. Dryden in an intellectual and, like most Liberals, out of touch with the common Canadian.
"The Liberal plan (as vague as it was on details) would at best support families in urban centres if they worked 9 to 5. It appeared to offer little to nothing for rural areas, shift workers or parents who decided that one of them should stay at home to raise their own kids."
Utter bullshit. That's tory spin. Flexibility for delivery to meet local needs was a key part of the funding arrangements. The funding was in part a response to the fact that much of the quality childcare in this country is delivered 9-5 and in particular areas. We wanted to broaden access. Did yo uactually read anything before posting this crap? Anything? Anything at all?
Sure do, Mark. I'm a parent and live it. I don't just go for the Liberal talking points that ignored so many parents. Considering the "we" factor you write and the BS term to blow off someone else's opinion, you've proven my point about arrogance among far too many Liberals who weren't interested in any opinion that didn't jive with the Liberal vision for Canadian children. Thanks for chucking in your 2 cents.
Dryden is probably the very worst of the former Liberal leadership candidates. Vague notions about "thinking big" are a sure ticket to the poorhouse for a once great nation.
As a politician, he was a great goalie.
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