Yesterday in the Winnipeg Free Press, NDP campaign quick-response director Maeghan Dewar was "insisting the NDP has improved health care during 12 years in power."
Today's podcast contrasts that spin, with a story in the Jewish Post and News about the horrific treatment of 98 year old Ann Rostecki in 2009 at the Seven Oaks General Hospital.
http://www.jewishpostandnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=372:rosteciki&catid=45:rokmicronews-fp-1&Itemid=70
Bernie Bellan includes documentation and correspondence to lay out the entire tale of neglect - including starvation of the elderly stroke victim - and the dismissive contemptuous attitude towards the children who advocated for their mother.
"...there was little dignity to her stay at Seven Oaks Hospital--a dignity that every human deserves from the public health care system in spite of their age or infirmities. Or is this like the battlefield, where the medic only ministers to those whose wounds are not major enough to preclude recovery...
Had we, as children, neglected our Mother's care in the fashion of that at Seven Oaks Hospital, we might have been brought up on charges under Section 215 of the Criminal Code of Canada under The Vulnerable Persons Act. Having the word 'hospital' in one's name, however, exonerate them from the same prosecution."
The subject of health care and the WRHA has yet to emerge as a campaign issue, as 'safer communities', a catch-all phrase encompassing crimefighting, courts, and social programs and supports has dominated the platforms of all 3 parties thus far. But as you will hear in our interview with Mike Brown off the top of the show, the newsman-turned PC candidate in St. Vital, even he was surprised at the level of concern in his community.
And during the CCPS Update near the end of the episode, Hugh McFadyen has more to say about getting tougher on crime and spoke (this was on Wednesday remember) about expanding the use of GPS anklets to track high-risk offenders, making the point that the NDP opposed the PC position when it was announced - yet today, on Friday, they're for it.
We also point listeners to a personal tribute by Dan Denton on Slam!Wrestling about the death of old-time midget wrestler Little Tokyo and their travels together in the 80's.
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/GuestColumn/2011/09/08/18655286.html
While you're on Slam!Wrestling, check out Part 1 of my story about former Montreal Alouette defensive tackle Mike Webster, who has had an amazing journey from Grey Cup champion to main event heavyweight wrestler, to a career as a consulting psychologist for police, military forces and agencies in the area of hostage negotiations.
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2011/08/01/18495861.html
Item Last: Keep an eye on the reporting of this weekends' ManyFest on Broadway - the mainstream media won't remind you that this resulted from a failed attempt by the Downtown Biz to close down Broadway for 4 separate festivals, so they were rolled into one weekend and STILL can't find enough volunteers.
What the mainstream media also won't do, is report on the way the bike lobby and their supporters at City Hall and the Biz have inflated the attendance history of the Ciclovia event, which is the basis of all this "let's close down Broadway for a weekend" nonsense, to justify the blatant cheerleading for the bike lobby and their anti-car agenda.
Hell, at first they told the truth about how many attended the first Ciclovia in 2009 - but watch how the story has changed as the demand for dollars has grown, without anyone in the media challenging the inflated numbers.
First, Bike to the Future said the inaugural festival in 2009 was attended by 5000
Recent News Archives 2009 | Facebook
Ciclovia success! Winnipeg's inaugural Ciclovia on Sunday September 13th was a major success! There were an estimated 5000 attendees, and almost all ...
www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=8375557558&topic=8461 - Cached
But the Downtown Biz thought no one would notice if they fibbed a little:
http://www.downtownwinnipegbiz.com/home/events/ciclovia/2009_stats/.
CICLOVIA AT A GLANCE
Facts for Ciclovia 2009
Ran between 8am and 6pm on Sunday, September 13, 2009
The goal was to promote physical activity, community building and the benefits of using non-motorized transportation through a bikeway and major programming area downtown
Winnipeg was the first Canadian city to run Ciclovia
The route connected Assiniboine Park to the Forks with full and partial street closures
The north side of Broadway from Main to Osborne was closed to motorized traffic and was home to vendors, entertainers, family activities, fitness classes, farmers’ market and more
An estimated 10,000 people were out on the route that day, cycling, jogging, walking, rollerblading, etc, many of whom don’t usually come downtown
Then, in 2010, BTTF claimed attendance had doubled from their "official" estimate of the year before, although TGCTS traffic reporter Kim Calder and alternative media godfather Bob Axford said it had been no bigger.
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=8375557558&topic=8461
September 12, 2010
Thank you to all our sponsors and volunteers!
In its second year, this FREE eco-friendly, healthy-lifestyles festival and active transportation initiative saw the north side of Broadway closed from Osborne to Main Street, creating a network of car-free streets from Assiniboine Park all the way to The Forks! An estimated 10,000 people enjoyed car-free streets this year for Ciclovia!
Then, Mayor Katz showed he was either misled by lobbyists, or that he flunked math, as he justified throwing even more resources at Ciclovia by adding 5000 and 10,000 and issued a press release that overstated the event's popularity by 25%
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, October 20th, 2010
Katz Pledges Support for More Successful Downtown Celebrations
Will more than double existing street closure funding; additional $57,000 for Downtown BIZ Events
Winnipeg - October 20th, 2010 –Mayor Sam Katz today announced he will more than double the existing city-wide street closure budget as well as commit in-kind services up to $57,000 to expand the hugely successful “Lights on Broadway” from one day to up to four Saturdays, and provide annual support for the popular downtown festival, “Ciclovia.” ...Through festivals hosted by the Winnipeg Downtown Biz and community partners, vendors and citizens celebrate eco-friendly living and car-free streets from Assiniboine Park to The Forks. Since 2009, over 20,000 people have participated in the immensely popular free street festival “Ciclovia”...
Finally, in this week's Uptown, the Downtown Biz tells an even bigger whopper to an unquestioning reporter.
http://www.uptownmag.com/news-and-views/marlo-campbell/Something-for-everyone--no-seriously-129396958.html
"It’s for many people and there’s many things happening, so we thought it was a perfect fit," explains Jennifer Verch, manager of communications and marketing for the Downtown Winnipeg Biz, one of ManyFest’s presenters.
Approximately 30,000 people took part in last year’s festival and the hope is that at least that many show up for this year’s scheduled events, most of which are being offered free of charge."
So if the Bike Lobby, Downtown Biz, or City Hall makes any claims about the attendance this year, be assured it will be inaccurate, misleading, and won't add up with eyewitness accounts. But that number will be used to justify even MORE tax dollars and resources be used to help special interest groups and politicians build empires as summer turns to fall next year.
Here is the link to the Friday podcast:
http://tgctspod.podbean.com/2011/09/09/tgcts-sept-10-2011-seven-oaks-patient-neglect-an-ndp-improvement-ciclovia-inflates-attendance/
