Ottawa will be watching this

The UK had an election last night (stand up all those who didn't know that!) and the initial results are very interesting and have implications for us here in Canada.
First off they now have a Minority Parliament - a "Hung Parliament" as they say. The first since 1974. That one ended in failure so the Brits don't have much luck with the minority style of governing. That's what makes this time so innovative. Labour, who was the Government is the second place party and the Conservatives, who were expected to win didn't do as well as they thought they would and failed to achieve a majority. Now the fun begins. The third party the Lib-Dems failed miserably to achieve the breakthrough that was expected.
The first implication for us is that the signs point to a real coalition between the Labour Party and the disappointed Liberal Democrats. These folks had seized the imagination of the press in the campaign and were projected to perform miracles but were brought down to earth by the voters who didn't seem so impressed.
The dealmaker for the coalition will be just how far the Labour Party goes with power-sharing and a willingness to bring in Proportional Representation (PR). These two demands will be the key to Labour staying in power with Lib-Dem support. We will have to watch just how well a coalition Government will work because if it does you can bet on some form of similar arangement here between the real Libs (not the blue Martin types who should belong with Harper) and the NDP.
Harper will be watching carefully as some UK Conservative moves echo his moves as the UK Cons threaten to bypass the unwritten constitution and tell the Queen to install them as they received the most seats. Shades of "Who runs the Country"

They're off

In this story Peter Delanty killed all speculation amongst the chattering classes. Mayor Delanty has joined his Dad in the history books of Cobourg, he will not be on the ballot this Fall. It's about time for a change, and change will come as there will be four vacancies on Council, and besides a sitting Mayor would have a tough time getting his name on the as yet unnamed Recreation Complex.
The dominoes that will fall will be as follows: Gil Brocanier, who has engaged the services of local "rainmaker" - John Wright, will be campaigning from now until the election. A reasonable time will elapse before Stan Frost declares for Deputy Mayor and Councillor Mutton will try to cement her position as "the most popular" by becoming the highest vote getter. Names being bandied around for Councillor, other than the two declared candidates (Forest Rowden and John Henderson) will be Larry Sherwin, Wayne DeVeau, Melissa Marshal, perhaps Bridget Campion and about six more.
Let the contest begin!

No, YOU shut the f**k up!

What a crazy political zoo we live in, when a sympathetic feminist Conservative senator urges aid groups to stop making waves or risk retribution from the Prime Minister and his band of thugs. Countless words have been written about this strange outburst, and what it really means.

Opposition parties have seized on it as proof of the "culture of intimidation" that Harper has established, and I must admit it stands as a shining example. Whether the Senator was trying to be helpful to the aid groups is secondary to the fact that she has unwittingly revealed the extent of the icy chill imposed by the PM.

There was even an element of humor, at least for me, when John Baird reared up on his paunchy hind legs to decry the Senator's unparliamentary behaviour, forgetting for the moment that he's the guy who famously told the entire city of Toronto to f**k off a few short months ago.

There is a war going on, here and in the USA, between those who want to just live and let live, and those who want everyone else to march to their tune. Aided and abetted by the media, who fan every flame of controversy into a flaming inferno, our politicians have gone truly bonkers trying to keep up, and we are not far behind.

A throwaway society

OK I did something bad today - I threw out my old electronics and contributed to the mounting pile of e-waste.
But is that really bad? Arrived at the depot on Veronica St. five minutes after opening time and joined the lineup - 25 cars in front of me. All is going well until a van, driven by an older woman (approx 70yrs) who jammed a "Handicapped" sticker on the dash and proceeded to jump the line. This was possible as the first line came from the East, off Division. A staff member came around at that time to take license plate #s. I said to her "You need signs here, people are jumping the line (this was possible if one came at the gate from the West)." I was told that "You have to come from that side anyway!" I retorted, "Put some signs up then" Anyway cars were then directed from the line behind me and told to assume the position on the West side. Inside the gate and at the receiving station all was organised and I had only waited 40 minutes. A very tidy operation. Goodness knows how long the lineups will be at the busy time.

But the bottom line for me was that I had to dispose of functioning but obsolete equipment to declutter. If I had taken it all to the "Blue Box" nobody would have taken it either, because of its age. A very graphic example of waste. It is hoped that efficient recycling now takes over.

