(Welcome to our new readers, coming to us courtesy of local pollsters and mainstream media pundits. Make sure to tune in to our show at 4 PM weekdays on 92.9 Kick-FM, for even more about the changing political landscape in Manitoba.)
The so-called pundits fell all over themselves yesterday and today to heap praise on Beltway-bound Premier Gary Doer, and demonstrated how truly out-of touch they are with reality, in rationalizing their predictions about possible successors.
Nary a one, made any mention of the NDP switch from true democratic one-vote-per-member to a union-slanted delegate leadership convention system at their 2007 convention, which led to the exit of Elmwood MLA Jim Malloway to the federal stage when he squawked loud and long about the change.
The bias of the predictors, who universally avoided mentioning the obvious downside of some potential aspirants, (i.e. Finance Minister Greg Selingers' involvement in the 1999 Election Rebate scam), and ignored Doer's burial of "old left" (ie Bill Blaikie) style politics in his remarks, was exemplified once more today in the Free Press.
Ignoring the record number of departing doctors, the impending audit of WRHA slush-funded "brown envelopes", and her hiding from the press when the video of Brian Sinclair in the Health Sciences Centre proved she had lied to the Legislature, the "Theresa Oswald for NDP leader" idea was revisited with a straight face.
"She's managed the politically risky health portfolio "quite successfully," said University of Manitoba political scientist Paul Thomas, who said Oswald "seems to be down-to-earth and very human in the way she presents herself and her ideas."
James Cotton, who was assaulted by a Free Press reporter when he tried to question Deputy Premier Wowchuck about how charity-bound government pork ended up in Freep employees' bellies, did an excellent job in recounting the true record of the Doer administration that the broadsheet refuses to detail:
http://manitobapost.blogspot.com/2009/08/ginny-is-smiling-for-different.html
Meanwhile, after The Black Rod provided their own take on the political reasons for Doer's decision to depart ("his teflon was gone...This is the best time to leave, right before the perfect storm that's brewing for 2010 hits"), http://blackrod.blogspot.com/2009/08/gary-doer-gittin-while-gittins-good.html, longtime Doer-apologist, former MSM columnist, and part-time blogger Curtis Brown trotted out his current employers' springtime poll as proof the blog could not possibly be correct, "sorry".
Sorry indeed.
The facts buried in the poll, taken June 8-25th - before the details of the 1999 Elections Manitoba rebate scam that engulfed Selinger, Justice Minister Dave Chomiak and Doer himself, and before gang warfare on our streets became issue -- show that the Black Rod may have been even more correct than they realized.
- The poll Brown cleaves to, showed a 44-36% lead for the NDP.
- The margin of error was 3.1%
- That means the poll result could have been NDP 40.9- PC 39.1.
( Brown replies: ... The margin of error was 3.1%. Yes, it could have been NDP 40.9, PC 39.1....)
- The Tories showed a lead among young voters, many of whom were highly pissed off at the NDP refusing to refund illegal photo-radar tickets. - The NDP had dropped 2 percent since their last poll, which means if they continued trending downwards ...
Premier Doer said at the press conference that "I believe you can't be accountable to the public without accessibility through the media. I try to be accessible, unless I'm dodging you."
Given that we never received a single reply to our invitations for him to appear on TGCTS and address the campus radio audience, it would appear that Doer realized that Kick-FM was a teflon-free zone.
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From our email bag:
Marty,
Thank you for suggesting the more prosaic theory of why so many young aboriginal are missing or murdered. The usual race hustlers want a task force to hunt down the white devil apparently targeting aboriginal women (or white devils, if you believe Lindor Reynolds). Some seem to perversely desire finding a Willie Pickton-type figure, as it will simultaneously vindicate their prejudices and further their agenda. But most likely these girls and women were killed by street gangs; the fact that Cherrisse Houle and Hilary Wilson knew each other substantiates that theory.
We often hear how aboriginal youth are more vulnerable, or lead high-risk lifestyles. You were right about the waste funding more education programs would be. Who doesn't know you shouldn't do crack? Or you shouldn't be a whore? Or you shouldn't hang with street gangs? The only reason a kid wouldn't know better is if they came from a remote reserve but considering how pervasive the street gangs are on reserves, even the remote ones, I doubt kids aren't exposed to those evils already.
What the race hustlers and sad-sack sociologists refuse to accept is that kids are making irrational choices that threaten their well-being and life. It takes a lot of desperation for a kid to choose the irrational, to choose to be so fatalistic. Growing up on a reserve where welfare is in its third generation giving birth to the fourth, where one or two families dominate the band, where the average resident has zero equity and little chance of acquiring any, where kicks include sniffing gas or guzzling super juice: who wouldn't despair?
Either we believe the aboriginal lobbyists that aboriginals are "over-represented" in jails and social services or we recognize just how profoundly detrimental the reserve system is to human beings. Some lobbyists and apologists claim we would feel differently if it were white girls from the suburbs. It's not a fair comparison. No other group has the socialization of the reserve system to deal with. No other group has a history of being treated differently in law and in society. I'm tossing thoughts around here but can you have a real social contract when you also have Indian treaties? And the lobbyists want more aboriginal-specific programs... What the public might generally feel towards these serial tragedies is something like a passive/aggressive response.
Regardless of what anyone feels or does or says, the sun will rise on the reserve system tomorrow and the day after. We will be told to pay more money to compensate for what we are told is our systemic racism. Homicide after homicide, we are told it is us or some white devil we spawned that is killing these girls; no other suspects are considered. Meanwhile the gangs blast away every night and most violent crimes are tagged with the familiar phrase, 'aboriginal in appearance.' I don't know how many job ads I've seen that offered first dibs to applicants that are aboriginal in appearance. The state bends over backwards to appease the historically disadvantaged but the history never ends.
You can't expect much sympathy from the public that witnesses the choice of irrational, criminal behavior in spite of an abundance of opportunities. Does anyone not know you shouldn't drink when pregnant? And yet there are more FASD cases ever year. And more aboriginal kids in care than ever before. And what is the one constant in all these nightmares and tragedies? The reserve system.
And we know the reserves are now euphemistically known as "First Nations communities" and they are moving towards self-government and self-sufficiency. Canada, as it is presently constituted is failing us, and failing native kids. We the people are sick of being told we have a racist system when the same voices that condemn us also want the reserves to continue and to have different rights and race-specific services and programs. The public cannot be indifferent to these deaths. If anything, these deaths prove our point: the reserve system is a colossal failure. We ask: How many more deaths does it take before the Crown and its fellow travelers renounce the reserve system?
No, Ms. Fontaine and Ms. Reynolds, do not ask us if we care about these women. It is you who sifts through their entrails for signs of serial killers or some other fiction that comports with your ideological bent. A task force? Why bother? You still have the same judges and the same justice system. Forgive us, the public, who sees no change no matter how many bodies end up in the morgue. There are no gangbusters in office here, just colour-coded activists and professional socialists who make their living off the human carnage, and they're making a killing.
Keep up the good work!
M
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When we stop to think about why our city is in CHAOS engulfed in violence, theft, homicide. It is very simple.
Human beings have been desensitized to all these issues. No one cares anymore. Back in the day when the neighborhood bully would beat up on one of the small kids the entire neighborhood would teach him a lesson, and his parents would hear an ear full from all the other parents. This comes from growing up on HOME Street (between Notre dame & Wellington).
The main media outlets help to turn a blind eye to all the chaos by running stories like this http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/garden-variety-lack-of-reason-53287202.html ..... Are you kidding me? This story is being run mean while I haven't heard squat about Vince Weiguang Li. The man who beheaded the young man on the grey hound bus.
The media should be hammering everyone involved with this guy until he is put in jail for life with no parole. But instead I hear more about how he was troubled, and suffered with a disorder. So keep printing stories about gardens at bus stops, and lets continue to turn a blind eye to what is really happening out there.
Regards,
JY
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I guess we aren’t entitled to question our betters such as judges and politicians. According to (a recent letter to the editor) we should only be permitted to trudge away while child rapists, street thugs and other assorted scum commit their crimes, then abscond after receiving bail. I thought it was a free country where we were permitted to express deep frustrations when we repeatedly witness first hand the pain and trauma victims’ experience which is often compounded when their victimizers receive little or no meaningful consequences for their actions.
All too often there is little “justice” in the system and that’s why cops speak out, both to inform the public and tell the truth about a system that needs some serious fixing. Obviously this man feels the system works quite well and is more than happy to trust his fate, and that of his loved ones to it, should they ever happen, god forbid, to be victimized themselves. I wonder how satisfied with the performance of judges and politicians he will be then.
Mike Sutherland
President
Winnipeg Police Association
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Hello Marty,
I do have to reiterate how much I hate the NDP and the fact that they have repeatedly lied to, deceived and screwed over the people of Manitoba on most issues - not just health care. I also will say that any progress that we see on wait times appears to have come from federal (read: Conservative) money and direction and their efforts.
Having said this, it is unfair to dramatically increase the number of physicians allowed to access MRIs and then to simultaneously have the extra techs, machines and radiologists available. When the MMA negotiated for universal access to MRI by family physicians, many of which have no business ordering MRIs, they slit their own throat, so to speak on this issue.
Now you have an extra 500+ people accessing a scarce resource without ready infrastructure to accomidate this. I am willing to bet that if MB health did not grant this concession, we might be ahead of the curve when it comes to wait times on this issue.
Cheers,
Dr X
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I had a blast driving to work this morning with the Louise bridge closed and a bus stalled in the curb lane.
Oh yeah never mind that's only a closed bridge which has 1 lane not the closed bridge with 2 lanes I wonder how much longer it will take when disraelli is closed and we get a bus stall in the curb lane?? Cause you know its going to happen
GG, Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone
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Marty: I guess we know why Doer never gave a f___ about Disraeli.
He was planning on quitting his job so he wouldn't get stuck in it.
Swell guy, it all makes sense now if he stayed till the next election he would have added the 50-80 minutes onto his round trip like the rest of us.
Now he can just sit back collect his big pension(remember at his age there is no wait) and laugh at the rest of us suckers as we suffer making it to work to pay for his fun. Legacy they say? Legacy of self interest reinforced at every turn.
Thanks
A Loyal listener
************
and lastly, this email from June 5, 2008:
... By the way, I do listen to your show and I find it highly entertaining.
Best,
Curtis Brown
Friday, August 28, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Someone tell Gail Asper: Stop looking for handouts from taxpayers
Today, without a hint of shame, The Canadian Museum for Human Rights continued down their pollyanna path, where nothing has ever been wrong in their world.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Planned-human-rights-museum-reaches-original-funding-goal_-but-needs-more-money.html
Media reports carefully omit which donors- crown agencies? another bank? Global TV employees? - finally pushed the deadweight that is the CMHC over their original $105 M fundraising goal.
The compliant media regurgitates the official spin, that Gail and her Friends only discovered the concept of "construction inflation" and "over-budget" two months ago. But the MSM failed to fairly cover the story for years, and it was only the pressure from a series of reports by blogger The Black Rod that finally forced Asper to spin a tale of woe to the publicity arm of the CMHC, the Winnipeg Free Press.
Today, without shame, she proclaimed they would simply get out their tin cup and ask the public that is too wise (to the millionaires, no doubt too apathetic) to fork out more dough, through her good friends in government.
The Sun story reinforces our view of the delusional mind-set of the upper crust - the CMHR seeemingly describing the federal Conservatives intention to hold the Friends to their word as "more or less" having told Gail et al to drop dead.
http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/winnipeg/2009/07/24/10250801.html
Clearly the fact that her chum, Premier Gary Doer ,didn't ask the any taxpayers before doubling how much Manitobans would pay to $40 million doesn't bother the rich, in fact it encourages them. They expect he'll obligingly cut a cheque for another $7M without asking you. So the CMHC press release first attempts to seduce the cash-strapped City of Winnipeg for ANOTHER $3 Million.
http://www.canadianmuseumforhumanrights.com/resource/file/NewsRelease_7-24-09_E.pdf
We already have an email from a city councillor about this latest round of begging by the new welfare class. Here's what Coun. Jeff Browaty told us:
Taxpayers want accountability and a firm number for the entire capital component of this project. Until I am convinced we have an accurate total costing for the project, I am opposed to spending any additional taxpayer money it.
Not only have listeners already deluged TGCTS with outraged calls at the prospect of being fleeced for even more by a group of "elite" who couldn't budget a 5 years old's birthday party, one email sends a strong message that were this a private sector project...
Marty :
Can someone please provide me with a reasonable explanation why construction activity still continues at the future site of the Canadian Human Rights Museum WHEN there STILL exists a $45M shortfall in secured funds?
What backroom deals have been agreed to to allow this to happen? Backroom deals by politicans who are too embarassed to admit that they have promised MORE taxpayer dollars to make this project work.
Do you think that in a New York minute the private lending industry would release funding for a project of this size WITHOUT all funding in place? Not on your life.
Marty please ask the question!
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Planned-human-rights-museum-reaches-original-funding-goal_-but-needs-more-money.html
Media reports carefully omit which donors- crown agencies? another bank? Global TV employees? - finally pushed the deadweight that is the CMHC over their original $105 M fundraising goal.
The compliant media regurgitates the official spin, that Gail and her Friends only discovered the concept of "construction inflation" and "over-budget" two months ago. But the MSM failed to fairly cover the story for years, and it was only the pressure from a series of reports by blogger The Black Rod that finally forced Asper to spin a tale of woe to the publicity arm of the CMHC, the Winnipeg Free Press.
Today, without shame, she proclaimed they would simply get out their tin cup and ask the public that is too wise (to the millionaires, no doubt too apathetic) to fork out more dough, through her good friends in government.
