STILL CHASING HELMUT OBERLANDER

Today's Waterloo Region Record advises us that the Simon Weisenthal Center has put Oberlander on it's list of the ten most wanted Nazi war crimes suspects. The article is titled "Helmut Oberlander again loses Canadian citizenship". This ten most wanted list leads me to a number of conclusions. Firstly the war ended almost sixty-eight years ago. Exactly how old were current living survivors when the war ended? In Oberlander's case he is now 88 making him 20 at the end of the war and 14 at the start. Just exactly what was his rank and seniority if he was 20 at the END of the war? Secondly it seems highly probable that any Nazis who were even thirty years old at the end of the war, 68 years ago, are now long gone. Thirdly there is virtually zero evidence of any kind linking Oberlander to any war crimes of any kind. Therefore if he is on the ten most wanted list of war crimes suspects than I can only suggest that list has outlived it's purpose.

I do not understand why both Liberal and Conservative governments have chased and harassed a Canadian citizen for so long. Similar to Omar Khadr who at worst was a child soldier caught up in events beyond his control or understanding; Helmut Oberlander was still a child in the early years of the war. What ever happened to guilty beyond a reasonable doubt? What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty? He's never been proven guilty of anything including the so called "finding" that his wartime experience was not disclosed or admitted to. This "finding" was by a Judge based upon essentially nothing. The Judge felt that probably a Canadian immigration official would have asked Oberlander a specific question or two. Therefore the Judge detrmined a so called finding. Such ridiculous legal bullshit. Shame on our federal governments past and present and shame on the lack of common sense. By the way I have no love for either Nazis or war criminals. My father and two uncles fought overseas for years during World War Two and they fought to stop tyranny and despotic behaviour. I believe they'd be appalled at the behaviour of our government in regards to Helmut Oberlander.

SO REALLY WHY ARE PEOPLE GETTING ANGRIER WITH THE TEACHERS?

Canadians are a hardy lot but we don't really appreciate going through tough times AND having our noses rubbed in it. This is where striking teachers have to learn to be a whole lot smoother in their criticism of our provincial government. Personally I am fed up to here listening to them and their unions bullshit about democratic rights and how we all have them. They are supposedly striking right now because their bargaining rights are being jeopardized by Bill 115. They claim it's not about the money. Right, that's why the average teacher, elementary or high school are making in excess of $90,000 per year. Note I say "making" not "earning". It's because they and correspondingly their union long ago figured out that they had their corresponding school boards over a barrel and they would pay excessive amounts of money for labour peace. The unions and teachers right now are worried about future money coming from negotiations that can arbitrarily be ended and a contract unilaterally implemented by the government. But it's not about the money. They are correct that Bill 115 weakens their union. That's what it was designed to do.

Meanwhile back at the ranch for the 95% of other employees in this province whose bargaining position has been intentionally eroded over the decades; it's pretty hard to feel bad for the teachers at this late date. Unionism throughout North America is and has been struggling forever. Membership is down and believe me for the vast majority of us without a union; workplace democracy is a contemptible joke. Personally I've worked for four decades in this f...ing province and while there has been the occasional good and appreciative employer; the rest have been lying, cheating self absorbed twits. The owners and management aren't remotely professional or even focused on productivity, quality or the bottom line. Too many small to medium companies are more about power, control and status. That is their preeminence over their fellow man and accompanying status. It's almost like England and their stuffy, arrogant class system.

So for the teachers who have major control and authority in the workplace to be lecturing the rest of us on how they are losing their "democratic" rights oh boo hoo! 99% of us would work twice as hard and long for what you've still got. You want more fine but keep the rest of us out of it. Especially quit pleading poor me and how our rights are at risk if yours are. We don't have now and haven't had any damn work rights for decades so piss off! We are in no position whatsoever to help you maintain that which most of us have never had.

A FACELIFT FOR ORNGE

As per the December 20, 2012 Waterloo Region Record, Ornge Air Ambulance has snagged Ontario's Chief Coroner as their new Chief Executive Officer. Apparently Dr. McCallum comes with an excellent history and bachground and I certainly hope that he hasn't stepped into a pit of vipers. This comment might seem at first a tad strong until one recalls the last year's revelations surrounding Ornge. They had a CEO making $1.4 Million per year while they were under a criminal probe for financial irregularities. Other issues include alleged kickbacks and "heavy-duty nepotism". Ornge also faced criticism over occasional slow response times to emergencies including not having enough paramedics on call, at all times. The title of the Record article is "Ornge appoints Ontario's chief coroner as new CEO".

