ASHLEY SMITH INQUEST JUST KEEPS GETTING WORSE

Today's Waterloo Region Record carrys this story "Guard made deal to keep silent about Smith death". Firstly guard Blaine Phibbs was charged with criminal negligence in the death of Ashley Smith. Correctional Service Canada then failed to to turn over documents to the Crown, resulting in them dropping the criminal charges against him. Makes you kind of wonder what was in the documents that Corrections Canada would fail to hand them over. Perhaps exculpatory evidence that reinforces the guards version of events does come to mind. Then things get even weirder. He had been fired by Corrections Canada after being criminally charged then when the charges were dropped they made him a deal. Using taxpayer money of course "Corrections paid him time and a half or double time for the thousands of hours he had been off work in the 18 months after the death. He also received $25,000 to go back to school and career counselling." That is outrageous and could certainly be interpreted as a bribe especially as he had to agree never to tell anyone what had happened. I guess a coroner's inquest trumps private sweetheart deals.

Mr. Phibbs also testified that he had personally cut at least 50 ligatures from Smith's neck during her stay at the prison. He further estimated that her face had turned blue on about half of those occasions. Originally management praised him for saving Smith but then orders changed as management decided that removing ligatures before she had stopped breathing would only encourage her. Whether they actually had any medical or psychological expertise behind these new orders has not been determined yet. Looking at the entire picture we've seen so far I'm willing to bet they were flying by the seat of their pants. The appearance I'm seeing is an arms length management locked into a contest of wills with a mentally ill teenager. Good for management as they "won" the battle of wills and Ashley Smith is dead. They seem to have forgotten that their responsibility includes keeping inmates alive.

CONSTABLE ROBSON GETS HOUSE ARREST

Is there a whiff of hypocrisy in Justice Jeanine LeRoy's comment regarding the "disrepute Const. Robson brought to Waterloo Regional Police..."? Why do I feel that our police management could have handled this case and this officer's problems so much better than by using entrapment to lay a criminal charge on him? Saturday's Waterloo Region Record carrys this story "Local police officer gets house arrest". It seems to me that clearly this officer was in serious distress and needed intervention but what I've taken away from this process is that police management didn't like him, wanted him off the force and knew that an entrapment sting might suceed. I wonder what their next step would have been if their sting had failed? I'm not so sure that the regional police brass aren't the ones bringing disrepute to the force.

The criminal conviction versus conditional discharge will make it much easier for Waterloo Regional Police to dismiss Const. Robson. Clearly from the original deal offerred him, to resign in exchange for dropping criminal charges; it's pretty clear the charges were merely a means to an end. This is to the shame of our judicial system, not Const. Robson.

WHO IS "MANAGEMENT" AT GRAND VALLEY INSTITUTION?

Today's Waterloo Region Record carrys this story "Guard rebuked after aiding Smith". Now we are starting to get to the meat of the matter more than five years too late for Ashley Smith. Unamed "management" rebuked and threatened jail guards for aiding Ashley Smith, allegedly perematurely. After one incident in which a guard removed a ligature from Ashley Smith's neck, the guard was told "You are not a psychologist, you are not a warden. This is my institution, I will run it as I see fit,".

It is high time that the senior managers and bureaucrats who did or did not follow procedures which allowed a mentally ill inmate to choke herself to death be named and be held accountable. One of the guards at the scene was initially charged with criminal negligence but from testimony to date he had long been asking permission to remove multiple ligatures sooner rather than later. In response he was threatened with both administrative discipline and even possibly criminal assault charges if he removed ligatures "prematurely". The idiots in charge and making these ultimately fatal decisions are long overdue for justice. Perhaps the rot mermeates the system and is beyond tinkering and bandaid solutions.

AN INDICTMENT OF OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM WHICH FAILED ASHLEY SMITH

Today's Waterloo Region Record carrys a story/opinion piece from the lead singer for Blood, Sweat and Tears namely David Clayton-Thomas. It is a stinging indictment of Canada's judicial system based upon his personal experiences. The title is "Let's not fail Ashley Smith again". Apparently Mr. Clayton-Thomas was from a dysfunctional family and early on, out of desperation, got into trouble with the law. His experiences were very nasty and his disgust and contempt for our jails and justice system obvious. Clearly what are needed are more people speaking out after they.ve been through the system. Especially those who have survived and gone on to be productive members of society, will be credible and informed spokespersons about a system that is clearly unaccountable, unproductive and literally destroys lives. This is a very strong indictment of our Canadian penal and judicial system and to date the public have not been paying attention. Perhaps this coroner's inquest will change that. Perhaps not.

FCS of WATERLOO REGION IS BEING AUDITED BY THE PROVINCE

Today's Waterloo Region Record advises us in their story "Child-welfare agency audited" that the audit is not a strictly financial one. A ministry (children and youth services) spokesperson stated "...the local agency was selected for the review because "service and financial data, expenditure and service themes were identified that were not in line with societies that serve similar communities in Ontario."".

This audit is to take two weeks and involves budgets, policies and procedures. Apparently there will be interviews with staff and families serviced by Family & Children's Services. I'm curious as to who picks the families to be interviewed. I'm also curious as to what executive director Allison Scott means when she refers to "referrals" to her agency. Are these third party, anonymous or otherwise, referrals or are they families voluntarily approaching FCS for help. Finally I'm also a little bit curious abut the dichotomy between Allison Scott's characterization of this provincial audit versus what both the provincial spokesperson and Record reporter Frances Barrick said it included.

ANOTHER REGIONAL POLICE OFFICER UP ON CHARGES

Well I guess this isn't as bad as we've seen so far. Const. Deorah Bourne has been charged under the Police Services Act. In other words thank goodness, these aren't criminal charges. Today's Waterloo Region Record has this story "Officer faces several counts of misconduct". Frankly I don't get it. How come so many officers and when is it going to stop? Also I simply do not understand what exactly is the protocol involved? Who gets charged for things like failing to do their paperwork properly and who doesn't? Are many of these charges as minor as they appear and only used when more significant allegations are involved? "Failing to complete a warrant package required in court..." sounds more serious and yet again are we talking about intentional failures, simple procrastination, bad training or what?

One thing I find interesting is the culture difference that seems apparent between for example teachers and police officers. Often I've heard teachers whining about how police officers get paid more (including overtime) and yet the internal disciplinary processes are night and day. Teachers don't get disciplined. The good ones are just that and the bad ones stumble through their careers making good money with no accountability.

TEACHERS' UNIONS LOSING SUPPORT

Saturday's Waterloo Region Record has an Opinion piece by Luisa D'Amato titled "Teachers' battle reveals cracks in labour movement". Buzz Hargrove a former leader with the Canadian Auto Workers has suggested that the teachers are losing the public relations battle. Luisa appears to agree citing work stoppages, refusal to do extracurricular activities including sports and field trips. Of course many teachers are really so uninformed about the real world that they are still comparing their pitiful lot to policemen, firemen and believe it or not, NHL hockey players. They seem to think that the public are as ignorant as they when it comes to real world jobs and opportunities. A Kitchener teacher was quoted as saying "Nobody questions the NHL when they negotiate their contracts". Teachers do not have the extreme physical risks that police and firepersons do. Nor do they have the physical abilities and talents of most police and firepersons nor remotely the same physical talents of professional athletes. Why don't they compare themselves to garbage workers, factory workers, or even other civil servants. The answer is simple. They are overpaid and overpriveleged with a huge sense of entitlement fostered by their unions and even their colleagues. Parents, the public and perhaps even some other unions are getting fed up. Finally.