To the Editor, re Threats to Old Age Security

The Harper government is crying poor on pensions for seniors while it lavishes 13 billion in tax cuts for big corporations that don’t need the money. What’s wrong with this picture? They can’t afford to staff the EI phone lines so workers can access benefits for which they’ve paid, they can’t afford to maintain meat inspection levels that were instituted after the listeriosis outbreak, they can’t afford the non-taxation of veterans’ disability benefit, they can’t afford to let the ecoENERGY Retrofit program run its course till March, even though less than half of the budgeted funds have been allocated, and they can’t even think about a national childcare, homecare or pharmacare program.

But on January 1, 2012, the corporate tax rate was cut to 15%, right on schedule. It’s hard for a government to cry poor when they are shovelling money out the back door. It’s high time tax expenditures were reviewed like all other program spending. The conservative government of Canada is using the Eurozone crisis as an excuse to inaugurate a spiral of diminishing support for and investment in the programs that people count on. Canadians understand the need to economize and manage shared resources, but a tax cut program that is depleting the common treasury just looks like a cynical and opportunistic attempt to minimize government and shrink public services.

Harper’s plan for the OAS is a way to download cost and responsibility to lower levels of government which will have to pay out more to support seniors who are forced into poverty. Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement are inadequate now. The right way to deal with a looming retirement income crisis is to expand the Canada Pension Plan now to raise incomes for seniors in the future. Income supports for seniors need development, not diminishment.

Elaine MacDonald, president, Cornwall & District Labour Council

(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of this site, their staff, or sponsors.)

Share on Facebook

I understand for the most part that people don’t want to hear negative things. It’s really understandable, but standing behind the secret destruction that is going on in this city, is just shameful.

.

What got me thinking wasn’t that people are upset that any of this secret destruction is out in the open and they want answers, No, it’s the fact that its exposed and that these people are angry and lashing out. Isn’t the reason we have media is to expose the good AND bad?

.

How can we be upset with them for telling us what has been kept from us? It makes sense to me to have these news teams around in order to expose some of these things, but it’s up to the reader to decide what it is they want to read and whether or not to allow what they are reading to have an impact on them, but NEWS FLASH, that isn’t the publishers or newspapers fault.

.

Again, the media is around to expose the TRUTH, regardless of whether or not you like what that is, it’s mandatory! My questions aren’t for council at this point in time but rather to the civilians who stand behind  council, if what you see is wrong then why not speak up and say something?

.

If it’s a fear of what the truth may bring isn’t that better than the destruction of a society? Isn’t it better than losing our morals as a community?? And if your answer is No it’s not worth it, then my question is why?

We have seem to have lost sight, this town isn’t about who is running it, it is about the people who live here, work here, go to school here, we have lost our voice and I’m saddened by those who stand by, not because they agree and think it’s right, but because they are afraid of facing the truth.

.

We are not just the “City of Cornwall” we are the PEOPLE of Cornwall and for that I think we owe it to each of ourselves to stop for ONE minute and ask us, what is the BIGGER picture in all of this? Is it the medias sole intentional purpose to destroy the “City of Cornwall” to gain perspective for the “People” of Cornwall, some would say yes.

.

I say your delusional, the media is bringing forth these issues because it BELIEVE’s it is important and needs to be addressed, appropriately. The media is addressing the concerns FOR the People of Cornwall. That being said, let’s get this image that city council has imposed on us and take back our City.

(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of this site, their staff, or sponsors.)

Share on Facebook

Dear Editor:

There are long waiting lists for our seniors who need affordable housing.

There are long waiting lists for our elderly who need long term care.

There are long waiting lists for people in wheel chairs that need a place to live.

With all due respect, these are the people that should be “consulted” when considering condo development on the waterfront.

Share on Facebook

Dear Editor,

Prime Minister Harper’s analogy is of Canada not being a ” ‘giant national’ park for the U.S.” and that the “Pipeline debate should be left to Canadians” More valid is this: Canada is a giant resource base.

