Has This NYPD Officer Been Watching Video of Toronto's G20?

You decide.

Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.

Shark Fin Ban Update

The latest news on shark finning, the ugly and barbaric practice of killing sharks so their fins can be used to make a soup prized as a status symbol in the oriental community, comes from two communities, Mississauga and Toronto.

Last night, the former voted to move forward with a bylaw banning the possession and sale of shark-fin products in the city, capping nearly an hour of debate on the matter. The bylaw decision — which will not be formally voted on until next week’s council meeting — comes a month after city staff suggested municipalities do not have the authority to ban shark fin.

Toronto, sadly, is being offered the same timid staff advice to the effect that the city has neither the legislative reason nor the manpower to enforce such a ban, first proposed by two councillors, Glenn De Baeremaeker and Kristyn Wong-Tam.

Said senior licensing and standards manager Bruce Robertson:

“The matter is one that clearly and more properly rests with more senior levels of government.”

He added it would be “very difficult, at best, and nearly impossible, at worst, to enforce the ban on a product that can be legally and easily purchased,” outside Toronto and brought in.

The committee will instead be urged to call on Ottawa to ban the importation of shark fin, cartilage and all other derivative products to Canada, and to protect shark populations in Canadian waters.

While the call for a national ban seems like a good idea, given the Harper government's reluctance to impede commerce in any way, I am doubtful about the fate of such a proposal. As well, there is nothing to stop Toronto council from passing its own ban as an interim measure.

Nothing, that is, except perhaps the political will to act with integrity.

Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.

Chief Bill Blair's Gambit

It is difficult to know exactly what the repercussions will be for Chief Bill Blair, who attempted to go over the heads of his civilian overseers, the Toronto Police Services Board, and appeal directly to Mayor Rob/Doug Ford in trying to stop the mandated 10% reduction of the police budget.

In his most recent meeting with the board, the possibility was held out by the Board that the reduction could be spread out over two years because of the legislative constraints around officer deployment.

As the final motion passed, a notably agitated Blair fought back.

“I have to tell you, I can’t recommend it in good conscience because of the impact it would have on public safety …” the chief said before being cut off.

Perhaps the fact that he was cut off will serve as a forceful reminder to Blair that he isn't running this operation, that civilian safeguards are in place to exercise reasonable restraint on police forces and overzealous, even arrogant police chiefs.

My fervent hope, however, is that the Chief does not resign over the issue of reductions. Any action that makes him look like a martyr will, perforce, lead some people to forget the ignominy he rightly earned over his role in the massive violations of Charter Rights during last years G20 police violence.

And that egregious misuse of state power is something no healthy democracy can afford to forget.

Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.

More Controversy at the College of Teachers

We are told in today's Star that Jacques Tremblay, the former Chair of the College of Teachers Disciplinary Committee, has other interests, including writing soft-porn for teens. The author describes his book, entitled Sexteens this way:

The Sexteens book “is meant to empower teenagers, to encourage them to be strong and resist or avoid peer pressure.” Tremblay said the book has “been endorsed by parents and educators.” He did not identify the parents and educators.

I have little to add, except that he decided to include in this 'instructional tome' a character named Harry Dick.

Not exactly my idea of worthwhile reading.

When Police Chiefs Go Rogue

In a frightening, bald, and very public display of how much of a politician he has become, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair has announced that he is no longer taking direction from the Police Services Board, as required by law, but is instead trying to broker a deal on the police budget directly with Mayor Rob/Doug Ford.

Refusing to even try to meet the mandated 10% budgetary reduction, the truculent Blair has submitted a budget with a 1.5% increase, a move that recently earned the scorn of Ford acolyte and hand-picked vice-chair of the Board, Michael Thompson, who recently opined that the Chief would have to be replaced if he can't follow Council and the Board's direction.

With political skills sharply honed during the G20 violation of Charter Rights last year, the errant Chief has perhaps succumbed to an unbefitting hubristic delusion that he is a law unto himself.

For anyone unfamiliar with Greek tragedy, hubris always leads to a big fall.

Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.

No Surprises Here: Harper Government Set To Undermine Unions

As reported online in the Globe and Mail today, "The Conservatives are set to take another hit at labour organizations, this time through a private member’s bill designed to force Canada’s unions to open their books to the public."

"The bill’s content is still confidential, but its title shows it will seek to change the rules governing labour organizations under the Income Tax Act, which exempts unions, along with charities and municipalities, from paying taxes. If adopted, the bill will force unions “to apply financial disclosure rules” that are already in place for charities, said a source, given the tax benefit that they receive."

Whatever the ultimate fate and intention of this private member's bill, it will keep alive the tired conservative rhetoric about union bosses and at the very least represents their continuing campaign of sowing public and union members' discontent with unions.

As well, it could mean ending unions' political activism, thereby eliminating one of the few counterweights to the corporate agenda that is so well-financed in this country through lobbyists, conservative think tanks, etc.

Most darkly, it could be a prelude to Harper introducing 'workplace democracy' legislation that would allow union members to opt out of paying dues to unions that pursue causes that individuals don't support, a favorite tactic of the right-wing in United States and an effective way to cripple or destroy unions.

Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.

