Archive for July, 2011

It’s with great hesitation a journalist enters the fray of abortion debate. We don’t take it lightly, we don’t do it for shock value, it doesn’t sell newspapers.

Discussing abortion makes people angry on both sides of the issue.

Leave it to Premier Dalton McGuinty to pick the scab off this old wound by pressing PC Leader Tim Hudak to clarify his position on public funding for abortion.

Hudak admitted he may have signed a petition calling for an end to public health abortion, but he clarified it’s not part of the PC agenda or platform as he prepares to unseat McGuinty’s Grits. Case closed, for now, and McGuinty didn’t gain any political ground. In fact, with McGuinty being a Catholic and his wife being a Catholic school teacher, I’d argue that slinging abortion mud reduced his own political foundation a wee bit — if that’s possible.

Earlier this month, in North Bay, a group of anti-abortionists raised a stir by lining a couple major city streets with protesters holding posters of abortions in progress or the results thereof. You’ve seen the photos before, it happens every year, sometimes more often than that. It’s hard to hold down lunch after running a visual gauntlet of blood.

There was outrage, as usual, from parents upset their children were exposed to such disgusting illustrations of reality. Keep your religious and political campaign where it belongs, no need to shock kids while you’re trying to make a point.

Defenders of publicly funded abortion argue it’s a woman’s right to decide what happens within her body and there’s justifiable reasons for abortions. Providing them as part of the health care system was a battle won over decades with legal and moral rationale tried and tested.

Protecting the physical health of a woman and killing a doomed child as quickly as possible is merciful, they say.  Considering how we treat our fellow humans when they’re alive and kicking, I support the concept of abortion in those instances. The majority of people do.

Turning back the clock to debate those points is a waste of time and energy. Saying only God can kill and punish, that we sheep can’t make such decisions, is every person’s right. Forcing others to believe the same only leads to more war and suffering.

Do I believe abortion for convenience should be publicly funded? Should impregnated females have to pay for lifestyle cosmetic alterations? If so, would they seek cheaper and more dangerous blackmarket, backstreet options? Is forcing a woman to bring a baby to term ultimately good for either the woman, baby or society?

No. Yes. Yes. No. It seems we always return to the point where we started. Taking away an individual’s right to make big decisions puts the result back on the lap of society . . . and we don’t take care of that responsibility well enough. There’s already thousands of children dealing with the fact nobody wants them because they’re a burden and an anchor.

It’s not right, it’s not nice. But unless society is prepared to raise every child as if it’s their own, keep your noise out of other people’s business.

And the next time you see the anti-abortion zealots waving their placards to shock you into thinking about their point of view . . . just give your kid a hug and you’ll achieve more good for society than any religion or political party.

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North Bay and area has been beating their collective head against the wall over the ONR losing the Metrolinx contract to refurbish GO Transit passenger rail cars. Until yesterday, I couldn’t grasp the province’s line of thinking.

It just didn’t make sense to spend $120 million out of province to save $2 million on the contract. In real terms, Ontario loses $8 million in payroll deductions plus tens of millions to keep 109 ONR refurbishment workers busy for a while — and possibly $15 million in severance when it comes time to close up the shop that cost $5  million to build seven years ago.
The decision to put the contract to tender in the first place baffles most observers, knowing the rules of engagement create a legal quagmire and give advantage to companies which pay lower wages.

Metrolinx’s decision to award the contract to a company that’s looking for a buyer without inspecting its facilities is just lazy and lame.
MPP Monique Smith said she’s been working hard behind the scenes to support the ONR’s need for investment and alternative work. Unfortunately, her Liberal cabinet friends haven’t exactly shown her a lot of support. I guess they didn’t like her quitting the team after two terms. She announced plans in late November to retire after the upcoming Oct. 6 election.
Until yesterday, all we heard from Smith and others was that Metrolinx followed a fair and transparent procurement procedure with references to Free Trade legalities.
After two weeks of desperate political saber rattling, it becomes clear Premier Dalton McGuinty isn’t answering calls for his intervention for a reason — vacation takes precedence. It was left up to Minister of Transportation Kathleen Wynne to offer some rationale for the situation, finally we have some morsel of logic to debate.
She said, basically, giving companies in other provinces a fair chance to win contracts benefits the province in the long run by giving our companies a fair chance to get work in other provinces.

OK. That sounds reasonable, on the surface. Better than stone-faced silence on the matter. It’s fair game, however, to debate if this strategy is working. Anecdotal evidence suggests Quebec has a long history of not giving Ontario companies or workers a fair chance at cross-border business opportunities.
Has that changed in the past decade? Is there new and improved trade relations that we don’t know about?
I’d like to hear from companies that benefit from getting work out of Quebec.
The economy in Ontario isn’t doing that well, we’ve lost thousands of jobs in recent years. Our unemployment rate is not stellar. We’re a have not province with a big budget deficit.
I somehow doubt Ontario’s “play fair” stance is winning the economic war.
There’s also the argument that two Crown agencies like Metrolinx and the ONTC should already have strategic relationship, allowing the province to keep up the appearance of fairness while actually achieving some efficiency by doing some government work in house.
No matter how you cut it, the GO Transit refurbishment work is a lost opportunity for Ontario.