He would have American environmentalists excluded from pipeline debate. For consistency so too ought all foreign owned companies (and their lobbyists in Ottawa) for Canada is not paramount in their arguments and interests.

Security of supply for central or eastern Canada to Harper is of no concern. To him “there’s nothing the government can do about it. . . . it is fundamentally a market-based decision. We don’t dictate pipelines go here or there.” so reliance of these parts of Canada on sources that could be cut off in wartime is accepted.

Unfortunately the result for Canadians of his philosophy that economics is “market-based” and “there’s nothing the government can do about it.” is foreign ownership of resources and manufacturing (Stelco, Inco, Nortel) and increasingly reductions in workers’ wages and benefits.(Vale, Stelco, Caterpillar)

While in Stephen Harper’s view “I think [being market-driven has] served the country well.” it can be argued government doing nothing serves not Canadians or Canada. We become more and more producers and exporters of raw materials rather than products made from them, not a “giant  national parka for the US” but rather a giant resource base for China and other countries as well as the U.S..

Yours truly,

Joe Hueglin
Niagara Falls, Ontario

(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of this site, their staff, or sponsors.)

Share on Facebook

Author of "Tropic of Cancer" Henry Miller

Henry Miller is famously quoted as saying:

 “the tragedy of it is that nobody sees the look of desperation on my face. Thousands and thousands of us, and we’re passing one another without a look of recognition.”

It’s common knowledge that One in five people in Canada experience mental health problems in their life time and the problem is we choose to ignore the suffering that exists and instead concentrate on ridicule and scorn instead of open discussion.

.

Instead of thought were quick to prosecute and judge without rational discourse as if ignoring problems makes everything better. Unfortunately, that’s non sequitur reasoning devoid of rectifying the problem, and without the benefit of a strong mental health association that provides a true network to support people with problems. Why does this concern me? Probably because of my own past experience dealt in a system that has limited resources or assistance to cope with actually helping anyone and this is my attempt to address those concerns.

 

 

Recently I read an article on the globe and mail  and have looked over Michael Kimber’s blog and after reading what Mrs Kimber has had to say I felt compelled to articulate my own sentiments on the subject, and hopefully express who I am as a person to someone who is willing to listen, so I could eliminate or decrease the stigma generally associated with People with mental health problems, because if you believe that blacks, homosexuals, religious minorities and the physically disabled should have their voices  justifiably heard, then it should only be fair that those who have an alternative mental condition, be given the same chances and opportunities to express themselves and their concerns as anyone else.

There is a belief among the public that if you have no outward signs of physical limitations, then you are perfectly well, that whatever symptoms manifested stemming  from an internal malaise are inventions of a theatrical or narcissistic personality, that keeping things to yourself will make everything better and the world will somehow function without the need to talk.

.

There is also a perception that if you are “mentally ill”, then you are threat to the general populace of society, and are considered violent or have a severe cognitive deficiency which impairs their ability to reason or critically think correctly and are “subhuman” and are marginalized and put into corners.

.

As someone who has been diagnosed as having high functioning autism called Asperger Syndrome I’ve spent most of my life hiding behind attempts to be normal or living behind walls just so that I could maintain the idea that I can fit, but have felt drowned in my attempts to be something which inherently I struggle with on a day to day basis – the facade of being normal.

When I was 17 my general problem was not trying to pick up the pretty girl in the biology class, or earning an A in math, or trying to get my driver’s licence, but just trying to get to school without the desire to cut myself with a razor blade so I could feel better. I never had the traditional teen age rebellion phase that other kids went through and still relied emotionally heavily on my mother for support then most of my peers, especially for friendship and acceptance.

.

