Columnists
Speak up
Sometimes it takes a while to get a column onto “paper”. This is one of those “sometimes”. I know what I want to say. I write a bunch of words. I put the computer away for an hour. I read what I wrote. I start over. I don’t want to sound as if I can’t handle what’s going on in the world around me, but honestly, it’s a lot to handle. Last week I posted “Being silent is being complicit”. I know I meant exactly what those words convey, but I also know a whole lot of all y’all will choose to be silent because it feels as if it’s safer or easier or “If I don’t say anything it won’t be real”.
Instead of just posting the words, I have decided to make good the words I wrote. Of course, I’m not smart enough to have come up with the idea of silence and complicity, but someone did and it meant something to me. Last week I made a point of letting Pierre know I wasn’t happy with the political campaign adverts that the Conservative Party is airing on GEM. I let Pierre know I thought they were juvenile, petty and undignified. I mentioned if he wanted to appear to be a stand-up, trustworthy politician he could probably stop trying to be something he isn’t. He could try to be a nice person, but he chooses to be undignified. He is inexperienced. His crude, elementary school yard behaviour is, well, crude and elementary. He looks like a brat, dressed in a suit his Au Pair picked out for him, mouthing the words he let a chatbot write for him. Yep, I did that. At this point, Sunday evening, I haven’t heard from him or his chatbot. But Pierre wasn’t the only person in my sights. Nope. He wasn’t the only one.
Dougie’s name showed up on my list of people who need to hear from me. Oh yeah! His name was, actually, ahead of Pierre’s. I asked Doug when, if ever, he was going to stop playing around and do the job he was elected to do. He said he was going to do something about health care, and here we are. We’ve paid our taxes, which pay for our health care and pay for his office, and we are still being treated to hallway health care by overworked, underpaid medical professionals and worn out health care support workers. I’ve heard from people who have spent six to eight hours in hospitals waiting to be seen by a doctor for anything from broken bones to mysterious rashes. Most of those people could probably see a family practitioner—if they had one! And while I know the situation with regard to the number of medical practitioners is getting better, it still isn’t as good as Doug said it would be. Let’s not talk about housing, mental health care, policing in rural communities, addictions counselling and education. If I promised myself anything for 2025, it was to “speak up” for myself and for those who can’t. It doesn’t seem reasonable a person in need of a surgical intervention should wait for months (and sometimes years) to be seen by a specialist. It also doesn’t seem reasonable to me in a small community, like Prince Edward County, we are surrounded by people who are still under-housed, underemployed, underpaid and food-insecure. I admire all of the hard work this community does to take of each other, but being a friend to someone in need isn’t the complete answer.
Now for those of you who don’t want to rock the boat, but have a gripe with an Ontario government ministry, agency, board, commission, tribunal, corporation, municipality, university, school board, a matter regarding children and youth in care or an Ontario child protection agency or French language services delivered by an Ontario governing body—I suggest you get in touch with the Ontario Ombudsman. I’ve done it. It worked out for me, and mine. They can be reached at ombudsman.on.ca or by calling 1.800.263.1830 or by email at info@ombudsman. on.ca.
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