Dalton Attempts To Implement Unsuccessful "Rae Days"

Dalton McGuinty is toying with the idea of forcing provincial government employees to take time off without pay in an attempt to save money and reduce Ontario’s whopping $25 billion deficit.

Certainly not a novel idea as Bob Rae implemented this very same concept in 1993. Nowadays, I would be surprised if the idea of Dalton Days materializes. Of course, I must assume he would like to be re-elected in 2011. "’No government is going to cast its fate to the wind roughly [two years] before they have to go to the public’, said Hugh Mackenzie, research associate with the left-of-centre Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.”

Unfortunately, Dalton seems to be headed down the same erroneous path as Bob Rae. The first attempt at this concept suggested that unpaid time off was a good alternative to job cuts. Granted the imposing of unpaid holidays on civil servants saved $2 billion; even more of the savings occurred by cutting spending. These cuts saved $4.4 billion, but not without the loss of nearly 11,000 jobs. In addition, Bob Rae raised taxes; an alternative the public never wants to face. The problem is that the reduction in deficit cannot be credited solely from the implementation of the infamous “Rae Days”, so Dalton will have to impose other methods to reduce his deficit.

“Indeed, it was Rae's health-care cutbacks – not those of his Conservative successor Mike Harris – that led to Ontario's chronic nursing shortage.” This risk is one the Ontario government cannot afford to take. The public cannot withstand a slashing of critical services. Hospitals cannot even manage the current influx of H1N1 patients. I would be interested to know how McGuinty expects the public to get more with less.

Furthermore, during Bob Rae’s supremacy, unpaid time off was said to be an effective way to save money. This has been proven to be untrue. “Toronto, for instance, had to pay almost $800,000 to hire replacements for child care workers on unpaid furlough. At a Guelph correctional centre, guards were called in to work overtime at time-and-a-half pay – to cover their own Rae Days.”

Also, McGuinty will indeed be up for a struggle if he chooses to impose unpaid holidays on provincial government employees. “In 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that a British Columbia version of Rae Days – in which the legislature overrode existing labour contracts – was unconstitutional.”

Regardless of past blunders, I am certain the McGuinty government can develop more intelligent alternatives to reduce the deficit. For one, he could reconsider full-time kindergarten, but that’s a whole other can of worms that demands separate attention. He could consider freezing wages temporarily rather than cutting essential services. What if McGuinty hired one of those highly paid consultants to examine management positions and trim that fat, rather than continually eliminating critical front line workers?

Besides, the public won’t be the only losers; the feds will miss out come income tax time.

Personal Stance Poll: Do you think Dalton Days are a good idea?
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'Dalton Days' concept greeted with scepticism

Walkom: Rae Day zombie rises from grave

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The Warning Signs Prior To The Fort Hood Tragedy

“Witnesses said Maj. Hasan stood on a desk and began firing after walking into the Soldier Readiness Processing Center, where troops who are about to be deployed or who are returning undergo medical screening. Those who weren't hit by direct fire were struck by rounds ricocheting off the desks and tile floor“. The shooting spree ended with 13 deaths and 29 wounded.

Many of the news reports have made it clear that Maj. Hasan had been struggling emotionally with the thought of being deployed to Afghanistan. The stress of working with physically and psychologically wounded soldiers has also been said to have taken its toll on the psychiatrist.

Moreover, according to family, the devout Muslim experienced a lot of harassment because of his faith. “One incident in which people threw diapers at his house with the message “this is your head cover” written inside, a reference to the scarves and other head coverings that many Muslims wear.” And in another incident, vandals spray painted racist drawings and terms across the body of his car.

In spite of his emotional turmoil, there seem to have been some warning signs that required closer attention. “About a week before the incident, he hired a lawyer in order to leave the army, get married and live his life. But they rejected his request, and asked him to go to Afghanistan.” News reports do not go into great detail about the circumstances surrounding this rejection, but I must assume that due to the gravity of duties involved in the role of a soldier, the military must have ensured that an individual would undergo rigorous psychological testing before assuming one is capable of going to war, especially when one is claiming otherwise.

Hasan has visited, Osman Danquah, co-founder of the Islamic Community of Greater Killeen and retired Army first sergeant and Gulf War veteran, on two occasions during the summer to discuss his uneasiness about fighting against other Muslims. “Danquah said he was so disturbed by Hasan's persistent questioning that he recommended the mosque reject Hasan's request to become a lay Muslim leader at Fort Hood”. Of course, he never mentioned these conversations to the army.

