It is only people who face adversity who have the best stories to tell. No one wrote a book about a perfect family, where nothing ever went wrong. Maybe that is why I’m not such a great teller of stories, I had too easy a life? I don’t think I’d
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Left Over: Rona, are You Paying Attention?
Democracy 101..When a person of either gender is elected to office, and then appointed to a Ministry, (s)he is obligated to vote based, not on personal belief, but on the verifiable will of the people…further, as a Federal Minister, that person should take into consideration the will of the majority
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: More managers to front line staff has an impact well beyond cost of salaries
Asking how the ratio of management to front line staff has changed at a public hospital seemed like a straight-forward question. In this era of obsession with hyper-efficiency, you’d think the Ministry of Health, the Local Health Integration Networks and … Continue reading →
Continue readingFalse positive: private profit in Canada's health care: Public Interest Duty Should Stop Shouldice Sale
Can Ontario’s Minister of Health, Deb Mathews, stop the transfer of the Shouldice Clinic to the health care conglomerate, Centric? Absolutely, it is within her powers under the Private Hospitals Act: as a friend of mine said, “they wrote better laws 50 years ago.” The Private Hospitals Act mandates that the
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: ConCalls: Maintaining Integrity?
What trust is there to maintain? There were (hundreds of) thousands of illegal phonecalls made in the May 2011 election, and there’s not been a single charge laid by Elections Canada or the RCMP. They are sitting on evidence that links Prescott’s browser session to Pierre Poutine’s browser session. The
Continue readingLeft Over: Son of a Son of a……….
Justin Trudeau to run for Liberal leadership Son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau was coy all summer about leadership intentions CBC News Sounds like a bunch of ex-Libs posting at CBC online today..most acting as if the NDP doesn’t exist as a force in Fed politics..just not true,
Continue readingIn This Corner: Canada-Russia ’72, game 7: Playing on the edge.
Game 7, Sept. 26, 1972 Befitting a series that could have gone either way, Game 7 is the most closely contested of the series. In a game that saw seven goals scored, no team had more than a one-goal lead. The series bubbled over in Game 7. In the first
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Are there more managers and fewer front line staff? At some hospitals, absolutely
Earlier this year we issued a freedom of information request to 20 sample hospitals where OPSEU represents health care workers to understand whether managers are in fact replacing front line health care workers. It’s a frequent complaint we hear. While the … Continue reading →
Continue readingThe Sixth Estate: Canada’s Print Media: Democracy Couldn’t Ask for Finer Keystone Kops
Seriously. This is starting to get absolutely ridiculous. I’m gratified to see the National Post and the Toronto Star jumping on the Margaret Wente plagiarism bandwagon. But there are still people referring to this as though it was an isolated incident, and there are even some professional journalists who have
Continue readingIn This Corner: Sexy Seattle joins cast of As The Oilers Turn.
Hello, Seattle! On behalf of the citizens of Edmonton, I’d like to welcome you to the cast of As The Oilers Turn, a continuing soap opera that has been a fixture for Edmonton audiences for many, many seasons. As The Oilers Turn has captivated Edmonton audiences since it was first
Continue readingPressing Politics: Brazil Wading In Dangerous Waters
Progressive Conservative MHA for Conception Bay East-Bell Island, David Brazil, has gotten himself into hot water as The Evening Telegram reported late last week that he has been inappropriately involved with the administration of the Adult Education Association which received … Continue reading →
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Rant On
Rant on, while you still can. The right to rant is not won through timidity and withdrawing from struggles. There will always be something that you disagree with, it’s just important to rant now and then for what’s important to you because nothing gets better without the effort made by
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Briefs: Health Coalition Action Assembly November 17-18
The Ontario Health Coalition is holding its annual Action Assembly and Conference on the weekend of November 17-18 at the University of Toronto’s Hart House. The Action Assembly plans the Ontario Health Coalition’s actions and priorities for the coming year. … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Briefs: Tax cuts don’t spur economic growth — study
The Ontario government has long believed that cutting corporate taxes will spur economic growth. A new six-decade study from the U.S. Congressional Research Services says that tax rates “have had little association with saving, investment or productivity growth.” The study … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Briefs: Women with mental illness disproportionaley more likely to end up in jail
Women with mental illness are disproportionately more likely to find jail than health care help according to the associate chief of psychiatry at the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group. Speaking to the Ottawa Citizen editorial board, Dr. AG Ahmed says … Continue reading →
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Vector Poll: Ontarians less comfortable with placing a family member in a nursing home
Ontarians are less comfortable with the prospect of a family member in a nursing home than residents of other provinces according to an August Vector Poll. Only 20 per cent said they would feel “very comfortable” with the idea compared … Continue reading →
Continue readingdjkelly.ca: You need to stop telling people what to do
Telling people what to do versus creating an environment that’s easy for them to figure out what they should do is probably the greatest leadership struggle I’ve encountered. I myself struggle with this nearly every single day and I’ve seen many, many others do the same. The benefits of the
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Australian Parliament Votes Down Equal Marriage Rights
I’ve always thought that Canada and Australia are similar in a lot of ways. It’s kind of like a parallel Canada with a warmer climate, more poisonous animals, and a superior electoral system. And now, like Canada once did, it’s going through some setbacks in its transition on the path
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: War On Office Supplies
With the War on Drugs deemed an abject failure, it’s time to focus our security state on some other threat. I propose Office Supplies. The police have a head start, and the Office Supply dealers don’t see it coming. First staplers, now pens. The War on Office Supplies continues in
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Commodity In the Real World
Now @JephMaystruck is reppin' the book Brandwashed by Martin Lindstrom – solid read #SYPElunch— Jackson Middleton (@KiltedBroker) September 19, 2012 Everything in our world is a commodity – everything is either bought or sold and will be recommended or not. #SYPElunch— Jackson Middleton (@KiltedBroker) September 19, 2012 I read Jackson’s
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