The desire to hurt myself has always been stronger then the desire for procreation, and though I am functioning more adequately now then when I was several years ago. Although I have never engaged in a physical altercation with anyone and don’t condone the use of violence, I have harboured thoughts of such graphic intensity that I have needed to restrain myself into self confided solitary existence.  I still struggle with just entering a building where there are lots of people- hell to me is a shopping mall at noon, sports events and loud crowds make the ability to hold thoughts together in a consistent format, however I function with a modicum of success.

Please do not think for one minute that I have not contributed, I am currently enrolled at St Lawrence college although it is on a part time basis, and have had work experience at Independent grocers and volunteered at the Agape center without being conditioned so by the 40 hour program of high school curriculum.

.

When the port theatre aired classic films, I made it a promise to support that endeavour by attending every month just to see the films, and would walk two miles in a snow storm just to see original John Carpenters “The Thing” on the big screen. I have even supported community endeavours including the make poverty history event held in September, although I struggle to be in classrooms with my peers, and there are days my head is unable to concentrate with being surrounded by people, I get through as best as I can, but only with counselling and being able to make contact with councillors on a weekly basis, without assistance of just talking to someone about my concerns and fears and rely on emotional support I wouldn’t be able to completely function.

As for the community of Cornwall offering assistance for mental health?, Good Luck to you.  I have found you’re better off trying to solve problems on your own because No one is going to help… here’s a small scoop from the inside …

Places to go = Zero

The only knowing institute that Cornwall has for individuals associated with mental health problems is the Star Bright center located on Pitt St, opposite the Police department (and located near a liquor store if you like irony). Which from my experience of visiting several times found it to be a dismal and under run establishment, which doesn’t provide the benefits for individuals who are higher functioning and perform to greater performance then those who are lower functioning.

.

The staff can be clinically condescending and unconsciously supercilious, any attempt to engage them as a normal human being is almost always met with an astonishment that you can make critical thinking decisions on your own “While yes I happen to know how to draw up a balance sheet and make calculations on my own!”.

Star Bright is a perfectly apt place for individuals who are not fit for cognitive performance and need case workers to help them understand living arrangements, but it is a deplorable place for anyone who can think and reason without bedside assistance of mother bunch to make you feel better.  From my experience there is no adequate support for those who have high functioning problems; Star Bright exists solely for those who cannot cope with the ability of living on their own, and if you want free cooking go on Wednesday.

Hospital cures? – are full of bad pills

Personally I have never visited the Cornwall general psych ward colloquially referred to as “third south”, though what I have heard has led me to conclude I would find more relief with a steak knife driving into my left thigh, then waiting four hours just to talk to someone who suggest I’m depressed (that’s sarcasm, us crazy people can joke).  From what I have heard of third south is that it’s nothing more but a limited placebo, your there for three days, Doctors give you meds and then they ship you out again putting band aids on bullet wounds. Like I said this is only a secondary account, but having had meetings with the crisis team associated with the hospital, I will take a haphazard guess mental illness is universal in their profession.

 

 

Who you gonna call? – Best bet hot air

I’ve been told that for severe cases of depression and self harm to contact the Ontario crisis line, however the only remedy I’ve ever gotten out of that establishment is to rectify my life to make a positive commitment for myself, because talking to those people is like a really bad Monty Python sketch of gigantic absurd proportions (“you want to cut yourself and kill your family, now is that how you really feel?”). The crisis hotline are under staffed and run by amateurs who are familiar with textbook cases and are unable to make conversational connections without sounding like an automated machine. Try calling to test the theory and see exactly what I mean; you get an after school special and a pep talk from an infomercial.

On a side note if someone is suicidal and is calling for help. don’t have put them on call waiting and give them elevator music to listen to… that will proceed to make them MORE SUICIDIAL (that’s humour, though if I was forced to listen to Lady Gaga you can rest assured I’m going off to meet Vishnu)

Now Cornwall is not the only town, or city, that has this problem of being inefficient to assist individuals considered the pariahs of society. Cities such as Toronto and Montreal are well known for having decrepit mental health associations which rarely meet levels of satisfaction and adequacy. However these larger cities have communities which are supportive for people who have mental health issues, and as anyone who has lived in Cornwall long enough will tell you, this is not a town that is kind or benevolent towards anyone who approaches things with an “alternative mentality”, no offence if you read this far, but what I have personally experienced is a town that is hostile and xenophobic to anything that does not represent an established mentality to mainstream orthodoxy, and for minds outside of box and have little contact with a world they can’t relate to, it could be hypothesized that an individual will “loose it”.

