WATERLOO REGIONAL POLICE VERSUS THE POOR, BLACKS, MINORITIES, GAYS AND WOMEN

 Well probably they are only against women who overstep their bounds and become police officers. Or maybe they're only against strong women in policing who stand up for their rights especially "rights" that are enshrined in law. What I find peculiar is their overwhelming confidence as to the ignorance and apathy of Waterloo Region citizens. Sure many of us do not read newspapers nor watch television news or listen to news on the radio. But many of us do. Does the Waterloo Region Police Service (WRPS) brass really think that we continue to swallow their bullsh.t forever? Do they and their lawyers as per today's article by Terry Pender in the Waterloo Region Record think that many/any of us give their words more than zero credibility?

The article is titled "Superior refused to hear officer's sexual harassment complaints, River testifies". If former police officer Angie Rivers was only the first or second female officer with serious behavioural complaints against a number of mostly "superior" male officers then perhaps skepticism would be understandable. But she isn't not by a long shot. Kelly Donovan plus a separate group of female officers have all launched legal action against the WRPS. They have out of necessity launched civil suits and Human Rights Commission complaints. Apparently the WRPS don't care enough about their tarnished image to settle with these former and current officers. They are blithely continuing to spend taxpayers money defending indefensible behaviour. They continue to hide behind intentionally devious, dishonest and lengthy hearings and processes trying to shake off and discourage complaints about their disgusting and sometimes illegal behaviour. Of course our courts, arbitration hearings and Human Rights Commission hearings have no honour in this entire scam either. 

We are advised that the sexual harassment started in 2013 and was followed by attacks upon the officer's job performance in 2015 allegedly as a reprisal for spurning his advances. Eight years later and the stick handling and manipulation continues. We are advised in this newspaper article that further days of arbitration hearings are scheduled for one in May (2023), three for June (2023) and two this fall (2023). "The hearing is expected to continue until 2024." This from behaviour in 2015 and earlier!

Dear God are you kidding me? Is it any wonder the WRPS and other institutions are able to delay complaints until either the complainant dies or moves or quits. The WRPS personally don't spend a dime of their own money nor do they even have to attend all the various hearings. They have their WRPS appointed lawyers to attend and speak for them. Such utter bullsh.t.  Shame on the WRPS and shame on every person and institution aiding and abetting them especially including our Waterloo Regional politicians. Further shame on our Police Services Board for anything they have done to further enable these pigs and their behaviour.

CLIMATE CHANGE ANYONE?

 My recollection of this winter is that we had early snow that stayed for a while in November followed by mostly no snow in December until a couple of days before Christmas when storms shut down air travel and more. This was followed by little or no snow through the first three weeks of January (bizarre) followed again by a couple of storms at the end of January followed by two very, very cold days last week now followed by several days of highs between 3 and 6 degrees Centigrade. Yes that's highs as in above freezing still in the first week (barely) of February. 

Traditionally based upon both memory (I'm old) and upon commercial snow ploughers advising me, the two snowiest months of the year are December and January by a large margin. Secondly the traditionally two coldest weeks in the year are the last week of January and the first week of February. What the heck is going on this winter?

I've been reading and hearing about average temperatures rising 1, 2 or 3 degrees C. over the next couple of decades. Geez we've got that in spades already I would think. I expected my children and possible grandchildren to face the consequences of global warming and kind of nonchalantly thought that I'd be long gone before things got seriously bad. Well today's high is supposed to be 6 C. and that means lots of snow melt and if rain accompanies it probably flooding. 

It's not just melting in the Arctic or other isolated areas. Climate change is real and it's here now. We the human race and particularly our "leaders" have not yet begun to make the hard changes necessary. "They" will have to some degree insulated themselves as much as possible ($$$) leaving the rest of us to suffer for their apathy and procrastination. Sometimes the wealthy think that money buys absolute protection from environmental crises and disasters. That is hardly so. They too drink tap water, breathe the air, eat chemically contaminated foods and endure extremes of heat and cold, drought and flood just like the rest of us. Their children and grandchildren also get cancers and other diseases whether environmentally related or not. We are all in for it.

WHEN WILL OUR COUNCIL (& Committee) MEETINGS BE IN PERSON AGAIN?

It is time. Especially based upon normal attendance at Woolwich Council meetings. I'm thinking of between two and eight people as "normal" live attendance with of course some rare spectacular turnouts for special delegations and discussions. Delegations by citizens in person are also much better. It's just too easy with virtual meetings for councillors to be less engaged, less curious and less likely to ask questions of the delegate.

Same thing of course with RAC and TAG meetings among others. They desperately need to be live to whip up some public interest. Apathy has reigned for far too long and indeed if TAG want any movement from Lanxess's entrenched "do nothing" position regarding the Canagagigue Creek cleanup they need local supporters present. Also if TAG want any push or pressure to get increased cleanup of the Elmira Aquifers prior to the 2028 deadline, now is the time. 

Otherwise this whole thing is slowly sliding downhill and will end with a whimper rather than a bang. This is exactly what Lanxess and the Ontario Ministry of Environment (MECP) want. This is why DELAY has been their best asset in avoiding proper cleanup of the mess they (Uniroyal/MECP) made through their obfuscation, gross negligence and contempt of the public interest. 

