What the ... interpretation?!?!?

The Nova Scotia Provincial Government and the Nova Scotia Teachers Union (NSTU) came to an  agreement on a contract  to be presented to the union membership for ratification or rejection.

The NSTU had been doing a work to rule campaign since before Christmas and halted it pending the vote on February 8th. Under work to rule the teachers refuse to do any work that they are not specifically contracted to do. his means after school activities, trips, helping students who are having trouble. Basically, they work 8-3 and only teach, mark, and do paperwork in that time. Anything else is not allowed. This meant they would not do reference letters for students applying to University. Sports tournaments had to be cancelled because the teachers would not volunteer to be there for them. In a move of great hypocrisy some Union Members DID go on a trip to Hawaii for "development" training. Their reasoning was that the trip was already paid for. WHich was cold comfort for parents and students who had trips that were already paid for cancelled because the teachers wouldn't go. But I digress. The work to rule campaign was put on hold.

Then, out of the blue, the NSTU announced the work to rule campaign would be back on this coming Monday. Why? According to Union President Liette Doucette, they didn't know if they still had a contract because the Premier in a comment about the contract reneged on the agreement. According to Doucette the Premier reinterpreted the meaning of part of the contract that gave 2 more days off to teachers.

The Premier told reporters on January 26th that the 2 days are for marking and preparation time. They aren't just days that a teacher can take anywhere at anytime. Which means they aren't free vacation days.

Here is what the contract says (this is from a copy of the agreement that someone made available to the media even though it is supposed to be confidential)

Article 31.10 (i) (a) Effective August 1, 2017, permanent, probationary, and teachers with a term contract of a minimum 175 days will be provided 2 days of leave with pay per school year for self-directed preparation/development of the teacher.  

That pretty much sounds like what the Premier said to me.  It further states:

iv) Leave under (i): 
(a) shall be requested in advance; 
(b) can be taken in half day or full day increments; 
(c) is subject to the availability of a substitute teacher; 
(d) is subject to the requirement to appropriately staff the school; 
(e) cannot be contiguous with other time off (e.g., holidays, March Break, long weekends, other approved time off). The foregoing may be waived in special circumstances; and 
(f) shall not be unreasonably denied. 
;
So, where is the Premier reneging on the agreement? Exactly how did he misinterpret it?

If  someone told the union membership the clause meant a free day a la vacation time they lied. Doucette is the President of NSTU. Did she, or someone from the bargaining unit, lie to the membership?

Now some teachers are complaining that they didn't want extra days off. Well this isn't exactly extra days off, it is 2 days they can use for preparation and marking, something they have complained they need. Plus, the NSTU bargaining unit was part of putting it into the contract, It isn't like the government legislated it in.

As things stand now NSTU is going back to work to rule because the Premier stated what the tentative contract says about the 2 days off. They claim he reneged on the deal, Something smells wrong about the way NSTU is acting. Methinks the NSTU President felt that the membership would reject this contract and is just trying to save face.

Society Owes Rehtaeh Parsons but ...

Society owes Rehtaeh Parsons but ... it is too late. :(

It is hard to write this. I have read several stories about Rehtaeh Parsons, and heard them on TV, about her suicide and subsequent death. Her father wrote a blog post that I had to read several times before I was able to finish it. It just breaks my heart to see what she went through. What her family went through. The last lines of his post have been resonating in my head since I read them.


"My daughter wasn’t bullied to death, she was disappointed to death. Disappointed in people she thought she could trust, her school, and the police.

She was my daughter, but she was your daughter too.

For the love of God do something."

As a society we all failed her.  :(

How in the hell can she have gone what she did and no one be charged? The fucking pieces of shit circulated  a picture they took of her when raping her and NOTHING was done. All the hell she was put through and nothing was done.

Monsters at her school tormented her. Sent her texts asking for sex or calling her a slut. Sharing the rape picture. And nothing was done.

And where the hell are the parents of the rapists and the monsters? These pieces of shit deliberately got a young girl drunk. Raped her. Took pictures. And circulated them. And got away with it. Monsters (I refuse to call them students or kids they are monsters) tormented her. And got away with it. You think these damaged pieces of garbage won't cause more trouble for others in the future? They already learned that they could get away with it.

For two years she endured the hell until she couldn't take it any more. The "Justice" System failed her. The school system failed her. Society failed her.

Unfortunately, if things stay true to form, people will get all worked up about this and demand action then forget about it. Most people tend to have a short attention span for things. They will be in an uproar. Then calm down. Then forget about it until the next heinous act happens. Then they will be surprised it happened. (There are a lot of similarities with Amanda Todd being driven to suicide in B.C.)

Hopefully I will be proven wrong and we, as a society, will do something.

Horse & Buggy Tour of Lunenburg.

Ok, I vented about the shitty service at Big Reds Family Restaurant. Now it is time to talk about something in Lunenburg that was FANTASTIC!!! The horse and buggy ride.

Our horse was Duke and our guide was ... damn ... I am embarrassed to say I forget his name. It might have been Mickey but I wouldn't bet on that. I will never forget his tour. He gave such a great tour that when there was a few minutes where he had nothing to say I couldn't think of a question to ask. Considering how much I like to talk and ask questions, combined with my love of history, that is pretty damn impressive.

The tour takes around 35 minutes. You are introduced to a lot of historical buildings and the stories surrounding them as well as the town. It was well worth the money. (Only $20.)

If you are going to Lunenburg I highly recommend A Trot in Time.

Mook of the Week

The latest Mook of the Week award goes to Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter.

