What is a few million dollars… here and there. and there. and there.

Recently contract negotiations were conducted between the province of Ontario and some teachers unions. The teachers were adamant that this had nothing to do with wages, it was all about the students welfare. 

In most public sector jobs, wages have been frozen for a while, private sector jobs have been this way for some time, recessions sort of dictate prudent spending. Yes I know the government often ignores prudence. ok runs away from it like it was a plague… 

So when the strike was settled, contrary to promising there was no more money to grant raises, it seems this did take place, though it was not about wages it was all about the students welfare. uhmmm.

Now something is hitting the fan and it is not air.

It has been released that the government, in negations with the unions. Gave the unions some money, not much, just 2.5 million.

What for?

Well that is a good question, but we won’t find that out, it was done in secret, now that the secret is out, they maintain this was done to cover the unions negotiating expenses. HUH?

How was this done? Well we won’t know that either as there were no invoices, no receipts, no accountability in any manor was taken by the government, here is the money. thanks.

Well Education Minister Liz Sandals said (from the Globe and Mail) “

that there are no itemized accounts of exactly what taxpayers’ money paid for. “You’re asking me if I have receipts and invoices. No, I don’t,” Ms. Sandals said when asked if there was any accounting for the expenses, adding she’d “make no apologies” for the payouts.

The minister said she was satisfied $2.5-million was reasonable based on her own knowledge of bargaining expenses. The unions had to spend money for officials to travel to meetings in Toronto, stay in hotels and order pizza during negotiating sessions, she said.

“We know what hotel rooms cost, we know what meeting rooms cost, we know what the food costs, we know what 100 pizzas cost,” she said. “You don’t need to see every bill when you’re doing an estimate of costs. I don’t ask.”

So I am not a business major, but I can push buttons on my calculator, I know I am multi talented. lets see… 100 pizza’s  $800 to $1400 ?  likely they had some sort of gourmet pizza flown in from France though… 

Hotel rooms…  a comfortable room at $200 a night? is that fair? I mean this is or should not be some sort of entitled luxury item right?

so at $200 a night… that is something like 12 THOUSAND nights of hotel rooms… eeeps. I didnt think that many people were involved in the negotiations. 

Hey wait, isn’t this the unions job? To do negotiations? 

So the questions were asked… in past negotiations, were there payouts then as well?

Her answer? “I’m not sure that it is useful to go back and rake through the history,” she said.

Uhm? It is not? Isn’t that how criminals are caught? uhm..

also from the Globe

Premier Kathleen Wynne dodged questions on the subject in the daily Question Period.

She is pretty dodgy. 

It is interesting that the unions that received this money spent so much getting this government elected. Millions and millions. I wonder why?

Future investments?

ugh.

“And Education Minister Liz Sandals has admitted that the government has repeatedly given such payouts to teachers’ unions over the past decade to compensate them for the cost of collective bargaining with the province. The payments raise tough questions about the government’s claims it is not spending new money to reach labour settlements.”

They are using old money?

I am very annoyed. When is the next election?

****

Edit… The amount of payouts to unions now has climbed to almost 5 million.

***********

Distracted drivers… or moving accidents… looking for a place to happen.

In the fall Ontario is going to enforce some new traffic laws, to help reduce accidents.

The aim is to keep distracted drivers from bumping into things, you know, whilst they make that so very important phone call that lasts for their entire trip. I am sure it is important I have seen them talking, they become so animated they use their other hand to emphasize their point… because some people really have to talk with their hands. It is good they have cruise control….  uhm… hmmmm.

but…

Life is not blue and white.

Woo hoo Mr Putin made a new flag.

They, his group of flag making people or “he” call/s it the Straight flag. Though I bet when it is flying that it bends with the wind. I think he or someone may have borrowed the flag from some French group as they were annoyed but he did change the colour of it from theirs (seems their flag is limited in scope as well) so it is now original right? You keep the design but change the colour so it is a new design. ?

I suspected that he rushed his flag to production though. as it was just blue and white. Oh here is his preliminary flag. 

I said preliminary as I am sure he meant to colour it, just being in a hurry and all, he must have skipped a step. So I dabbed on a bit of colour. 

I tweeted the new flag too, seems many agreed, last I checked, in ten hours or so some 17,000 people viewed it. Oh I just checked, it is 19,000 now, since I started typing another two thousand took a peek.

Here it is, the finished version that Mr. Putin can borrow, it looks much nicer now I think. I didn’t know what his hashtag said at the bottom of his flag, so not to get into trouble I made a hashtag that is more understandable. 

Psssst…. Mr. Putin, in the 21st century, we have colour.

**********

I now pronounce you…. a member of the 21st century

Welcome to the 21st Century United States, where intellect and not archaic beliefs rule,

where equality and human rights are deemed to be important.

Where People have rights, not restrictions.

Welcome!

“No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.

The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is Reversed.

It is so ordered”

Congratulations to the people of the United States!

The world is changing, we are maturing, we are becoming more respectful.

It isn’t about politics
it isn’t about taxes
it isn’t about procreation
it isn’t about religion
it isn’t about you

it is about love
unrestricted.

it is not gay marriage
it is not same sex marriage
it is not homosexual marriage
it is not lesbian marriage
it is marriage
it is love
unrestricted.

************

Compromise

I was going to flip a coin.

To decide which topic to spew words at tonight.

I was sort of warned not to do so with one topic, this was probably good advice.

Funny thing about advice, we often do not listen to it.

oh well here goes….

Lest we forget.

Humans are capable of making/designing/building some interesting things.

 

Taller, wider, hard to believe things. Things that often take your breath away.

 

This is a hotel in China. I wonder how the elevator works…

 

But human kind builds a lot of things.

Entitlement.. defies logic and common sense

hmmm with at title like this, I suppose this may be a rant of sorts.

I am going to start easy, oh wait.. I have to see if I can find a picture. We saw a video on the news this morning that started this train of thought for me.

brb. 

There we go… look at this…