The Sun story reinforces our view of the delusional mind-set of the upper crust - the CMHR seeemingly describing the federal Conservatives intention to hold the Friends to their word as "more or less" having told Gail et al to drop dead.
http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/winnipeg/2009/07/24/10250801.html
Clearly the fact that her chum, Premier Gary Doer ,didn't ask the any taxpayers before doubling how much Manitobans would pay to $40 million doesn't bother the rich, in fact it encourages them. They expect he'll obligingly cut a cheque for another $7M without asking you. So the CMHC press release first attempts to seduce the cash-strapped City of Winnipeg for ANOTHER $3 Million.
http://www.canadianmuseumforhumanrights.com/resource/file/NewsRelease_7-24-09_E.pdf
We already have an email from a city councillor about this latest round of begging by the new welfare class. Here's what Coun. Jeff Browaty told us:
Taxpayers want accountability and a firm number for the entire capital component of this project. Until I am convinced we have an accurate total costing for the project, I am opposed to spending any additional taxpayer money it.
Not only have listeners already deluged TGCTS with outraged calls at the prospect of being fleeced for even more by a group of "elite" who couldn't budget a 5 years old's birthday party, one email sends a strong message that were this a private sector project...
Marty :
Can someone please provide me with a reasonable explanation why construction activity still continues at the future site of the Canadian Human Rights Museum WHEN there STILL exists a $45M shortfall in secured funds?
What backroom deals have been agreed to to allow this to happen? Backroom deals by politicans who are too embarassed to admit that they have promised MORE taxpayer dollars to make this project work.
Do you think that in a New York minute the private lending industry would release funding for a project of this size WITHOUT all funding in place? Not on your life.
Marty please ask the question!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
For listeners who asked: Full listing of CJOB Nighthawk episodes, available via CJOB Audio Vault
If you missed any of the 8 episode, guest-host stint by Marty Gold on CJOB's Nighthawk talk show, here is the list of guests and topics.
You can go to www.cjob.com and click into the audio vault, to catch the action:
Monday June 29
9 PM Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz, with callers
10 PM Los Angeles filmmaker Dan Denton
11 PM Today in History with Professor Levinski
Tuesday June 30
9 PM Manitoba Public Insurance Brian Smiley
9.30 PM Blues guitarist Derek Miller
10 PM Local issues ignored by mainstream media, blogs to watch for online
11 PM - call from 12 year old Aiden, denied entry into local pool for being "too short", Professor Levinski
Wed. July 1
9 PM Special Canada Day interview with Canada's Greatest Athlete, Gene Kiniski, who declared Canada should declare a republic and abandon the British monarchy
9.30 PM Canada Day in review - Osborne Village
10 PM All about Dr. Brian Postl, the $418,000 a year man; the Free Press does not criticize the WRHA since agreeing to produce a glossy pro-WRHA magazine
11 PM Today in History with Professor Levinski
Friday July 3
9 PM Sean Crawford, Macdonald Youth Services
9.30 PM James O'Conner, managing editor, Brandon Sun
10 PM More on WRHA and Postl's salary
10.30 PM US Independance Day with Tina G.
11 PM Today in History with Professor Levinski
Monday July 6
9 PM- 10.25 PM In studio with Hugh McFadyen, Progressive Conservative leader in Manitoba plus callers
10.30 PM Doctor wrote a letter to the Sun defending WRHA salaries, refused to appear on air to explain why we misunderstand the value of her leaders
11 PM Today in History with Professor Levinski
Tuesday July 7
9 PM - 10.25 PM City Councillor Jeff Browaty on water utility proposal, infrastructure, tax breaks for Asper stadium and human rights museum
10.30 PM Global TV reporter Meera Bahadoosingh with a great discussion about her fight back from a debilitating stroke
11 PM 'The Mean Streets of Winnipeg' -- Letter from a media personality about the dangers of living in downtown Winnipeg, many callers react
Wednesday July 8
9 PM More on the water utility- Free Press unimpressed by nureaucrats explanations
10 PM Follow up on The Mean Streets, callers plus WRHA update- still no word on whether any board members will appear on CJOB to defewnd the salary hikes given to administrators and communications hacks
11.00 PM - Adam Firestorm on the PR nightmare faced by VANOC (Vancouver Olympics)
11.30 PM - Update from 12 year old Aiden- pool rules changed or just optional depending on the lifeguard?
Thursday July 9
9 PM Interview with Sel Burrows, he is critical of the Manitoba government decision to expand jail cell capacity rather than reduce inmates allowed to sit in jail on remand awaiting trial
9.30 PM Chief Ron Evans clip from RCR Reports this morning- are the chiefs too scared to stand up to the Indian Posse ?
10 PM Review of Coun. Browaty changing his mind on TGCTS earlier today about tax breaks for Gail Aspers' museum project, plus the Parking Authority may not have been issuing legal tickets (since November)
10.45 PM Barrett Fraser, Triallo Media, they have 45,000 vieweers of their exclusive HDTV content in local offices and malls
11 PM Paul Lazenby, MMA lobbyist, the battle for legalization in Vancouver
11.30 PM In-depth interview with Professor Levinski
******************
A reminder that we are collecting suggestions for the naming of Marty's new grandson, with the most creative name as determined by the official arbiter - mommy of said grandson - awarded a copy of Retropeg, a photographic look at the city in the 70's.
Email your entry to talk@kick.fm
You can go to www.cjob.com and click into the audio vault, to catch the action:
Monday June 29
9 PM Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz, with callers
10 PM Los Angeles filmmaker Dan Denton
11 PM Today in History with Professor Levinski
Tuesday June 30
9 PM Manitoba Public Insurance Brian Smiley
9.30 PM Blues guitarist Derek Miller
10 PM Local issues ignored by mainstream media, blogs to watch for online
11 PM - call from 12 year old Aiden, denied entry into local pool for being "too short", Professor Levinski
Wed. July 1
9 PM Special Canada Day interview with Canada's Greatest Athlete, Gene Kiniski, who declared Canada should declare a republic and abandon the British monarchy
9.30 PM Canada Day in review - Osborne Village
10 PM All about Dr. Brian Postl, the $418,000 a year man; the Free Press does not criticize the WRHA since agreeing to produce a glossy pro-WRHA magazine
11 PM Today in History with Professor Levinski
Friday July 3
9 PM Sean Crawford, Macdonald Youth Services
9.30 PM James O'Conner, managing editor, Brandon Sun
10 PM More on WRHA and Postl's salary
10.30 PM US Independance Day with Tina G.
11 PM Today in History with Professor Levinski
Monday July 6
9 PM- 10.25 PM In studio with Hugh McFadyen, Progressive Conservative leader in Manitoba plus callers
10.30 PM Doctor wrote a letter to the Sun defending WRHA salaries, refused to appear on air to explain why we misunderstand the value of her leaders
11 PM Today in History with Professor Levinski
Tuesday July 7
9 PM - 10.25 PM City Councillor Jeff Browaty on water utility proposal, infrastructure, tax breaks for Asper stadium and human rights museum
10.30 PM Global TV reporter Meera Bahadoosingh with a great discussion about her fight back from a debilitating stroke
11 PM 'The Mean Streets of Winnipeg' -- Letter from a media personality about the dangers of living in downtown Winnipeg, many callers react
Wednesday July 8
9 PM More on the water utility- Free Press unimpressed by nureaucrats explanations
10 PM Follow up on The Mean Streets, callers plus WRHA update- still no word on whether any board members will appear on CJOB to defewnd the salary hikes given to administrators and communications hacks
11.00 PM - Adam Firestorm on the PR nightmare faced by VANOC (Vancouver Olympics)
11.30 PM - Update from 12 year old Aiden- pool rules changed or just optional depending on the lifeguard?
Thursday July 9
9 PM Interview with Sel Burrows, he is critical of the Manitoba government decision to expand jail cell capacity rather than reduce inmates allowed to sit in jail on remand awaiting trial
9.30 PM Chief Ron Evans clip from RCR Reports this morning- are the chiefs too scared to stand up to the Indian Posse ?
10 PM Review of Coun. Browaty changing his mind on TGCTS earlier today about tax breaks for Gail Aspers' museum project, plus the Parking Authority may not have been issuing legal tickets (since November)
10.45 PM Barrett Fraser, Triallo Media, they have 45,000 vieweers of their exclusive HDTV content in local offices and malls
11 PM Paul Lazenby, MMA lobbyist, the battle for legalization in Vancouver
11.30 PM In-depth interview with Professor Levinski
******************
A reminder that we are collecting suggestions for the naming of Marty's new grandson, with the most creative name as determined by the official arbiter - mommy of said grandson - awarded a copy of Retropeg, a photographic look at the city in the 70's.
Email your entry to talk@kick.fm
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Exclusive: City facing Refundgate redux; parking tickets since November may be invalid
TGCTS has learned that a Winnipeg businessman is challenging a ticket and tow-away from the Winnipeg Parking Authority, armed with evidence from City Hall that tags issued since November may have been illegally issued.
According to the man, and another sources, the WPA may have made a fatal miscalculation when they split with the Corps of Commissionaires and issued a contract so onerous with penalties that the Corps refused to bid to renew their long-standing deal to patrol Winnipeg streets and laneways.
The employees of the winning bidder, G4S, are NOT sworn peace officers, and the Commissionaires that carried on duties by joining the private security firm lost their peace officer status by doing so. The City sent a letter to officials asking them to clarify the question months ago but it is unclear if they replied.
However the man challenging the ticket told TGCTS that he went to see the WPA and asked, are the tickets being issued by sworn peace officers as required at the top of the tickets? and he told us "they turned white" and refused to answer.
He saw a magistrate with a copy of the letters sent by the city raising the possibility this was a problem; the court case is set for August and we'll follow the story. If his ticket is dismissed, this would mean every ticket issued by G4S would have been without authority, and the city could have a Refundgate 2 scandal on it's hands.
Not to mention the question, would the tow truck companies who executed instructions to remove vehicles, technically have committed grand theft auto?
TGCTS will have more on the WPA with Coun. Jeff Browaty today on TGCTS, and on The CJOB Nighthawk at 9 PM tonight.
Also on the Nighthawk, Sel Burrows has harsh criticism for Justice Minister Dave Chomiak for choosing to add to jail facilities rather than deal with the remand backlog; and Barrett Fraser of Triallo Communication Media will explain their exciting foray into the city scenescape - contest time! - at 10.30PM; with Paul Lazenby of BODOG fights speaking about the fight to legalize MMA in Canada at 11 PM.
According to the man, and another sources, the WPA may have made a fatal miscalculation when they split with the Corps of Commissionaires and issued a contract so onerous with penalties that the Corps refused to bid to renew their long-standing deal to patrol Winnipeg streets and laneways.
The employees of the winning bidder, G4S, are NOT sworn peace officers, and the Commissionaires that carried on duties by joining the private security firm lost their peace officer status by doing so. The City sent a letter to officials asking them to clarify the question months ago but it is unclear if they replied.
However the man challenging the ticket told TGCTS that he went to see the WPA and asked, are the tickets being issued by sworn peace officers as required at the top of the tickets? and he told us "they turned white" and refused to answer.
He saw a magistrate with a copy of the letters sent by the city raising the possibility this was a problem; the court case is set for August and we'll follow the story. If his ticket is dismissed, this would mean every ticket issued by G4S would have been without authority, and the city could have a Refundgate 2 scandal on it's hands.
Not to mention the question, would the tow truck companies who executed instructions to remove vehicles, technically have committed grand theft auto?
TGCTS will have more on the WPA with Coun. Jeff Browaty today on TGCTS, and on The CJOB Nighthawk at 9 PM tonight.
Also on the Nighthawk, Sel Burrows has harsh criticism for Justice Minister Dave Chomiak for choosing to add to jail facilities rather than deal with the remand backlog; and Barrett Fraser of Triallo Communication Media will explain their exciting foray into the city scenescape - contest time! - at 10.30PM; with Paul Lazenby of BODOG fights speaking about the fight to legalize MMA in Canada at 11 PM.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
McFadyen reveals clue that tipped off auditor to NDP scam; FP joins Gerbasi in call for water utility caution
The tired, old MSM excuse "it's summertime and there is no news to report" was blown out of the water yesterday on both AM and FM talk radio.
On TGCTS in the drive time, Coun. Jenny Gerbasi told the Kick-FM audience why she felt the process to establish a water utility was being rushed.
At a time of year when so many Winnipeggers are on vacation and unplugged from new media, councillors are in a position of voting on a proposal that would remove accountability from them not only for water rates, but for any future deals with outlying municipalities -- and even opened the door for fee-for-service home garbage collection.
Today, the Winnipeg Free Press editorial "Water utility muddle" echoed Gerbasi, stating "it's getting hard to believe that all 15 councillors and the mayor are fully prepared for the important decision they are about to make", concluding, "Unless there is a need for a decision on July 22, council should consider postponing the vote until September so it can ensure that all councillors, and the public, have a clearer understanding of the plan."
Then last night on CJOB's Nighthawk, Conservative leader Hugh McFadyen outlined how far the opposition is willing to go to force Elections Manitoba to fess up the details of the arrangement to forego prosecution of the Doer NDP just before the 2003 election call. The NDP was caught submitting forged documents in a rebate scam stemming from the 1999 election.
McFadyen revealed to CJOB listeners that the auditor David Asselstine stumbled across the most blatant clue - the "expense" being claimed, wages paid to as-yet-unnamed unions for their workers supplied to the NDP campaign, was paid for by a cheque, written the SAME DAY a cheque in the same amount was "donated" back to the NDP by the unions.
