I don't care why but I'm glad

That Mr Rinaldi has changed his mind. Whatever Lou was drinking yesterday morning worked he has now allowed himself to talk to his constituents.
After all isn't that what MPPs have to do - meet with all kinds of objectionable people because they are constituents. I once had a relative (nice man that disappeared when the first wife was gone) who often said that if you received a gift that you didn't like, thank the giver profusely and then toss it after they have gone. Much like the MPP meeting people they don't like - receive them graciously, speak to them nicely and then thank your lucky stars that they have left the building.
I just hope that when he talks to the representatives of the opponents of the hospital cuts that he realises the gravity of the situation and that they represent a lot more people than he can imagine, all of them willing not to vote for him again, if he disses them.
In the meantime "it may not be the end of the world" for him but it is for those who cannot afford the ride to out of town rehab centres, if they can find one open after the round of cutbacks. What he should be concentrating on is to get OHIP funding to stay with rehab services.
As a footnote Mr Rinaldi, says in an interview, "I don't care what Ben Burd thinks" that's good I don't expect him to but I care what Mr Rinaldi thinks and when he thinks "It is not the end of the world" that services are being cut I care very much as it displays a great ignorance of the impact on his constituents lives, and that should be important to him, but obviously isn't. Shades of Marie Antoinette.

What is the role of an MP, MPP?

Why to represent the people of course. But who are the people that the MP, MPP should represent? Why all of the people in the riding, silly! But if that's the case why do we allow our representatives to pick and choose who they meet with?
In this story here Lou Rinaldi, the MPP for this riding, explains that he will not meet with members of a citizens group, formed to protest the recent hospital cuts, because they are associated with an organisation called the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC).

Well the question now is just who gets access to the MPP? Is it a bunch of moneyed backroom elitists or is going to be normal hardworking citizens who, in the main, have never heard of the OHC. Because if that is the case then Mr Rinaldi should publish a list of his "banned" groups, so those who fall into the category won't waste their time in asking for an audience with the esteemed MPP.

Of course this tactic of demonizing citizens has been going on for a long time and this particular MPP, as well as the MP have long histories of deciding who wears the black hats. Nothing wrong with that but if these black hatted people ever get into the MPP's office don't blame them if the place gets trashed. Just remember it wasn't until Jim Flaherty's sofa got tossed onto the pavement that the group doing the tossing had its concern's addressed.

A new think on it, but an old idea!

With the closing of the "Thinkers' Conference" in Montreal yesterday we should all be thinking anew. How about this for an old idea, but we should look at it again. In 2008 (source cbc) Kevin Page estimated that the additional cost of the military in Afghanistan could cost 18 Billion dollars in 2011. Well we are nearly there (2011) and due to the non-transparency of the Harperites we still don't know the real cost of the war, and we should.
But whatever the cost we should stop it. Follow Bob Fowler's observations and stop our war. Put the money back into transfer payments to the Provinces for heath-care.

We can have a "peace dividend" - let's collect it!

A Guest Post - short and to the point

Martin Partridge

How's this for an idea? Let's immediately stop building the ridiculous ice rinks on D'Arcy Street and direct as much of the thirty-frickin-million dollars as possible to the real needs of our citizenry, in particular the hospital's capital and operating shortfalls. I think we're crazy to be throwing money away on frills as we enter the tightest fiscal period in almost a century.

Get it right Lou

In this quote Lou Rinaldi exposes his ignorance of the situation at the local hospital, "Northumberland-Quinte West M-P-P Lou Rinaldi says he's saddened by the emotional debate over the future of hospital services ."
It is no emotional debate Loo, it is a dispute about private billing, the outsourcing of services and the inability to provide OHIP funded services to local people. As the former Medical Officer of Heath, for Northumberland said recently, "Health Care is available but not accessible!"
If the nearest OHIP funded rehab clinic is in Oshawa, who will be going, on their dime, there? Will ambulances be ferrying stroke victims to rehab?
But even more importantly due to the lack of detailed financial statements the public does not know just how costly the Rehab Clinic is. OHIP funds in one side and hospital expenses on the other. What expenses get assigned to the Clinic, are the costs fair and properly apportioned? How much is the shortfall, if the Clinic was not paying its way with OHIP revenue and why cannot the subsidy, if there was one, be continued?
All we know is that people who need rehab will not be getting it and how much more of a burden will that be to the health system at large?

Download the petition here and get 10 of your friends to sign it.
Sign the online petition here

Sunday #2

I would love to talk about what Cobourg Council is doing on Monday evening but cannot. The Town's website is down and the agendas (ae) have not been posted for three weeks. A management problem that needs to be fixed.

Sunday #1

So was Earth Day good to you? How does shutting the power off in your house cure the world's environmental problems - it doesn't, but you can join the herd and do it.
Being captive to the radio for hours on end does give one plenty of intersting things to listen to. Late night talk radio, on Friday night featured a section on the ways of Monsanto and Dow Chemical's ambitions to control the world's food supply through the use of Genetically Engineered seeds. These seeds have built-in pesticides, as the plants are not sturdy enough to survive in a quasi-natural state. These built in pesticides are killing the bees and bats that used to pollinate the natural seeds. Silly animals they can't tell the difference between robot seeds and natural ones so they just flit from plant to plant, unfortunately ingesting lethal doses of poison.
In another side of the argument, not content to destroy the environment these giants of industry have manipulated the price of seeds to rip off the taxpayer. In a recently instituted price hike the amount of the price hike was equivalent to the government subsidy for growing the crop. Farmers are now locked into these suppliers through manipulative seed contracts and are faced with ruin from high seed prices and low farm prices. Watch out for our food supply and leave the bloody lights on!

