Burlington Life — Gordon Schottlander

SHOCK AND DISMAY!

I simply could not believe my eyes on Saturday morning when I opened The Hamilton Spectator and read the headlines "LIBERALS ABANDON KEVIN AND JARED'S BILL".  This is  (was) the bill that would require an coroners inquest when a child dies when he/she is in the care of a parent who has been under a supervised parental access order.

In spite all the work done by the families of the murdered children, 60,000 signatures on a petition and a WRITTEN promise from Government House Leader Jim Bradley that the bill would be tabled, the bill has been tossed aside like so much garbage.

Dave Levac, the Liberal party whip and MPP for Brant (where Jared lived and died) told The Spectator that the Ministry of the Attorney General did not want the victims' funds paying for inquest lawyers.  Furthermore Levac stated that the government wanted an amendment to the bill that would require an investigation to determine if an inquest is needed and another amendment that would make the leglisation apply apply to both supervised and unsupervised visits.

Cam Jackson, the architect of Bill 89 points out correctly that an investigation as outlined in the amendment is exactly how the system works now.  But the decision is left to the Coroner under present law whether or not an inquest will go forward.  Bill 89 would have changed that.  Jackson says he has already agreed to amend the bill to include both types of visits.

So then it appears that it all boils down to money.  Imagine that!  At least two children murdered and the Government is worried about money! How many more deaths will it take before this situation is rectified. 

This is a totally unacceptable decision on the part of the Liberal Government.  I urge everyone who cares about children to contact their local MPP and demand reconsideration.  And let's write some letters to the papers and tell them how we feel.

Cam Jackson says, "This all boils down to the Attorney General.  Michael Bryant does not want to open up the compensation fund to these victims of crime".   Well then don't open it up to bereaved families.  Make that a condition of the bill. I don't believe the families want compensation.

What they want is a law to protect those who can least protect themselves and a law that is passed before another tragedy takes place.

Surely our well-paid leglislators owe that to the citizens of Ontario.

ARE WE SAFE, GRAMPA?

After watching the terrible events at Dawson College one of my young Granddaughters asked me if such a thing could happen in Burlington.

Of course, I reassured her that it was extremely unlikely that such an event could take place here and she should not worry about it.

However in my heart I knew that a tragedy like Dawson College could happen here and there is not much we can do about it.

We are extremely fortunate in Canada because we are not involved in a civil war or worse, a Holy war.  We don't have to fear suicide bombers or car explosions and can go about our daily lives without feeling threatened every moment.

But still I can't help but feel unsettled by the fact that one twisted mind can cause destruction in the blink of an eye.  I am alarmed by the ease with which guns can be obtained.  I am contantly uneasy with the amount of violence that is in almost every movie, both on TV and on videos and particularly in video games.

I heard the other day that there is now a video game that takes you into Columbine High School where you can  kill teachers and students!  This is unbelievable.  There appears to be no control over the content of this "entertainment".

Violence, wars, killings and aggression haved always been a part of humanity since the beginning of our history and presumably always will be.  No gun laws will prevent a person intent on obtaining a gun from getting one.  No censorship will remove the desire of a warped mind to take lives as revenge for abuse, bullying and other perceived agonies.

There were many people who saw the Dawson College perpetrator on his blog with a weapon in an aggressive attitude.  Nobody reported it to the police.

We must remain vigilant at all times and pray that our Burlington schools and public places will remain safe for all our citizens. 

I hope that one day I will be able to say to my Granddaughter, "Yes dear, you are completely safe in Burlington".

VOTERS AND LITTER

Is your name on the Burlington Voters List?

The City of Burlington's Preminary Voters List has been prepared and is now available for review at City Hall and at all Library branches.

If you want to vote you need to make sure your name is on the list.  If it is not you can file an application to have your name added at the City Clerks Department at City Hall.

The Municipal Election Telephone Information Line is 905 335-7721 or all the information is available on the city's website at www.burlington.ca.  Take the 2006 Municipal Election link from the home page under the Quick Links section.

The City of Burlington is having a contest to help the City create its 2007 litter awareness poster.

Encourage your children or grandchildren to enter this worthwhile contest.

The contest is open to students in Burlington from Grades 3 to 8.

Contestants must create a poster that focuses on:

   Impacts of litter on our community and environment,  or

   Tips to reduce litter

Poster details:

• Must be on 8 1/2" x 11" letter sized paper
• Any art supplies can be used
• Creativity, neatness and readability are essential
• Artwork must be original and hand drawn.

The back of the poster must show the name, grade and contact phone number of the entrant.

There are three submissions categories: Grades 3 & 4, Grades 5 & 6, Grades 7 & 8

Entries must be submitted by Friday, October 6, 2006, 4:30 pm and sent to Litter Awareness Post Contest, City Hall, 426 Brant Street,PO Box 5013, Burlington, Ontario L7R 3Z6 or dropped off in person at the City Hall Reception Counter.

Prizes will be awarded to the winners of each category and one grand prize will be selected overall.

All entries will be dispalyed at the Burlington Central Library during Waste Reduction Week, October 14-21

 

SIGNS OF LIFE!

Although it would be making an overstatement to say that the Burlington Municipal election is heating up, there are certainly signs of life in what so far has been a rather quiet period.

Most of the attention at this time seems to be centred around whether MPP Cam Jackson will run for Mayor. 

Mr. Jackson says he is not prepared to make an announcement at this time.  Mr. Rick Burgess, who is a Mayoralty candidate says that Mr. Jackson is continuing to collect his salary as an MPP while at the same time doing some "back door" campaigning.  To Mr. Jackson's defence came Mr. Mark Preston, a Ward 1 Council canditate, stating that Mr. Jackson should be commended for contiung to work as our MPP. 

As Mr. Preston points out, Mr. Jackson will become unemployed the moment he makes a committment to contest the electon, as he must immediately resign his position at Queen's Park.  One really can't blame Mr. Jackson for wanting to dip his toe in the water before jumping in!

Added to the mix is the statement from Mayor Rob MacIsaac that he could not endorse Mr. Jackson should he run for Mayor, stating "What I said to Cam was that I thought his biggest challenge would be getting past his partisan past.  He's been involved in partisan politics for a long time and that's not the way mayors operate".

There is also the question of the newsletter that Mr. Jackson's office sent to resident's of Aldershot which is not part of his Burlington riding.  Mr. Jackson says he is investigating and will make a formal statement later on.

Will Mr. Jackson run for Mayor?

Who will Mayor MacIsaac support (if anyone)?

How much will Mayor MacIsaac's support mean when it comes to counting votes?

Why was a newsletter sent to Aldershot residents?

We will almost certainy have to wait until September 29  for the answers to the first two questions.

Although this is all quite interesting, I certainly hope there are some "meatier" issues to challenge the citizens of Burlington to come out and vote.