.

I admire this town and believe it has some great beauty of eastern Ontario, yet at the same time the fiefdom mentality of some of the inhabitants makes it inhospitable for anyone to discuss problems openly without assigning blame on anyone and creating villains when in reality no one is a true bad guy. All I wish is educated reason and sincere humane compassion for all man not the facade of shallow etiquette perpetuated in an uncaring health care system.

Personally, as someone who has experienced mental health problems I have never wanted to exploit the system for hospital bed or a social worker, or a magic drug to make me like everyone else. All I want is an outlet where I can talk with someone of equal and benefiting courtesy, who understands that there are other ways of thinking. We have therapy sessions for cancer survivors, and programs that assists the poor and gay pride events, why is mental health issues never seeing in the same light? The minds darkest thoughts can be more terrifying then any incurable disease; it’s the cancer of the soul which robs us of authority to govern ourselves efficiently, yet anyone who admits a fault is guilty of being less then themselves and I find that sad.

 

 

Please understand that because of my condition, I am not in the traditional sense “mentally ill” I despise the word, as someone whose neurological networks and biochemical makeup are rewired differently telling me I’m “ill” is like saying someone who has dark melatonin is “pigmently challenged” or saying that a homosexual is a “sexual deviant”, which only creates the perception that they are abnormal.

.

The reality is, ethnicity and orientation are natural process of evolutionary mutation which add distinction to Homo sapiens collective. “Mentally ill” is offensive pejorative manufactured to provide people a semblance of artificial security from anyone who is slightly different, people who are Bipolar, schizophrenic or have high functioning autism can function normally when they are given the correct treatment that benefits them a chance to work within society.

 

 

I apologize it this sounds like self indulge whining and adolescent melancholy, but there are thousands of people privately fighting inside of their heads locked in universes of loneliness and despair, they simply don’t have guides towards. (Guess you know which philosophy subscribe to)

 

 

I am different, but I am still human and though I think and act in ways perceived by the dogmatic tenants of social and cultural homogenization to be “alien”, I still laugh, cry and have dreams like anyone else. “Prick us do we not bleed, wrong us do we not revenge”, Shylock was pariah of his era because of his religion, but he was still a man with his own passions, Shakespeare is still regarded because unlike anyone else he had an understanding of the human condition. A human condition that exists within all (wo)men -black, gay and non neurological mainstream, and every one of their voices needs to be heard, because in the end everyone of us  just end up as bones.

Kevin Glover – Cornwall Ontario

(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of this site, their staff, or sponsors.)

Share on Facebook

Liberal Party is alive and well.

I just returned from the biennial convention of the Liberal Party of Canada. To friends and foes, I share this eye-witness account: the Liberal Party of Canada is alive and well. Recent speculation that the Liberal Party is dead or irrelevant is premature and plainly wrong.

The Liberal Party has been knocked down before, humbled following many years in government, as has any Party. Government has a way of stagnating and desensitising a political movement. The Party has also recovered before as it is demonstrating now, and has any other Party.

With 3200 delegates, a slate of exciting policy proposals, a new generation of leaders, and serious changes to its constitution, the Party demonstrated the energy and capacity to respond to the contemporary needs of Canadians. The Party overhauled its relationship with members and the public, re-focused on its values, and leapfrogged any other Party in recognizing and addressing the new challenges facing Canada.

Anyone who cherishes a progressive, prosperous, sustainable, and responsible Canada, in a leadership position in the World, can count on the new Liberal Party of Canada.

(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of this site, their staff, or sponsors.)