Prior to the recent past, during his studies, “Hasan made a presentation "that justified suicide bombing" and spewed "anti-American propaganda" as he argued the war on terror was "a war against Islam" according to Dr. Val Finnell, a fellow student in the master's program in public health at the military's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He and another student complained about Hasan, but never formally out of fear discriminating against Muslims.

Additionally, during his internship at Walter reed Army Medical Center, Hasan’s performance was said to be poor and that he had issues that required counseling and extra supervision.

Did the military miss or dismiss important signs? Regardless of the lack of formal complaints and complete disclosure, I am certain that records exist for all military personnel and in those records there would be indicators signalling an inability to perform the necessary duties of his position. These signs seem to be apparent long before 1 week prior to the massacre in Fort Hood.

That being said, according to Bernard Rostker, military personnel expert at Rand Corp. with a previous position under the secretary of defense for personnel and readiness claims: “We're short of officers, particularly at the major and lieutenant colonel level because of the war, and we're short of psychiatrists. There would have had to be something very detrimental in his record before there would have been a banner that would have said, 'No, we don't want to promote him."

Make of this what you will, but this tragedy will not make life easier for the 3,000 or so Muslims on active duty military service or in the National Guard or reserve forces.

Shock and sadness grip Texas community
U.S. Army gunman's act "impossible" – grandfather
Suspect told 'There's something wrong with you'
Army chief fears backlash for Muslim U.S. soldiers

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Seniors Not Permitted to Walk Through Public Park

Recently, a group of 12 seniors from the Movement Is Life group in Etobicoke, Ontario were approached and harassed by a local Bylaw Officer who insisted they cough up a permit for their use of the Humber Bay Park. The Bylaw Officer began taking their pictures and writing down their licence plate numbers when the seniors refused to show their permit or reveal their identity.

The story here is that there are profits being made by group leader, Anne Wheatley, since the seniors pay her a small fee for her exercise sessions.

The bottom line, according to Toronto Councillor, Mark Grimes is that a permit must be held when there is commercial activity in the park. Because this particular situation constitutes commercial activity, the group should not be exempt from the same rules that apply to other businesses.

The cost of said permit is about $28.65 an hour and the fine is set at about $250.00 for not abiding by this city policy.

The controversy surrounds the fact that these seniors are actually paying for exercise sessions at a nearby facility, while the quick walk through the park is merely part of their warm up.

Mayor, David Miller states: “Obviously the enforcement was taken too strongly and I've asked the parks department to review the policy. There's better ways to do this, we are going to review the policy to see what can be done so people can walk in parks but when commercial businesses use city facilities they pay. That's the intent of the policy."

I can understand the ruckus, however part of me cannot comprehend how a quick walk through the park constitutes commercial activity. The majority of any activity seems to happen at the local facility, not in the park. Had the entire session been performed in the park there would be no question that a permit is necessary. Regardless, the circumstances did not require the tactic used by the Bylaw Officer, which borders on harassment.

Actually, in my personal opinion, the instructor should be responsible for any fines or permit fees as she teaches the class and chooses to have her group warm up by walking through the park. Councillor Doug Holiday has the right idea by suggesting that seniors should be exempt from such fees. Many businesses cut seniors’ some slack so why can’t the city?

No Walk In The Park
Park bylaw under review after seniors told to get permit
Seniors 'shakedown'

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OMG, Divorce May Be Done Online

In recent news, the Brazilian Senate has approved a bill allowing consensual divorces to be rapidly filed and resolved over the Internet. However, this new bill must still obtain approval from the House of Representatives before it can become law.

“Couples could file for legal separations, divide property and decide alimony via the Internet as well, according to the bill approved Wednesday by the Senate constitutional commission.”

Such a law could seriously compromise the sanctity of marriage. People may be less likely to thoroughly think through the decision to marry because divorce can be so quick and easy if marriage doesn’t work. At the same time, people may be less likely to work on a troubled marriage because divorce has been simplified to such a degree.

Although people will still proceed with divorce, as rates continue to soar, many important people will be put out of work, such as divorce lawyers and marriage counselors.

Furthermore, what will happen if you forget to print your certificate or lose your confirmation number in the event that a computer glitch occurs, which could invalidate a divorce and interfere with possible future legal battles?

Of course the idea is that only consensual divorces can be done online, therefore the only real value I foresee in online divorce proceedings is the reduction of busy courtrooms, savings in legal fees and the possible decrease in undue stress for individuals involved.

There could also be some major benefits for those in situations where a spouse may have been victimized in some way and cannot bear to deal with a long drawn out court case.

I most certainly expect the government will benefit from this new proposal as I am sure there will be a hefty fee for a simple mouse click.

Brazil Senate passes speedy Internet divorce bill

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