The Ottawa transit strike - Attitude is everything

Posted in response to this article:

I remember some of the early news coverage of this strike, where picketers were purposely exacerbating the traffic problems caused by the strike by blocking traffic on a major thoroughfare.

A reporter pulled aside one of the picketers doing this and asked him about this practice. I will paraphrase here because I don't recall the precise wording, but I know it's very close if not exactly word for word.

Reporter: We understand that you're striking, but aren't you basically just antagonizing the public by doing this? I mean, isn't the traffic bad enough as it is?

Picketer (a huge smirk crossing his face): Yes, absolutely. It's all *about* antagonizing the public and making it as inconvenient as possible. We're getting our message across.

This is where they lost me, right there, from day one. In this man's mind, not only was it okay to target the public as innocent victims, it was downright hilarious to do so.

Now, I understand he doesn't represent all ATU members. But first impressions stick. And there were plenty other picketers in that lineup so he's obviously not the only one with that attitude either.

I have long held the belief that unions are good and help protect the plight of the common worker against corporate tyranny and greed... things like labour law abuses, discrimination, keeping an employee for many years and then finding a reason to lay them off just before retirement or when they get sick in order to avoid paying promised benefits. But what I have seen so far from the ATU so far seems just as abusive, callous and wrong. They seem to have started off flouting the public, but forgot one fundamental truth: historically, strikes have stood the best chance of succeeding when they have the public's support. So now that they seem to be realizing this, they feel "beat up" and want sympathy from us. Too bad they started out with two left feet and stuck them both in their collective mouth.

Election vs. Coalition

More Canadians prefer election over coalition: poll

Personally, I don't see the coalition as a usurpation of voters' wishes. We voted the MP's in and 38% were Conservative and 62% were divided among more liberal parties. While those parties differ in ideology somewhat, they are all farther left than the Cons. As such, as near as I can tell, they are largely in agreement when it comes to major issues like the economy, environment, energy, education, and so on. So to discount the 62% figure by saying, oh but 74% voted against the Liberals, 82% against the NDP, and 90% against the Bloc, is a misnomer... because these 3 parties are a whole lot closer to each other in ideology than the Conservatives are. And if the Conservatives stubbornly refuse to work with the other legitimately elected parties, as they have been despite the expectation of cooperation implied by having only a minority, I consider that an abuse of the system. In such a case I expect the other 3 parties to take action, and my only disappointment is they didn't do it sooner, ideally before the election. If the only way for them to get this government's attention is to threaten to take it out of commission, and that certainly seems to be the case here, then so be it. At least they are injecting some checks and balances and representing their constituents.

Now I know some Conservative voters have gotten all bent out of shape about this and consider it a hijacking of government and an overriding of their vote. "My vote counts!" they say. But guess what: your vote only represents 38%, a minority of the voters, and if your leader can't get it through his thick skull that his "mandate" is to work with the other parties, then he needs a boot in his arse... because yes your vote counts but so does mine, dammit.

If people want another election, I'm happy to go vote again because I'm thankful for any option to express my wishes as a voter. But frankly I'm not sure what this would accomplish if it ends up putting Harper back in place in another minority government. He obviously doesn't understand the meaning of cooperation and doesn't care to unless cornered like a rat under threat of expulsion. So unless he gets a sudden personality transplant or the Conservatives pick a leader who knows how to play nicely with others, we'll be back to square one again if we don't elect a different party. So unless there's something I'm missing, another election strikes me as being potentially just as much of a waste of time and money as the last one, and delaying even further the start of some actual real governing and action on the economy. You know, the stuff Harper is supposed to be doing instead of playing partisan games.

Cycling Vision Ottawa

While surfing I ran across a group called Cycling Vision Ottawa that is trying to get the City to allocate proper funds to increasing the network of cycling lanes here. I'm not affiliated with them or anything, I just thought this is a progressive issue close to home so maybe it would be of interest. Their website isn't much I'm afraid but it's here.

Using the instructions there, I sent them the following to forward to my city councillor. Feel free to use/adapt any or all of it for your own letter.

Dear {name},

Especially in light of the bus strike, and the potential for similar events in the future given the fact that public transportation has not been designated an essential service, I find it quite disturbing that the City would place such a low priority on cycling lanes. For many people, especially in circumstances such as these, cycling is their only means of getting to work, school, the doctor's office, or even the food bank. There are also countless others who would cycle more often if only they felt safe cycling along the routes they must take. If people can't take the bus, and can't afford a car, yet feel endangered on their bicycles, what are they to do?