Share on Facebook

CFN – We apologize for being late in publishing this letter to the Editor.

Dear Taxpayer

Over the weekend Montreal area residents were upset and protested in the streets over a unilingual hockey coach, the media and fans have been at this constantly since mid December. We have Canada’s Language Commissioner sending out secret shoppers to assess language skills in Ottawa and other news makers asking for a 7up in French from Air Canada. A push for Supreme Court Justices to be bilingual, and with the Ottawa City Police Chief leaving, there will be a push for a bilingual chief I imagine.

Rarely do we see the same compassion from English Canada, yes we do have Mr. Brisson and Mr. Galganov going to the Ontario Court of Appeal over the Russell Township bilingual sign bylaw on February 1^st , there also is a Canadian Language Fairness group, but why does English Canada not push for language fairness on a sustained basis with similar enthusiasm? People are busy working or with families and elect people to look after things for us, right? How is that working for you?

A quick look through jobs ads in the Ottawa Citizen and federal job boards would leave a visitor to assume Ottawa residents must all be bilingual; of course the Stats Can numbers do not reflect that. Almost 500,000 of the 801,275 residents list English only as their official language, about 13,000 are French only and 10,300 do not speak either English or French. In 2006, Cornwall is listed having 46,000 residents, of which 935 are French only and 23,100 are English only. Of course, we do not how well the remaining people actually speak either language, as census takers do not assess the accuracy.

There has been some government skewing, perhaps not on purpose to get justifiable numbers, listing numbers as Ottawa-Gatineau, even though they different cities in different provinces for example, or provincially in 2009 making a definition change. This wording alteration added 50,000 to the Francophone definition in Ontario. The Ontario government’s own website states this change will go from 4.4% to 4.8%, or 580,000 people. Using these numbers, Ontario was able to add Designated Zones to total 25 now.

With government getting involved, departments and goals are created; money will be spent then for staff, buildings, pensions and other associated costs. Money that comes from you and me to pay for each level of government plus to service deficits and debt, Ontario alone has an annual interest payment of 10.3 billion just to service that debt.

In no way do I suggest we should not provide safety nets or services to English or French taxpayers, we need to be smarter about it though. Stopping government employees from working and being supervised in the language of their choice would be a start, returning then to providing service to the taxpayer, using technology if needed. How many languages do some ATM’s provide, or Internet websites? Doubling of building, staffing and associated costs to provide a French only clinic takes money from all patient services and increasing wait times and effectiveness of our overall tax dollar. It is time for a discussion on all issues / costs for each; let’s start with stopping the constant push for these language services and leave the people decide. Is anyone really not being taken care of with the present rules and laws? Are we getting the best person for the job or the best bilingual person?

(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of this site, their staff, or sponsors.)

Share on Facebook

Share on Facebook

Dear Editor,

Stephen Harper is preparing Canadians to support a war against Iran by saying for the second time it is “the most serious threat to peace and security in the world”,

Iran has no nuclear weapons as does North Korea, China and Russia nor has it made war on other countries. Rather than this it fought off an invasion by Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, at that time an American ally being supplied with weaponry to avenge their consulate having been overrun.

Canadian Forces have gone to war against Iraq, Serbia, Afghanistan and Libya, not out of threats from these countries to us, but at the behest of the United States.

Iran poses no threat to Canada. Iran poses no threat to Canadians. An Iran War will come about through an attack by Israel, which considers it alone ought to possess nuclear weapons in the Middle East.

In one respect Harper is correct. Iran poses the “greatest threat to peace and security in the world”, not in itself but in that should it be attacked China and Russian spokesmen have both said they will take action. Action resulting in World War III.

Stephen Harper said he would change Canada. He has. Canada is not seeking to influence Israel and the United States to arrive at an accommodation with Iran, thereby bringing peace to the Middle East, as did Prime Minister Pearson . Rather than this, acting as a “peacemaker”, he has placed us in the position of being a “powder monkey” prepared to follow whatever directions Israel and the US choose to take.