Another good meeting

In a well run meeting people feel that they have accomplished something when they leave. As it was last night at the Cobourg Public Library where 75 concerned citizens met at the second meeting held to discuss the recently announced healthcare cuts.
A big surprise to the organisors was the discovery that Bill Patchett was in the room. He spoke after the organisational details were dealt with and impressed the crowd. The meeting flowed well with updates from Peggy Smith, the co-chair representing the inside workers and Patty Park the community co-chair. Doug Allen, a member of the research team at the Ontario Health Coallition, the group coordinating the flow of information amongst the resistance groups in the Province told the assembly of similar cuts all over the province and said that despite healthcare cutbacks due to hospitals being in deficit some hospitals had received "top-up" funding to cover some deficit. His advice was to concentrate on swaying the local MPP on to the side of the protest. "A few Liberal MPPs have got on board and are fully supporting their constituents in this battle"
Patty park told of her efforts to get a meeting with Lou Rinaldi, the local MPP, "I phoned his office early Monday morning and left a message, the office person got back and said that he was booked up for three weeks!. There appears to be no willingness to meet with us to discuss this issue!"

Petitions were handed out (click here to get one to print off) to those who said they could get signatures and Linda Oliver has plenty of them.

Other items developed during the discussion of the "Action Plan" are: a planned march and gathering on Saturday April 10th at Victoria Hall at 10am, an offer to join with others from all over the Province at Queen's Park on April 7th. A bus will leave N'land Mall at 8.30am for the rally and another meeting, probably at the Best Western next week at 5.30pm.

Bill Patchett then spoke to the group. Revving up older and jaded, but concerned, people isn't easy but Billy P managed to do it. With remarks based on the premise that "You own the hospital, you paid for the hospital - it's ours" he made his point well and most people believe that he is on side with his massive source of energy and anger directed toward saving the hospital. "If we allow the removal of services in 8 to 10 years after more cuts we will not have a hospital. We have to be strong, we have to work as a team or else we will lose our volunteers"
Talking about the fact that the MPP has to support the group Bill went on to say, "Lou's a good friend of mine but the people want him to stand up and get on board. I'll be all over him if he doesn't - I think he will be on board"
As the meeting finished all were urged to join the Hospital Association by the 22nd of April so that they can attend the AGM in June.
All in all a good meeting.

Big weekend for Liberals

The Liberal party of Canada is hosting a talkfest for the interested in Montreal this weekend. Called Conference 150 it is dubbed a "thinkers conference". Already it is being dissed by Harperites, story here, so it must be striking a nerve. The framework is of an innovative nature (perhaps because it is, it riles the neo-cons) because although it is limited to a number of participants the whole conference is interactive and local associations have rented space for local thinkers to get together. In fact in NQW we have two such events. One is being sponsored by Andrew McFadyen and has rented space in the Brighton Lions Centre look here for details, and another has been organised by the nominated candidate Kim Rudd and will take place at the Cobourg best Western Motel.
The interesting thing about these duelling "thinkfests" is that I received the first one from the McFadyen camp thus making me think that the Ruddites are still playing catchup in local Lib affairs. Not a good thing to be doing when an election may be imminent. Strike that no election until the 78 MPs (our own included) have qualified for the pension in late Spring.
Still any conference that has the Harperites apoplectic suits me just fine

Now would be a good time

To test the theory that raising the minimum wage kills jobs. That mantra has never been proven to a conclusion or else the MW would never be raised from the minimum. The President of the West Northumberland Chamber of Commerce has put herself on the line in this story here . Mrs Thrasher, owner of Boston Pizza says her business cannot absorb the costs of an increased wage bill and she will have to cut jobs. Up until this point the argument of lost jobs has never really been put to the test, it has been thrown around as a talking point in the decades old battle of higher minimum wages. Rather like the mythical "diaper on the beach" no real economic evidence has been produced to back it up. But now if the threat is so real we should be able to watch the job numbers, in Ontario, go down on a comparison basis in August (after the layoffs go out in July).
I hope some evidence will be seen even if it is only to prove or disprove the mantra. Perhaps then we can get on with making the minimum wage a "living wage"!

We need a lot of angry folks

The only way to get any attention these days is to be angry. The recent hospital cuts demonstrate this. Despite province-wide cuts, all the same and all over the province some hospitals have been able to make changes and how did they do it? Lots of angry people keeping the pressure on local pols and MPPs. Talking to the hospital administrations or Boards will not work because they have made their minds up. CAO Biron is not going to change his mind about the bottom line no matter how many bigwigs schmooze him. Talking behind the scenes may work if you want something from someone who can make changes but in this case the changes are systemic and can only be changed by the government.
So how do we make the government listen? Take on the local MPP. He seems to think that the local cuts "Are not the end of the world". Well Lou if you keep that up you will be running against a conservative candidate flanked by Doug Galt and we all know that Doug Galt gained his reputation as a constituency man by putting his job on the line for this local hospital. Run a cardboard cutout of Doug Galt talking about saving the hospital against Lou and Lou will be history.

So if you want to have your say about local action join the organizers at the public library tomorrow at 5.30pm.

N.B. click on the image to read it

Fear Mongering at its Finest

It looks like the federal government has expanded its campaign of trying to frighten Canadians into the international sphere. Our foreign minister, Lawrence Cannon, tested out the new strategy at a recent speech to the Economic Club of Canada in Toronto recently. No doubt the elite were empowered and gratified to hear that our country, in addition to protecting the interests of our citizens at home, imagines itself charged with the responsibility to deliver safety and freedom across the entire globe, all for our benefit when we travel.

