I will never forget what happened seventeen years ago -- what Marc Lépine did, and what he failed to do. It was not just a mass murder but a political act, as much as the decision of the other men who were there that day not to lift a finger to help their sisters in need was also a political act -- and we must never allow those kinds of politics to take Canada over again, ever. I know it's unpopular for me to say this, but the blood is still on the hands of all men in Canada, not just that of Lépine.
On a much more sublime but no less outrageous note the Ontario Auditor General, Jim McCarter, released his 2006 annual report, the first since his office got an expanded mandate to take a look into the activities of Crown Agencies and not just provincial departments . Especially coming under harsh criticism are the almost unaudited government credit cards that wound up being used for personal expenses such as DVDs and leather jackets and even flowers for one's own birthday. The worst violators were employees at Ontario Power Generation (the main electric producer), Hydro One (which owns the transmission lines) and the Children's Aid Societies (who should be spending that money on foster care).
Most perplexing for me, however, is that even with the introduction of photo health cards with expiry dates several years ago, there are still 300 000 more cards than residents in Ontario. The government denies this, saying there are actually fewer cards than residents -- but I believe the AG and his assertion it's costing us taxpayers $150 million per year. Who will stop the fraud?
It's the feast of St. Nick today. Who's been naughty and nice on my list? Um, that will have to wait until Christmas Eve.
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