A YEAR'S END LAMENT

Poverty is with us. Some of it can be claimed to be the result of self destruction such as alcohol and drug abuse. The reality is that many addictions start by self-medication required to ease psychological pain. Guilt, worry and past traumas haunt human beings. None of us are perfect and all of us mess up in our lives.

People in jail over Christmas we might think are there because of their own fault. The trouble is the percentages of Canadian/Ontario or others in jail who to date are unconvicted is shocking. At any time more than fifty percent of those imprisoned in this province are awaiting their trials and undoubtedly many will not be convicted of the offence of which they are charged. Others will be yet the courts tend generally not to look at mitigating circumstances except perhaps in the severity of the sentences. I recall being absolutely stunned that Daniel P. Reeves, here in Kitchener-Waterloo, spent five years in pre-trial custody. Good Lord and this is Canada, a democracy. Yes he was eventually convicted of fraud but why the hell, for an non-violent offence, did he spend five years behind bars prior to conviction?

Politically we have idiots in charge of the asylum. Trump to the south and Doug Ford down in Toronto are the most obvious. Ford is attempting to destroy the Clean Water Act and the Greenbelt Act. He would like to undo environmental protections because he believes that the environment is no more than a left wing conspiracy. How do you argue, enlighten or consult with minds like that?

We like to think that we are progressive and that all human beings, at least here in Canada, are treated equally. That is a joke as well. The rich are always treated much better than the middle class or the poor including by our own government and courts. Women are making progress only for us to learn how badly powerful and influential males in Hollywood have gotten away with bullying and harassment forever. Our own female police officers face rude, ignorant and even illegal behaviour by males from the Waterloo Region Police Services. No recent news on the fate of their class action lawsuit but our courts,money and entropy will ensure that it will be a long time before that is resolved. Women in other police forces, the military and yes even in Parliament face nasty behaviour. Sometimes even our universities are not as inclusive as they should be whether for undergrads, grads or professors. There is even the unequal treatment of those teachers/profs who haven't gotten onto the tenure highway or achieved permanent employee status and are living contract to contract.

Swinging back to our judicial system there is an old saying that we have the best judicial system in the world ... that money can buy. If you have a million dollars available you can buy top notch, long term, professional legal representation when you need it. Believe me you need it each and every time you step into a courtroom no matter how honest and law abiding you are or have been. That perversion must change but the vested interests involved are in control just like in our educational, police, and health systems. Improvement will not come as long as some within the system are doing just fine thank you.