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY

CHILDREN'S AID BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Well now this is very interesting. Several months back we had the case of a local school and Children's Aid AND police overeacting to an innocent comment from a very young child who had drawn a picture of what turned out to be a toy gun in her household. When questioned by "authorities" she suggested that her Daddy used it to shoot "bad guys". Since then there have been all kinds of Editorials, comments and even articles that suggest that sometimes our local Children's Aid (FCS- Family & Children Services) can be just a tad overenthusiastic in their leaping into situations where in fact there is little or no harm or threat to children involved.

Thus yesterday's small article in the Waterloo Region Record took me by surprise as it's one of the first, if not the first, that I've seen where one of our members of the establishment hasn't automatically and blindly defended Children's Aid, unequivocally. The title of the article is "Children's Aid should list all kids on web: PC's". Provincial Opposition leader Tim Hudak has very bluntly criticized the basic standard operating practices of Children's aid. He has stated that the current system rewards them financially for not finding homes for children and that this is a disincentive to their proper operation and mandate. Further by implication the fact that they get paid more money for each child they take into custody certainly to me is a Kafkayesque scenario. Is it a coincidence that more poorer children are seized than children from well off families? Is this due to economic hardship making it difficult for parents to properly feed and clothe their children or possibly is there even a tiny component of poorer parents being less able to hire high priced legal talent to take on Children's Aid and the Courts? I applaud Tim Hudak's comments in this Record article and believe that greater scrutiny and accountability is long overdue.

KHADR IN MAXIMUM SECURITY FOR TWO MORE YEARS

It is difficult not to be profane right now. Today's Waterloo Region Record has this story on page A4 "Khadr in maximum-security jail at least two more years: report". Shame on Stephen Harper, shame on Vic Toews and shame on the entire federal Conservative government. You make me sick.

He was convicted of murder and terrorism after pleading guilty in 2010, after EIGHT years being in custody. His guilty plea bought him an eight year sentence (versus fourty) and the right to be sent back to Canada from the notorious Guantanamo Bay. After eight years in custody in a foreign land I'd plead guilty to the Lindburgh baby murder to get a better deal/life.

He was fifteen years old at the time of the "murder". He was sufferring from multiple serious and life threatening gunshot wounds. Allegedly he threw a grenade at the U.S. forces which had just attacked and killed everyone around him. Apparently it's O.K. by U.S. and Conservative Party standards to kill multiple people all in the name of U.S. foreign policy, but woe befall a dying young teenager daring to retaliate against them. Our Conservative Party & government have dragged Canada to an all time moral low. Right now I'm disgusted with them.

A CASINO FOR WOOLWICH TOWNSHIP?

Today's Waterloo Region Record has an excellent Opinion column by Luisa D'Amato titled "Casinos aren't worth the gamble". At least that's the title in my morning edition. It seems as if the Record routinely change the titles of their articles either during the day or for their on-line version.

I realize that I'm becoming jaded when I no longer take the word of for example the Region of Waterloo's chief medical officer of health. She has alarming statistics that show the probable increase in moderate to severe problem gamblers when a new casino comes to town. Her logic (and Luisa's) is unassailable but again I've seen this same medical officer of health dismiss public health concerns in regards to both air and water, courtesy of highly contaminated industrial site in Waterloo Region. Some day when our politicians grow up or become honest (both unlikely) they will understand why the public have less faith and trust in them than even in lawyers.

Contrary to the presentation I attended at the Woolwich Memorial Arena a few weeks ago; it seems as if casinos actually rely on the business from problem gamblers to substantially increase their profits. Wow and the nice men from OLG told us a completely different story. They were smooth, slick and professional. Mind you after your first couple of hundred presentations by bought and paid for consultants, experts and professionals of every stripe and flavour; you tend to become just a tad disenchanted. Don't forget this is Elmira the home of more credentialed experts per square block than just about anywhere. Actually they don't live here so much as they parachute in when required by their masters. Heck I'm so jaded from being lied to by so many for so long I actually expect to see high school guidance counsellors promoting careers as professional liars, to our young people.

IS THERE A SOLUTION TO MASS MURDERS ?

