My first rant goes to my municipal folks.  That water “service post” thing that most of us have somewhere in our lawn is, in my case, smack in the middle of my driveway.  The spring thaw usually causes it to pop up out of the ground a couple of inches and then it eventually goes back down.  This year it has heaved the asphalt so I now have a little mound around it – and cracks in the pavement.  Enter the city.

In response to my concern, they sent an email giving me explicit instructions on how I should cover the service post with a block of wood and then bash it down with a sledge hammer (one of those tools I don’t have) – or they could do it for me at a cost to me of $140.  They will, however send out a team to look at the damage to my pavement – just look, not bash – while they were here.  It figures.

My second rant goes to public sector unions who have decided to “sign a pact of mutual support” in defence of what they call a war on labour by our current premier.   I don’t usually have too many (if any) good things to say about her but I have even less positive to say about whiney public servants who make very good money, have to-die for pensions and benefits that most of us could only dream  of.

One of these days unions are going to be the death of themselves.  I only hope I am around to see it happen.

This is beyond the beyond!  As bad as it can get!  Nothing short of ridiculous!  Bah Humbug!

Woke up this morning to several inches of snow – yes S-N-O-W on the ground and more coming down.

Haven’t we been tested enough this year?  Haven’t we proven our endurance over the past 5 very long, very cold 5 months?  Is there something very wrong we have done to deserve this?  I actually had some grass (lovely green grass) showing yesterday. I have my appointment booked for the removal of my snow tires.  I had PLANS!!

I am NOT happy.

Thanks to Christina Blizzard I have something else to rant about!!

There is a line on our hydro bills called “debt retirement charge”.  It is calculated at a rate of 0.7 cents per kilowatt hour.   It’s been there for years – 15 years, in fact.  I had no idea it has been that long.  With every hydro rate payer in the province paying off this debt – why isn’t it gone by now?

Did you know that in 2009 “our” government  added $4 billion to this debt – and they borrowed this money for something totally NOT hydro.  Our money, used as a piggy bank!!  IMAGINE!  Even worse, they apparently didn’t tell us about this for two whole years when they retroactively put it in the annual report.  At that time the then auditor general noted that the original amount of the debt was $7.8 billion…..the government had collected $8.7 billion by March 2011 ….and there was still a debt.  The amount collected had grown to $10.6 billion as of 2013….against an original debt of $7.8 billion.

For most of us, we borrow X amount of money and when we have paid back that amount of money, the debt is gone.  Not with this provincial government.  Can you call this anything BUT  a permanent tax?  Hydro rates are high enough – and going higher.  This just adds insult to injury.  Bring on an election!!!

When I read, the other day, that Ontario was in a far greater and deeper mess than California ever was – and then saw the numbers – that really put things into perspective for me.

Would you believe that California, at its very worst, was nowhere near where Ontario is right now?  ‘Tis true…..and it should be darned frightening for any of us who live here.  Ontario’s debit is nearly twice that of California and yet our population is less.  Each Californian is on the hook for $3,844 of debt.  Each Ontarian???  saddled with a debt of $20,166.

Do you want to calculate what the interest payments on a debt of $272 billion (nearly twice that of California)  are each month?  My calculator won’t even go to that many zeros.  I do know that paying this interest takes up over 9% of revenues (2.8% in California).    From 2012/13 to 2015/16, net interest payments will represent the fastest growing expense for our provincial government – more than twice the projected rate of health care expenditures.

California has managed to turn itself around by making painful decisions to contain their indebtedness.  The  Fraser Institute says that Ontario could back away from the precipice it is in danger of toppling over by simply limiting the rate of increase in spending……not by cuts but by simply not spending wildly.  The report goes on to say that Ontario could start to get its books in order and still allow a small (0.8%) increase in per-capita spending annually.  That sounds pretty reasonable to me.

Could we do this?  Not with the current government with its spending culture and its “need” to live up to union expectations!  Over the past 10 years, spending on health alone grew by 7% each year and education by 10%.  Other program spending increases averaged 6.2% annually.  Ontario Hydro bills are projected to rise 42% in 5 years.

We need to start living within our means.  Isn’t that what each and every one of us has to do with our own lives?  Aside from the nearly perfect weather, California is looking pretty darned good right now!!!

Sue

I am an avid Ottawa Senators fan – but at the moment, I am an angry fan.

What on earth has happened to these guys?  If I’m frustrated, Coach MacLean must be fit to be tied – I have no idea how he keeps his cool standing there behind the bench. I’m surprised he hasn’t had a stroke at this point.

All that skill out there – and they are completely demolished – game after game after game.  They often start out well and then they fall apart.  It is almost embarrassing and it is certainly very disappointing.

It can’t all be attributed to Alfredsson leaving, although I believe he was a much better leader than Spezza will ever be.  It can’t be that they aren’t paid enough money.   With their salaries one would expect 150% effort every time they step onto the ice!  It can’t be the Coach  – he has a proven track record and they worked well together when he took over last year.  It can’t be due to injuries – they have had less time lost to injuries than most of the other NHL teams.

They have been incurring far too many penalties – showing a total lack of discipline when we know they can do better.  Could it be that they simply don’t care …… about their fans?…..about winning?………about the job they are being well paid to do?   It certainly looks that way.

Season ticket holders must be even more angry and disappointed than I am and the team owner – apoplectic to say the least.

I don’t have any answers – just lots of questions – questions probably shared by all Ottawa fans.  This will hurt the team financially in the long run.

WHAT A BUMMER!

