CLARIFICATION OF OPINION PIECE REQUIRED RE: WRPS

I am very disappointed in the opinion piece by Peter Shawn Taylor in last Thursday's Waterloo Region Record titled "Police deserve their day in court". In his sub-title he suggests that comments made about the class action lawsuit are "disconcerting". Indeed they are as in very disconcerting. I would take less umbrage with his opinion article if his tone and bias was a little less evident. He suggests that the police deserve their day in court as if that is a positive to allow them to explain themselves. Based upon my life experiences and knowledge of past history of both gender discrimination and police behaviour and attitudes; I suggest that indeed the police deserve their day in court as in I hope they get their asses hauled into court and have to "explain" why they've either broken provincial laws on these matters or turned a blind eye to them for decades. Yes I believe the allegations in both the lawsuits and the recent Affidavits and I and others need not apologize for that. Our Regional Police just like our school board (WRDSB) literally have millions of dollars of taxpayers' money per year to play with and that is exactly what they do as they attack legitimate concerns and complaints of parents, local residents and citizens. They do this with lawyers, lawsuits and courts constantly. In other words stop feeling sorry for the bullies. At long last they're on the defensive and it's about time.

Mr. Taylor exaggerates. "As soon as the allegations are made, the case is closed.". No it's not. There will hopefully be some kind of opportunity for Patrick Brown for example to fully respond to the allegations against him. Many people like myself, a non-Conservative, understand that those allegations are anonymous and do not have the weight of an identifiable person stepping forward and signing their name to a written Affidavit or Civil Lawsuit as six current or former police officers have done. Yes I will agree with Mr. Taylor that in the Patrick Brown case he has been already punished. Especially with anonymous allegations, that is unacceptable.

Mr. Taylor suggests that we must vigorously resist any attempt to impose mob-based tactics on our court system. Really? O.K. I might agree in principle with that statement however I see virtually no attempt to do so by anybody. Secondly do you think our courts are so damned good in the first place that they don't need a serious good kick in the ass? Justice! Horseshit, it's all about money. Who's got it and is most willing to spend it greatly determines the outcome especially in civil law. Who can buy the most experts. Who can buy the best lawyers. Who can buy the best private investigators. And on and on.

James Bennett. Please. He promised that "...the truth will be properly revealed under cross-examination in coming months.". Well that's almost certainly horse manure. Little or nothing of the truth will be revealed either by the courts or by cross-examination in the near future. This is our judicial system of which he's been sucking at the teats of for decades. Every additional court appearance, delay, rescheduling, motion etc. are all money in the bank for him and his fellow lawyers. NOBODY within the judicial system has any incentive to get the lead out and get on with cases. Delay is usually the name of the game by one party or the other if not both.

Mr. Taylor then suggests that the Sexual Violence Task Force want the regional police to pay out $167 million immediately because "getting to the truth might have "negative impacts"" on women and girls. Such trollop Mr. Taylor. The negative impacts are in response to the words of Mr. James Bennett, lawyer for the Waterloo Region Police Services Board and presumably the union (?) as well. Mr. Bennett has publicly called the victims of systemic gender harassment and abuse, liars. Well puck you Mr. Bennett. You sir are in absolutely no position to be calling other people liars. Those words of yours are what could cause "negative impacts", not the truth.

Then finally Mr. Taylor, to his shame, hints that this lawsuit is all about female police officers looking at a possible $167 million payday. Let's see exactly how long and how well you would last in a hostile and toxic work environment. I and others have done it for years and decades. Sitting behind your typewriter/word processor wordsmithing articles; I expect that you have not, probably ever. Instead of blaming the victims try empathizing with them, rather than with the perpetrators.