The cheque-swap resulted in the actual cost to the NDP being zero-- but the arrangement was concealed in the official filings to make it look like the party was eligible for approx. $76,000 in taxpayer support to help repay the campaign expense. The official agents at the constituency level, who prepared the documentation for party headquarters to review, were unaware their work was altered when it was presented for their final signature.
According to Finance Minister Greg Selinger, this sleight of hand was standard for the NDP to falsely garner refunds for non-existant expenses since the 1980's, which would include the entire time Gary Doer has been party leader.
McFadyen said that options included going to court or even to the new Lt.-Governor Phillip Lee seeking redress, and he emphasized that Manitobans need clear answers about why Elections Manitoba allowed the NDP to defraud taxpayers without penalty, as their impartiality is justifiably in question.
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The story of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority scramble to control and stifle questioning of their pay raises was heard on both TGCTS and the Nighthawk yesterday.
It turns out a letter to the editor written by a doctor, did not reveal that said doctor is actually a director of a program for the WRHA, and not in private practice.
When the doctor was called and offered the opportunity to go on radio and explain her asssertion that the head knocks of the WRHA are hard working and deserve every penny, she insisted that the invitation had to be vetted through the WRHA spin doctors (themselves beneficiaries of handsome pay increases even though they do not save lives and there is no proof they are 'heavily recruited' by other health agencies). The communications expert commenced to lecture that any requests to interview doctors had to go thru head office, even though she confirmed the letter at issue did not require, or have, prior WRHA approval.
Even though the doctor could have refused the invitation when we spoke to her yesterday morning, it was left to the word-bending professional, on the taxpayers' dime, to act as publicist for the doctor's private matter and refuse the opportunity to set the record straight.
If you think it's tough to understand why the WRHA insists they control the media speaking to doctors about non-WRHA related actions such as letters to the editor supporting the entitlements of Doctor-bosses like Brian Postl and Brock Wright, try to figure out why the "Public Sector Compensation Disclosure" report is not available online, or why no announcement of its release is found anywhere on the WRHA or Manitoba government websites.
It sure was a surprise to the government information phone operator, the Minister of Health's office, and the Information and Privacy Secretariat, as we spent hours playing the chase-the-report game. (A hard copy was made readily available- for pick up at the new WRHA digs at 650 Main Street.)
Meanwhile, no word yet from the spin gang on Main Street about our request to have any- ANY- spokesperson from the WRHA Board of Directors come on the CJOB Nighthawk this week - we offered Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday - and explain to open-line radio listeners why, for instance, Postl is worth $418,000 a year given the scandals and secrecy that have characterized his reign.
*************
Today on TGCTS -
more on the water utility proposal, negative feedback from David Asper's football stadium at the U. of Manitoba open house, and the WRHA. And, the interview with Citi-FM's H!- Howard Mandshein, which we couldn't fit in to yesterdays show.
Tonight on the Nighthawk -
9 PM, Coun. Jeff Browaty in studio, 10 PM Global TV reporter Meera Bahadoosingh, and 11 PM, Today in History with Professor Levinski.
On TGCTS in the drive time, Coun. Jenny Gerbasi told the Kick-FM audience why she felt the process to establish a water utility was being rushed.
At a time of year when so many Winnipeggers are on vacation and unplugged from new media, councillors are in a position of voting on a proposal that would remove accountability from them not only for water rates, but for any future deals with outlying municipalities -- and even opened the door for fee-for-service home garbage collection.
Today, the Winnipeg Free Press editorial "Water utility muddle" echoed Gerbasi, stating "it's getting hard to believe that all 15 councillors and the mayor are fully prepared for the important decision they are about to make", concluding, "Unless there is a need for a decision on July 22, council should consider postponing the vote until September so it can ensure that all councillors, and the public, have a clearer understanding of the plan."
Then last night on CJOB's Nighthawk, Conservative leader Hugh McFadyen outlined how far the opposition is willing to go to force Elections Manitoba to fess up the details of the arrangement to forego prosecution of the Doer NDP just before the 2003 election call. The NDP was caught submitting forged documents in a rebate scam stemming from the 1999 election.
McFadyen revealed to CJOB listeners that the auditor David Asselstine stumbled across the most blatant clue - the "expense" being claimed, wages paid to as-yet-unnamed unions for their workers supplied to the NDP campaign, was paid for by a cheque, written the SAME DAY a cheque in the same amount was "donated" back to the NDP by the unions.
The cheque-swap resulted in the actual cost to the NDP being zero-- but the arrangement was concealed in the official filings to make it look like the party was eligible for approx. $76,000 in taxpayer support to help repay the campaign expense. The official agents at the constituency level, who prepared the documentation for party headquarters to review, were unaware their work was altered when it was presented for their final signature.
According to Finance Minister Greg Selinger, this sleight of hand was standard for the NDP to falsely garner refunds for non-existant expenses since the 1980's, which would include the entire time Gary Doer has been party leader.
McFadyen said that options included going to court or even to the new Lt.-Governor Phillip Lee seeking redress, and he emphasized that Manitobans need clear answers about why Elections Manitoba allowed the NDP to defraud taxpayers without penalty, as their impartiality is justifiably in question.
**************
The story of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority scramble to control and stifle questioning of their pay raises was heard on both TGCTS and the Nighthawk yesterday.
It turns out a letter to the editor written by a doctor, did not reveal that said doctor is actually a director of a program for the WRHA, and not in private practice.
When the doctor was called and offered the opportunity to go on radio and explain her asssertion that the head knocks of the WRHA are hard working and deserve every penny, she insisted that the invitation had to be vetted through the WRHA spin doctors (themselves beneficiaries of handsome pay increases even though they do not save lives and there is no proof they are 'heavily recruited' by other health agencies). The communications expert commenced to lecture that any requests to interview doctors had to go thru head office, even though she confirmed the letter at issue did not require, or have, prior WRHA approval.
Even though the doctor could have refused the invitation when we spoke to her yesterday morning, it was left to the word-bending professional, on the taxpayers' dime, to act as publicist for the doctor's private matter and refuse the opportunity to set the record straight.
If you think it's tough to understand why the WRHA insists they control the media speaking to doctors about non-WRHA related actions such as letters to the editor supporting the entitlements of Doctor-bosses like Brian Postl and Brock Wright, try to figure out why the "Public Sector Compensation Disclosure" report is not available online, or why no announcement of its release is found anywhere on the WRHA or Manitoba government websites.
It sure was a surprise to the government information phone operator, the Minister of Health's office, and the Information and Privacy Secretariat, as we spent hours playing the chase-the-report game. (A hard copy was made readily available- for pick up at the new WRHA digs at 650 Main Street.)
Meanwhile, no word yet from the spin gang on Main Street about our request to have any- ANY- spokesperson from the WRHA Board of Directors come on the CJOB Nighthawk this week - we offered Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday - and explain to open-line radio listeners why, for instance, Postl is worth $418,000 a year given the scandals and secrecy that have characterized his reign.
*************
Today on TGCTS -
more on the water utility proposal, negative feedback from David Asper's football stadium at the U. of Manitoba open house, and the WRHA. And, the interview with Citi-FM's H!- Howard Mandshein, which we couldn't fit in to yesterdays show.
Tonight on the Nighthawk -
9 PM, Coun. Jeff Browaty in studio, 10 PM Global TV reporter Meera Bahadoosingh, and 11 PM, Today in History with Professor Levinski.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Gerbasi today, McFadyen tonight- TGCTS and CJOB Nighthawk at a glance
Today on TGCTS:
A special interview with CITI-FM's Howard Mandshein at 4 PM;
Coun. Jenny Gerbasi will explain her concerns about the proposed water utility at 4.30.
And, I will have lots to say about the WRHA compensation report, and who is worth -- how much??
Tonight on the CJOB Nighthawk:
PC leader Hugh McFadyen at 9 PM, we'll discuss the Elections Manitoba scandal, the WRHA pay scale, and gang warfare on the streets of the city.
At 10 PM, more about The Untouchables - why the debate about the pay of Dr. Brian Postl and others in the Regional Health Authority is being controlled if not stifled; also the Free Press had a very bad weekend sorting real news from made-up news;
and at 11 PM, another edition of Today in History with Professor Levinski.
Also scheduled this week on the Nighthawk -
Tuesday 10 PM: Global TV reporter Meera Bahadoosingh
Wed. or Thursday (details being confirmed)- Coun. Jeff Browaty
Thursday 11 PM - The voice of BODOG MMA fights, Paul Lazenby, on the battle to legalize MMA in Vancouver and across Canada
************
Thanks very much for all the listeners who have commented about both shows recently.
I can be reached at martygoldlive@gmail.com
A special interview with CITI-FM's Howard Mandshein at 4 PM;
Coun. Jenny Gerbasi will explain her concerns about the proposed water utility at 4.30.
And, I will have lots to say about the WRHA compensation report, and who is worth -- how much??
Tonight on the CJOB Nighthawk:
PC leader Hugh McFadyen at 9 PM, we'll discuss the Elections Manitoba scandal, the WRHA pay scale, and gang warfare on the streets of the city.
At 10 PM, more about The Untouchables - why the debate about the pay of Dr. Brian Postl and others in the Regional Health Authority is being controlled if not stifled; also the Free Press had a very bad weekend sorting real news from made-up news;
and at 11 PM, another edition of Today in History with Professor Levinski.
Also scheduled this week on the Nighthawk -
Tuesday 10 PM: Global TV reporter Meera Bahadoosingh
Wed. or Thursday (details being confirmed)- Coun. Jeff Browaty
Thursday 11 PM - The voice of BODOG MMA fights, Paul Lazenby, on the battle to legalize MMA in Vancouver and across Canada
************
Thanks very much for all the listeners who have commented about both shows recently.
I can be reached at martygoldlive@gmail.com
Friday, July 3, 2009
Canada Day was great, now back to work - loaded Friday Nighthawk on CJOB
I was so blessed this Canada Day to be able to enjoy the day in such a unique way. During the sunny afternoon, I tracked the Osborne Village Street Festival enjoying the sights and sounds, seeing friends like Marshall Dana and Dave Shorr - happy birthday, Dave's dad! - music producer Chris Burke-Gaffney, Tammy my favorite waitress, and of course Chuck, David and Coleman, the Brothers Green, at the Osborne Village Inn, stage-managing the circulation of beer, entertainment and great memories (a special thanks from them and the Biz to Sgt. Bob Irwin and the Winnipeg Police Service for their efforts to keep the festival the safest and best family event in the city!).
Danny's Whole Hog outlet was a steady business of carnivores; nearby Andrew and Paula Debenham were handing out pamphlets and explaining their First Aid Training Centre concept to a surprisingly receptive audience; down the block at 120 Osborne, Fabutan, bless em, was handing out free sunscreen and advocating responsible tanning.
Northbound, outside of Noir, I bumped into Councillor Jenny Gerbasi navigating the sea of celebrants at River and Osborne. Not only got as voicer for the Nighthawk on CJOB, I confirmed her appearance on TGCTS next Monday. The water utility proposal will get a full working over that day.
South of Stradbrook, Vintage in the Village gave me a copy of Captain Canuck, the Winnipeg comic book from 1975, to give away on Kick-FM next Tuesday. One of my mentors in broadcasting, Howard Mandshein of CITI-FM, showered me with praise for my work in the talk realm, and introduced me to Kevin Donnelly of the MTS Centre who books in all the fabulous top-line music acts. Kevin graciously said a few words for broadcast later on CJOB.
The feature attraction at the Zoo stage, was Derek Miller, and he followed up his electric performance the night before with an amazing exhibition of jazz, rock, and rock-a-billy infused blues. He is the best act in the country right now.
PS. To join our Facebook group, go to http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=2344284529&ref=ts
Danny's Whole Hog outlet was a steady business of carnivores; nearby Andrew and Paula Debenham were handing out pamphlets and explaining their First Aid Training Centre concept to a surprisingly receptive audience; down the block at 120 Osborne, Fabutan, bless em, was handing out free sunscreen and advocating responsible tanning.
Northbound, outside of Noir, I bumped into Councillor Jenny Gerbasi navigating the sea of celebrants at River and Osborne. Not only got as voicer for the Nighthawk on CJOB, I confirmed her appearance on TGCTS next Monday. The water utility proposal will get a full working over that day.
South of Stradbrook, Vintage in the Village gave me a copy of Captain Canuck, the Winnipeg comic book from 1975, to give away on Kick-FM next Tuesday. One of my mentors in broadcasting, Howard Mandshein of CITI-FM, showered me with praise for my work in the talk realm, and introduced me to Kevin Donnelly of the MTS Centre who books in all the fabulous top-line music acts. Kevin graciously said a few words for broadcast later on CJOB.
The feature attraction at the Zoo stage, was Derek Miller, and he followed up his electric performance the night before with an amazing exhibition of jazz, rock, and rock-a-billy infused blues. He is the best act in the country right now.
That night at 9.30 PM on CJOB, the thrill of my sportscasting career was achieved when Canada's Greatest Athlete, Gene Kiniski, proved wrestling has no script when the former world champeen pontificated at length about this country, where it has been and where it is headed. So much for asking about Don Leo Jonathon and Verne Gagne.
Strong on the issue of low-cost education for all, Gene also explained his surprising role in the flag debate and proclamation of a national anthem.
In a 1956-ish national CBC telecast of the bouts from Toronto, the former footballer from Edmonton decried that a country so vast and strong should stand at attention for a flag and anthem of another nation (the Union Jack and God Save the Queen). Liberal cabinet ministers Robert Winters and Lester Pearson seized upon the outcry and Kiniski had influenced the national psyche.