As reported in the Toronto Daily Star by reporter Linda Diebel, Cannon delivered a speech that was "dark and described a bleak and scary world" riddled with terrorism, drug dealing and crime. The nuclear threat posed by Iran and North Korea featured prominently too, just in case the other concerns weren't enough to make us truly frightened.

Just what is this all about? Do they think their scare mongering about imaginary crime waves at home is so successful they just want to go Big on the international stage too? Or is the scare mongering about Canada not successful enough, so they are adding the international component to jack up the volume? Maybe it's just posing for the G-20 Summit this summer, which is what his speech was supposed to be about.

Whatever the reason for it, I don't like it, and I don't think scare mongering Canadians into a perpetual state of fear does anyone much good, especially when the boogey-men are so often imaginary, and the facts to support their contentions just aren't there. In fact, the truth is the opposite, in the case of the alleged crime wave they are using to justify their increased criminal sanctions against Canadians.

If only we could find politicians, and a political party with a positive vision for Canada, instead of the Orwellian double talk and blatant disregard for the truth that is this government's specialty. I'm sick of being manipulated, and sick of living with a government that thinks it's appropriate to frighten its citizens.

It just get wierda and wierda

Perhaps Lou Rinaldi, our local MPP should think of packing it in, he obviously hasn't been to Timmies lately, maybe he is waiting for the new one in Brighton to open. If he did enter the hallowed halls of coffee he would sit at any table and eavesdrop on outraged constituents rant about the latest actions taken by the local Health Industry. Maybe that's his problem, having done nothing to stop the savage reorganisation of the Quinte Health Centre he is now impervious to the local complaints coming out of Cobourg and West Northumberland.
His latest quote, that hit the editorial pages today: "It's not the end of the world" and noting that hospitals should get back to the traditional services of caring for the sick. He apparently doesn't understand that rehab services make people well a lot faster than usual if rehab doesn't take place. Not to mention the rising costs of healthcare due to readmissions.
Well Loo if we all earned a fat MPP's salary with lifelong benefits then we would be saying the same. But we don't, most of us are a paycheques away from bankruptcy due to extra-billing and out-sourcing. If the previous MPP's reputation was gained by the refusal to say no to the non-funding of the building of the local hospital it will be Loo's epitaph if he doesn't do a lot more than he has done to date.

And in the meantime the two agencies named to help shoulder some of the burden of the redirected healthcare - Wraparound and The Hospital Elder Health Care program - are not service providers in these fields, just facilitators. That's all we need more peolpe talking about what should be done and no money to do it!

What did the LHIN say yesterday - Yes Yes Yes

With a couple of members posturing for the crowd, which was a hostile one, the eight members of the LHIN that were present unananimously adopted the plan submitted by the NHH Board - that is to outsource departments, close beds and have the consequence of losing up to 45 - 60 jobs.
In this story the Chair of the LHIN told the NHH Board that the plan was approved but with the proviso that the Board talk to the community: "I want it on the record that the NHH board meet with and talk to members of the community," Central East LHIN board chair Foster Loucks said. "With this plan, or modifications to it," talks must take place, he stressed, referring to public reaction and the 40 e-mails received.
What a load of crap! Talking is done, Mr Biron can't spin his way out of this one and if he did talk to the community what would he say, "Ooops I'm sorry but we don't have the money"
The questions before us are simple and few, where are the masses going to get the money to pay for the "available, but not accessible" rehab services and where are the long-term beds that the community and the LHIN is demanding that be in place before beds are cut?

In the meantime the two agencies that have been named as the agencies that will shoulder the need for some of the healthcare needs - Wraparound and the Hospital Elder Life Program - are peculiar choices. No delivery of services just facilitation services, that's all we need more people talking about what to do but no money or staff to do anything!

At least these folks are planning to do it properly

In this story Council bosses seek a developer to provide world-class city waterfront (From Daily Echo) from the UK a Municipal Council wants to redevelop its aging waterfront. Reading the story I am struck by a comment from a Council member, that one of ours should have made during our debates, "Cllr Smith said: “This has to be a big draw. It’s not going to be block of flats on the waterfront.""

A guest post

Dean Peacock

New advertising slogan:
"Cobourg,Ontario... Please pack up, leave and don't forget your welcome mat!"

In response to the latest article and editorial in the Northumberland News (March 11,2010 Edition) about the ongoing saga with Victoria Beach and Park, I think it would be wise for the city leaders (elders) to revisit the town slogan and maybe consider changing to the one I have provided above. Or: "Town(Country Club) closed for members only. Please take your business, your jobs, tax dollars and invest somewhere else." Maybe even: "Let's not be polite unless you are white."

I bet you would be really surprised to learn that my family and I are new residents in Cobourg. We moved here in September after throughly enjoying our visits during, what I have since learned, were the two busiest long weekends of the year. King Street was alive; the beach was full; children, from toddler to teen, were everywhere playing and just downright enjoying themselves. A great place, we thought, to bring a family of two preschoolers and one part time teen. A place to play and a place to watch them all grow into adulthood. Well... Baa daa ding ding... ding ding ding!

I do not buy the arguments that the residents here use as an excuse. Like "... It is too crowded forthe residents to enjoy their beach" or "...they leave all their garbage behind" and " ... they don't spend any money."