Criminal Teachers And Those Who Protect Them

As a retired teacher, I cringe when I read about wrong-doing by those in the profession. It enrages me that people occupying positions of trust and care would violate their duty to protect and nourish by exploiting their young charges. However, as one who aspires to the ideals of critical thinking, I can't turn a blind eye to these offences and wish them away.

A series in The Star, the result of a lengthy investigation, suggests a systemic problem in bringing these criminals to account. The paper theorizes that one of the reasons this is occurring, in some cases over many years, is a reluctance by teachers to inform on their colleagues. I cannot speak to that, having never known anyone to behave inappropriately in the classroom, but I do know from experience that just like the Vatican did in untold cases of pedophiliac priests, institutions try as hard as possible to conceal their problems, lest the institution suffer bad publicity that therefore impede the career paths of the ambitious.

For example, there was a case of an administrator who was stealing goods, money and services from his school; I have it on what I consider very good authority that a brave soul made every effort to bring the wrongdoing to the attention of senior administration and board officials. He was told unequivocally to drop his pursuit. Eventually, and I don't recall the precise details, his crimes became public, at which point he was permitted to resign, and the board signed a confidentiality agreement with him, an agreement that the board still insists is valid and thus binds them to secrecy. Of course, the critical thinker would immediately ask why the board entered into a secrecy agreement with him. I will leave you to ponder the implications.


The other problem, and I saw this with teachers who either had either very poor attendance or poor teaching practices, was an unwillingness by administration to confront the problem which, if done properly with several opportunities for improvement, can lead to dismissal of the teacher. The difficulty, as one of my friends and colleagues used to say was, “Lorne, they just don't want to do their jobs.”

The following example illustrates this perfectly:

Another administrator in my board, who was moved for harassing his staff as he constantly pressured them for money to feed his gambling problem, was moved to my school for a year where he was allegedly given the job of overseeing special projects which, to my knowledge, never went beyond scheduling on-calls when teachers were absent. The following year he was moved again and became an adult education administrator where, as far as I know, he finished out his career.

Note how the above shows the unwillingness to directly confront a problem employee. It was much easier to simply shift him around.


Public opinion notwithstanding, it is not unions that protect incompetence; the union's role is simply to ensure that the entire process that can lead to dismissal is scrupulously followed, which requires that administration, usually the principal, conduct many meetings with the teacher in question, offer constructive instruction as to how to improve, maintain the appropriate paperwork, etc., all guaranteed to ensure that his or her rights under the collective agreement have been observed and respected. Most principals, in my experience, did not want to put in the effort to do this, and were happy to simply arrange a transfer of the problem to another school, if one were available. Then, of course, he/she became someone else's problem.

It should be clear from the above that like so many other institution, politics in the worst sense of the word permeates education; indeed, taking a few quotes from the Star article demonstrates how officials no longer speak in meaningful ways, but use the obfuscatory language undoubtedly learned by watching the sleaziest of our so-called political leaders. Consider the following:

In an interview, College registrar Michael Salvatori said he could not discuss any individual cases. The Star had hoped Salvatori would answer questions about whether students were let down by the College or the school boards in cases where it appeared better screening or earlier detection would have saved a lot of pain.

“We are confident we have processes in place to protect students,” Salvatori said. “We can always do better.”

Asked about cases where it appears a teacher did not warn authorities of unusual behaviour (Baggio is one), Salvatori said “there are very few cases where (teachers or principals) do not carry out their duties.”

“The heart (of the College) is the public interest and safety of students,” said Salvatori, who added the College is concerned about “the welfare of students and ensuring teachers are well qualified and competent.”

I'll let you evaluate what he said, but for me, his comments do not pass the smell test.

Or consider the following criminal behaviour, which went on for 14 years, aioded and abetted by a feckless administration. I personally find the account difficult to read:

Antonio Raco

In what teachers commonly refer to as “passing the trash,” the Windsor-Essex Catholic District Board moved this Grade 6 teacher between at least four schools from 1991 to 2005. College prosecutors allege his assaults on girls from Grades 6-8 included taking students into the supply room and groping them; pulling a student close and thrusting his pelvis against her from behind; playing a game he called “Red Light,” moving his hands all over a girl's body until he touched her vagina; touching their breasts and hugging them so he could feel their breasts; and sitting on the floor in gym class and pulling girls against his groin. Raco swore at students, threw desks and played favourites. When one parent complained he told all the students he was going to “shun” her daughter. He was also, the college alleges, a dreadful educator.

One day, he told his young students never to share classroom discussions with parents: “This is Raco's circle — whatever happens in Raco's circle stays in Raco's circle.”

Raco, 53, was convicted of three counts of sexual assault in 2009 and sentenced to six months in jail. He is appealing his conviction. The College began a hearing two weeks ago but adjourned it because it was worried Raco (who was not in attendance) had not been properly notified.

Until those in positions of responsibility make the public good a priority over protecting and promoting their own careers, expect such betrayals to continue.

UPDATE: I just opened my Sunday paper, and The Star's investigation seems to be continuing. The latest headline: Sexting, cuddling with student, a teenage girl, did not cost teacher his job.

If you have the stomach for it, click on the above to read it.