Canada Day? Really?

In my non-virtual life, I like to think that I am a reasonably pleasant fellow who enjoys the small pleasures life has to offer, has a decent sense of humour, and can see the good as well as the bad of this world.

I sometimes fear, however, that in my blogging life I am turning into one of those grim, overly earnest and shrill presences for whom the political apocalypse is at hand. I wish I could say that this blog entry was going to be different, but that would be untrue.

The truth is, I find little to celebrate on this Canada Day, the latest reason blazoning forth on the front page of my Sunday Star with this headline:

Tories slash funding for young offenders by 20 per cent

The Star exclusive reveals that the Harper government has slashed 20 per cent of federal funding for youth justice programs in Canada, cutting $35.6 million used to supervise and rehabilitate young offenders....

In typically Orwellian fashion, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson made no mention of the drastic cut Wednesday in a news release that trumpeted “continued support” for the Youth Justice Services Funding Program.

Apparently there are three components to the programs that are now in jeopardy:

- measures to target violent young offenders,

- measures to rehabilitate and reintegrate youth in trouble with the law,

- measures to deal with less serious types of offences outside the formal court process.

Given their predilection for seeing the worst in human nature, I suspect the Harperites were most offended by the rehabilitation and reintegration elements of the program.

So, while the Harper regime continues to target the most vulnerable amongst us, and while it continues to attack and try to dismantle traditional Canadian values that emphasize the primacy of the collective over the individual, I shall not be celebrating Canada Day.

Now, time for a bike ride to try to restore my equanimity.

Trans-Pacific Partnership: Harper To Surrender More Of Our Sovereignty To Corporations

As has already been reported, the price of admission for Canada's entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations is the acceptance of everything thus far negotiated. Although all of the talks are secret, with corporations but not citizens privy to its contents, this much is known: the TPP enhances corporate rights to sue governments when public policies interfere with how, when and where they make profits - in others words, a further abdication of our national sovereignty, a process that began under NFTA.

This link includes a video that offers some insight into what is going on behind our backs, and it is nothing less than an absolute and utter betrayal of all of us. Although spoken of from an American perspective, don't forget that the changes discussed will apply to all signatories.

More Political Responses From The Toronto District School Board

While the goings-on at the TDSB may seem only a matter of regional concern, in my view the implications extend well beyond any geographic boundaries, evidence as they are not only of system-wide cronyism but also the inevitable corruption and lassitude that bedevils organizations or institutions of any size or purpose over time.

In the Star's latest installment on the board's relationship with Jimmy Hazel and his Maintenance and Construction Skilled Trades Council, we learn that the board will will set up an electronic system to flag high costs charged by its maintenance and construction workers.

We also learn the following:

- the TDSB has asked the education ministry for a “deep operational review” to be conducted by Price Waterhouse Coopers;

- an end to charging individual principal’s school accounts for construction and maintenance work;

- a high-level meeting set for trustees to question staff about the problem.

While on the surface, these measures look like swift and decisive reactions to what the Star's investigations uncovered, based on my own experience as a teacher who dealt with many administrators/politicians, I interpret them as mere political expedients, crisis responses to embarrassing revelations that, of course, the board already knew about since there have been so many complaints over time about these practices, complaints that the board, from the Director on down to the trustees, in their 'wisdom, chose to ignore or, as they say, 'sweep under the rug'.

If you doubt my assertions, reread the series carefully for all the clues of a cover up, probably sparked by both organization inertia and the conventional wisdom that it is impolitic to 'make waves' lest the wake disrupt one's upward career trajectory. As I have expressed elsewhere, institutions are notorious for this kind of willful blindness.

And if you have any doubts that the board's putative new openness is anything other than a charade, consider this:

The Star, which is continuing to investigate, has been trying to obtain a copy of the school board’s database listing work orders and costs.

Thursday, we received a letter from the TDSB’s lawyer, Giselle Basanta, announcing that the Star’s request was received and “we will respond to your request according to the provisions of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.” No other details, and no timeline for response, were provided.

Hardly a beacon of light in this whole murky affair. At least Jimmy Hazel and his people have been more direct and honest about how they feel:

At the trades council, Hazel and officials have released a letter condemning the reporting in the Star.

Damn That Democratic Iconography

A story in today's Star reports that the Harper regime is cutting the budget for guided tours, ensuring some 20,000 fewer visitors will actually get a peek inside the majestic buildings housing the seat of Canada’s national government.

The cynic residing within me suggests that our overlords think it prudent that the masses be reminded as little as possible of what they have lost under this cabal.

Why Peace Of Mind Eludes Me

Conventional wisdom says that as we get older, we become more introspective, philosophical and mellow.

This story and the following video are just two examples of why that tranquility has thus far eluded me.

H/t RKD

Two 'Politicians' Speak

Now frequently the new last refuge of the scoundrel, the passive voice is very popular with politicians far and wide, even if they don't hold elected office.

In response to a comprehensive report by retired judge John Morden on the police brutality and abuses of Charter Rights committed during the June 2010 G20 Summit in Toronto that cast the Police Services Board in a particularly bad light, Board chair Alok Mukherjee admitted “mistakes were made,” but stopped short of apologizing for the board’s inaction in G20 planning.

The other politician in this sad episode, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair, acknowledged “lessons learned” from a new report criticizing the Toronto Police Services Board’s inaction on G20 summit planning, but denied a fundamental communication problem between police and the civilian body tasked with overseeing them.

What those lessons were, the good chief declined to say. And, of course, he refused to apologize for anything.

Oops, We Didn't Mean It

The reversal of the Rosseau Muskoka's decision to extort take 50% of its masseuses' tips, owing to the backlash sparked by The Star's earlier report, is but one of many reasons I am a proud subscriber to Canada's most widely-read newspaper.