After a day off the airwaves, I will return to CJOB tonight with a roster of fine guests and features, including Sean Crawford of MacDonald Youth Services; Brandon Sun managing editor James O'Connor; the latest installment of "keep your eye on the ball" -- the WRHA's attempt to divert public focus onto the salaries paid to life-saving emergency room doctors, rather than on the executive's own unjustified pay raises; a special look at the 4th of July festivities down south with special correspondent Tina G from L.A.; and another edition of Today in History with Professor Levinski.
We've already made news by cross-pollinating public affairs between both shows - check out what Policy Frog has to say about the spat between Mayor Katz and the MGEU, that started on campus radio and got ratcheted up on the AM band.
Don't forget to check out the CJOB archives to hear what you may have missed from my Nighthawk stint thus far; and I will return to double duty on Monday with TGCTS at 4 PM on 92.9 Kick-FM,
and at 9 PM Monday on the CJOB Nighthawk, I'll be joined by Progressive Conservative leader Hugh McFadyen.
PS. To join our Facebook group, go to http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=2344284529&ref=ts
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Mayor Katz makes news on CJOB's Nighthawk with Marty Gold; top stories and guests list for Q2/09
Thanks to all the listeners who called in and emailed during my inaugural hosting of CJOB's Nighthawk show last evening.
Mayor Sam Katz addressed questions about the proposed partnership to create a water utility, claiming that GST and PST will not be causing an automatic 12% hike in rates, and that the change would protect taxpayers from sudden infrastructure costs; said he was interested in a callers' suggestion that the City was long overdue for a plastic bottle refund system like Vancouver's depots; and Katz refused the demand of MGEU prexy Peter Olfert to apologize for refering to paramedics as "ambulance drivers" in our TGCTS interview earlier this month. The Mayor proclaimed his support for rank-and-file paramedics and promised to ensure the public gets proper service, despite recent ER redirects, dangerous working conditions, and outright lack of ambulances to respond to shootings etc.
Mayor Sam Katz addressed questions about the proposed partnership to create a water utility, claiming that GST and PST will not be causing an automatic 12% hike in rates, and that the change would protect taxpayers from sudden infrastructure costs; said he was interested in a callers' suggestion that the City was long overdue for a plastic bottle refund system like Vancouver's depots; and Katz refused the demand of MGEU prexy Peter Olfert to apologize for refering to paramedics as "ambulance drivers" in our TGCTS interview earlier this month. The Mayor proclaimed his support for rank-and-file paramedics and promised to ensure the public gets proper service, despite recent ER redirects, dangerous working conditions, and outright lack of ambulances to respond to shootings etc.
Today on TGCTS, Blues guitarist Derek Miller will be in studio at 4.30 PM; there is no broadcast Wednesday and replays air on Thursday and Friday;
Meanwhile, on the AM side of the dial, Derek Miller will also be interviewed on the Nighthawk as well this evening, about his 2 appearances at the Zoo ( the hotel, not the zoo in the park) as part of the Osborne Street Canada Day Festival. Also on the Nighthawk, MPI's Brian Smiley and another edition of Today in History with Professor Levinski.
Tomorrow on the Nighthawk, a special Canada Day interview with Canada's Greatest Athlete, wrestling great Gene Kiniski, and with any luck, pre-recorded words from festival-goers in the Village!
The Top Stories for April/May/June:
- EXCLUSIVE: Labradoodle kennel owner suing Manitoba government for illegal search and seizure of pups
- EXCLUSIVE: Sister of Gail Glesby, US based nurse, blasts HSC for negligence in 2004 ER fiasco; Glesby death raised in Question Period
- EXCLUSIVE: Roseau River audit leak reveals big gaps in paper trail
- Leaf Rapids Mayor gives province 30 days to act on promises to assist with no gang policy and getting tough on drunks
- EXCLUSIVE: U of M pension crisis goes to members; Minister McGifford knows nothing when quizzed in House
- EXCLUSIVE: Seven Oaks GH Emergency room treats drunks not 5 year old; official apologizes to listener
- EXCLUSIVE: Deaths of journalists Marshall Armstrong and Matt Bellan broken by TGCTS
- Gail Asper wants a "bar street" -- near her museum
- EXCLUSIVE: province flunks wait times benchmark, unreported by MSM
- Winnipeg Police Advisory Board report reflects fear of crime and gangs in poorest neighbourhoods
- Family Services Minister Huff n Puff Macintosh scrambles to explain foster care shortfalls
- FreeP 'mistake' inflates Coun. Harvey Smiths' cab tab/Coun. Mike O'Shaunessy gets taxpayer to buy him satellite radio
- Free Press financial losses expose circulation claims
- Friends of Upper Fort Garry won't disclose donors or conditions of pledges, city turns blind eye and allows sale to proceed
- EXCLUSIVE: Parking authority jacks rates in poorest neighborhoods, no consultation with residents or businesses
- Radargate no-refund controversy engulfs NDP's image as party of the common man
- Estranged wife Melody Sanford facing murder trial in killing of wrestler John Radocaj
- EXCLUSIVE: Sam Katz denies Chomiak's claim of conversation in which mayor opposed photo-rader refunds; Chomiak calls to apologize
- WRHA leaks poll to CBC trying to spin public dissatisfaction
- Black Rod blog exposes truth about Radargate tickets- "speeeding in construction zone" tags can only be issued by cops, not rent-a-cops
- Bloggers scoop MSM as CMHR admits costs soar out of control
- EXCLUSIVE: The Coun. Steeves letter to Minister Ashton the NDP hid behind to justify no refunds for photoradar
- EXCLUSIVE: Parking Authority forces union supporters out of jobs with contractor, one by one
- EXCLUSIVE: Mayor Katz infuriates paramedics by using term 'ambulance drivers'
- Our open letter to Margo and Gordo silences FP millionaire-lovers
- EXCLUSIVE: Interview with NDP Refundgate whistleblower Jim Treller - "Selinger looked like he was having a stroke"
- NDP bullied investigator, obstructed 1999 election finance scam investigation with false complaint
- Free Press turns on Doer, demands inquiry into Elections Manitoba and NDP cover-up
- Gail Asper sucks up to drivers, insists 60 km/h a safe speed for Grant/Corydon and Academy Road
- 9-11 truther Lesley Hughes suing theatre company for slip and fall, MP Peter Kent and Jewish groups for fall from Liberal Party grace
- City open house caters to cyclist lobby, willing to risk public safety and convenience on your streets
- NO ambulance available to transport two shooting victims on Manitoba
- Taxicab Board gets police to roust party buses to satisfy limosine cartel
- Magnus Ave. rehab centre open house a bitchfest about existing Pt. Douglas crime
Guests April/May/JuneScott Taylor, CITI-FM sports director
Dr. Jon Gerrard, Liberal leader
Dr Jeff Zabudsky, RRC presidenrt
Jon Waldman, Slam!Sports
Susan Tymofichyk, CTV News
Rocky Mougdill, Wpg Youth Soccer Association
Jack E King, lawyer
Myrna Driedger, Tory MLA
Ross Taylor, L'Arche
Mayor Ed Charrier, Leaf Rapids
Mayor Sam Katz
Kelly Dehn, CTV News
Corey Quintain, BS Comedy Players
Coun. Jeff Browaty
Sean Crawford, Macdonald Youth Services
Hugh McFadyen, PC leader
Scott Carnegie, Magic Club of Winnipeg
Kelly Harrison, Exec. Director Teen Touch
Coun. Gord Steeves
Bill Hansen, CTV VP
Leila Dance, Macdonald Youth Services
Dutch Savage, pro wrestling legend
Brad Harrison and Mike McLure, Curb-Ease
Kevin Lamoureaux, Liberal MLA
Tom Brodbeck, Winnipeg Sun
Jason Geiger, MMA fighter
Ken Waddell, Neepawa Banner publisher
Mal Anderson, Exchange District Biz
Bob Axford, consultant
Graham Hnatiuk, urban planning blogger
Chris D'Souza, Point Douglas Residents Committee
Maureen Scurfield, Winnipeg Free Press
Derek Miller, blues guitarist
Monday, June 29, 2009
Two stations, one host: what you'll hear on 92.9 Kick-FM's TGCTS and CJOB 68's Nighthawk this week
Thanks to everyone for the kind words about the opportunity to bring the vibe and content of alternative radio to CJOB this week.
And welcome to CJOB listeners who are finding this blog for the first time!
Feel free to go back in the archives and see the kinds of stories about topics like Porkgate, The Friends of Upper Fort Garry, and the difficult relationship between the Winnipeg Free Press and its increasingly cynical readers, that you have not heard anywhere else.
Here's how a Free Press contributor describes how we have revolutionized local open-line radio:
... meticulously ripping apart the work of the big, bad, biased and arrogant mainstream media while promoting the opinions of the city's relatively unknown (to the public, anyway) bloggers...
TGCTS Kick-FM schedule:
Monday: Unfortunately, Coun. Jenny Gerbasi is under the weather and has postponed her appearance on the show today to discuss the proposed Water Utility. We are trying to reschedule her for next week. We will cover the beating of a peace officer in a strip-club altercation, and the beating the Free Press took at the hands of the Sun in covering the incident; more about 311, parking rates and the bike lobby; and as usual, sports with the King of Corydon Avenue, Frank the Italian Barber.
Tuesday: Guitar in hand, Derek Miller live in studio at 4.30 PM, previewing his show at Ozzie's (160 Osborne) that night and his outdoor performance as the headliner for the Osborne Street Festival Canada Day celebrations at 4.45 PM. On the current affairs side, we'll also do a Half-year in Review of the stories we covered that made news - inside the January meth-user suicide in front of cops, the Bill Blaikie exclusive interview, the Gail Glesby case, Justice Minister Chomiak apologizing to Mayor Katz, etc.
Wednesday: No broadcast --- HAPPY CANADA DAY
Thursday: Replay of June 1st interview with Mayor Sam Katz
Friday: Replay of June 11th show with Tom Brodbeck of the Sun and PC leader Hugh McFadyen, all about the 1999 NDP election finance scam and Elections Manitoba secret deal not to prosecute.
CJOB Nighthawk schedule:
Monday: At 9 PM, an in-studio interview with Mayor Sam Katz with lots of listener questions about his relationship with paramedics, ongoing problems with derelict buildings and police crime priorities.
* Also, we'll give away two passes to see blues master Derek Miller perform at the Osborne Village Inn on Tuesday night.
* At 10.30 PM, former Winnipegger turned Los Angeles business whiz and film producer Dan Denton of Frozen Pond Productions.
* After 11 PM, the shocking autopsy findings of what was left of Michael Jackson. Plus, Young Josh and your calls at 780-6868.
Tuesday: Brian Smiley of Manitoba Public Insurance will talk summer safety tips, explain the buckpassing by 311 and the Parking Authority to MPI over phantom tickets being issued to innocent motorists, and maybe even make a few CFL predictions.
* As the MSM continues to lose ground to new sources of information, a guide to who's who in the local blogosphere and the stories they have broken.
*And after 11 PM, Today In History with Professor Levinski !
Wednesday: In honour of Canada Day, a special interview with Canada's Greatest Athlete, former NWA and AWA Heavyweight Wrestling champion, Big Thunder Gene Kiniski! Call and tell us, how did you celebrate Canada Day?
Thursday: No Nighthawk - GO BOMBERS GO, listen to CJOB for all the action live from Edmonton with the voice of the Blue, Bob Irving.
Friday: We'll catch up on the news that piled up in the previous 48 hours, and take a compare and contrast look at the difference between how Canada and the USA celebrate the National birthdays.
* Plus another installment of Today in History with Professor Levinski.
Your feedback always welcome at talk@kick.fm.
And welcome to CJOB listeners who are finding this blog for the first time!
Feel free to go back in the archives and see the kinds of stories about topics like Porkgate, The Friends of Upper Fort Garry, and the difficult relationship between the Winnipeg Free Press and its increasingly cynical readers, that you have not heard anywhere else.
Here's how a Free Press contributor describes how we have revolutionized local open-line radio:
... meticulously ripping apart the work of the big, bad, biased and arrogant mainstream media while promoting the opinions of the city's relatively unknown (to the public, anyway) bloggers...
TGCTS Kick-FM schedule:
Monday: Unfortunately, Coun. Jenny Gerbasi is under the weather and has postponed her appearance on the show today to discuss the proposed Water Utility. We are trying to reschedule her for next week. We will cover the beating of a peace officer in a strip-club altercation, and the beating the Free Press took at the hands of the Sun in covering the incident; more about 311, parking rates and the bike lobby; and as usual, sports with the King of Corydon Avenue, Frank the Italian Barber.
Tuesday: Guitar in hand, Derek Miller live in studio at 4.30 PM, previewing his show at Ozzie's (160 Osborne) that night and his outdoor performance as the headliner for the Osborne Street Festival Canada Day celebrations at 4.45 PM. On the current affairs side, we'll also do a Half-year in Review of the stories we covered that made news - inside the January meth-user suicide in front of cops, the Bill Blaikie exclusive interview, the Gail Glesby case, Justice Minister Chomiak apologizing to Mayor Katz, etc.
Wednesday: No broadcast --- HAPPY CANADA DAY
Thursday: Replay of June 1st interview with Mayor Sam Katz
Friday: Replay of June 11th show with Tom Brodbeck of the Sun and PC leader Hugh McFadyen, all about the 1999 NDP election finance scam and Elections Manitoba secret deal not to prosecute.
CJOB Nighthawk schedule:
Monday: At 9 PM, an in-studio interview with Mayor Sam Katz with lots of listener questions about his relationship with paramedics, ongoing problems with derelict buildings and police crime priorities.
* Also, we'll give away two passes to see blues master Derek Miller perform at the Osborne Village Inn on Tuesday night.