Come on now. This is a spectacular beach in Cobourg. It has always been one of the great joys of all cultures around the world to pack a picnic and snacks so that a family can spend a relaxing and inexpensive day bonding with the sand between their toes. And leave their garbage behind-hopefully in the receptacles that are provided!

As for suggestions that we should charge for admittance for visitors (not locals, of course) like they do at Presqu'ile. Hmm... How's this for an idea. How about we turn the area into a Provincial Park, like Presqu'ile, and have the Government buy up a fair chunk of the beach front housing(at Government assessed values) to make room for more green space and parking. This concept certainly will give the opportunity to charge for usage. Unfortunately, to be fair, we would all have to pay to have our day in the sun.

Visitors do spend money in this town when they visit. We did. We found a nice coffee shop, had a nice dinner, and bought some gas (a Cobourg pet peeve I've heard that I had to throw in) for the trek back to civilization. I would suggest the real penny pinchers are the locals.

As I go for my almost nightly walk through the downtown core it always shocks me on what a ghost town it is. The clock turns five, the streets are empty, and most of the bar staff do not know what to do with themselves. And in the day, unless it is sunny and warm, the area is only slightly more active.

If you truly, honestly feel that the local merchants are getting shafted then get out there and support all of them. Get the town to support them. Revitalize the area. Give them tax incentives, grants, so that they can renovate to improve their chances for success. I think there are only two or three places in the core I have not been in since relocating here. With that, there are maybe only a half dozen places I would take guests to. The majority are eye sores inside and out. Some places smell and have the look of the local ghosts still sucking back a two pack a day habit. The LCBO stinks of rotten stale booze probably from a pallet of stubbies being knocked over late in the seventies. This is what the tourists(the enemy), visitors, business leaders... are noticing and telling others. Clean the area, spend some money, or close it down for good.

I'm guessing some(most) of you are wondering why we are still here. Well... my wife loves the beach,my children love the beach, and gosh darn it, I love the beach too. The majority of my forty plus years of life have been spent within walking distance of a beach and I cannot see that ever changing. So we will watch closely how this all plays out. We will either vacate the area and contribute to the continuation of stagnant growth, or...

Dean for Mayor !!!

(catchy, isn't it!?)

Just what are we doing here?

It seems to me that everybody wants to do the same thing but doesn't quite know the best way. Plenty of people want to protest outside the hospital, some want to protest outside of Lou Rinaldi's office, Some are going to look at LHIN stooges whilst they follow Ministry of Health dictates and approve plans also drawn up by bureaucracy following Ministry dictates and the bottom line is that local services are being cut, leaving citizens with the prospect of having to pay for what were once free services.

The contradiction in this is best expressed by Bill Patchett being heard saying, "I don't agree with picketing Lou Rinaldi's office he is working to save healthcare" Well until Lou actually gets down and dirty with the people waving signs and telling them he will opposes any mandated cuts in the legislature nobody will believe him. Meanwhile we have many local people, who have never been in a demo before, thoroughly committed to protesting.

We need focus people! The meeting on Thursday evening may pull people together but at the moment it is still without identifiable leadership. Two Cobourg councillors, Frost and Mutton, were at the OHC meeting last week, how many more have got off their duffs to help?

Where is the Mayor in this? Cobourg Council has staked its future on the Hospital as a economic driver, it has sunk millions into the construction, for it to abdicate its position now would be scandalous.

The point has to be made that despite cutting 30 beds and up to 45 jobs we have to concentrate on the fact that services are being cut, take the rehab for example, where is Joe Lunchbucket or Mary Pensioner going to get the $100 for the first consultation and the additional $75 for each visit to get post operative care? This situation is not about jobs it is about the cost of future care. If we keep focusing on the jobs argument it will be lost, nobody has sympathy for those earning better than average wages any more, but concentrating on the cost of out-sourced healthcare might strike a chord.

So we at the BurdReport see it this way: go to the meeting on Thursday and see who wants to lead and what issues emerge as the ones to act on.

We will be watching. Your comments are important as yet there is no community forum to discuss these issues, you can do it here.

Insidious Seductions by Bureaucrats

Anyone trying to understand how the top management of organizations get away with their shameless antics should check out the old British television series, "Yes Minister", and later "Yes Prime Minister". Books were produced too and are available in libraries.

When we first meet hapless, newly elected MP Hacker, his civil servant equivalent is a smooth and cunning experienced mandarin named Sir Humphrey Appleby. While he appears to show great deference and respect for his new boss, Appleby is really manipulating him at every turn, massaging his ego, and using subtle scare tactics to mould the MP into a malleable talking head who believes everything the mandarin tells him. Before long, MP Hacker is putty in Appleby's hands, completely convinced that Appleby knows best and will protect his interests at all cost.

Turning our attention to home, to the County of Northumberland, the public school board and the Northumberland Hills Hospital, we can see these tactics at work by the top bureaucrats of all three institutions. They coddle and flatter the elected representatives, feeding them fresh fruit and pastries and telling them over and over how important their jobs are and how well they are doing. Throw in lunch and dinner allowances, travel expenses and the occasional conference, and the elected representatives start to believe all the hyperbole being flung at them.

In the guise of being helpful they manipulate and massage, delivering a consistent message that they, the bureaucrats, are there to serve them and their needs. It can take years for an elected representative to see through the game, and many never do because they've been completely taken in. They come to depend on these wise and all-knowing administrators and wouldn't do anything to change the way things are done. They are, in fact, co-dependents.

Naturally, when it comes time to discuss salaries, the manipulation and fear factor is in overdrive. Conned into believing they have to keep raising pay or risk losing these valuable administrators, they give them everything they want.