The short answer I expect is no. First of all I am unaware of any single instance of a repeat offender. That of course is after they are stopped. Robert Pickton in British Columbia continued murdering for years. Most of the U.S. school shooters tend to commit suicide thus removing all possibility of doing it again. Yet it happens again and again, just with different madmen involved.

What are the common denominators? Well generally the perpetraters are armed with a firearm and they generally attack "soft" targets such as schools. I don't recall anywhere in Canada or the U.S. where a mass murderer attacked a police station or even a military installation. Afterall both those locations would most likely elicit a very quick and deadly response.

So if many of these killers are prepared to kill themselves; is the attack on soft targets (unarmed adults & children) not to avoid eventual retaliation but to run up the body count as quickly as possible? It would seem that way. Is this the best or only way for them to get the attention they feel they deserve? In the U.S. especially a murder of two or three adults is way too commonplace and essentially non newsworthy. These individuals know that killing multiple innocent and defenceless children will provoke outrage. Their deeds will not be soon forgotten. Is this what it's all about? Basically a pathetic attempt to matter? Have these individuals been invisible all their lives?

Aside from increased vigilance from people who deal professionally with at risk children and teens; can anyone else intervene or sound the alarm when they see individuals exhibiting strange or anti social behaviour? Family members would be the most likely but they are hardly likely to turn in their own children or siblings until after a traumatic event has occurred.

Then there are the weapons themselves. Clearly our mass murderers carry guns into a basically weaponless environment to ensure they can do what they came to do without interference until the professionals show up. Seriously does anyone believe reducing magazine capacities, and or banning certain makes and models will stop someone intent upon mayhem and murder? How well armed do you really need to be to walk into a classroom of five and six year olds and start killing?

I don't know the answer although I expect there are some who do. I presume mass mental health studies and assessments would be nearly impossible and even then do we actually have the knowledge to be able to accurately interpret a test and say that this person is a threat to commit mass murder? I'm very skeptical of that. Meanwhile we will continue to demand solutions from our politicians who may well respond this time but it will not stop the next tragedy. Logical thought can't outhink irrational or crazy thought.

POLICE BIAS, INDIFFERENCE AND SLOPPY WORK

The above headline comes from today's Waterloo Region Record. The title of the story on pg. A3 is "Police bias let Pickton kill so many women:inquiry". The results of the inquiry by Commissioner Wally Oppal were released yesterday and they paint a damning picture of both the Vancouver Police and of the RCMP. The link I have to the Record story is actually from their paper of two days ago. I have no idea why today's incredible story isn't on-line yet.


"There was an institutional, systemic bias against the women... They were poor. They were aboriginal, they were drug-addicted and they were not taken seriously." All of this is bad enough but the incredibly sloppy and amateur investigation should have lead to dismissals if not outright criminal negligence charges. These police officers were paid to do a job. This was not a difficult whodunit. It was an in your face, outright obvious case that received short shrift from beginning to end. The serial killer Robert Pickton had been caught and charged in 1997 for the attempted murder of a prostitute but the prosecuters stayed the case. Mr. Pickton went on to kill at least nineteen more times. The surviving prostitute advised officers that she believed other sex workers had been to Pickton's property. Clearly she was ignored.

This inquiry was important but I wonder if it went far enough in determining the reasons for the incompetence of two police forces. I still wonder what parameters, credentials and or qualities are looked for when police officers are promoted from on the beat street work into investigative or detective work. What kind of supervision is there? What kind of accountability for results is there? How do two police forces overlook a man who admittedly violently assaulted a prostitute; during an ongoing years long investigation into a serial killer of prostitiutes?

CRACKS (?) IN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

I sincerely hope that these are cracks and not yawning chasms. Today's Waterloo Region Record carrys this story "Simple kidney stone revealed cracks in health care system for local man". He sufferred repeated severe kidney stone attacks over the course of a month. Apparently the procedure for breaking up a kidney stone is relatively a simple one. The problem was both a Urologist on holidays combined with poor communications from staff. This gentleman, Mr. Smolinski ended up with repeated hours long emergency room visits for pain relief and it was to the point that his family doctor feared serious kidney damage if the procedure was not done immediately. Long story short Mr. Smolinski experienced himself and saw many more in similar difficulty sitting for hours in emergency rooms that could have and should have been treated for the cause of their problem much more quickly. It almost appears as if the system itself is intentionally delaying, confusing and multiplying the sheer number of times that patients need to be dealt with.

