NEWS FLASH: SENIOR POLICE OFFICERS LIE

The Waterloo Region Record has carried a few stories regarding criminal lawyer Laura Liscio and her run in with the Peel Regional Police service. They arrested her and then lied about their egregious "perp walk" of her from the Brampton Courthouse on February 12, 2015. This was reported in the Record last February as well as a followup story on June 27/15. The initial allegations dealt with drug smuggling but I believe those charges have been dropped. It would appear that this case might have some similarities with our local criminal lawyer Hal Mattson. He was arrested and charged at the Tim Horton's across from the provincial Courthouse on Frederick St. in Ktchener a few years back. My understanding is that those charges were all dropped and he is now suing the Waterloo Regional Police most particularily for their egregious public treatment of him. Pretty damn disgusting behaviour by Waterloo's finest.

REPLACING DEPARTED POLITICIANS

On July 16/15 in the Waterloo Region Record Luisa D'Amato wrote the foolowing Opinion column titled "How not to replace a departed politician". Luisa took us through some recent examples of terrible choices by the local Catholic School Board after resignations of members during their term. The obvious and appropriate method according to Luisa is to offer the job to the next in line via the previous election. This would seem obvious and is. Unfortunately neither local councils, regional councils or school boards are so mandated. So exactly what happens is a sweetheart deal if you will. Those bodies interview applicants for the job and cherry pick "right thinking" persons to fill the empty positions. Of course "right thinking" could mean similar thinking to the majority of the council or board or it could be as simple as picking the quietest, least aggressive, most likely not to rock the boat candidate. Aint democracy swell!

ANOTHER TOWNSHIP UNDER THE "DOGPATCH" SPELL

Last Thursday's Waterloo Region Record carrys this column by Luisa D"Amato titled "An outsider is needed to clean up North Dumfries". The financial failures and scandals keep on rolling like waves at the beach. Especially with such a small population centre how is it possible not to notice such major financial screwups? There were enough veterans on their Council that they should long ago have picked up on this. It's all very familiar to those of us from Woolwich Township. You'd think that by now the multiple seasoned veterans on Council would know how to keep their noses clean regrading election expenses. Apparently not. Is it that the farther politicians get from the big city, big oversight, the more they take things casually?

PROFITS BEFORE PEOPLE

Nothing ever really changes. It's all about talk and posturing. The Ministry of Labour is just as incompetent, underfunded and hopeless as the Ministry of Environment, Municipal Affiars and Transport. Too many politicians with too many pet projects or legacy projects to make a name for themselves to ever really gain control of the everyday bread and butter issues that matter to Ontario citizens. Yesterday's Waterloo Region Record carrys this story titled "Ministry of Labour lays charges in 2014 Guelph workplace death".

Yet another avoidable on the job death last yaer in Guelph. A young man 22 years old was working at height installing a steel plate on top of a column and a beam. He fell and the steel plate fell on top of him. Exactly how much experience did the yopung man have in regards to this kind of risky work? His superviser as well as the company Oskam Welding Ltd. were both charged. The accident took place inside Polycon Industries at Independence Pl. in Guelph.

NOT EVEN THE PRETENSE ANYMORE

Even the pretense of following rules, regulations and laws seems to have been discarded in Woolwich. Upon reading of the Municipal Elections Act 1996 as passed by the Ontario legislature, one could be forgiven for thinking that it is the real deal. In practice however it is a complete farce up here in Woolwich, to date. Whether Councillor Bauman or Mayor Shantz it certainly seems as if some of the most blatant failures and contraventions are ignored by the Township Clerk and in fact citizens are essentially challenged to take the sitting politicians to court. Is this a reflection of their antidemocratic attitudes or is it a comment by them as to the unlikelihood of getting convictions? Either one is distatseful.

