Dear Editor,
Defending Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is not the socially acceptable thing to do right now in Canada.
Nonetheless, this whole episode makes me wonder something important, as it should for you, too.
What kind of society do we live in when the head of a police force can hold a press conference, allege he has seen Rob Ford on tape smoking crack and then have the matter end there?
There were no charges against Ford relative to the infamous “crack video.” So what right does a police chief have to go public with his interpretation of what Ford was doing on a video the public hasn’t seen?
Where is the precedent for such a random, defamatory act by a civil servant?
Forget the Ford case for a moment. What if your local police service chief or RCMP sergeant said publicly that he saw a video of you using an illegal drug? What recourse do you have?
In a court of law, you could plead not guilty. Pleading not guilty is more difficult in the court of public opinion, especially when the public can’t see the video.
When did our police officers start making random announcements about criminal behaviour – and naming names, no less – in the absence of any criminal charges to speak of?
If we want a police state in Canada, we’re now one step closer, my friends.
We do not need our police forces playing any role in embarrassing, and having the powers stripped away from, our publicly elected officials.
If Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair wants to incriminate Rob Ford, he needs to press charges against the mayor, plain and simple.
If he lacks the evidence to do that, Blair needs to keep his statements and conjecture to himself. He’s setting a terribly bad precedent for police officers around the country who should care about fairness, due process and a separation of police and politics.
Hank Portey
Regina, Saskatchewan
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Dear Editor,
The Saskatchewan government’s one-time seniors-care fund is a response that falls far short of a cure for the crisis in seniors care – a crisis caused by dramatic short-staffing and the absence of minimum standards.
Last week, the government revealed that in response to a seniors care crisis, it will allocate funding to fulfill health regions’ requests for items like a new left or some staff training.
I welcome the replacement equipment and improvements health regions will get as a result of this allocation, but the root of the seniors care crisis is still being ignored by this government. Essentially, this government is simply putting a band aid on a much deeper illness in seniors care.
The NDP has been raising concern over the treatment of seniors in care for months. Families from throughout the province have come forward to say their loved ones have been left to soil themselves, are being bathed less than once per week and are not being given time or help to eat.
Families report staffing ratios as shocking as two caregivers caring for as many as 33 high-needs residents. The government changed the law to remove a “sufficient staff” requirement and eliminate a minimum standard of two-hours of direct care per resident each day.
It’s critical that minimum standards are set – like the number of baths, the number of nutritious meals seniors must be offered, and the minimum amount of time each resident will have direct care each day. The right number of staff is the number required to, at a very least, provide for those minimums.
The NDP has proposed minimum staffing standards for each level of care and a residents’ bill of rights for each health region with minimum standards set by the province.
Sadly, this government continues to stubbornly ignore the heart of the issues that are causing the seniors care crisis in Saskatchewan. As a result, seniors care is getting worse in Saskatchewan, and that has to stop.
Danielle Chartier
Health Critic, Saskatchewan NDP
Rob Ford