* At 10.30 PM, former Winnipegger turned Los Angeles business whiz and film producer Dan Denton of Frozen Pond Productions.
* After 11 PM, the shocking autopsy findings of what was left of Michael Jackson. Plus, Young Josh and your calls at 780-6868.
Tuesday: Brian Smiley of Manitoba Public Insurance will talk summer safety tips, explain the buckpassing by 311 and the Parking Authority to MPI over phantom tickets being issued to innocent motorists, and maybe even make a few CFL predictions.
* As the MSM continues to lose ground to new sources of information, a guide to who's who in the local blogosphere and the stories they have broken.
*And after 11 PM, Today In History with Professor Levinski !
Wednesday: In honour of Canada Day, a special interview with Canada's Greatest Athlete, former NWA and AWA Heavyweight Wrestling champion, Big Thunder Gene Kiniski! Call and tell us, how did you celebrate Canada Day?
Thursday: No Nighthawk - GO BOMBERS GO, listen to CJOB for all the action live from Edmonton with the voice of the Blue, Bob Irving.
Friday: We'll catch up on the news that piled up in the previous 48 hours, and take a compare and contrast look at the difference between how Canada and the USA celebrate the National birthdays.
* Plus another installment of Today in History with Professor Levinski.
Your feedback always welcome at talk@kick.fm.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Live NHL draft report, Scurfield on MJ, hot topics for Friday
Welcome to our new readers from across Canada!
Today's show is another good example of why so many people are turning to the alternative media. We have 2 exclusive reports, from the worlds of sports and entertainment. that you can't hear anywhere else.
Live at 4.00 PM from the National Hockey League draft in Montreal, Jon Waldman of Slam!Sports, with all the news of tomorrow's superstars being divied up by the needy.
And at 5.15PM, Winnipeg Free Press columnist Maureen Scurfield will be prodded to remember a Michael Jackson story- or two.
In between those exclusives, more analysis and your comments about bike paths -- and a blogger's exclusive report comparing the Asper Stadium open house with the pro-bike lobby presentation on bike paths the same night by the City, the city's budget needs, party-bus busts, and what Chief McCaskill did NOT say about gangs this morning on open-line radio.
And we will give away two passes for the Derek Miller concert taking place Tuesday, June 30th, Canada Day eve, at Ozzies as part of the Osborne Street Canada Day Festival.
After the weekend, we'll kick off Monday with an exclusive interview with Councillor Jenny Gerbasi, who's waging an uphill fight against a rush at City Hall to enact an unaccountable and expensive Water Utility that's guaranteed to raise your water rates.
Be sure to listen to the debut of Marty Gold on CJOB's Nighthawk, 9 PM Monday, when he interviews Mayor Sam Katz, and gives away another pair of Derek Miller tickets.
And on Tuesday, listen to TGCTS on 92.9 Kick-FM when Derek Miller will be live in studio, at 4.30 PM.
Today's show is another good example of why so many people are turning to the alternative media. We have 2 exclusive reports, from the worlds of sports and entertainment. that you can't hear anywhere else.
Live at 4.00 PM from the National Hockey League draft in Montreal, Jon Waldman of Slam!Sports, with all the news of tomorrow's superstars being divied up by the needy.
And at 5.15PM, Winnipeg Free Press columnist Maureen Scurfield will be prodded to remember a Michael Jackson story- or two.
In between those exclusives, more analysis and your comments about bike paths -- and a blogger's exclusive report comparing the Asper Stadium open house with the pro-bike lobby presentation on bike paths the same night by the City, the city's budget needs, party-bus busts, and what Chief McCaskill did NOT say about gangs this morning on open-line radio.
And we will give away two passes for the Derek Miller concert taking place Tuesday, June 30th, Canada Day eve, at Ozzies as part of the Osborne Street Canada Day Festival.
After the weekend, we'll kick off Monday with an exclusive interview with Councillor Jenny Gerbasi, who's waging an uphill fight against a rush at City Hall to enact an unaccountable and expensive Water Utility that's guaranteed to raise your water rates.
Be sure to listen to the debut of Marty Gold on CJOB's Nighthawk, 9 PM Monday, when he interviews Mayor Sam Katz, and gives away another pair of Derek Miller tickets.
And on Tuesday, listen to TGCTS on 92.9 Kick-FM when Derek Miller will be live in studio, at 4.30 PM.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Spirited Kenny takes a bow - province finally moves on weather radios; and speaking of radio...
Yesterday Emergency Measures Minister Steve Ashton announced that the Government of Manitoba was finally, finally going to get weather radios into 1580 locations such as care homes, schools and municipal offices across the province.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/breakingnews/Province-expands-Weatheradio-coverage-48947806.html#comments
Longtime listeners will recall that in 2007, Spirited Kenny started asking serious questions about the 10 year delay in establishing a national weather-warning system. Until the alternative media began pressuring elected officials such as MP Steven Fletcher, the public safety aspect was secondary to the inertia of bureaucrats. So a tip of the hat to Kenny for his work on the file, that served to embarass the NDP government into finally tasking meaningful action.
***************
Yesterday we featured a personal story of a victim of a violent unprovoked mugging on May 30th. Kevin Bracken called in after we read his email, and the ensuing conversation about his view of the approach being taken by Police Chief McCaskill and the NDP towards violent goons - like the 2 juveniles who jumped him with an adult accomplice in Westwood -- shows the deep effects on real people, of what Crimestat lists as "robbery non-commercial".
His story will be featured on Global-TV tonight when Meera Bahadoosingh interviews Kevin Bracken at 6 PM. Here is the email we read from him about his fateful late-night walk home:
Hey Marty
I just called the studio, not realising you were already overtime today. I have a story that I do not think has been reported, and probably won't be.
On Saturday, May 30 and into early Sunday morning, 2 aboriginal youths (16 years old) and one aboriginal adult went on a bit of a crime spree in the west St-James area. They stole from a 7-11 and mugged a few pedestrians, claiming they had a gun. I can only speculate that it was around this time the police were called, and several (I was told 6) squad cars began patrolling the area.
Sometime after stealing from the Sev and pretending to have a gun, they picked up a 2x3 board and decided it would be easier to do things that way.
I had the misfortune of straying across these youths paths, in the Westwood neighbourhood, not far from Rouge Road. I was walking home from Salisbury house with a female friend, when I saw someone approaching me from behind.
I had been at the bar and was rather friendly, and greeted what I thought was another pedestrian enjoying a similar drunken walk home. Out of nowhere, he sucker punched me. I backed up and was hit again in the face. My female friend ran (thankfully) and got away. I had fallen to the ground and put up my arms to cover my face. It was at this point I realised I was up against 3 men, not just 1. I pulled twenty dollars out of my pocket, which was all I had and offered it to them. They took it but continued to strike me on the ground. I cannot recall if it was fists, feet or lumber that was coming down on me but my injuries imply the latter. I grabbed my wallet to see if I had anything else to give them, all the while being hit. I had nothing. At some point they left me laying, bleeding on the ground.
I don't know how long it lasted for or when they left; it's all rather blurry now. I lay in shock in the wet grass for what seemed like a few minutes, spitting out blood, but it could have been much shorter/longer. I don't think i lost consciousness.
I searched for my wallet for a few minutes before giving up and walking home. Its only about a four minute trek.
I was very calm, surprisingly, as I have never even been in a real fight before (although I wouldn't call this a fight). I was going to call the police non-emergency line because I didn't think it was an emergency, but couldn't find the number in my current state so I called 911, after calling my friends to let them know I had been jumped. They showed up quickly and insisted on bringing me to the hospital. I didn't think it was that urgent but complied. I was bleeding from various wounds on my face, although you would be hard pressed to determine exactly where the cuts were, my whole face was so bloody.
The Grace Hospital ER treated me well, fortunately it wasn't very busy. The constables arrived before the doctor did and I gave my statement. The doctor arrived half-way through so I finished my statement underneath a sheet while my head was being stitched up. I was relieved to learn that the guys had been caught, my call to 911 had given them enough info for the 6 squad cars to track them down. All in all my injuries were relatively minor, I received 6 stitches in the forehead, have a cut on my right cheek, a loose tooth, a fat lip, several cuts inside my mouth and of course a big shiner. No serious head trauma or even broken ribs.
I would be interested in talking to you more about this incident, I am a big fan of the show and have e-mailed and called in a few times. Included in this e-mail is a picture of me when I got home from the hospital, for your benefit (obviously the listeners will have to use their imaginations). Just so you know, I look quite a bit better now, but the picture was taken after I had been cleaned up so I initially looked even worse.
If you want to contact me before airing this e-mail or discussing the story, that is great, I check my e-mail often... Feel free to show my picture around the studio, its good for a little shock value.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards
Kevin Bracken
*****************
Today we'll follow up on the Bracken story, with a Facebook note from a media personality who has a LOT to say about how dangerous downtown Winnipeg is.
It's a real eye-opener.
Also, live reports from Bob Axford and blogger Graham Hnatiuk about the Active Transportation Open House at Red River College; and an in-depth look a challenge to Premier Doer's refusal to call a public inquiry into the NDP 99 Election scam from Professor Bryan Schwartz in today's Free Press.
*************
Starting next Monday night, the sound of The Great Canadian Talk Show will be heard on commercial radio with CJOB! Marty Gold hosts the NightHawk show, sitting in for Geoff Currier at 9 PM weeknights, starting on Monday, June 29th, through July 10th.
We'll kick things off with a very special guest on the first show - Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz, in studio, for a full hour, on the Superstation with Marty Gold, next Monday at 9 PM.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/breakingnews/Province-expands-Weatheradio-coverage-48947806.html#comments
Longtime listeners will recall that in 2007, Spirited Kenny started asking serious questions about the 10 year delay in establishing a national weather-warning system. Until the alternative media began pressuring elected officials such as MP Steven Fletcher, the public safety aspect was secondary to the inertia of bureaucrats. So a tip of the hat to Kenny for his work on the file, that served to embarass the NDP government into finally tasking meaningful action.
***************
Yesterday we featured a personal story of a victim of a violent unprovoked mugging on May 30th. Kevin Bracken called in after we read his email, and the ensuing conversation about his view of the approach being taken by Police Chief McCaskill and the NDP towards violent goons - like the 2 juveniles who jumped him with an adult accomplice in Westwood -- shows the deep effects on real people, of what Crimestat lists as "robbery non-commercial".
His story will be featured on Global-TV tonight when Meera Bahadoosingh interviews Kevin Bracken at 6 PM. Here is the email we read from him about his fateful late-night walk home:
Hey Marty
I just called the studio, not realising you were already overtime today. I have a story that I do not think has been reported, and probably won't be.
On Saturday, May 30 and into early Sunday morning, 2 aboriginal youths (16 years old) and one aboriginal adult went on a bit of a crime spree in the west St-James area. They stole from a 7-11 and mugged a few pedestrians, claiming they had a gun. I can only speculate that it was around this time the police were called, and several (I was told 6) squad cars began patrolling the area.
Sometime after stealing from the Sev and pretending to have a gun, they picked up a 2x3 board and decided it would be easier to do things that way.
I had the misfortune of straying across these youths paths, in the Westwood neighbourhood, not far from Rouge Road. I was walking home from Salisbury house with a female friend, when I saw someone approaching me from behind.
I had been at the bar and was rather friendly, and greeted what I thought was another pedestrian enjoying a similar drunken walk home. Out of nowhere, he sucker punched me. I backed up and was hit again in the face. My female friend ran (thankfully) and got away. I had fallen to the ground and put up my arms to cover my face. It was at this point I realised I was up against 3 men, not just 1. I pulled twenty dollars out of my pocket, which was all I had and offered it to them. They took it but continued to strike me on the ground. I cannot recall if it was fists, feet or lumber that was coming down on me but my injuries imply the latter. I grabbed my wallet to see if I had anything else to give them, all the while being hit. I had nothing. At some point they left me laying, bleeding on the ground.
I don't know how long it lasted for or when they left; it's all rather blurry now. I lay in shock in the wet grass for what seemed like a few minutes, spitting out blood, but it could have been much shorter/longer. I don't think i lost consciousness.
I searched for my wallet for a few minutes before giving up and walking home. Its only about a four minute trek.
I was very calm, surprisingly, as I have never even been in a real fight before (although I wouldn't call this a fight). I was going to call the police non-emergency line because I didn't think it was an emergency, but couldn't find the number in my current state so I called 911, after calling my friends to let them know I had been jumped. They showed up quickly and insisted on bringing me to the hospital. I didn't think it was that urgent but complied. I was bleeding from various wounds on my face, although you would be hard pressed to determine exactly where the cuts were, my whole face was so bloody.
The Grace Hospital ER treated me well, fortunately it wasn't very busy. The constables arrived before the doctor did and I gave my statement. The doctor arrived half-way through so I finished my statement underneath a sheet while my head was being stitched up. I was relieved to learn that the guys had been caught, my call to 911 had given them enough info for the 6 squad cars to track them down. All in all my injuries were relatively minor, I received 6 stitches in the forehead, have a cut on my right cheek, a loose tooth, a fat lip, several cuts inside my mouth and of course a big shiner. No serious head trauma or even broken ribs.
I would be interested in talking to you more about this incident, I am a big fan of the show and have e-mailed and called in a few times. Included in this e-mail is a picture of me when I got home from the hospital, for your benefit (obviously the listeners will have to use their imaginations). Just so you know, I look quite a bit better now, but the picture was taken after I had been cleaned up so I initially looked even worse.
If you want to contact me before airing this e-mail or discussing the story, that is great, I check my e-mail often... Feel free to show my picture around the studio, its good for a little shock value.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards
Kevin Bracken
*****************
Today we'll follow up on the Bracken story, with a Facebook note from a media personality who has a LOT to say about how dangerous downtown Winnipeg is.