MECAC (Municipal Election Compliance Audit Committee) - SUCH A DISAPPOINTMENT

It certainly gave every appearance of being a dog and pony show last Thursday in Woolwich Council Chambers. The mayor presented at the last minute a package of documents that while fascinating and interesting were grossly misrepresented as somehow properly resolving my request for a complaince audit. Her 28 pages were both inadequate and erroneous and in fact have led to further revelations regarding the mayor's Financial Statements that frankly appear to show her in a poor light. The two issues are the March 23/15 date that appears to be the date that the auditing firm were contacted/contracted. The fact that the Audit was completed on June 16/15, the very same day that I filed my Application for a Compliance Audit is also very strange. Are we to believe that the Mayor responded the same day that I filed my complaint, rewrote her eight page Financial Statement, submitted it to her accountant who then reviewed it carefully, got management approval to use their name (MAC LLP) signed and date it, all in the same day?

The second issue is the Municipal Elections Act 1996 which indicates that similar to the Mark Bauman case, our Mayor has forfeited her position. This is due to her failure to file an Auditor's Report by he filing deadline of March 27, 2015. Any excuses that she did not know the rules are out the door when one looks at the dates of June 16 and July 2/15. The first date is the date I filed my complaint indicating she needed an Audit as well as the same date that her Auditor filed his report approving her latest attempt to rectify her election expense report. Finally we have last Thursday July 2/15 when she submitted a revised Financial Statement and Auditor's Report confirming the accuracy of my complaint.

The Elections Act is unequivocal. If you fail to file either your Financial Statement or your Auditor's Report then you are automatically in breech of the Act and you forfeit your position AS PER SECTION 78 (1), 80 (1) AND 80 (2).

POLITICS ARE FOR LIARS, CHEATS, THIEVES AND HYPOCRITES

Yesterday in Woolwich Council Chambers at first blush seemed predictably frustrating. Going in I knew I had a slamdunk case and everything depended upon the inherent honesty of the seven members, two of whom were former municipal Council and regional Council members. Indeed within a few minutes I could see that the fix was in. My impression was that it was an interesting case study as to how members of a politically apponted committee (MECAC) would be able to explain their decision to dismiss my Application for a Compliance Audit. Basically the old standbys of deflection, distraction and false arguments came to the forefront. They argued things like honesty, sincereity, technical errors, lack of intent and otherwise a whole lot of totally irrelevant drivel. Clearly they did not want to be the ones to order a Mayor to be audited. In this they utterly failed themselves and the electors.

I believe based on their behaviour that an "arrangement" was made ahead of time that if the Mayor followed a certain set of guidelines at the meeting she would be given a pass. Those guidelines included a revised Financial Statement and an Auditor's Report. This arrangement of course would be but one more contravention of the truly pathetic Municipal Elections Act. Clearly almost no one anywhere cares one whit about that legislation including the appointees receiving $150 per day to be on the Municipal Election Compliance Audit Committee (MECAC). I will say that the members did avoid piling on me as the Mayor and her sidelick Mark Bauman personally attacked me. In fact there were a couple of MECAC members who did have the decency to at least make it clear that my Application was warranted and appropriate and that despite the dismissal the issues were not minimal.

Hypocrisy ruled the day between Councillor Bauman and Mayor Shantz. Both have been vocal about how Woolwich citizens need to be vigilantly alert regarding disrespect and personal attacks and boy are they right. That pair are the guiltiest characters in that department. The Mayor and a few of her acolytes also spread lies regarding alleged (ie. non-existent) intimidation by myself and CPAC (Chemtura Public Advisory Committee) members at public CPAC meetings. Would you believe the mayor's idiot husband tried to pull some kind of shit like that on me at the meeting? A whole room to sit in and or he could have sat near his wife the mayor in support of her but no he picks the absolutely closest chair immediately behind me and within a few feet of where I had to sit for the MECAC meeting as I was the Applicant. I took one look at him behind me and said "Are you kidding me?" I then went and informed the Township Clerk to move his ass or else I'd publicly, using the microphone, ask the MECAC Chair to do it. To her credit the Clerk fulfilled her duty without further ado.