Just when we had begun to relax as a country with 10 provinces and a few territories…….Just when the newspapers were no longer saying much about Quebec separation……along comes Pauline Marois – and now her sidekick PKP – they are calling an election – maybe an illegal one at that – and we’re right back where we were many many years ago.

Now – I don’t have an issue with Quebec as long as it minds its own business – it’s a beautiful province.  And I certainly don’t have any problem with those who live there – I’m sure they are all lovely people – and to speak more than one language is a good thing for anyone.

BUT……

As a taxpayer, I am tired of footing the bill to have all things bilingual even in places where nobody speaks french.

As a taxpayer, I am tired of finding more Quebecois folks in my Federal Government than Anglophones – especially in management positions……because they speak french – not because they speak decent english!!

As a person who lives just steps from the Quebec border, I’m tired of hearing about all the new rules that Quebecers and Quebec-based businesses must follow……what schools their children are permitted to attend, how their storefront signs must look, etc.  However – that is their business – and if those who live there are willing to put with these rules, I shouldn’t complain.  They don’t directly affect me.

I am hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst with this current situation. Should the potential she-devil win this upcoming election, fasten your seat-belts, folks – I think we will be in for a rocky ride.

If there is a new and renewed movement for Quebec Separation, I don’t want any sort of  handshake.  If they don’t want to be part of Canada, I think they should LEAVE and take their share of the national debt with them.  They should receive NO MORE hand-outs from OUR Federal Government – unless or until they become one of those 3rd world countries who truly need help – and even then, they will have to get in line with the others.  I’m tired of this.  It is time for us to move on.

The last time I was in continental Europe –  and not on a cruise ship or a river boat –  was in 1970. Let me tell you, NOTHING has changed in all this time when it comes to bathrooms.

In hotels, you either have a very tall and skinny bathtub (to climb over) with a shower inside it – or you have a miniscule shower stall – so small that lifting an arm to clean an armpit is a major challenge.  In the tubs, as well, we found the taps stuck on the side of the tub – right where you stand to take a shower.  That armpit cleaning manoeuver in this case resulted in a blast of scalding or freezing water, depending on which way one turned……and accidentally bumped against the taps.   The toilets worked – and there were often bidets as well (great for washing out socks and undies).  In one hotel, the toilet was in a separate “closet” just wide enough for the john itself – not an inch to spare.  The door to this opened up against the door to the rest of the bathroom so one had to be very careful when opening these doors given two were sharing a room.  Calling out a warning when opening bathroom doors isn’t a usual routine.

In restaurants and public areas – it was a whole different story – and one that took me back those 40+ years.  You would think, with tourism being such a huge part of the economy, they might spend a euro or two on the bathrooms.  NOT A CHANCE.

We visited the very posh Villa of the Rothschild family – huge, now with a restaurant – apparently they hold weddings here – and ONE BATHROOM plus an outdoor cabin in the bushes.  If you don’t want to change the heritage of the building – add 6 more bush bathrooms and at least the line-ups would be more reasonable.

On three separate occasions that I know of, somebody got locked in the john – all women, of course.  Obviously the hardware didn’t work any better than the plumbing!   When you are late getting back to the bus and people start to worry about you – it’s embarrassing to be discovered stuck in the bathroom.

Several of us experienced the OOPS scenario where you walk into a bathroom in a restaurant or public area and find somebody of the opposite sex busy doing what they do in these places.  Many of the public bathrooms have one area with a sink in it – and then 2 separate areas for toilets (if you are lucky) – however – not every place had functioning doors – or even doors at all and it was rare to find a toilet seat.  One of my co-travellers even came upon an asian style toilet – that hole in the floor with marks for foot placement.  Oh my.

It truly is a mans’ world.

Members of Parliament are paid by us, the public.  Why then are they charging us, the public, for speaking engagements?  If this isn’t a solid case of double-dipping, I don’t know what is.  What’s wrong with this picture?????

How is it that union negotiators or salary arbitrators aren’t given (or don’t need to care about) any facts relating to monies available?  What good does it do to come up with a wage decision that is completely unaffordable?  How often does anyone think they can “go back to the well” (the well being you and me) for more?  What’s wrong with this picture??????

How is it that Bilingualism is alive and well (not to mention extremely costly) everywhere in Canada EXCEPT FOR QUEBEC??? Was it not, in large part, introduced to give francophones – the greatest number of whom live in la belle province – access to services in their mother language?  What’s wrong with this picture??????

Health care expenses are on the rise yet services are being reduced.  Being proactive is slowly becoming a think of the past.  If it isn’t affordable to be proactive, how on earth will we ever pay for the major downstream problems?  What’s wrong with this picture?????

Speaking of Health Care – we continue to be told that there is only one-tier medicine in every province (except Quebec).  How is it then that Jason Spezza had immediate access to an MRI and back surgery to relieve disc issues?  Is it possible that the Senators PAID for this???  What tier would that be??  What’s wrong with this picture????

Many native Canadians spent days and days – and in some cases weeks and weeks – picketing or sitting in a teepee, being basically IDLE……….in support of an IDLE NO MORE movement.  What’s wrong with this picture?????

Across the river (in Gatineau), garbage is collected in one bunch – no need to separate out your leavings into green, black, blue and other bins.  It is done, somehow, after the fact (and probably with a higher success rate at that).  Here, we are asked to separate our garbage – yet several times now, I have seen ONE truck picking up both Green and Blue/Black bin contents.  What’s wrong with this picture??????

I invite you all to add to this list – send me your examples and I’ll add them to my blog!  I’m sure I have only scratched the surface.

Sue