It's been a process that I started noticing in the 80's with the public school board. Regular people I knew who were school board trustees began to think they, and the board staff, walked on water. Pay rose quickly both for trustees and the top managers once their perception of their own greatness was firmly established, and since then this insidious seduction has escalated in all large institutions, to the point where even ordinary citizens think it's normal to pay administrators and top level managers 4 or even 5 times the average Ontario wage.

It's all a con game folks, and one we need to put a stop to if we have any hope of bringing common sense back to public service. Right now, it is the non elected bureaucrats running these institutions, not the people we elected to do the job.

That has got to change, and fast. We need to elect people with a clear sense of commitment to the voters, who are too smart to be fooled by the machinations of these modern day snake oil sales persons who pass for civil servants these days.

Sunday #3 The numbers are in

Every month Statscan produces reams of numbers. One of the tables is the monthly change in employment and workforce figures. Last month the BurdReport highlighted just how much unemployment had grown in the last month; this month we look for change.

We found it - in February the workforce, in our region, decreased by 100 people, the number of people that found jobs went up by 200 and the unemployed went down by 300, 100 of the unemployed obviously gave up looking and became "discouraged workers" who are not officially counted.

The bottom line is that the regional area still has 18,100 people counted as unemployed - shameful!

Sunday #2 Don't fall for the stall

Last week the PM - SH, appointed a retired judge to decide which of the documents ordered to be produced by Parliament should be released. No, No No, Parliament ordered that documents be given to Parliament. If the opposition falls for this stalling tactice they might as well dissolve themselves and go home. It's simple Parliament makes a motion and the rest of the Country have to obey - it's the Constitution dummy!

Sunday 1 - get out your protest signs

It appears that some people don't want meetings they want action and three actions this week revolve around the NHH, local hospital.

1. Noon on Monday (tomorrow) grab a sign and get out to the Hospital Main Entrance to display your displeasure at the recent cuts.
2. Tuesday, March 16 at 2:30 pm at the LVIV Pavilion main level, 38 LVIV Boulevard, Oshawa the LHIN will be discussing the cuts and submitted budget. Join the others, led by Bill Patchett, to observe the deal going down.
3. When the LHIN meeting is done come back and organise a fightback by joining others at the Lions' Centre at 5.30pm on Thursday where a community action plan is going to be initiated.
4. Please also sign online petition by clicking on the following link:
   http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/northumberlandhillshospital/
5. Also write Foster Loucks, Chair of the Central East LHIN at centraleast@lhins.on.ca
   

We now have a chance to demonstrate to the inert politicians, where is the Mayor on this one? that people are upset. Why donate money to a losing cause, appears to be the big question.

The organizers of the Rally ask that you print off the sign and post it all over town click here for the pdf

Bet this one isn't covered under OHIP

An interesting report from Holland carried in the G&M here

Contributing to the local rumour mill

There is a persistent rumour floating around the Town that has both angered and intrigued groups of people. On one hand because the rumour concerns the largest non-profit in the Town some believe that its activities, because they are funded entirely by public donations, should be transparent and open, and others believe the opposite - it may be funded by public money (donations) but it is a private organization and the way they run things is their affair.

Well where the rubber hits the road, in this case is the rumour - "Did the United Way give the CAO a $10,000 raise?"

If it is true two or three things have happened: one is that members of the Board who disagreed with the process and the event have leaked the info from an in-camera session held earlier in the week. Two the event has enraged some prominent people in Town who are pushing the MSM to ask questions. Three asking questions of this organization is not a politically wise thing to do as the CAO is a major player in ALL the activities in this community and payback would be a problem.

Finally why did the Board, if it is true, award the CAO a $10K raise when the heavy lifting of the recently successful campaign was done by Bill Patchett? One reason being floated was the fact that Board was faced with the prospect of the CAO moving to an open job in Peterborough. So - let her go and start fresh, It was only through the efforts of Mr Patchett that an extra $250,000 was raised after losing $100K in checkoffs caused by layoffs.

Let's kill or confirm the rumour - have the UW issue a statement confirming or denying the tale.

Yesterday may the start of something

A panel of investigators came to Town looking for local symptoms. Health Care cuts and the impact on local communities was on the agenda: "Tell us what is going on in Northumberland!". The community responded - over 100 people came out to see what was going on and some gave their opinion, stories and pleas, in public for the record. The Panel, part of the Ontario Health Coalition's mandate, was out to see what was really going on the delivery, and reallocation of, local health care.In a briefing note, click here to read it, the Coalition has collected, from public sources (as the MoH has not been forthcoming with requests for information), a collection of bad news. All of the Local Heath Integrated Networks (LHINs) have been following the same formula - cut hospital resources by 1% from last year. The effect has been devastating and predictable. Communities have lost services and more damaging, the services that remain but have been shifted to the community, are not free anymore.

A lineup of local people stood and spoke about their issues: Dawn Forster spoke about being a Care-Giver, with llittle support now, let alone in the future when in-hospital rehab services will be gone. Pat Cory spoke about the impact of the cuts on him, as a volunteer still healthy but wary because he moved here to be near the new hospital.

Deb O'Connor spoke about the effect of the cuts on the poor, who have, because of inadequate income have disproportionately higher levels of bad health and therefore use the hospital more than other groups - no money - no services - no health! The president of the local Nurses Union spoke, predictably about the impact of losing 30 nursing positions, likewise the president of the local CUPE unit said that because of the balancing of the cuts the job losses will be more like 45 jobs lost.

The end result will be a 20% downsizing in hospital resources and up to 45 well paying jobs lost.

