Author: Jan

It’s a busy month and it’s only May 7th!
May 1st: I participated in the North Halton Literacy’s Grate Groan-up Spelling Bee. Lots of fun.
May 2nd: Rotary Meeting in the morning and a new members reception at the Senior Centre later that same day.
May 3rd: I attended NDP Leader Andrea Horvath’s Nomination meeting in Hamilton.
May 4th: First time on mainstream TV – CHCH TV – oh, about 30 seconds on the news that evening, if that.
May 5th: Met with Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring in his office. As a two-term Councillor, I know the importance of the different levels of government working together.
That same day I also had a board meeting of Community Development Halton – Halton’s social planning agency. Some great stuff comes out of the work done by some truly dedicated staff. You might be surprised to learn how many agencies are in place today through the incubation of programs at CDH.
May 6th: an election planning meeting
May 7th: Attended a workshop on the Canada Learning Bond. A way to put money away for your kids’ education. Not a huge take up so far – only 3848 in Burlington. A lack of awareness is the problem. It’s free to a certain income level and is open to all children born since or in 2014. I Facebooked information about it but more information is coming.
May 9th: First thing, I’ve got a Rotary Club meeting. Then, as I’m finally convinced that summer WILL get here soon, I’ve made arrangements to have the summer tires put on my car after the Rotary meeting. And, after dropping my car off, I’ve got a Living Wage Meeting to attend.
And in between all those events, it’s all about the upcoming election.

“It will be a choice between my safe hands and their reckless schemes.” Says Premier Kathleen Wynne. She apparently said it with a straight face. Hello, what about the $1.1billion power plant fiasco? Not to mention the latest news that police are investigating the erasing of emails related to the true cost of the power plant cancellation.

What about the $1billion ORNGE debacle? What about the $1billion E-Health scandal, and the lack of oversight resulting in a loss of over $200million at Hydro. And another $1billion miscalculation in the Slots at the Racetrack Program.

And neither are the PanAm Games without controversy and scandal with two more officials getting the axe. The last official got a $530,000 severance package – how much will the latest two be paid to leave ? And why are they getting severance packages anyway. I always thought that if you got the axe – there should be a penalty, not a reward.

Safe hands? I think not. It’s time to hand over the reins to the NDP.

I’m a Milton Rotary Club member and chair the Spring Gala – Denim & Diamonds – tickets are $85. Blue jeans and boots for the men, denim and diamonds for the ladies. Ribs for dinner, chicken as an alternative, and vegetarian is available – but we must be advised ahead of time.

We have some fun things planned, a silent auction, a live auction – Jim Kenzie will be our auctioneer. He’s personally offering a one-of-a-kind Mosport racing experience. We will be dancing to The FlairZ.

Funds will go to STRIDE, a job placement agency for people in our community dealing with mental health issues. We’re also raising funds for our own programs such as a new dictionaries for all grade 3 Milton kids.Microsoft PowerPoint – Denim & Diamonds Flyer-Jan’14 [Compatibility Mode]

On top of all the billion-dollar boondoggles which keep surfacing in Ontario, along comes something that will impact on the mobility of seniors.

Everyone in Ontario Should Know About this Fraud. When an email comes through asking me to distribute far and wide, I always do my own research to ascertain its validity. So much garbage is fed through the internet with no basis in truth. However, while researching this email, I was able to locate the originator of the email, with whom I’ve been in contact, and here we are. I will let you draw your own conclusions but I, for one, am appalled to say the least – read on…

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation introduced discriminatory restrictions and special testing for older drivers in Ontario, under the false pretension that older drivers constitute a significantly higher risk in traffic.

In November of 2012, I conducted research, obtaining every valid statistic in Canada and a major Australian Study that used Canadian statistics. These studies, including statistics from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, revealed that consistently, year after year, the older drivers have had fewer accidents than any other drive group, and as they age, have fewer still.

A charge was laid against the Ministry of Transportation, in November of 2012, under the Ontario Human Rights Act. After six months of intense correspondence, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal dismissed my complaint on the grounds that the Ministry and all its agencies are exempt.

I continued my pursuit, by going directly to the Minister of Transportation. After hounding him for a number of weeks, received an email, admitting that the Ministry did not have the statistical justification to enact the discriminatory legislation against the elderly drivers, but had proceeded anyway. I presume on preconceived views about the elderly.

This does not only make this law illegal, but it violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, The Human Rights Act, The Criminal Code on Elder Abuse, and the person’s right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

If you are still feeling comfortable, consider what is coming. The Toronto Star recently featured an article called “Driving With Dementia, The New Impaired Driver”. In this article, it states that 28% of drivers over 65 years of age and older, have dementia, and suggests that these people should be given a test, presently being used in Alberta, called the Simard MD Protocol. This test has no credibility with the Academic and Professional Organizations, who have come out stating that they are surprised that a Government would use a test, which is not scientific, is unreliable, and sets the seniors up for failure. 20% fail, 20% cannot be determined. This test is paid for by the elderly $250.00 each time tested, and paid to a private firm.

Rumour has it, that the Ontario Ministry of Transportation will be introducing the Simard test in April of 2014.

Please give this as much distribution as possible, in order to make the people of Ontario aware of what their Government is doing. The only way to exercise our rights is to seek remedy through the Courts; however, only wealthy citizens can afford their rights.

Perhaps, with wide distribution, we may find some legal firm, willing to something as a public service.

Yours Concerned,
Ed. Rockburne, RCMP Retired, Perth , Ontario,
(I have Ed’s contact information – if you can help, please let me know and I will put you in touch with Ed Rockburne – Jan)