Cheers & Jeers
JEERS: to a dearth of magnanimity. When Vale confirmed it is moving ahead with underground mining at Voisey’s Bay last Monday, the Liberals were quick to trot out former Liberal premiers Roger Grimes, Brian Tobin and Clyde Wells to add heft to the occasion. It was as if we were supposed to imagine there had been seamless progress made by Liberal premiers on the project from Wells’ day until now. Uh, guys? You’re missing a big chunk of time there, when Progressive Conservatives governed the province. It was then-p.c. premier Kathy Dunderdale who finalized the deal to go underground at Voisey’s Bay with Vale back in 2013. Yet Tories were scarce on Monday’s guest list. So much for giving credit where credit is due. You’d think for one occasion politics could be put aside in a show of solidarity. But politics is colour-blind, it seems, with Liberals able to see only red, and Tories only blue. And to think, they could’ve all been heroes, just for one day.
JEERS: to insurance rates. If you’ve been following the argument between insurers and the lawyers representing accident victims in this province, you’ve likely come to the conclusion your auto insurance rates won’t be coming down any time soon. The Insurance Bureau of Canada says insurance companies have been suffering losses in this province for years due to high payouts for injury claims, and suggests a cap on claims be implemented. The lawyers for accident victims are crying foul and suggesting that a limit on claims would do a disservice to the injured. The Insurance Bureau acknowledges that even if a cap were put in place, it might take years — if then — before insurance companies might even consider lowering rates. And there you have it. Expect to pay more.
JEERS: to terrible parenting. A Quebec man with no previous criminal record has been sentenced to four months to be served in the community after pleading guilty to a count of unlawful confinement, The Canadian Press has reported. His eight-year-old daughter, who — upon refusing to eat her Brussels sprouts one night in January 2016 — was forbidden to leave the table for 13 hours. “The daughter was not permitted to go to the bathroom as the standoff continued or change her clothes after she’d soiled herself,” CP reports. “The father described the girl as shivering and suffering from hypothermia. The court heard she eventually agreed to eat what was left on her plate after a sleepless night, only to vomit right after.” Quebec court Judge Jean-francois Gosselin pointed out that children have rights, too. “You do not deprive a child of sleep for an entire night or forbid them from going to the bathroom. And we do not let an eight-year-old child sit for hours in soiled clothing. When we do so, we violate their integrity and dignity.” The father, by the way, teaches special care counselling at a junior college.