It's a real eye-opener.
Also, live reports from Bob Axford and blogger Graham Hnatiuk about the Active Transportation Open House at Red River College; and an in-depth look a challenge to Premier Doer's refusal to call a public inquiry into the NDP 99 Election scam from Professor Bryan Schwartz in today's Free Press.
*************
Starting next Monday night, the sound of The Great Canadian Talk Show will be heard on commercial radio with CJOB! Marty Gold hosts the NightHawk show, sitting in for Geoff Currier at 9 PM weeknights, starting on Monday, June 29th, through July 10th.
We'll kick things off with a very special guest on the first show - Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz, in studio, for a full hour, on the Superstation with Marty Gold, next Monday at 9 PM.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Loaded with guests and topics to usher in summer- win Derek Miller passes too!
The last week of June is shaping up to be a busy time on the show, with lots of guests, exclusive stories and a look towards Canada Day.
Today: Mal Anderson of the Exchange District Biz will tell us all about what's happening in the city's 'it' neighbourhood.
Along with the daily "crime courts and public safety update", we will try to answer a political question posed via social media by a Free Press reporter.
And as usual in our weekly sports segment, Frank the Italian Barber will explain the ups and downs of life with his bookie.
Tuesday: The City is holding an Active Transportation Open House on Wednesday, from 4-8 PM, at Red River College Princess Campus. This is specifically about plans to add bike lanes or pathways along 4 routes in the city.
Community Living Publisher Bob Axford thinks the motoring public is being lulled to sleep by a process in which co-opted consultants cater to a small vocal minority of cycling enthusiasts, who strike fear into the hearts of councillors and MLA's. The results of people not waking up, could be the loss of parking and easy travel near your own home. He'll explain who is up to what in an exclusive interview.
Wednesday: At 4.05 PM, Tahl East, acting director of CDI College, will preview a blood donation drive on June 25th and 26th, as well as a Stem Cell awareness lunch and registration/DNA swabbing to become a stem cell/bone marrow donor, facilitated by Canadian Blood Services. This is in support of Chantelle's Promise, a cause started by a CDI College student in the Addictions and Community Service Worker Program battling leukemia in the hospital.
And at 5.10, Kelly Dehn of CTV will share his weekly Crimewatch report.
Thursday: The Public Utilities Board wades into the ground-transportation business next week when it hears an application from Avion, still trying to find a way to pocket fares away from taxicabs at the airport. Joan Wilson, GM of Unicity Taxi, will help sort thru the issues, not the least of which is, how can Avion be granted a licence if it plans to refuse handicapped patrons?
HOLIDAY SCHEDULE:
JULY 1ST- NO PROGRAM --- HAPPY CANADA DAY !!
JULY 2ND- BEST OF REPLAY-- June 1st INTERVIEW WITH MAYOR SAM KATZ
JULY 3RD- BEST OF REPLAY -- June 11th INTERVIEW WITH TOM BRODBECK OF THE WINNIPEG SUN AND CONSERVATIVE LEADER HUGH MCFADYEN ABOUT THE NDP'S 1999 ELECTION FRAUD COVER-UP and Elections Manitoba
Today: Mal Anderson of the Exchange District Biz will tell us all about what's happening in the city's 'it' neighbourhood.
Along with the daily "crime courts and public safety update", we will try to answer a political question posed via social media by a Free Press reporter.
And as usual in our weekly sports segment, Frank the Italian Barber will explain the ups and downs of life with his bookie.
Tuesday: The City is holding an Active Transportation Open House on Wednesday, from 4-8 PM, at Red River College Princess Campus. This is specifically about plans to add bike lanes or pathways along 4 routes in the city.
Community Living Publisher Bob Axford thinks the motoring public is being lulled to sleep by a process in which co-opted consultants cater to a small vocal minority of cycling enthusiasts, who strike fear into the hearts of councillors and MLA's. The results of people not waking up, could be the loss of parking and easy travel near your own home. He'll explain who is up to what in an exclusive interview.
Wednesday: At 4.05 PM, Tahl East, acting director of CDI College, will preview a blood donation drive on June 25th and 26th, as well as a Stem Cell awareness lunch and registration/DNA swabbing to become a stem cell/bone marrow donor, facilitated by Canadian Blood Services. This is in support of Chantelle's Promise, a cause started by a CDI College student in the Addictions and Community Service Worker Program battling leukemia in the hospital.
And at 5.10, Kelly Dehn of CTV will share his weekly Crimewatch report.
Thursday: The Public Utilities Board wades into the ground-transportation business next week when it hears an application from Avion, still trying to find a way to pocket fares away from taxicabs at the airport. Joan Wilson, GM of Unicity Taxi, will help sort thru the issues, not the least of which is, how can Avion be granted a licence if it plans to refuse handicapped patrons?
We're also hoping to have an eyewitness acvcount of the Open House at the U of M from Wednesday night, about the David Asper stadium plan.
And, we'll look towards the happenings at the Osborne Village Canada Day Festival and give away VIP passes to see and hear the great Derek Miller!
Friday: Exclusive live coverage of the NHL draft from Montreal with Jon Waldman of Slam!Sports.
HOLIDAY SCHEDULE:
JULY 1ST- NO PROGRAM --- HAPPY CANADA DAY !!
JULY 2ND- BEST OF REPLAY-- June 1st INTERVIEW WITH MAYOR SAM KATZ
JULY 3RD- BEST OF REPLAY -- June 11th INTERVIEW WITH TOM BRODBECK OF THE WINNIPEG SUN AND CONSERVATIVE LEADER HUGH MCFADYEN ABOUT THE NDP'S 1999 ELECTION FRAUD COVER-UP and Elections Manitoba
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Paramedics association outlines "ambulance emergency" causes; emails from bloggers, doctors, and other listeners; MMA interview today
Hello Marty,
I’m writing in response to comments made by Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz on the Great Canadian Talk Show earlier this month, and to offer comment on the topic of “ambulance shortages”.
By way of introduction, I am the Chairman of the Paramedic Association of Manitoba (PAM). PAM is NOT a labour organization…it is a professional association for all licensed Emergency Medical Services personnel in the province with close to 1000 registered members across Manitoba.
In response to comments made by Mayor Katz:
“…if you are an ambulance driver…”
· Fire fighters aren’t fire truck drivers…police officers aren’t police car drivers…and Paramedics aren’t ambulance drivers.
“…paramedics on fire trucks has made Winnipeg the envy of other Canadian cities…”
· No other major Canadian city uses a fire-based EMS model. Edmonton tried and failed. Calgary looked at this model some time ago and abolished the concept. Ottawa , whose Fire Chief has lobbied their city council to move in this direction, recently decided it was more cost effective to place single Paramedics on Rapid Response Units rather than tie up a fire truck and three fire fighters in addition to a paramedic every time it responds.
There is no doubt having additional Paramedics capable of responding to calls in a “first response” capacity can have the ability to cancel unneeded ambulances in some situations. There is also no doubt that getting a Paramedic to a patient quickly to assess and begin treatment prior to transport can significantly improve patient outcomes. This first response/rapid response is the concept that other cities might envy…the model perhaps not so much.
“…if we didn’t have paramedics on fire trucks able to administer what they do we’d need 10 more ambulances…”
· Getting a Paramedic to the scene quickly has the ability to begin treatment prior to the arrival of a transporting ambulance, but I question whether sending three additional fire fighters and tying up valuable fire resources for extended periods of time waiting for the ambulance is a wise or cost effective use of those resources. The cost of staffing an ambulance…approximately $850K annually. The cost of staffing a Rapid Response Unit…approximately $400K annually. I have to think the cost of staffing a fire truck is at least $1.75M annually.
* If fire trucks are tied up at a medical call for extended periods of time…and that can be upwards of 2 hours in some cases…it means fire resources are lowered for that period of time. In all of these cases, a transporting ambulance is needed anyway. Only calls which result in “no patient found” or are identified as needing police in lieu of an ambulance actually reduce the need for a transporting unit to be assigned to that call.
“…we’re saving the province a lot of money…by providing that service we’re saving the province $10M a year…”
· Having Paramedics on fire trucks in Winnipeg has not come without a cost to the province. I can’t recall the exact year, but sometime around 2000 the Province allocated budget funding (Intergovernmental) to the City of Winnipeg to assist with placing Paramedics on fire apparatus as part of the fire/paramedic amalgamation…approximately $2.24M annually. In the most recent provincial budget an additional $4M of Intergovernmental affairs money was offered to the Winnipeg FIRE Department for EMS services for fire staffing, overtime and capital expenditures.
Other funding increases have been negotiated between the City of Winnipeg and the Department of Health. Having this service (Paramedics on fire trucks) has been funded by Government. The $6.4M in Intergovernmental Affairs money alone could staff at least 16 Rapid Response Units.
The City of Winnipeg does offer an enviable “stop the clock” response time. But “stopping the response clock” shouldn’t be the way we measure emergency health care. What we need to measure is the time it takes to get the “right care to the right patient”. Simply stopping the clock doesn’t get the appropriate cardiac care to someone experiencing a heart attack or other life-threatening cardiac event.
Stopping the clock doesn’t help a patient suffering from a stroke or severe respiratory ailment. Stopping the clock doesn’t relieve the pain for an elderly patient who has fallen, broken a hip and may have to wait for an hour or more for pain medication and transport. In these cases “stopping the clock” doesn’t mean the right patient has received the right care at the right time.
The “ambulance shortage” is a complicated problem, and one that needs to be addressed across the province. But to do so we need to recognize that Emergency Medical Service is exactly that…a medical service, and as such a component of our health care system. We may need to add some resources (Paramedics and ambulances), but we also need to better coordinate and more effectively utilize the funding and resources we have available today.
· Paramedics need to be able to treat and release patients when that is an appropriate option. Part of the reluctance to do that today stems from the fact that EMS services are “paid to transport”. If you don’t transport, patients can’t be charged the full ambulance fee and government funding could decrease.
· Paramedics should have the option to transport to non-emergent facilities when appropriate…Clinics, Urgent Care Centres, Physician offices, etc. Over 80% of the calls Paramedics and ambulances respond to are not life-threatening, and while many of these may still require treatment offered in an ER or hospital, many do not. Backlogs in ERs today, hospital re-directs (diversions) and delays in off-loading patients and returning ambulances to service are in part a result of overcrowded facilities.
· Utilizing Paramedics to assist with community health programs has proven very effective in other Canadian jurisdictions, and it’s thought to have saved a significant number of patient requests for ambulance service and emergency room visits. Again, it’s a matter of providing the right care to the right patient at the right time…and in the most appropriate setting.
· Manitoba has eleven Regional Health Authorities, operating eleven distinct and differing EMS Systems. While some coordination of rural services has been accomplished in recent years, Winnipeg can not and does not offer assistance to bordering rural services NOR do they seek assistance in times of abnormally high call volumes. The province needs to better manage, coordinate and utilize existing resources.
“First response” is a vital component in our EMS system. But once again, we need to ensure we’re able to send the right care to the right patient in a timely and cost-effective manner. Simply throwing more money at the problem won’t necessarily eliminate the problem.
I hope this provides some clarification and food for thought.
Eric Glass
Chairman
Paramedic Association of Manitoba
******************
question for Russ "our infrastructure is unsustainable" Wyatt
I want to know why Wyatt voted without hesitation or opposition, to green-light the largest bout of new infrastructure construction this city has seen in my entire lifetime. I'm talking of course, about the IKEA development.
Turning Kenaston into an 11-lane monster, new intersections, triple turning lanes, plus all other related anemities. Why was allowing this constuction not unsustainable? In fact it's so unsustainable, the city can't even afford to construct it, which is why the developer will assist us in doing so.
I suppose Wyatt could place the revenue from the 2% Asper Tax into a trust fund such that 30 years down the line we can afford to resurface Kenaston and Sterling Lyon?
Oh I forgot...It's SMART development! That makes it sustainable?
I'm still bothered by the whole IKEA thing, if only because of my realization of the following: nobody criticized the way the developer or the traffic engineers did anything. It was simply taken as the best way to do it, case closed, theyre engineers, what do you want us EPC folk to do? And from that, nobody, nobody, nobody, ever, suggested that maybe there was a BETTER way to do things, and that this kind of thing is no longer acceptable in Winnipeg.
I was shocked when a month later, Wyatt showed up at the Mayor's Sustainability forum, and made a 30-second speech about how unsustainable our infrastructure is. Wyatt had the power to say something, and change the way we DO infrastructure planning.
IKEA, Waverly West, CMHR, whatever, you name it, if you're promising millions in construction, jobs and potential tax dollars, you get a free pass in this city. THAT, Mr Wyatt, is what makes our infrastructure unsustainable.
Adding a 2% tax to help support said unsustainable infrastructure is like putting a band-aid on a geyser. As far as I'm concerned, the issue you are raising with infrastructure concerns is not about fixing what we have. It's about how we continue to build new things and new projects without thinking about how sustainable we are being. It's business as usual in Winnipeg, it's the status quo.
To make our infrastructure practices and expansions sustainable, you need to raise the bar by leaps and bounds. To make the new status quo mantra "this is not good enough for Winnipeg anymore."
Graham
www.progressivewinnipeg.blogspot.com
Why a tax for infrastructure will not work
You had Russ Wyatt on saying how he would support an increase in the PST if it was separate and it all went to infrastructure and here is why I think it will not work. First off thanks to Bill 38 I was under the impression that all provincial revenue has to go into general revenue, even if it’s revenue that they don’t receive like profit from the crown corporations. This way the province can claim to balance the budget while running a deficit. Secondly say the province ignores legislation, which isn’t that big a stretch since they did it with their last budget by reducing debt repayments, and actually keeps this amount separate and give it all to infrastructure will this actually increase the amount currently going to infrastructure or will it just increase spending in other areas.