It should be noted that very few solutions were proposed but in a report today the major fundraiser for the hospital - Bill Patchett, has announced that a group of local peole will be attending the next phase of the process, the Board meeting of the LHIN where these proposals are to be ratified.

The CAO of the hospital should be able to say he done his job - balance the budget, but the flaw in this plan is that most of the cuts will not be effective until the community resources are available. As the LHIN has not been funding Long Term Beds in the community so far how will Mr Biron be able to clear out the "bedblockers"?

Besides there is a potential for terrible abuse of the community, remember when the Developmentally Challenged were moved out of D'Arcy Place, and other institutions? The community was supposed to have community resources in place before the move - that worked out well didn't it?

In an ever increasing cycle of budget cuts and the need to balance the treatment of sick people you have the fixed cost of allocated money butting up against the need to treat the sick no matter what it costs. Just how many times can the health system be examined for efficiencies and methods? But as we heard yesterday the local hospital may have heard from an internally designed panel that wasn't allowed to discuss the overall picture, i.e. cutting the administration, but Mr Biron has not, according to the two local Presidents, spoken in any  way with them for their ideas. Doesn't sound very cooperative to me.

This is how to get press

With a small announcement that the "Mayor of Toronto will be holding a press conference tomorrow morning" the fourth estate went into overdrive. Miller Announcement Causing Stir | Toronto Election News
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So what will Miller say: "I've got another job and I'm off to do it, that means that you guys - Council who will have to elect another Mayor, and my opponents who can't run against my shadow, will have to be original".  Well done David keep them all guessing and in the meantime go and do good work!

Just a quick note to all

Get your votes in now - the Shelter Valley Folk Festival is in the top 10 for the best Folk festival in the Country in a CBC poll. If you voted before do it again click here to start the process

I know there is a story here, but what story

Is it the 30 lost jobs, is it the move to force people to pay for programmes previously covered by in-hospital visits, is it the apparent non-transparency of the consultation process is it the seemingly non-randomness of the selection of the CAP panelists, is it the move to shitf beds in the Alternative Care Sector and moving them to no-existent programmes or is it just one of each of those items?

In a week where the incumbent MP boasts about creating jobs but can't prove it the news that 30 high paying jobs are going to be lost is pitiful. But what is more pitiful is the Northumberland Hills Hospitalc cutting 34 beds from the active care side of hospital operations. So we didn't lose the Palliative Care beds, that will make the donors happy, but cut active care beds instead. In the end the donors will wish that the Palliative Care beds would have gone as the level of care has now been hit. 

The total BS of it is that the beds in community programmes, that will take over from the beds in the hospital, do not exist yet, so reading between the lines, i.e. don't cut anything until the community beds are there, will mean that no money is going to saved just yet. The only cost-cutting measure that has taken place is to shut down the Diabetes Clinic.

If the hospital administration was serious about saving money and getting everybody to pull together it would look seriously at the administration ratio of admin wages to operating departments wages and cut out a few admin jobs. After all when the layoffs and bedcuts take place the admin ratio has gone up not down.

Still all is not lost, in one of the infamous "Yes Minister" episodes there was the tale of the fully finctioning hospital that had no patients. "We have won all kinds of awards Minister, we are very efficient!" Perhaps NHH will go that way to demonstrate working within a budget by not having pesky patients to force the costs up.

Fire Chief Mann has been a busy man!

Cobourg's Fire Chief has been doing what administrators do best - churning out reports for his bosses to read. Now most reports die a speedy death, either due to the quick adoption or the embarrassed rejection of them. In the case of the two reports written by the Chief and their inclusion in the Monday night Council meeting these reports deserve a speedy resolution. But because they make so much sense it probably will not happen and one of them will probably fall due to petty politics at the County level.
Chief Mann has written one report that is addressed to the County and copied to the member Councils for information. In this report he outlines the cost of replacing the current, obsolete, fire communications systems with new equipment. He also referred to two previous reports prepared for the County by a consultant, familiar with the County system, to buttress his case for new equipment. But as the consultant's report reported to the County about the need to establish a county-wide despatch centre Chief Mann repeats the two service delivery options: have the County establish its own centre or contract with a third party for despatch services. However in a move that sets Cobourg against the rest of the County he flags the fact that "fire chiefs of Northumberland County would prefer a purpose-built centralized fire despatch centre."
In his second report he obviously states a case for Cobourg running the third party despatch centre, as his report ends with a recommendation that Coburg develop a proposal for the provision, by Cobourg, of fire despatch services.
So the bottom line is this: the County needs fire despatching services, Cobourg wants to provide those services and the Warden of the County is the Mayor of Cobourg - see any potential here folks? If Peter Delanty wants a 'legacy project' he should forget about putting his name on the new Community Centre but get this despatch centre run by the Cobourg Police comm-centre. Any realistic observer of County politics realises that this is an uphill battle.
But from the perspective of a sane and rational taxpayer this is an opportunity to consolidate ALL despatch services in a brand new standalone comm-centre. Cobourg and Port Hope face million dollar expenditures on police comms, the ambulance probably needs an upgrade by now and we know that the fire departments do. So why not build a multi-purpose Emergency Centre? Too much common sense in that question so it will not happen. So our prediction is that the taxpayers will take another bath as the rural rump wanting to stick it to Cobourg again will demand a brand new fire despatch centre run by the County. The local police departments will demand new communications and because there will be little coordination of the projects local taxpayers, in Cobourg and Port Hope, will pay through the nose. The BurdReport just hopes this pessimistic scenario never comes to pass.
But in order to achieve tax savings the spotlight will be on the Warden of the County to see if he is up to the job of producing the leadership and persuasion needed to bring all the County Mayors on board to have all despatch services run through a brand-new Cobourg comm-centre.

