Short memory
For those who have “learned their rights under law” by watching prime time TV, here’s a little vocabulary lesson. In Canada, we don’t have the right to a speedy trial. Rather, the Charter of Rights has this paraphrase:
- 11. Any person charged with an offence has the right…
- (b) to be tried within a reasonable time;
Whatever the interpretation, our legal system requires a prosecutor and a defender for a balanced process, and in Quebec that’s about to fall apart. The provincial government, busily saving money (to invest in arenas, etc) has failed to remunerate the Crown prosecutors equitably. That means, in comparison with other provinces. Nothing new there; ask teachers, doctors, etc. And in keeping with the current rules, those prosecutors have been out on strike this week.
Now, that cripples the court system. The government, ever alert to public opinion, has decided to pass a special law that forces an end to the strike and puts the gang in black robes back to work.
The government has a short memory. Back in 2003, a special law was passed that required the same employees to use strike action in salary disputes, rather than resort to binding arbitration. Draw your own conclusion.
I’ve found another target for my scorn while shopping for groceries. Elderly ladies, close friends, that park their shopping cart in the middle of the aisle while discussing the merits of a particular foodstuff. You can’t go by, and they are oblivious to others. The alternative is to take the long detour “up and around”, like when a bridge is out, hoping that the discussion doesn’t migrate in your intended direction. Maybe we should have special shopping periods for the chatty crowd.