Proving that an NDP government can be just as bad, or even worse, than a Tory or Liberal government he continues to show his stupidity. The latest idiocy sees the Dexter regime asking the Federal government to take $47 Million out of a money being given to Nova Scotia for infrastructure spending and putting it toward the building of a new convention centre in Halifax. That isn't even counting the over $200 Million in Provincial and Municipal money that would be spent as well.

The Federal money is slated to be used for roads and the building of community centres across the Province. Instead Mr. Dexter wants to use it to build a convention centre that is not really needed in Halifax. The convention centres that currently exist aren't being fully utilized and this twit wants to spend OUR money on building another one.

The money would be better spent on the infrastructure it is meant for as well as on Health Care and Education. Nova Scotia needs more long term care spaces for the elderly, hospital facilities, doctors and nurses. The Education budget in Nova Scotia is going to be cut 22%. Yet Dexter wants to pump money into a convention centre that isn't needed.

After expense scandals, donation scandals, and bullshit like this convention centre the Dippers have proven they are no better, and in some ways worse, than the other parties. As the leader of the NDP Mr. Dexter has show how much of a hypocrite he and his party is.

Mr. Dexter, you sir, are a political mook, and if I start a mook of the Month or Year category you will definitely be a front runner.

Sign of Wasting Money

In the fall I did a road trip to Kentville with one of my brothers. It was a great trip. All along the highway there, as well as a lesser road that ran through Kentville, we would see huge signs the Nova Scotia government put up crowing about their spending on roads and job creation.

You would see these signs every 10-20km on the highway. On the lesser roads we saw another 3-4 of these signs.

We ended up stopped near one and I had the chance to read it. Premier Dexter had these signs made to crow about spending $200,000 on road improvements. It made me wonder just how much money he wasted making these signs and putting them out just to say "We spent $200,000 on roads and jobs."

Signs like that aren't cheap. Then you add in the cost of transporting and setting them up along the highway. I wouldn't be surprised to hear they spent $20,000 or even more on the signs.

What a waste of money just to pat yourself on the back!

Cross Burning in Nova Scotia

In February some twats thought it would be funny to burn a cross in the yard of a mixed-race couple. Two brothers did this to their cousin who is living with her black fiance and their kids.

Her fiance said to the media

"I just seen a big cross out there, and it was on fire and it had the rope around the neck, and it was hanging down, and it was on fire. It was about seven feet tall,"

"By the time I got outside, there was nobody around. All we heard was, 'Die, nigger, die.' I was scared for my kids and my life. I don't know what is going to happen next. If it's a joke, then I don't know what it is. I don't know how to take it."

The two brothers who did it have been convicted of criminal harassment and inciting racial hatred, and are currently awaiting sentencing.The one who built the cross and lit it may be facing prison time. They, and people defending them, maintain that it wasn't racist. It was just a mistake of youth.

An uncle of the MEN, one is 20 and the other 21, said

“I’m not saying it should have been done because it shouldn’t have been, but everyone makes mistakes when they’re young, I’ve done foolish things that I’m not crazy about, but that’s life.”

You know there always seems to be some fucking morons who can renew my faith in the stupidity of man. Burning a cross isn't racist? Shouting "die nigger die" isn't racist? If that doesn't qualify as racist then what the hell would?

Burning a cross on a black persons lawn has been a symbol of racism, and more particularly the KKK, for well over a hundred years.

A mistake of youth? They aren't kids! They are 20 and 21 and god damn well should have known better.

Luckily, it is only a few asshats who are saying it wasn't racist. Mind you that is a few too many.

It is nice to see the Police and the Justice system take it seriously. Some jail time is just what the morons need. Even if they don't learn from it a message will be sent to other like minded idiots that this kind of bullshit will not be tolerated.

Rainy Season?!?!?

Holy hell it feels like I am in Korea for rainy season. Here I thought I had missed it this year but Nova Scotia is getting hit with record rainfall plus winds. For the last 6 days it has pretty much rained every day, most of the day. It is supposed to continue for another day or two!

There are areas in the province with no electricity. There are places in the province that are closed off due to flooding. There are places that are flooded. A dam in Yarmouth county is threatening to burst. It is looking pretty bad, and hitting other Maritime provinces too. Luckily no one has been killed.

The weather is supposed to change for the better come Thursday. Is it Thursday yet?!?!?!?

Shannon Park

Halifax and Dartmouth have always been military cities. Maritime Command, the naval part of the Canadian Armed Forces, is based here. When military spending cuts are made this area usually felt them.

This is what happened when personnel cuts were made in 2004. Shannon Park and Wallace Heights. Defense cuts in the late 90's saw some of the housing was made available on the civilian market in Wallace Heights. A friend of mine, serving in the forces at the time, lived there when this was starting to happen. Eventually all of Wallace Heights was made into civilian housing.

Shannon Park wasn't so lucky. The housing there was shut down as the military personnel were reduced. Those who weren't let go were relocated to military housing in Willow Park, Halifax. Shannon Park has pretty much sat empty since then. The High School became an Elementary School. The hockey rink is still used. Everything else is closed down.

The apartments that could house, I read 300 families, sat empty. There were plans to convert the area into an athletes village if Halifax got the Commonwealth games but that went the way of the dodo. Now, the area is a health hazard. The apartments can't be used due to mold. They are now a toxic mold health hazard.

What a waste! Think of all the people that could have benefited from the housing there. Instead it sat empty until it became uninhabitable.

Below are some photos I have took of the area, from the outside.