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.