A couple of notices from readers

1. From Dan Christie
"I first caught Martin Joseph last July at the Vancouver Island Music Fest. I was most impressed. He's going to be at St. Peter's in Cobourg on Thursday at 7:30. I will be there for sure. He's a helluva singer and a godamned good songwriter too. Maybe other Burders might be interested."

2. From Peggy Smith:
There is Northumberland health Coalition meeting this Thurs. May 6th 6:30 pm at the Orange Hall in Cobourg, information and updates, corner of University and Ontario st. Cobourg.

A couple of random thoughts

#1 Oil spill ruminations. BP the owner of the oilrig that has caused the biggest ecological damage in the Gulf of Mexico in history, says that as the shutoff valve is not working they will sue the manufacturer of the valve. How about this - the Government of the USA fine BP a huge sum of money for each day of the spill for not checking to see if the valve could work ,at regular intervals, like every month! AND the money for the fine must come from profits, sale of assets or other company sources and not from higher prices to consumers. This Company deserves to be bankrupted, after paying the fines and costs of cleanup, for this kind of negligence.

#2 Jaffer ruminations. Mr Jaffer is coming under great criticism for not registering as a lobbyist and for contacting his conservative buddies for grants for projects that his company was trying to shepherd through the bureaucracy. How about fining the MPS he spoke to for not reporting lobbying activity. It's in the Accountability Act that lobbying has to be reported!

MayDay today

My favourite balladeer - Billy Bragg

Somebody has listened and acted - thanks

Monday evening will see discussion take place on the motion in the pic. Cobourg Council will debate the motion put forward by the Deputy mayor Gil Brocanier - congratulations Gil. it will be interesting to see just which Councillors will jump on board ths band-wagon.

it is just this kind of motion that all local Councils in the catchment should pass. But reading the comments made by members of Port Hope Council, after Mr Biron told them what was on his mind. Mayor Linda Thompson, who is rumoured to be seeking the local PC nomination in next year's provincial election, said, "Thank you that's just what we wanted to hear!" we fear that Port Hope may just use this as justification for continuing the non-support for the NHH.

It should be noted that the local health care coalition can't get on the agenda in Port Hope for weeks and is still waiting for a firm date for a presentation.

OH NO: Two Lost Posts

I have a confession to make. Two really. First, I sometimes help out the Burd Report by moderating comments when the Master is away working.

Second, this morning, I rejected two comments that I should have published. One was about Town Councillors retiring, the other about the hospital cuts. I have learned that once you hit the reject button, there is no "do-over".

So, would the two posters care to re-post their items? I promise to pay closer attention to which button I am using and offer my sincere apologies for my mistake.

All eyes were on this guy last night

Robert Biron, the CAO of the Northumberland Hills Hospital appeared at last night's Council meeting in Cobourg to explain his case. Saying nothing new he just followed his flashy powerpoint presentation and basically said that because we have done what the LHIN has asked the hospital to do - cut costs and redefine core services the hospital can now move forward as good little boys. Like a school monitor seeking the approval of the headmaster Mr Biron now thinks, and he said many times, "We are in a stronger position to deal with the LHIN." But when asked by Bob Spooner "What will you be able to do in the next round of cuts?" Biron fobbed that of to the MPP - "That's Mr Rinaldi's problem"
In a stunning admission he stated that the Board made the decision to cut Outpatient Rehab knowing that low and fixed income earners would not be able to access services in the community. And he also admitted that the Diabetes Clinic will not be able to serve all of its pressent clients - offered no solution as he felt cutting costs was more important than saving healthcare. "If we don't balance the budget the Board will be taken over and we will have supervision imposed on us." Mr Biron received enthusiastic applause from the six supporters, including Directors Lynda Kay and Dean Pepper, in the front row. The rest of the romm sat in stunned silence.

The next phase of the campaign to keep the services will be to elect friendly Directors at the AGM and some members have already targeted the Directors who should not be re-elected. John Hudson and Lynda Kay are two prominent Directors seeking re-election wearing bullseyes. With new people seeking nomination the procedural; battles will be most interesting. All prospective Directors have to be nominated by the present Board's nomination committee, only those people who meet the "qualifications" will be nominated. So it is entirely possible that only "Board friendly" will be nominated setting the stage for a very nasty AGM.