Who am I kidding with that title above? Like every other institution, government body, political party etc. it's all about keeping ahead of scandals and defusing them quickly if at all possible. The Waterloo Region District School Board are no exception. How else do you think they covered up for Ron Archer, pedophile in their ranks for so long? There have been others since but none with as much publicity and shock value. Similar to the stunning revelations in the first few years of the Elmira Water Crisis (1989) there have been other local environmental disasters but they have been kept well under wraps. Whether this entails inappropriate "sweetheart" deals with some local media or not I do not know. Hence I believe that our police (Ha!), courts, hospitals, schools despite never ending screwups have learned what to say and what not to say. They've learned who to schmooz, who to avoid and who to bribe.
For example we did have some more publicity regarding former police officer Angie Rivers back in the spring. She was testifying before a Board (Human Rights?) regarding her nasty treatment by the Waterloo Regional Police. Nothing at all since. Why not? There have been numerous other female officers briefly in the news fighting sexist and discriminating behaviour by the Waterloo Regional Police. Kelley Donovan wrote a book titled "Systemic Misfeasance in Ontario Policing and the Coordinated Suppression of Whistleblowers". It was an excellent well researched book. What has changed? The class action lawsuit by many female police officers was dismissed by our local courts. More "home cooking"? Similarly our school board (WRDSB) messed up last January with Caroline Burjowski, now a retired teacher. A couple of articles in the last two months and that's it. Why? What is happening? Out of sight or hearing (newspaper, radio, T.V.) means out of mind. This always favours the transgressors. There was and is the trustee Mike Ramsay affair by the WRDSB. Little or nothing currently in the media. The latest WRDSB scandal is in today's Waterloo Region Record however. How long will the issue continue without proper resolution? Likely for years. This scandal is in regards to the personal information and data of retired and current teachers being hacked. That is serious. And on and on. The Northstar Aerospace in Cambridge "resolution" has not received the attention it and its' victims deserve. Nor has the decades to half century plus Grassy Narrows environmental disaster been fully resolved.
If there is but one thing that our local institutions do at a world class level it is their control of the message. Have they reached sweetheart arrangements with local media offering them perpetual communications access in exchange for moderation? Have they molded libel laws to their liking ensuring a permanent libel chill by the media/ How have they succeeded? Of course all the money they spend is not their own personal money. I believe that we would all be shocked by how much of our tax dollars going to these institutions goes to legal advice to be used against us. Isn't that disgusting?
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