Critical Perspectives and Reflections

DOUG FORD IS NOT UP TO THE JOB Wayne Johnston Doug Ford wanted to have a virtual fundraiser last Thursday, at $1K a pop. It was cancelled due to public outcry. Clearly, he is out of touch with the disaster of unmitigated proportions he helped create, while at the same time cutting $1B from healthcare to pay for all the breaks he’s given his CEO friends and donors. Unbelievably folks are getting very ill, many are dying needlessly, and dithery Doug fiddles while Ontario burns. His kind of, but not really, lockdowns are driven by politics. The facts are that the crowds who believe “it’s all a hoax, I’m not wearing a mask nor getting vaccinated, to hell with social distancing, what about my rights and freedoms” tend to be right leaning in their politics. In other words, the Tory base. Under no circumstances will Doug Ford and his pack of death merchants ever cause the base to be angry or get upset. Hence Doug Ford’s semi, kind of, would you please stay at home lockdowns. People are dying ...

The murderer of George Floyd (I won’t use his name) was convicted on all three counts this week. He is going to spend a long, long time in the slammer. I would have to say the people, BLM and allies, have won a victory. They made damn sure that Mr. Floyd did not die in vain. They pushed and screamed, they stood up to police and National Guard violence. They sent a message that there could not be peace if anything less than the killer being held fully accountable for his crime resulted. I doubt frankly, that the case against the police officer would have been pursued with quite the same vigor and rigor had they not. It must be acknowledged that they have won a real victory. But I note that some progressive leaders like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez felt the need to provide a little lecture to the “troops”. She pointed out, the very real truth, that what that victory is, is one of only “accountability”, not “Justice”. But she didn’t just mention it, she talked as if her followers (it was an I...

Society There is a different mind set today among our young police recruits. I will take you back to the days of the TV programs of Dragnet and Adam 12 where the police officers were depicted as showing respect to the public and their supervisors. But then along came the Dirty Harry and Die Hard movies where Clint Eastwood and Bruce Willis were the lone cops who made up their own rules and the police officers who went by the rules were portrayed as stupid and out of touch with reality. These types of portrayals found their way into the TV police programs as well. There was a program on the A&E network featuring the renowned martial artist Steven Segal. People didn't watch the program to see him talk to people. They wanted to see him use his fighting skills on the public. A number of police recruits have no idea what police officers do. They watch these programs and say, “I want to be a cop!” They emulate what they see on TV and in the movies. Youth plugged in Youth today are pl...

“ I remember my chief science adviser bringing me a graph that showed me what flattening the curve would look like for New Zealand. And where our hospital and health capacity was. And the curve wasn’t sitting under that line. So we knew that flattening the curve wasn’t sufficient for us .” - Jacinta Ardern quoted in The Guardian (Dec. 16, 2020) In stark contrast to the covid-elimintation approach of  New Zealand, here in Ontario we have and have had a policy that can be summed up as offering little more than “Thoughts and Prayers.” Ontario has fundamentally no policy or plan to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 in any way meaningful.  Let's start with some grim statistics. 20% of all Covid deaths in Ontario amongst those who are under 40 years have died in the last month.  Let that sink in. There has also been a disproportionate number of Covid deaths in the 40-60 age group in the past month. It is important to recognize this timeline because on February 11th, Dr. Adalstei...

                                                   It is truly amazing that we see so many part-time medical professionals on Facebook, and letters to the editor, particularly about the choice to get vaccinated or not. Of course, it is a personal choice. However, please don’t whine and complain about being discriminated against if you’re refused entry into another country, including the one of your birth. That is not discrimination on any country’s part, that is them being prudent and proactive. For those with a legitimate reason (like a medical one) I’m sure there will be some manner of accommodation. As for those who simply don’t wish to get it, get used to being restricted in your movement.  What I truly find amusing or, more accurately, frustrating, is that those who won’t get vaccinated for medical/religious reasons etc., seem to be the loudest cons...

The political race is on. With a possible Federal election coming up, as early as June, who will reign supreme in the next federal election? The three major political parties are certainly getting ready. But which political leader do Canadians want to be their Prime Minister? Which political leader has the political chops and the leadership qualities to be the chosen one? Leadership is often elusive. It frequently depends on a particular juncture in history of what people look for and what is needed. Despite that there is one thing that is a constant when talking about leadership; one of history’s strongest (in the extreme) leaders - the French military commander, Napoléon Bonaparte, said it best: “A leader is a dealer in hope.” Simple words, but powerful in their impact. One thing is certain. Erin O’Toole, the newish leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and leader of the official opposition in Parliament, on that score, fails in every respect. His biggest problem? The old fossil...

  PEDDLING HATE ON SOCIAL MEDIA: What is to be done? Bill Lee March 31, 2021 I recently came across a particularly nasty bit of vileness on Facebook. It brought home to me just how pervasive xenophobia is in Canada and how easily it is spread. In the post there is a woman holding a sign proudly proclaiming what she would like to do to Muslim Canadians. (see the photo) I found myself frustrated, angry and wanting to do something… anything to stand up to the disgusting garbage. What follows is an edited and much expanded version of the response I posted. The vile slime in this photo was posted by a group calling itself, Canadians Against Religious Supremacy (It is clear from the image that it stands for the very reverse).  A nasty, xenophobic entity apparently headquartered in Alberta. I don’t recommend it, but you can find them on the web if you want to see more of their malign swill. The particular little gem of hate here is merely one of their efforts at promoting the idea th...