NORTH AMERICAN UNIONS CONTINUE TO TAKE IT ON THE CHIN

Well it may be a football metaphor but it's applicable: "When the going gets tough, the tough get going". Both state legislatures south of the border as well as our federal Tories are doing their darndest to kick unions in the nads. This is occurring, oddly enough when unions memberships are at alltime lows on both sides of the border. Hmm!

Two days ago the Waterloo Region Record published this story "Michigan OK's limits on unions as protesters voice dissent". Yesterday the Record published "Tories pass bill compelling unions to detail finances". Neither of these bills is for the alleged purposes stated and are simply an attack upon organized labour by right wing governments. These battles have been fought literally decades ago but the right never did like how they turned out then so they're having another kick at the can. Some day legitimate tweaking of unions might be a good idea but wholesale removal of their hard fought for, financial backing, and discriminatory backroom scrutiny of their finances is not. Interestingly there were even five Conservatives in Ottawa who voted against the bill. This is a good thing and more power to those honourable individuals who put right ahead of party lines.

WHERE WILL THE TEACHERS GO?

According to Luisa D'Amato in yesterday's Waterloo Region Record, the Teachers' Unions are abandoning the liberal party in droves. This is hardly surprising as they are known for overeacting to the slightest criticism or failure to support them unquestioningly. It's also hardly surprising as the Liberals, perhaps deep in their hearts, knew the teachers were fair weather friends only. Regardless of the motivation, Bill 115 may be effective in keeping teachers in the classroom but it's also a surefire way to lose their support at the polls. That is with the exception of the Catholic teachers who Luisa suggests have a better understanding of the financial difficulties facing most Ontarians.

All in all it's not a good scene. Luisa suggests that if the striking teachers (especially the elementary ones) don't smarten up quickly they will drive the long sufferring public into the arms of the Mongol hordes aka Hudak & the Conservatives. Luisa suggest this happened before and the teachers sure as heck didn't much care for Mike Harris. This indeed would be counterproductive to the Teachers cause of constantly improving their financial bottomline while ignoring the realities all around them. There is however another option and a very viable one at that. Really what party other than the NDP should be the natural home for a strong union? This of course will please the NDP unless the teachers do exactly as Luisa is suggesting. Wouldn't it just be hilarious if the Teachers misbehaviour and acting out teed off the rest of the electorate to the point that the NDP said no thanks to any offer from the Teachers Unions to join forces? Now that would be funny if the Teachers Unions went too far, to the point that no political party wanted their support.

INDUSTRIES CONTINUE TO MAIM AND KILL FOR PROFIT

While I'm hardly surprised by today's story in the Waterloo Region Record titled "Local rubber workers worry about exposure"; again I have to ask where was the union in all of this? They had both the money and the clout to do research and to demand improvements in health and safety issues.

Recently a number of retired or nearly retired workers in the various Waterloo Region rubber industries have come forward with cancer diagnoses, most likely due to occupational exposures. At one time we had B.F. Goodrich, Kaufman, Uniroyal and Epton operating locally. One chemical has been pointed out and that is beta-napthlamine which is recognized as causing bladder cancer. There were of course dozens to hundreds of others in use.

I am pleased that our Workers' Compensation (Workplace Safety and Insurance Board) have acknowledged health issues for rubber workers caused by their employment and exposure to various chemicals. Just for the record however most of these chemicals have been known as toxic for decades or longer. None of this is remotely news.

Of course many of these workers are now dead, some prematurely, others more or less after normal lifespans. Above and beyond the human tragedy, we must also recognize the financial one. Basically these companies in some cases found it easier to ignore already availble science and knowledge and effectively externalize their costs of production. They did this by not having adequate engineering controls or methods that would limit human exposure to toxic chemicals. Their financial liability has been assumed by John Q. Public and the taxpayers. Whether former employees are collecting Workers' Compensation or whether they are currently heavily involved with our health care system, they are being financially supported by the public rather than by the industries who made them sick. This is no accident and as long as this system is in existence it will perpetuate anti social behaviour by these and other industries and employers.