The strike notwithstanding, it behooves us all to make our city as bike-friendly as possible, for a number of reasons. First, while mass transit remains better than having the equivalent number of cars on the road, buses still contribute to pollution and therefore impact the health of all. Second, obesity is becoming a more widespread problem. It is a well-known fact that both air pollution and obesity are important contributors to a wide array of health problems. By encouraging people to cycle, we will be improving the overall health of everyone here. Over time, this translates into lower health care costs, shorter wait times, and less demand on public assistance, among other things.

Portland, Oregon, is the city to watch in North America in terms of being bicycle-friendly. They have quadrupled their cycling lanes since the 1990's and bicycle use has quadrupled accordingly in the same timespan, with no increase in crashes. This is only one of many excellent examples of the direct correlation between cycling lanes and the number of bike commuters. I lived in Portland for a time, until two years ago, and can attest from personal experience that the number of cyclists on the road there is truly astounding. Our good city could follow suit and reap the numerous advantages of such an arrangement.

I strongly support the development of an effective network of cycling lanes, including segregated lanes, and pathways, to make cycling in Ottawa more inclusive of those who prefer or need a degree of separation from motorized traffic. As a fellow cyclist, I imagine you are likely of the same mind and I am preaching to the choir. I ask City Council to allocate sufficient funds to the Ottawa Cycling Plan for this purpose.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Best regards,

{name}

As Bush Exits, Expats Staying Put

This article is about Americans who made good on their threats to move to Canada during George W. Bush's tenure.

Before I begin discussing this, let me just say that there are a whole lot of non-political reasons why we moved here. I suspect it's the same for most American expatriates. If you moved every time politics didn't go your way, you'd never stay in any country for very long. That said, U.S. politics and the extent to which the U.S. government neglects the needs of the people have rubbed us the wrong way for a long time.

I can really relate with the gal who said it's not just Bush. A contributing factor is the fact that literally ½ of Americans knew what Bush was about, had watched him in action since 2000, knew what he was going to do, and still voted for him again. Now, despite a truly abysmal presidency full of lies and illegal conduct, fraught with scandals, wrongful deaths, enshrining torture, ignoring habeas corpus and basic human rights, flouting of Constitutional rights and the system of checks and balances, blatantly taking from the poor to give to the rich, gutting the educational system, and so much more... the Republicans still garnered 45.7% of the vote last November. I'll never understand this. Are people taking crazy pills?? This speaks volumes about American society in general and in my mind is just one more symptom of how backward things are over there. (See my discussion of the U.S. South below.)

I can also relate to the lesbian couple, who quite enjoy having the right to marry and full protection under the law. When I've met people here, and they inquire upon introduction who my partner is to me so they'll know how to refer to her, it doesn't even faze them when I tell them. They don't freak out or hesitate or anything. It's amazing! I've always dreaded that moment whenever meeting anyone new in the States, because so many times they'd start right in on us like it's any of their damn concern. I say, don't ask if you might not like the answer! I finally gave up and just started lying and saying she's my roommate, which I really hate doing, because I really don't like lying for any reason and I don't like denying our relationship. But it got so we started doing it habitually, because we couldn't even go out and have a good time at mixed social events because some closed-minded jerk always had to take it upon him/herself to ask the question and then ruin our good time. We had to either go to gay events or face the homophobes.

Mind you, it's not like we were in the Deep South either... this was California, one of the most socially liberal states in the U.S., a leader that has had domestic partnership in place since 1999. So draw your conclusions from there. I lived for a brief time in the U.S. South, incidentally, so I know what I'm talking about, and I can vouch for the fact that the widespread racism, homophobia, condemnation of anyone who is not a fundamentalist Christian, and general closedmindedness were shocking and dismaying enough to convince me to avoid any future visits.

So coming here to Canada, it's mind-blowing and really refreshing when the question comes up about my same-sex partner, who also happens to be of a different race than myself, and nobody even bats an eye. What a difference!

Returning to Canada as an adult has made for some serious culture shock, in so many very positive ways. We love it here! And as we get to know it better, we love it even more. We have a lot of dear loved ones in the States, but we wouldn't dream of moving back.

Hurt by the Ottawa Transit Strike?

I unfortunately discovered Labour board wants stories of people hurt by Ottawa transit strike at this late date. Late, because the deadline on it is 2 days from now so there's no time to mail in letters, which would have been the most convenient way for people with no transportation. All the same, I hope it helps.