Aha the Town admits that it was responsible

In a stunning turnaround the Town of Cobourg is obviously 'backfilling' as fast as it can. We refer to the issue of the recent flooding in the Upper George St. area. Soon after it happened the following quote was recorded: "Any flooding that occurred (in the area) was not due to any negligence whatsoever on the town's part," said Mr. MacDonald. "We (Town of Cobourg) have worked hard over the last 20 years to improve infrastructure to limit any damage that may occur during flooding."
That obviously was not quite true, in the literal sense, but what was true was the response to the opinion expressed by the BurdReport in this post here where the following questions were posed:

• If the Town has worked hard to improve infrastructure how come this area flooded?
  
• If the Town is responsible for Storm Water Management how come they haven't ordered private property owners to improve their facilities to modern standards?
  
• If the Town knew that this Railroad culvert was inadequate twenty odd years ago why haven't they followed the standards of the latest Storm Water Management Report and ordered changes on the railroad property?
• If the Town is denying culpability why didn't they tell the Homeowners to sue the Railroad Company?

So what has the Town done in response to the delegation that faced them and demanded action? Quite a lot as a report to be revealed Monday shows. If one clicks on the image readers can see the salient points of the report. It tells of a report received from the engineering firm of Gordon, in 2004, about the problems of the CN lands and its inadequate culvert and its undersizing for a 100 year storm.
The Town report also recommends that a storm water retention pond be built upstream of the George St problem area. Council in adopting the report will make a motion to spend the money to plan for such a facility. It should be noted that retention ponds aren't so great during a 100 year storm cycle, witness the failure of the ponds on the Nickerson Creek that overflowed their banks and produced epic flooding on Elgin St. Incidentally the intersection didn't flood in the '80 flood as development in that area was non-existent and the flood plain was larger than today. It was reduced to assist in the expansion of the building envelope by whiny developers. The result is apparent; modern planning in that area failed to prevent flooding.
But the questions still should be asked "Is the Town liable, and should they compensate the flood victims?" The BurdReport thinks so. But it remains to be seen if they will.

"It must be true because I said it"

In a classic example of the title statement, our MP expects us to believe something because he said it. This story, tells of the C of C's breakfast budget meeting wherein Mr Norlock was asked to explain the statement that this Riding has produced new jobs This riding has net job gains: Northumberland MP - Northumberland Today - Ontario, CA. "Where are these jobs?" one fellow asked? "I'll get back to you." was the answer. So in the light of last months Statscan report where we showed that Unemployment has doubled in the economic region in one year here it is doubtful that he can prove what he said. New jobs: what are they and where are they? Take for instance the County's new ambulance depot. Peak construction has been working there for a few months did they or any of its subcontractors take on new people - I'll bet that they kept on their existing workforce. No new jobs but perhaps new work for old jobs. Until the Cons post stimulus figures on the web, as Obama does, then transparency is not achieved and we are left with the fact that official spokespeople can get up and say anything they want and expect to be believed because they said it.

The first of many..... Budget 2010

The first of many pundits' reviews Peering into tomorrow, blind as a bat - Inkless Wells - Macleans.ca

Everybody should read this

In writing, reminiscent of Hemingway and the Spanish Civil War, local lad Adam Day (who took the pic), son of Port Hope lawyer Wilf Day, has published an account of his embedment with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan last year. Written in an honest way the story, which is Part one of ?, recalls the smells the follies and dedication given to the task of working in Afghanistan Assignment Afghanistan: The Struggle For Salavat – Part 1 | Legion Magazine. I can't wait for the next part Bring it on Adam - well done.

Finally somebody has some cajones!

This story tells of the efforts in the UK to lay out legislation governing the use of 'mobility vehicles' - electric scooters. Whilst the majority of the users of these vehicle are sane, and well behaved the BurdReport has commented in the past about those who aren't. The UK is now pondering standards for use. Very good, it should be followed here.

In a different vein, look what we found on the Internet. Warning this clip may be offensive to some!

It's about bloody time!

In this story (NNews) here, an award received by the Director of Engineering and Environmental Service of Cobourg highlights the long service of Ted MacDonald.Ted, as the story outlines, has been here a long time and has now finally received accolades from his bosses. After all they had to didn't they as the province seems to think him worthy of an award.
But it hasn't always been that way. In the past the Town administration either led by the poobahs or the Mayors always had a peculiar way of running the internal affairs of the Town. To put it bluntly amongst the senior staff there was always someone on the 'shitlist'. This particular person wouldn't get bonuses, wouldn't get promoted ot usually was just shunted to one side as others roared forward. Good reasons may have prevailed for all of the decisions made by senior mangers but tell that to the poor sod who was being shunted.
Another peculiarity of Cobourg's internal management was that for years, not so long ago, there was always someone in the structure that was there but nobody really knew what they did. Nominally they were head of some department but try to find them on the job doing that or look for them to see what they were up to and it was a puzzle. The phenomena started with the previous head of the parks Dept - Norm Duncan. Fantastic guy, always on the job somewhere but trying to pin him down was a challenge.
Why do I mention this? Because for years Ted has been coming to work to adminster projects, taking charge of traffic lights and generally being referred to as some as 'the Norm Duncan of Engineering'. Engineers are a funny set of folks, usually socially challenged and far more interested in traffic light cycles than schmoozing it is no wonder that the Heads of Engineering, with one remarkable exception - the present CAO - have been exiled from the Vic Hall set of folks to the Public Works yard. And even when Engineering HQ was in Vic Hall it was buried in the basement. One cannot criticise too harshly the decision not to promote Ted from the Deputy's position to the top position when Ken Rumball retired because it gave us the, now, new CAO - Stephen Peacock. But at the time it must have really hurt Ted. But plugging away in obscurity he has finally prevailed. Well done Ted!

