LIP SERVICE VERSUS NO SERVICE

Truth be told I'd rather receive no service from our various self-important "authorities" instead of their specialty which is lip service. Each and every crisis, scandal, social injustice that I have "discovered" and exposed over the last 40-50 years, it turns out in hindsight was already known by our authorities. This includes the Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education etc. etc. Issues and crises include abusive teachers, illegal demands, health and working conditions by employers, Varnicolor Chemical, methane issues in Bolender Park (Elmira), transite pipe (asbestos) in existing Elmira waterlines, City of Waterloo female discrimination, non-union paving crew hazardous conditions, Uniroyal Chemical environmental coverups aided and abetted by the Ministry of Environment (MOE) and on and on. Of course there are lots of other issues/scandals that have become apparent that I've had no dealings or involvement with. The most obvious right now is the scandal of neglect and negligence in our Long Term Care System (LTC). ......................................................................................................... One has to realize that the sole purpose of existing governments is to keep themselves, their colleagues, friends and supporters in power. One might deduce wrongly that this means providing good government. Honestly I sometimes think that half the time, money and effort that governments at all levels spend on coverups would have resolved the problem or scandal in the first place. The problem of course is that most government coverups work. Why wouldn't they? Who's got more money and time to devote to lying, hiding the truth and discrediting whistle blowers than the government? Therefore our governments still believe that spreading a very thin veneer of attention everywhere, even with blatant staff shortages, PPE equipment, personal attention time in LTC, is the route to go. Then if people get injured, sick or die on their watch they will shift into full public relations mode. If grotesque environmental damage is being done by corporations it's all about first denial and only if the public have irrefutable evidence does the Ministry involved shift to excuses and shifting the blame for their alleged lack of knowledge. That lack of knowledge with the MOE is usually about plausible deniability. Voluntary compliance with MOE demands actually means that industry are requested to keep their more egrgious environmental illegalities out of sight. For example nasty and toxic air discharges are best done at night when while they are smelled and gagged upon, at least they can't be seen or photographed. And on and on. Would you believe that at one time the Ministry of Environment were unaffectionately known as the Ministry of Lumps and Colours? This referred to their mandate of stopping visual pollution in rivers and streams and ignoring even more toxic discharges that were not visible to the eye. ......................................................................................................................... Lip Service means delay, delay and more delay. There's always another study, another report on the horizon. There's a constant demand for more vigorous and airtight evidence that quite simply is beyond our current scientific abilities. Budgets are constantly referenced as to why these studies have to be postpones or doled out every few years instead of now. Then when you finally get your study done and the evidence is damning, more studies are needed to determine the a number of remedial options. By the time that is done, the initial study is now five years or more out of date and should be done over again. It's all bulls.it and it's neverending. Elmira is the poster child for environmental delay, bulls.it and obfuscation. Governments thirty-two years after the start of the "Elmira Water Crisis" are now confident enough that the majority of outraged citizens are either dead or senile, that they pick and choose which citizens sit on "INDEPENDENT" public advisory committees. They are confident enough in the passage of time that they don't even feel the need to respond to citizens, residents and taxpayers whom were improperly refused attendance on their public advisory committees. Elmira and eventually most crises progress from LIP SERVICE to NO SERVICE. And as usual the politicians win.