Say the Province budgeted spending 10 million on infrastructure for this year and this tax increase generates 5 million that gives them an extra 5 million in general revenue that they do not have to give for infrastructure. Or say this new tax brings in 15 million, sure that’s an extra 5 million for infrastructure, but now that’s 10 million from general revenue that was budgeted for infrastructure that is going to go elsewhere. So basically 66% of this new infrastructure tax is not going to infrastructure --- how planful.
G.
**************
bike lobby
I don’t know that I consider myself a lobbyist, but as a cyclist I can tell you that cars are completely unaware of us. And if you’re cycling for any distance, the sidewalk is in worse shape than the road.
As for bike maintenance, any serious cyclist will ensure that their brakes and lights are working – we tend not to add the danger that oblivious drivers put us in.
Jill
*************
RE: Where have all the visionaries gone? by Free Press editor Margo Goodhand
She might not be wrong about Winnipegers lacking vision but I would rather have a say in what visions are brought to fruition instead of some boneheads and his "girlfriend" deciding for me.
L.
Cranes at the hydro site on Portage for years. Cranes at the U of W residence site. Cranes at the 3 separate condo construction sites on Waterfront over how many years?
Lots of cranes for lots of years. Those cranes don't represent the same hope?
Maybe the hope she's talking about is the "Holy S! I hope we can afford to build this!
JM
**************
Marty,
I caught your segment on the announcement last Friday of $3.1 million in federal funding for youth gang prevention. I heard you reading quotes from Leslie Spillet, executive director of Ka Ni Kanichihk which caught my attention. Spillet said that aboriginal youth had a "disconnect with mainstream institutions" because "they don't really reflect back to children who they are as young indigenous people. Our children don't feel that sense of belonging, it's not automatically there, as it is for European children who walk into these schools and see themselves reflected in the staff."
So not only is Spillet blaming mainstream institutions for what these youth feel, she is also saying the colour of a person's skin should matter. This is someone who deals with children?
One of the programs Spillet is involved with provides "cultural programming and counseling," and a library is available that focuses on 'aboriginal history'. In other words, racial pride and revisionist history will prevent aboriginal youth from going into gangs... and into politics. Spillet's dualism of aboriginal and European overlooks a lot of children in our schools who fit into neither category and I wish reporters would challenge her to deal with the present state of human diversity in society instead of letting Spillet remain comfortable in her nineteenth-century polarization.
Writing as I listen to the Sunday night replays, M
*************
waiting times at Hospital ERs
Hello Marty,
I always feel bad for patients waiting a long time in the ER - especially 10+ hours. You can imagine how busy we can get is someone is waiting that long before they can be seen. I am not happy when it happens, but i know it does happen that people may wait in the ER overnight before being seen by a physician, and usually that's because the night physician is dealling with ambulances, people crashing in the hospital or ED etc.
At any rate, I can appreciate the young man's frustration. One has expectations that their doctors are going to perform their jobs competantly and ably and it can be frustrating when this does not happen. Although the fact that "we are humans too" is not comforting, i hope it does buy us some forgiveness.
A couple of things:
1) We do not always take xrays when wood is thought to be the foreign body. This is for a couple of reasons. Cellulose resembles flesh on an xray unless it is painted with lead, and it is often difficult to pick up on an xray, and the xray often entails an extra hour or two wait. Having said that I do xray more readily for any foreign body just because of the rare time that xray does pick up wood.
2) Sometimes people do not react to anesthesia as well as we expect. The question then is - do we give more freezing, or do we proceed without. The reason this is a question, is often the freezing process is as painful (or more) than the proceedure itself. Also xylocaine (which is used for freezing) is dangerous in certain quantities, and a doctor may not feel comfortable giving enough to get the job done, and they may not want to perform conscious sedation to remove a sliver.
3) Hallway medicine is a reality. If one can generate a sterile field in a hallway, and get the job done, there is really no reason to kick someone out of a room for a simple proceedure.
4) This proceedure is not surgery. It is something that I have done out at the lake when needed.
Just a friendly FYI.
Dr XX
Melita Dr shortage crisis
This is sad, but not surprising. It is easy to blame the RHA for this problem as they are the ultimate fallguys.
At the same time, there are RHA's which appear to work hard to alienate physicians, and it would not surprise me if Assiniboine was one of them.
There are some good RHA's which work hard to both obtain and retain good physicians, and I think their success needs to be examined and emulated. In the meantime, a useful minister of health might actually try to figure out where the problems are and how other systems solve them - maybe by talking to physicians who have not succumbed to the terrible disease of administration.
Now a GOOD minister of health would prevent these problems by doing something other than blaming the previous government - a sad practice which gets more difficult the longer one is in power.
Take the Grace Hospital, for example. What did the government do to deal with the problems when the ER was being emptied of physicians? They threw money at the problem. No one was asked why doctors were leaving, including the doctors.
The funny thing is, I almost never hear my colleagues complain about money, and the things they complain about would be more easily solvable than increasing salaries.
Thanks for the opportunity for the rant.
Dr XXX
*************
Doer and the "pitchfork issue of the day"
Hi Marty.
Is it any wonder that the NDP is so hostile? For an entire decade leading up to this, they were able to act with relative impunity, questioned only by a handful of true journalists such as yourself and Tom Brodbeck.
This allowed them to gloss over so many issues that have been dealing Manitoba its proverbial death by 1,000 cuts – Crocus, mismanagement of the Floodway, the shutdown of the Trans Canada at Portage LaPrairie, Gage Guimond, Phoenix Sinclair, the Seven Oaks School Division development fiasco (how do you lose money in one of the hottest real estate markets the world has seen?), the car theft epidemic, the rise of gangs in the city, Bipole 3 and the list goes on.
I would argue Mr. Doer should have felt the pitchforks long before this – unfortunately many journalists within the MSM handled their antics with kid gloves which only emboldened the leaders on Broadway.
Steve Andjelic
*************
hey Marty,
I'll start off by saying your show is THE best show on the radio, it deals with real issues, and you guys aren't afraid to pull the pants off of bigshot political figureheads. Also, this is kind of long so just read it when you get a chance, and bring up some of this with a bigshot :P. I'm a young guy, only in my early 20s and have a degree from the U of W.
For the past few years, I've found myself complaining about everything in Winnipeg, from transportation, to road conditions, the general beauty of the city, and how it's run, and I'm never satisfied by thinking about it, because I know it will never be solved.
I'm just going to outline a couple of the REAL problems that a lot of the youth in this city want to see changed, and that would hopefully keep them here (many of which just go somewhere else), and possibly attract a few more here as well!
1. the city is really really, ... emphasis on really, ugly.
- i understand that were under snow for half of the year, and it's not practical to try to look like british columbia with all the flowers and what not, so why not have a clean and modern feel to the city?
A small example is Henderson Highway's boulevard, has mulch, tree's, and flowers, all of which are terribly maintained, and not needed: remove them, and just have road where road should be. the city just needs to get the crap out of the way, and stop paying people to replant the flowers that grow for a week and then die again. also, pick up garbage, and sand etc.
2. Downtown
- downtown in any city should be the place to be, it should be where everyone goes for business, and fun, usually shopping as well.
In Winnipeg we have an infestation of run down buildings, homeless people, drugged up people, and the worst traffic flow in the universe. My opinion: relocate things like the booth center, and make some sort of regulations on the area's homeless people can stay (i know it sounds perverse, but thats the world we live in, nobody wants to get mugged). In general, just clean up the area, did nobody think of that?
3. Transportation .. this is a biggie.
- living in the north, going to U of Manitoba was out of the question. an hour drive to travel 20-30 km ... that's out of this world. Winnipeg is a really small city, getting more heavily populated, and we have a terrible method of transportation. This city is terribly planned, no question about it, but city planners aren't making an effort to change it. They have no long term goals, they just want to patch everything up. Why do you think there are potholes in the same spots every year?
The emphasis should be on public transportation, but by that I don't mean buses.
- the general consensus of the youth of Winnipeg (from survey's I've done the last year) is that they want a fast transportation system. Something like a subway, rapid train line, or dare I say ... Skytrain.
Skytrain (one from Vancouver) is the most beautiful invention. It doesn't interfere with the roadways, except for the concrete beams they need to put into the ground everyso often. It can get you from one end of the city to the other in 5 minutes, we have Manitoba Hydro, so we can just power the thing with electricity / solar or wind panels on the top of the train. It snows here all the time, so the snow will not interfere with the running of the skytrain. plus the city can make money off of train tickets because I assure you, everyone will use it, at 4 or 5 bucks a day. Beats the price of a car! ...
Anyhow, basically, people want out of Winnipeg because of functionality, and beauty ... we dont want a new museum of human rights, we dont want a new stadium, and we dont want bike lanes, we want functional transportation, and a pretty city to look at.
Theres my rant!
-Dexter
p.s. Hail Aurtaurlia, Land of the Freep!
********************
Today at 5.05, Crimewatch with CTV's Kelly Dehn, and at 5.15, MMA fighter Jason Geiger on life in Japan, grappling against UFC legend Dan Severn, and his upcoming bout on Friday for Tony Condello's Ultimate Cage Wars 16 at the Convention Centre
(call Tony for ticket info at Phone: 229-9173 or Email:tony@ultimatecagewars.com)
Also listen to TGCTS every day to win tickets for the PCW Premier Cup wrestling tournament next Wednesday, June 24th at Dylan's on Pembina, with:
* Ring Of Honor & Montreal Star El Generico
* Ring of Honor and DDT Japan stand-out Kenny Omega
* Evil Mike Angels and other stars of PCW
I’m writing in response to comments made by Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz on the Great Canadian Talk Show earlier this month, and to offer comment on the topic of “ambulance shortages”.
By way of introduction, I am the Chairman of the Paramedic Association of Manitoba (PAM). PAM is NOT a labour organization…it is a professional association for all licensed Emergency Medical Services personnel in the province with close to 1000 registered members across Manitoba.
In response to comments made by Mayor Katz:
“…if you are an ambulance driver…”
· Fire fighters aren’t fire truck drivers…police officers aren’t police car drivers…and Paramedics aren’t ambulance drivers.
“…paramedics on fire trucks has made Winnipeg the envy of other Canadian cities…”
· No other major Canadian city uses a fire-based EMS model. Edmonton tried and failed. Calgary looked at this model some time ago and abolished the concept. Ottawa , whose Fire Chief has lobbied their city council to move in this direction, recently decided it was more cost effective to place single Paramedics on Rapid Response Units rather than tie up a fire truck and three fire fighters in addition to a paramedic every time it responds.
There is no doubt having additional Paramedics capable of responding to calls in a “first response” capacity can have the ability to cancel unneeded ambulances in some situations. There is also no doubt that getting a Paramedic to a patient quickly to assess and begin treatment prior to transport can significantly improve patient outcomes. This first response/rapid response is the concept that other cities might envy…the model perhaps not so much.
“…if we didn’t have paramedics on fire trucks able to administer what they do we’d need 10 more ambulances…”
· Getting a Paramedic to the scene quickly has the ability to begin treatment prior to the arrival of a transporting ambulance, but I question whether sending three additional fire fighters and tying up valuable fire resources for extended periods of time waiting for the ambulance is a wise or cost effective use of those resources. The cost of staffing an ambulance…approximately $850K annually. The cost of staffing a Rapid Response Unit…approximately $400K annually. I have to think the cost of staffing a fire truck is at least $1.75M annually.
* If fire trucks are tied up at a medical call for extended periods of time…and that can be upwards of 2 hours in some cases…it means fire resources are lowered for that period of time. In all of these cases, a transporting ambulance is needed anyway. Only calls which result in “no patient found” or are identified as needing police in lieu of an ambulance actually reduce the need for a transporting unit to be assigned to that call.
“…we’re saving the province a lot of money…by providing that service we’re saving the province $10M a year…”
· Having Paramedics on fire trucks in Winnipeg has not come without a cost to the province. I can’t recall the exact year, but sometime around 2000 the Province allocated budget funding (Intergovernmental) to the City of Winnipeg to assist with placing Paramedics on fire apparatus as part of the fire/paramedic amalgamation…approximately $2.24M annually. In the most recent provincial budget an additional $4M of Intergovernmental affairs money was offered to the Winnipeg FIRE Department for EMS services for fire staffing, overtime and capital expenditures.
Other funding increases have been negotiated between the City of Winnipeg and the Department of Health. Having this service (Paramedics on fire trucks) has been funded by Government. The $6.4M in Intergovernmental Affairs money alone could staff at least 16 Rapid Response Units.
The City of Winnipeg does offer an enviable “stop the clock” response time. But “stopping the response clock” shouldn’t be the way we measure emergency health care. What we need to measure is the time it takes to get the “right care to the right patient”. Simply stopping the clock doesn’t get the appropriate cardiac care to someone experiencing a heart attack or other life-threatening cardiac event.
Stopping the clock doesn’t help a patient suffering from a stroke or severe respiratory ailment. Stopping the clock doesn’t relieve the pain for an elderly patient who has fallen, broken a hip and may have to wait for an hour or more for pain medication and transport. In these cases “stopping the clock” doesn’t mean the right patient has received the right care at the right time.
The “ambulance shortage” is a complicated problem, and one that needs to be addressed across the province. But to do so we need to recognize that Emergency Medical Service is exactly that…a medical service, and as such a component of our health care system. We may need to add some resources (Paramedics and ambulances), but we also need to better coordinate and more effectively utilize the funding and resources we have available today.