FEDERAL CONSERVATIVES AND F-35 PLANES

Yesterday's Waterloo Region Record carried an Opinion article by Geoffrey Stevens titled "Harper won't admit F-35 mistake". While it's been obvious for a number of years now that there really is nothing good about the original plan to purchase these, inappropriate for Canadian needs, military aircraft; the question for me is how much money above and beyond the 7 year time span has been wasted? Surely a seven year trip in the wrong direction carrys some costs. Surely the cancellation of a memorandum of agreement signed in 2006 and then Cabinet's confirmation of their go ahead four years later (July 2010) means Canada will be paying some sort of penalty to get out of our commitment ? This of course is the typical problem when politicians are spending other peoples' money.

The F-35 is inadequate on numerous fronts. From being a stealth attack plane to having only one engine while patrolling the far north in isolated areas, there are better choices. The question is why did it take the Feds seven years to figure out the obvious? This friends and neighbours is why our taxes at all levels are so high. We as Canadians get second rate service from our governments because they are so unaccountable with our taxes. Literally billions of dollars get wasted and nobody loses their job much less even eventually votes.

CATHERINE GALLIFORD IS SUING THE RCMP

Oh Lordy , oh Lordy! How many different allegations and scandals can one organization withstand? Is there anyone in the country who still has respect for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police? How many young men or young women (especially) still have a desire to become part of the Mounties?

There have been a number of individual officers charged with offences and relieved of duty. There was the Pickton Inquiry preceded by sloppy police work that allowed a mass murderer to continue on for victim after victim. There was the Polish immigrant who was tasered repeatedly and died in a Canadian airport courtesy of our Mounties. Finally Cst. Galliford is neither the first nor the last female to allege systemic sexual harassment by her peers and or her superiors at the RCMP.

I have always been a great believer that shit flows downhill. Yes you can have an essentially decent organization infiltrated by the occasional bad apple. These bad apples however cannot thrive, be promoted and continue their anti social behavior unless those above are equally or more rotten. This is similar to politicians. If the self interested, self promoting, very smoothest liars get constantly moved up the ladder, who do you think they are fooling? Certainly not those who are moving them up. Like recognizes like. They are being promoted within an inherently corrupt (as in rotten) organization by those whose self interests are best served by promoting similarily honest and ethically challenged individuals.

The older I get the more I realize that many honours, promotions and endorsements by organizations and highly placed individuals are extremely suspect. An inherently corrupt political system for example, absolutely does not want honest people gaining political power and influence. The more honest people in an organization the less opportunity for the corrupt to flourish. It's all about appearance of honesty. It's all about appearance of morals and ethics. When appearance is far more important than reality then even the cleverest and most devious persons can no longer succeed in hiding all the cracks and blemishes in the organization.

Today's Waterloo Region Record carrys this story: "Officers and doctors deny allegations".

GAG ORDERS IN HEALTH CARE SCENARIOS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY

We hear these excuses all the time. School Boards won't talk about complaints about a teacher because it will undermine childrens' privacy. Childrens' Aid can't be discussed because of client confidentiality. Doctors are unaccountable because we don't want to inadvertently identify patients private health information etc. etc.. All this is bullcrap expressly designed to protect the guilty not the innocent.

In this case yesterday's Waterloo Region Record advises us that "Gag order is wrong, care worker says". These are gag orders allegedly in place to protect client's confidentiality from Home Care Agency's employees publicly criticizing a patient's care. These gag orders were recently confirmed by the Waterloo Wellington Community Care Access Centre but in fact have little to do with patient confidentiality. There are many ways to protect a client's privacy while at the same time going public with concerns about an organization's problems and shortcomings.

NDP Health critic France Gelinas is one vocal critic of these gag orders and indeed states that they do not serve either the or the clients. They are there only to serve the health care agency and protect them from criticism. I really can't remember the last time I saw or heard any organization stand up and say that one of their policies or internal rules did not benefit the public or some third party remotely; it was just for their personal benefit.

TEACHERS WILL STRIKE - GOVERNMENT WILL ORDER THEM BACK TO WORK

Yesterday's Opinion piece by Luisa D'Amato kind of puts things in perspective. It is titled "Teachers' job action bringing on deja vu from the 1997 strike". Luisa compares many of the issues from today between the teachers and the liberal government with the problems from twelve years ago with the Conservatives under Mike Harris. It is amazing when one looks at the similarities. Clearly Luisa has both sympathy and criticism for both sides. She refers to the "Putting Students First Act" as heavy handed while at the same time pointing out that the unions are front and centre in this dispute.