Special Diet Allowance Drama Drags On

While the term special diet allowance may not mean much to most of us, for people on Ontario Works or the Ontario Disability Support Program it is a crucial program that provides an extra few dollars monthly to pay for food needed due to certain medical conditions. The program has been around for a very long time with little fanfare.

After rates were drastically cut in the mid 90's, and inflation further eroded benefit levels in the ensuing years, recipients, legal clinic workers and activists began looking for a way, any way, to increase peoples' income, and the little used special diet allowance became a mechanism to do that. Paying anywhere from $10 extra up to $250 in extreme cases, more and more people began asking their doctors to fill out the forms to qualify them for the program.

When the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, and other groups began recruiting doctors around the province to hold clinics for recipients, the costs of providing the program grew and government, now under Dalton McGuinty's liberals, cut it back drastically by eliminating some medical conditions and making the rules harder to meet. This was done in 2005, and countless people lost their allowance as a result. Even though the government's own advisory committee recommended expanding the program later on, little action was taken.

In response to the cuts, some 800 people filed appeals to the Social Benefits Tribunal, which hears appeals of social assistance decisions. Likewise about 200 complaints were filed with the Human Rights Commission, and then transferred to the Human Rights Tribunal when it was established.

Last week, finally, the Human Rights Tribunal released its decision on the 3 lead cases, and found that the Province did indeed violate the human rights code in each instance. The Tribunal ordered it to re-instate full benefits to them, as well as anyone else in the system with those particular medical conditions.

Now, hopefully, the rest of the cases can proceed, following the reasoning applied in the lead cases. All 800 appeals to the Social Benefits Tribunal have been adjourned for years now, waiting for the Human Rights Tribunal to rule.

But the Province seems poised to ignore their own Human Rights code. In an internal memo circulated around the Social Services Ministry the possibility of abolishing the Special Diet Allowance entirely has been raised, and the government has not denied this is their plan.

We should all be outraged by this latest cynical threat to the security of people on social assistance. Living well below the poverty line, let us not forget a single person on welfare gets a scant $600 a month, still $63 less than would have been paid out in 1995 before Mike the Knife slashed the rates. Many welfare recipients suffer from disabilities, and the ability to eat properly is critical for their health.

Of course if the rates were increased to provide an adequate standard of living, special diet allowances wouldn't be required, and that is the ultimate solution to this problem. Don't hold your breath for the Province to do the right thing though. If they are prepared to ignore their own advisory committee as well as the Human Rights Tribunal decision, we are all in big trouble. Poverty reduction indeed.

Not this guy's day!

After crashing his car, presumably after a few, this guy had to go and POW! story here not his day. Must be a man thing!

Should we really do this?

It may not be polite to point out mistakes in other's work but this one is a complete lack of attention in an organisation that boasts about winning awards.

Hospital Funding dilemmas

For as long as there have been hospitals there have been funding crises. Never enough money to go around and every budget decision second-guessed by arm-chair quarterbacks. The situation in Northumberland is slightly different as the local hospital was created from scratch, and the ashes of two thriving small hospitals, by an immense effort of local fundraising. If anybody ever knew just how much Cobourg Council shifted over to the hospital in forgiven fees ,donated land, and actual cash from the Utility divident they would be shocked.
So it is no surprise that the locals are dismayed to learn that the jewel of fundraising - the Palliative Care Unit, is being considered for closure. One major fundraiser, in the hospital campaign told the BurdReport, "They close that down and it's light's out for any more money!" The attachment runs deep.
In a blaze of publicity, a couple of months ago the Hospital Board launched a public consultation process, funny that nobody, apart from the people hand picked to sit on the panel, has heard a thing about the process. BUT wait all will be revealed on Thursday when the Hospital will host a press conference revealing just what the Board has decided, and the advice of the panel will become public too.
All we know is that charging employees $8.00 for parking and then asking Walmart to ban employees cars from their lot to maximise hospital parking fees won't cut it. Laying off RNs and hiring lower skilled workers at a cheaper rate won't do it either. What is needed is for more than three high paid members of the management team to be declared redundant - half the deficit gone there and a thorough review, by an independent non-health management consultant, who will thin the ranks of the bureaucracy that exists on DePalma Drive. As well the public should get over the fact that they were conned into putting so much money into a level C hospital and expecting not to get services reduced by the Ministry of Health's dictates. We had two fully functioning level C hospitals before the big one was built, and in the process feeding xenophobic tendencies amongst the population by closing Port Hope's unit, and after a whack of money was spent we still have a level C hospital subject to the same whims of the ministry - kinda makes you wonder if the effort was worthwhile, if after a period of time we still lose services.

Perhaps we can now get realistic figures

This story here details how the Cobourg Police Service has bought into 21st century crime stats and tracking systems. Now perhaps we can have realistic stats about harbourfront crime. For instance instead of telling the public just how crimeridden the area is we should be able to tell just how many liquor infractions took place at the beer tents as opposed to the beach, how many offences took place on the pier and the yacht club grounds instead of the beach. So let's have 'em and start the debate about how much crime the visitors cause as opposed to the local yobs getting high at festivals.