Joe Hueglin
Niagara Falls Ontario.

(1) L’Iran est la «plus grave menace» pour la paix
http://www.canoe.com/infos/quebeccanada/archives/2012/01/20120105-205506.html
Iran is the “biggest threat” to peace
Agence France-Presse 05/01/2012 8:55 p.m
http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.canoe.com%2Finfos%2Fquebeccanada%2Farchives%2F2012%2F01%2F20120105-205506.html

(2) Invading Iran is invading Russia, China
China urges stability in Hormuz Strait
China reaffirms friendly Iran ties
China: Iran sanctions aggravate matters
RUSSIA WARNS USA / ISRAEL / NATO AGAINST ATTACK ON IRAN !!! CONSEQUENCES
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuVMO1u8sE4&feature=related
Chinese General Threatens US with World War 3 over Iran
http://www.eutimes.net/2011/12/chinese-general-threatens-us-with-world-war-3-over-iran/

(3) Peace maker or powder Monkey?
https://circle.ubc.ca/flashstreamview/bitstream/handle/2429/36428/ubc_at_009_minifee.mp3?sequence=1

(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of this site, their staff, or sponsors.)

Share on Facebook

I live in Louisiana, an oil & NG producing state.  I can understand your opposition to building a pipeline to serve the Chinese market and sending a Chinese Production Company (Sinopec) oil at their cost of production.  As an resident of “the States” I would much rather see the pipeline from Canada to our Gulf Coast Refineries.  I strongly support the USA doing all possible to insure our oil needs are supplied by our friends, NOT our adversaries /enemies.  Canada is certainly a well documented ally.  However, oil is a fungible product, priced by the world market. 

May I offer an alternative, and tell a story.  For many years, Louisiana has caught sea food in the Gulf, Fish, Crabs, Shrimp, Oysters and shipped much of the catch out of state for “processing”.  The  sea food is a “raw material” the “processing” adds value.  The added value is where much of the economic benefit is derived.  Canada, should NOT be exporting the diluted oil sand crude and importing natural gas liquid (except imports from the USA, if you cannot meet your needs in country).  Canada should be converting the oil sands crude into end products, gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, lubricating oil.  That would place the ‘added value” in Canada.  When you export your raw materials, you export your jobs.

On December 31, AP (CHRIS KAHN ) reported,

“NEW YORK (AP) — For the first time, the top export of the United States, the world’s biggest gas guzzler, is — wait for it — fuel.

Measured in dollars, the nation is on pace this year to ship more gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel than any other single export, according to U.S. Census data going back to 1990. It will also be the first year in more than 60 that America has been a net exporter of these fuels.

Just how big of a shift is this? A decade ago, fuel wasn’t even among the top 25 exports. And for the last five years, America’s top export was aircraft.”

If we can do it, so could Canada.  Perhaps joint ventures between the USA & Canada would be the best way, I do not know.  I do know neither country should export JOBS, we can do cost effectively, to China.

I am a Professional Engineer, now retired, who is not convinced there is man-made global warming.  Is the  planet warming, I believe data indicates slightly, did man cause it, given the scale of the earth, probably not.  However, the “Global Warming” community does not have a good track record when it comes to presenting ALL of the data. There are too many persons, living on grants from “green organizations” and government bureaucrats who benefit from the belief any warming is man-made.    As a reporter/writer I challenge you to work to find the “facts” not opinions.  To question if the “authority” has a vested interest in the answer.  During my lifetime, a major US news magazine warned of “the coming ice age”.

I trust you have read my thoughts.  Our countries have enough oil to become the world oil superpowers, we are not now because our present government has blocked much oil development, what has been accomplished shows what is available.

Sincerely & a Happy 2012

Lee C. Estabrook, PhD, P.E. (ret)

Minden LA – USA

(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of this site, their staff, or sponsors.)

Share on Facebook