Luisa believes that indeed the teachers will go ahead with a full blown strike and that the government will follow up by ordering them back to work. keep in mind the government already have the legislation passed to do this. I guess what I take from all of this is what Luisa a week or two ago referred to as the group mentality of teachers being boneheaded. Quite frankly they may be professional teachers but they are neither worldly in their outlook nor particularily astute politically. We the taxpayers can not be expected to forever give them a far better deal than either we have or that we can afford. In other words, teachers, your halos haven't just slipped, they are rapidly heading for the mud. Just exactly what good do you think that will do you in the long run?

OFFICER ROBSON CONVICTED OF THEFT

I truly don't see it as much to be proud of by either the Waterloo Regional Police or the Courts quite frankly. It was entrapment plain and simple and yes some people think entrapment is O.K.. I'm not one of them; however Judge LeRoy concluded the sting "did not violate society's standards of decency and fair play.". I believe she is wrong and if she's not then I suggest society's standards are .

Sgt. Robert Gibson suggested that the sting was the only probable way to determine whether Officer Robson was an upstanding officer or not. I suggest that that is complete bullshit. If you have a need to get him off the force then do it by means of his marijuana use, plain and simple. Setting him up for a criminal charge of theft was beyond the pale. Try that same stunt with one hundred people on the police force and I suspect you could thin your ranks rather dramatically. Hell try the same entrapment stunt with senior management and I'll bet you could cut your budget dramatically and quickly. Constable Robson was targeted and entrapped, bottom line. I repeat if you have to fire him for marijuana use then do the work, get the marijuana possession conviction and be done with it. This was morally and ethically reprehensible. Meanwhile where the hell is the union in all of this? Their silence seems to be out of place. Hell the teachers' unions even go to bat for child molesters so what is the matter with the police union? Are they in bed with senior management? Today's Waterloo Region Record carrys the story titled "Judge convicts police officer in marijuana sting case".

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BLOCKS RELEASE OF DOCUMENTS CONCERNING RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS SYSTEM

This is disappointing in that I can't seem to get a link to yesterday's Waterloo Region Record story titled "Truth commission taking Ottawa to court". I remember four years ago being impressed with Prime Minister Harper for apologizing for Canada's role in the Indian residential schools system and scandal. It was a typical case of a lack of transparency and accountability combined with benign neglect and criminal negligence. Indian children were treated horribly in these residential schools and they had no way out. Meanwhile the authorities blindly looked the other way and clearly could care less about those vulnerable children.


Part of the legal settlement following lawsuits against both the churches involved and the Canadian government included the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Apparently our federal Conservative government feels that the apology and some financial compensation are adequate despite the Court's insistence upon more. Documents are supposed to be made available that have not been. What among other things that shocked me was the claim in yesterday's article that some schools had mortality rates that reached 50 per cent. One fatal goof on the highway can mean prison time. How many of the bureaucrats and government employees or even politicians do you think ever saw the inside of a jail cell for their behaviour or lack thereof causing deaths of children? Canada has no grounds to feel smug or superior in regards to how our authorities have handled vulnerable populations over the decades.

CONSERVATIVES ATTACK UNIONS

With all the neverending blather about our provincial government's nasty fall out of bed with the Teachers' unions here in Ontario, it's easy to overlook what our federal brethren are up to. If you think the provincial Liberals are shifting rightwards in nipping the bargaining and strike rights of teachers you are correct. But make no mistake they can't begin to hold a candle to the efforts of Harper's Conservatives.

Last Thursday's Waterloo Region Record carrys this story by Thomas Walkom "The right's stealth attack on union funding". Mr. Walkom sees the decades old and long accepted practice known as the Rand formula under attack by the Tories. I actually studied the Rand formula back in my university days. It was seen as a comprimise that permitted the financial stability of a union in a workplace once they had been democratically voted in by a majority of the employees and then certified by the provincial Ministry of Labour. The Rand formula named after a Supreme Court Judge states that all employees in a bargaining unit must pay union dues to their certified union whether or not they supported it in the first palce and whether or not they support it now.

Mr. Walkom believes that Bill C-377 is a veiled attack on the Rand formula. All the huffing and puffing about public accountability and exposing union financial support for various "left wing causes" is a smokescreen. The federal Tories would just love to set the stage for their provincial counterparts to introduce so called "right to work" legislation. What a joke. As if there is any such thing as a right to work in Canada. What the Conservatives/Tories really want is fewer unions and lower wages. Politicians are by nature sneaky. This is just one more example of it.