"CONTROLLED (MEDIA) OPPOSITION"

 Tell me it isn't so. Especially when we are talking our only really local newspaper. Four days ago (Tues. Jan. 31/23) an anonymous reader posted that our local newspaper is "controlled opposition". I am especially disappointed in that I see so much public interest being enhanced by the Woolwich Observer. That said the rumour way back in 1995 was that the new newspaper was funded by pro business, pro Uniroyal Chemical interests in direct opposition to Bob Verdun's position and opinions expressed in the Elmira Independent. True or not I embraced the new paper and just like the Elmira Independent read it from cover to cover. In those days (late 90s) I recall many articles in the Observer regarding Uniroyal Chemical and the so called Elmira "cleanup".  Coverage has faded since although every now and then they do publish a good article reminding Elmira and Woolwich residents that a lot of cleanup remains.

What was most heartbreaking for me was the Observer's blatant failure to, as far as I recall, attend and publish TAG meetings in particular between September 2015 and December 2016. That was the heyday of Uniroyal/Chemtura/CRA/M.O.E. public criticism and disparagement from Dr. Richard Jackson. The words of a world renowned environmental remediation expert eviscerating almost everything that Uniroyal/Crompton/Chemtura both did and failed to do here in Elmira should have been blazed across the front page of the Observer for weeks on end. IT WAS NOT. I'm sorry but that I can never forgive despite still reading the Observer from cover to cover to this day.

WOOLWICH ARROGANCE & STUPIDITY HAS NO LIMITS?

How about the following sendoff for Dr. Richard Jackson after his retirement announcement effective January 2017.  This retirement announcement occurred at the end of the September 15, 2016 RAC meeting according to the Minutes. It followed the retirement announcement to TAG just over a week earlier.   

RAC MINUTES of Thursday September 15, 2016 page 10:

"At the end of the meeting, it was announced that Dr. Jackson is retiring after 42 years of practice on December 31st and, as such, he will resign from TAG at the end of this year. He will continue to provide technical advice in future only upon request by the Mayor of the Township and Councillor Bauman through RAC."

Really? The two most biased (pro Chemtura/Lanxess) councillors somehow control Dr. Jackson after his retirement? Do they think that he voluntarily will be mute if asked a technical question by anyone else? Or have they got him contractually obligated somehow? Did he sign a NDA (non Disclosure Agreement) with those a-holes that would legally prevent him from offering any opinion or position on a public water crisis? 

One thing I've always given Woolwich credit for and that's their world class hypocrisy. What is the very first thing those a-holes did after Peter Gray of MTE on behalf of CPAC produced an embarrassing report to Chemtura/Lanxess about the Stroh Drain and property? Why of course they then hired him for some "consulting" work. In other words they didn't want him talking just too much to either the media or the public regarding the Stroh Drain or Chemtura so they tied him up via putting him in a possible conflict of interest position (i.e. Township interests versus public interests?). Of course they used public, tax payer funds to do that. This fellow citizens and suckers is how our so called public servants abuse their authority for self -serving reasons. They work for themselves and their friends not for the public interest despite us paying their damn wages.

TOO MUCH HOMEWORK & ON-LINE RESEARCH

 Well somebody's got to do it and I seem to have been nominated a very long time ago. It's a matter of keeping a written history for the benefit of future generations who may want to know why the contaminated Elmira Aquifers and Creek (Canagagigue) were never cleaned up despite all the talk, all the puffery and all the self-congratulations from polluters with the full assistance of the Ontario Ministry of Environment.

Certainly Dr. Richard Jackson shone a spotlight on M.O.E. corruption. He also shone a spotlight on what he called "public policy" issues. He quickly learned that it was not technical issues with the cleanup so much as politics allowing the polluter to get away with doing so little, so badly. 

I've compiled a list of some of my favourite quotes of Dr. Jackson basically hammering the Ministry of Environment. Most of them were stated at public, in person TAG and RAC meetings held in Woolwich Council Chambers. Minutes were taken both by myself as well as by Lisa Schaefer, Support Specialist. She worked for the mostly corrupt Woolwich Township on behalf of RAC and TAG. All my Blog postings are here and can be accessed via the Archive Section on the right side. I have of course shared my list with CPAC members and more.

AMAZING HOW TAG & RAC CAN TURN OFF & ON AT WILL THE OUTRAGE & DISGUST TOWARDS THE ONT. MIN. OF ENVIRONMENT

 Even I am shocked. How can this be? I've seen, heard and smelled the decades of lies, distortions, bullsh.t and professional deceit of the M.O.E., MOECC, MOECP by whatever name they want to be known by. I've been rereading Minutes of TAG & RAC meetings between September 2015 and December 2016 when Dr. Richard Jackson was Chair of TAG. I guess what really shocked me is after Dr. Jackson gave his resignation date how aggressive some TAG members became almost as if they wanted to be identified as pro environment and anti polluter and all their friends. Then even RAC got on the bandwagon albeit it was mostly the TAG members in attendance who got aggressive. This particularly included the two conflict of interest queens, Pat and Susan. 

The two dates in which some members got aggressive at both TAG and RAC meetings were the October 13, 2016  public TAG meeting and the December 8, 2016 RAC meeting.  My writeups here in the Advocate occurred the following day and days namely Friday October 14, 2016 and Friday December 9, 2016. And to think that I used to call Mark Bauman Mr. Flip Flop. Susan, Pat and Mark along with Dr. Jackson and Sebastian gave the Ministry of Environment what for at the December RAC meeting. At the October TAG meeting it was primarily Dr. Jackson along with David Hofbauer, Sebastian, Susan Bryant and others. I particularly enjoyed the references to "Fortress" M.O.E..

After Dr. Jackson's departure the liars and hypocrites went back to unreserved support for Chemtura and the M.O.E. Of course none of their words were publicly reported in the Woolwich Observer, K-W Record or the closed Elmira Independent. Only a few keeners looking up TAG and RAC Minutes on the Woolwich Township website would have seen it.