Despite a series of obstacles which seemed determined to keep me from doing so, including our obstinate printer, I printed this out and ran down to the lobby of our apartment building to post this up for others to see. I have a car, but I really feel bad for all those people who don't and must schlep through the cold and snow on foot, bum rides from people, pay for expensive cabs, and the like, while trying to get to work, school, doctor's visits, surgeries, and the like. This has put a lot of people in dire straits financially, healthwise, and stresswise so I really wish they'd resolve this thing already! Lacking that, I post my little papers in the lobby.

Goodbye Air Farce, we hardly knew ye

We were introduced to the Royal Canadian Air Farce , a comedy troupe specializing in political satire, shortly after landing in Canada in 2007. We feel like we've only just gotten to know and love this show, and as of tonight it's off the air after an amazing run of 35 years.

Just a few of the beloved favourites we will miss...

Craig Lauzon's robotic Stephen Harper impressions
Driving with Alan Park
Luba Goy's Hillary Clinton impressions
Jessica Holmes' impressions of Belinda Stronach and Britney Spears
The coffee shop scenes
Don Ferguson and the famous Chicken Cannon

For our American friends, the Chicken Cannon was a recurring year-end event. (Oh how it pains me to talk about all this in the past tense.) This was a cannon that fired rubber chickens, or other objects, at caricatures of whoever was considered the most annoying that year. Viewers would nominate targets and appropriate ammo for those targets, then vote on them. Then Don Ferguson did a countdown of the top 5 most deserving targets. The 4 runners-up were shot down with an "armed scud chicken." For the top target they loaded the cannon with all the suggested goopy ammo and fired the final disgusting mixture in an explosive splat. Pow! Great comic and stress relief in one satisfying gloppy shot. Simple but brilliant.

One of our favourite target/ammo combos, watched on Air Farce's website because we weren't here yet in 2003:

• TARGET(S): George Bush, Donald Rumsfeld & Dick Cheney
• AMMUNITION: Iraqi crude - oily just like our targets; cranberry sauce, candied yams, mashed potatoes and gravy (to go with the three turkeys); Freedom fries (don't forget the ketchup); fudge (for the fudged intelligence reports); head lice from Saddam Hussein, maraschino cherry.

Goodbye, Air Farce. We miss you already...

Tighten your belt, my cronies could use the $$$

Nice, Harper, just one more broken promise and show of hypocrisy. We are asked to tighten our belts and suck it up when we need programs and services, but hey there's lots of money to go around to pay Parliament to sit around doing nothing until 26 Jan, and to offer 7 new Cabinet spots ($500k plus support staff) and 18 cushy new jobs in Senate ($6M) to right-wing friends. They even manage to coincide the "tighten your belts" announcement with the announcement of new expensive staff. How the Cons ever manage to convince anyone they are about fiscal conservatism is beyond me. Once again we get to see that their brand of "fiscal conservatism" means "spend it like you stole it" for their cronies, and fiscal conservatism (aka cutting infrastructure and vital programs and services) for everybody else. You know... undeserving people like veterans, sick, elderly, poor, homeless, displaced workers, college students, at-risk youths, and children.

This is exactly the mindset of the U.S. Republicans. I should know, I lived there and watched them rob us all blind while giving money hand over fist to the oil companies, banks, big pharma, and the otherwise filthy rich.

This article, excerpted below, is a great read and spot-on from both a Canadian and an American perspective. As a Canadian-American Canadian, I am well-positioned to vouch for its accuracy. If you look at the record of Conservatives and Republicans alike, you see a trend of burning through surpluses, tax cuts to the rich, and cutting needed programs and services for those who need them most. Stéphane Dion may not have been very popular, but he was right on target about this:

Harper, he said, "suffers from the same fatal flaw as other right-wing politicians. he talks about shrinking government then he spends and spends building nothing with no coherent plan."

"History shows us that in tough economic times, it is progressive governments that put economies back on track. Clinton after Reagan and Bush. Blair after Thatcher and Major. Chretien and Martin after Mulroney. And, of course, McGuinty after Harris."

Shame on you, Harper. How dare you ask us to sacrifice while spending like it's going out of style. I can only hope Canadians are sitting up and taking notice of your Bush/Reagan/Dubya neo-con ideology, and throw you out in disgrace just like George W.... widely despised, with everyone onto you and your games and eager to undo all the damage you have done. You are a scourge and disgrace to our country just like W is to the U.S.