· Paramedics need to be able to treat and release patients when that is an appropriate option. Part of the reluctance to do that today stems from the fact that EMS services are “paid to transport”. If you don’t transport, patients can’t be charged the full ambulance fee and government funding could decrease.
· Paramedics should have the option to transport to non-emergent facilities when appropriate…Clinics, Urgent Care Centres, Physician offices, etc. Over 80% of the calls Paramedics and ambulances respond to are not life-threatening, and while many of these may still require treatment offered in an ER or hospital, many do not. Backlogs in ERs today, hospital re-directs (diversions) and delays in off-loading patients and returning ambulances to service are in part a result of overcrowded facilities.
· Utilizing Paramedics to assist with community health programs has proven very effective in other Canadian jurisdictions, and it’s thought to have saved a significant number of patient requests for ambulance service and emergency room visits. Again, it’s a matter of providing the right care to the right patient at the right time…and in the most appropriate setting.
· Manitoba has eleven Regional Health Authorities, operating eleven distinct and differing EMS Systems. While some coordination of rural services has been accomplished in recent years, Winnipeg can not and does not offer assistance to bordering rural services NOR do they seek assistance in times of abnormally high call volumes. The province needs to better manage, coordinate and utilize existing resources.
“First response” is a vital component in our EMS system. But once again, we need to ensure we’re able to send the right care to the right patient in a timely and cost-effective manner. Simply throwing more money at the problem won’t necessarily eliminate the problem.
I hope this provides some clarification and food for thought.
Eric Glass
Chairman
Paramedic Association of Manitoba
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question for Russ "our infrastructure is unsustainable" Wyatt
I want to know why Wyatt voted without hesitation or opposition, to green-light the largest bout of new infrastructure construction this city has seen in my entire lifetime. I'm talking of course, about the IKEA development.
Turning Kenaston into an 11-lane monster, new intersections, triple turning lanes, plus all other related anemities. Why was allowing this constuction not unsustainable? In fact it's so unsustainable, the city can't even afford to construct it, which is why the developer will assist us in doing so.
I suppose Wyatt could place the revenue from the 2% Asper Tax into a trust fund such that 30 years down the line we can afford to resurface Kenaston and Sterling Lyon?
Oh I forgot...It's SMART development! That makes it sustainable?
I'm still bothered by the whole IKEA thing, if only because of my realization of the following: nobody criticized the way the developer or the traffic engineers did anything. It was simply taken as the best way to do it, case closed, theyre engineers, what do you want us EPC folk to do? And from that, nobody, nobody, nobody, ever, suggested that maybe there was a BETTER way to do things, and that this kind of thing is no longer acceptable in Winnipeg.
I was shocked when a month later, Wyatt showed up at the Mayor's Sustainability forum, and made a 30-second speech about how unsustainable our infrastructure is. Wyatt had the power to say something, and change the way we DO infrastructure planning.
IKEA, Waverly West, CMHR, whatever, you name it, if you're promising millions in construction, jobs and potential tax dollars, you get a free pass in this city. THAT, Mr Wyatt, is what makes our infrastructure unsustainable.
Adding a 2% tax to help support said unsustainable infrastructure is like putting a band-aid on a geyser. As far as I'm concerned, the issue you are raising with infrastructure concerns is not about fixing what we have. It's about how we continue to build new things and new projects without thinking about how sustainable we are being. It's business as usual in Winnipeg, it's the status quo.
To make our infrastructure practices and expansions sustainable, you need to raise the bar by leaps and bounds. To make the new status quo mantra "this is not good enough for Winnipeg anymore."
Graham
www.progressivewinnipeg.blogspot.com
Why a tax for infrastructure will not work
You had Russ Wyatt on saying how he would support an increase in the PST if it was separate and it all went to infrastructure and here is why I think it will not work. First off thanks to Bill 38 I was under the impression that all provincial revenue has to go into general revenue, even if it’s revenue that they don’t receive like profit from the crown corporations. This way the province can claim to balance the budget while running a deficit. Secondly say the province ignores legislation, which isn’t that big a stretch since they did it with their last budget by reducing debt repayments, and actually keeps this amount separate and give it all to infrastructure will this actually increase the amount currently going to infrastructure or will it just increase spending in other areas.
Say the Province budgeted spending 10 million on infrastructure for this year and this tax increase generates 5 million that gives them an extra 5 million in general revenue that they do not have to give for infrastructure. Or say this new tax brings in 15 million, sure that’s an extra 5 million for infrastructure, but now that’s 10 million from general revenue that was budgeted for infrastructure that is going to go elsewhere. So basically 66% of this new infrastructure tax is not going to infrastructure --- how planful.
G.
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bike lobby
I don’t know that I consider myself a lobbyist, but as a cyclist I can tell you that cars are completely unaware of us. And if you’re cycling for any distance, the sidewalk is in worse shape than the road.
As for bike maintenance, any serious cyclist will ensure that their brakes and lights are working – we tend not to add the danger that oblivious drivers put us in.
Jill
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RE: Where have all the visionaries gone? by Free Press editor Margo Goodhand
She might not be wrong about Winnipegers lacking vision but I would rather have a say in what visions are brought to fruition instead of some boneheads and his "girlfriend" deciding for me.
L.
Cranes at the hydro site on Portage for years. Cranes at the U of W residence site. Cranes at the 3 separate condo construction sites on Waterfront over how many years?
Lots of cranes for lots of years. Those cranes don't represent the same hope?
Maybe the hope she's talking about is the "Holy S! I hope we can afford to build this!
JM
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Marty,
I caught your segment on the announcement last Friday of $3.1 million in federal funding for youth gang prevention. I heard you reading quotes from Leslie Spillet, executive director of Ka Ni Kanichihk which caught my attention. Spillet said that aboriginal youth had a "disconnect with mainstream institutions" because "they don't really reflect back to children who they are as young indigenous people. Our children don't feel that sense of belonging, it's not automatically there, as it is for European children who walk into these schools and see themselves reflected in the staff."
So not only is Spillet blaming mainstream institutions for what these youth feel, she is also saying the colour of a person's skin should matter. This is someone who deals with children?
One of the programs Spillet is involved with provides "cultural programming and counseling," and a library is available that focuses on 'aboriginal history'. In other words, racial pride and revisionist history will prevent aboriginal youth from going into gangs... and into politics. Spillet's dualism of aboriginal and European overlooks a lot of children in our schools who fit into neither category and I wish reporters would challenge her to deal with the present state of human diversity in society instead of letting Spillet remain comfortable in her nineteenth-century polarization.
Writing as I listen to the Sunday night replays, M
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waiting times at Hospital ERs
Hello Marty,
I always feel bad for patients waiting a long time in the ER - especially 10+ hours. You can imagine how busy we can get is someone is waiting that long before they can be seen. I am not happy when it happens, but i know it does happen that people may wait in the ER overnight before being seen by a physician, and usually that's because the night physician is dealling with ambulances, people crashing in the hospital or ED etc.
At any rate, I can appreciate the young man's frustration. One has expectations that their doctors are going to perform their jobs competantly and ably and it can be frustrating when this does not happen. Although the fact that "we are humans too" is not comforting, i hope it does buy us some forgiveness.
A couple of things:
1) We do not always take xrays when wood is thought to be the foreign body. This is for a couple of reasons. Cellulose resembles flesh on an xray unless it is painted with lead, and it is often difficult to pick up on an xray, and the xray often entails an extra hour or two wait. Having said that I do xray more readily for any foreign body just because of the rare time that xray does pick up wood.
2) Sometimes people do not react to anesthesia as well as we expect. The question then is - do we give more freezing, or do we proceed without. The reason this is a question, is often the freezing process is as painful (or more) than the proceedure itself. Also xylocaine (which is used for freezing) is dangerous in certain quantities, and a doctor may not feel comfortable giving enough to get the job done, and they may not want to perform conscious sedation to remove a sliver.
3) Hallway medicine is a reality. If one can generate a sterile field in a hallway, and get the job done, there is really no reason to kick someone out of a room for a simple proceedure.
4) This proceedure is not surgery. It is something that I have done out at the lake when needed.
Just a friendly FYI.
Dr XX
Melita Dr shortage crisis
This is sad, but not surprising. It is easy to blame the RHA for this problem as they are the ultimate fallguys.
At the same time, there are RHA's which appear to work hard to alienate physicians, and it would not surprise me if Assiniboine was one of them.
There are some good RHA's which work hard to both obtain and retain good physicians, and I think their success needs to be examined and emulated. In the meantime, a useful minister of health might actually try to figure out where the problems are and how other systems solve them - maybe by talking to physicians who have not succumbed to the terrible disease of administration.
Now a GOOD minister of health would prevent these problems by doing something other than blaming the previous government - a sad practice which gets more difficult the longer one is in power.
Take the Grace Hospital, for example. What did the government do to deal with the problems when the ER was being emptied of physicians? They threw money at the problem. No one was asked why doctors were leaving, including the doctors.
The funny thing is, I almost never hear my colleagues complain about money, and the things they complain about would be more easily solvable than increasing salaries.
Thanks for the opportunity for the rant.
Dr XXX
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Doer and the "pitchfork issue of the day"
Hi Marty.
Is it any wonder that the NDP is so hostile? For an entire decade leading up to this, they were able to act with relative impunity, questioned only by a handful of true journalists such as yourself and Tom Brodbeck.
This allowed them to gloss over so many issues that have been dealing Manitoba its proverbial death by 1,000 cuts – Crocus, mismanagement of the Floodway, the shutdown of the Trans Canada at Portage LaPrairie, Gage Guimond, Phoenix Sinclair, the Seven Oaks School Division development fiasco (how do you lose money in one of the hottest real estate markets the world has seen?), the car theft epidemic, the rise of gangs in the city, Bipole 3 and the list goes on.
I would argue Mr. Doer should have felt the pitchforks long before this – unfortunately many journalists within the MSM handled their antics with kid gloves which only emboldened the leaders on Broadway.
Steve Andjelic
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hey Marty,
I'll start off by saying your show is THE best show on the radio, it deals with real issues, and you guys aren't afraid to pull the pants off of bigshot political figureheads. Also, this is kind of long so just read it when you get a chance, and bring up some of this with a bigshot :P. I'm a young guy, only in my early 20s and have a degree from the U of W.
For the past few years, I've found myself complaining about everything in Winnipeg, from transportation, to road conditions, the general beauty of the city, and how it's run, and I'm never satisfied by thinking about it, because I know it will never be solved.
I'm just going to outline a couple of the REAL problems that a lot of the youth in this city want to see changed, and that would hopefully keep them here (many of which just go somewhere else), and possibly attract a few more here as well!
1. the city is really really, ... emphasis on really, ugly.
- i understand that were under snow for half of the year, and it's not practical to try to look like british columbia with all the flowers and what not, so why not have a clean and modern feel to the city?
A small example is Henderson Highway's boulevard, has mulch, tree's, and flowers, all of which are terribly maintained, and not needed: remove them, and just have road where road should be. the city just needs to get the crap out of the way, and stop paying people to replant the flowers that grow for a week and then die again. also, pick up garbage, and sand etc.
2. Downtown
- downtown in any city should be the place to be, it should be where everyone goes for business, and fun, usually shopping as well.
In Winnipeg we have an infestation of run down buildings, homeless people, drugged up people, and the worst traffic flow in the universe. My opinion: relocate things like the booth center, and make some sort of regulations on the area's homeless people can stay (i know it sounds perverse, but thats the world we live in, nobody wants to get mugged). In general, just clean up the area, did nobody think of that?
3. Transportation .. this is a biggie.
- living in the north, going to U of Manitoba was out of the question. an hour drive to travel 20-30 km ... that's out of this world. Winnipeg is a really small city, getting more heavily populated, and we have a terrible method of transportation. This city is terribly planned, no question about it, but city planners aren't making an effort to change it. They have no long term goals, they just want to patch everything up. Why do you think there are potholes in the same spots every year?
The emphasis should be on public transportation, but by that I don't mean buses.
- the general consensus of the youth of Winnipeg (from survey's I've done the last year) is that they want a fast transportation system. Something like a subway, rapid train line, or dare I say ... Skytrain.
Skytrain (one from Vancouver) is the most beautiful invention. It doesn't interfere with the roadways, except for the concrete beams they need to put into the ground everyso often. It can get you from one end of the city to the other in 5 minutes, we have Manitoba Hydro, so we can just power the thing with electricity / solar or wind panels on the top of the train. It snows here all the time, so the snow will not interfere with the running of the skytrain. plus the city can make money off of train tickets because I assure you, everyone will use it, at 4 or 5 bucks a day. Beats the price of a car! ...
Anyhow, basically, people want out of Winnipeg because of functionality, and beauty ... we dont want a new museum of human rights, we dont want a new stadium, and we dont want bike lanes, we want functional transportation, and a pretty city to look at.
Theres my rant!
-Dexter
p.s. Hail Aurtaurlia, Land of the Freep!
********************
Today at 5.05, Crimewatch with CTV's Kelly Dehn, and at 5.15, MMA fighter Jason Geiger on life in Japan, grappling against UFC legend Dan Severn, and his upcoming bout on Friday for Tony Condello's Ultimate Cage Wars 16 at the Convention Centre
(call Tony for ticket info at Phone: 229-9173 or Email:tony@ultimatecagewars.com)
Also listen to TGCTS every day to win tickets for the PCW Premier Cup wrestling tournament next Wednesday, June 24th at Dylan's on Pembina, with:
* Ring Of Honor & Montreal Star El Generico
* Ring of Honor and DDT Japan stand-out Kenny Omega
* Evil Mike Angels and other stars of PCW
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