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Making hay at the park board

August 31st, 2009 · 62 Comments

A current story that is generating lots of huffing and puffing from commentators (here, here and here) is the fact that park-board commissioner Constance Barnes apparently received a $3,000 loan from the board to help with the cost of the $18,000 rehab program she enrolled in after crashing her car into a house and being charged with drunk driving.

I’ve never said more than hello to Constance and I know little about the park board these days, except for secondhand reports I get that it is not functioning very well, with the Vision park commissioners floundering about looking for a coherent direction.

But I really don’t understand the outrage that people seem to be trying to generate over the Barnes’ loan story. Columns and news stories constantly refer to Vancouver taxpayers having to pay for the cost of her treatment and to the fact that the loan was not publicly approved by the board.

But, to my knowledge, the board doesn’t have any authority to approve or disapprove of standard human-resources policies. If the city’s HR policy allows for loans to assist employees with rehab, and the news stories seem to indicate that it does, it’s not something that the board would vote on or even have to be told about. Just like when Peter Ladner got sued for libel by DERA’s Kim Kerr, his legal fees were automatically paid under existing city policy — no vote at council and no announcement made.

Secondly, unless I’m missing something again, it’s a loan. Yes, interest-free. And at today’s current interest rates, even if Barnes didn’t pay back the loan for two years, it would cost “the taxpayers” no more than $300 if the loan were at five per cent. Personally, my line of credit is 2.5 per cent, a rate I imagine the city probably has too, which means that the tax dollars going into this would be no more than $75 a year.

The biggest problem so far seems to be that park-board commissioners themselves acted as though there was something wrong going on and gave obfuscating answers when asked by reporters.

Of course, this wouldn’t be the first story in politics where critics — lacking a better story to go after — have focused on a relatively small issue that they thought would generate public outrage, even though they themselves knew it wasn’t a big deal.

But maybe there’s some part of this story I’m missing. If so, please tell me and the rest of the public what it is.

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  • SV

    At the risk of being yelled at by others I wonder if there is any issue with confidentiality here? I mean if I had accessed any of the services offered to me under my employer’s HR department I would hope that they would keep that to themselves.
    In fact my employer’s Employee Assistance Plan goes out of its way to stress that all services are confidential.

  • Len B

    Frances, first I would have to ask you to clarify the difference between Peter Ladner being a full-time employee as a councillor [since you bring up his lawsuit even though it really isn’t relevant to this issue] , and Constance Barnes being a Parks Commissioner.

    Then perhaps you could shed some light on the differences the two positions [parks commissioner and councillor] hold in relation to a CUPE employee or city management where HR policies and benefits actually apply?

    Simply put, do Parks Commissioners get a benefit package from the city?

    Maybe they do, but if they don’t then to say that she is receiving what is available to any employee is complete nonsense.

    If ALL Parks Board commissioners do not receive a full city benefits package, then yes the board should have discussed this.

    On the Parks Board web site it indicates that the Chair recieves an amount and all others recieve a lesser amount. No where does it indicate they are employees and recieve benefits as one. So which is it?

    The reality is that the Vision dominated Park Board kept this from other board members and from the public. As for the matter of privacy, she waved that when she ran for public office then admitted to drinking and driving her car into a house – publically.

    Who does she think she is a Kennedy?

  • Joe

    It would have been a much different story if she had run into some poor pedestrian(s) and killed them. As it is, she only crashed her car into a house and got charged with drunk driving. I’d say she got off lucky.

  • SV

    Further complicating the issue, I thought Constance was somehow employed by the city already(at Sun Yat Sen Gardens). If so does this affect things as well?

  • SV

    Privacy and confidentiality are different things here. If these are benefits available to commissioners and employees then their use should be confidential.

  • Frances Bula

    Len

    Peter Ladner is not a “full-time employee” as a councillor any more than a park-board commissioner is. They’re both political positions, though with different levels of pay.

    Re whether park-board commissioners, councillors or school-board trustess get benefits packages the same as employees — I don’t know. I would have expected the people covering this story to find that out.

    That’s what I’m saying. On the face of what has been reported, I’m not sure what the wrong-doing is. If in fact commissioners are not supposed to be able to access this HR fund, then this indeed would be a story.

    But none of the reporting has established that fact, if it is a fact.

    Instead, it’s the kind of story that in the business is called “putting a smell around someone” but without actually establishing in clear terms that they did something wrong.

  • Charlie Smith

    My issue was not the loan. It was the Vision-controlled park board’s attempt to conceal it.

    When it became public, the governing party sent out a spokesperson rather than the chair, who had commented on every aspect of the story until then.

    The chair’s municipal political career is probably toast if Vision and the provincial government don’t deal with the at-large system. So perhaps in the end, it doesn’t really matter.

    I disagree with Frances’s assertion that I was trying to put a smell around someone. Vision has become quite adept with its communications strategies, and I think the media should focus more attention on this area.

    Every journalist should read a book called Trust Us, We’re Experts, which was put out by the U.S.-based Center for Media and Democracy.

  • A. G. Tsakumis

    Frances:

    Perhaps if you weren’t busy taking pathetically cheap shots at other columnists, reporters and bloggers, who were well ahead of the curve on this issue, than you, there would be less confusion for you to this end.

    1) Your dismissal of “what goes on at Parks Board” would be comical if it weren’t for the fact that your dismissiveness shows that you might consider a less “sexy” (your words) part of the city’s governance beneath you? Since when do you decide what is and isn’t pertinent?

    2) Peter Ladner was involved in a lawsuit in his capacity as a councillor. Personally, I found it ridiculous, particularly considering his wealth, that he wouldn’t just write the cheque. I would have. But again, as with many of your examples, this is hardly like to a public rep claiming she will commit to a major mea culpa, doing a 180 and in the process taking ANY amount of tax dollars for a personal matter. This is lost on you? Perhaps you don’t care about your tax dollars as much as I do mine, or other tax payers do theirs.

    3) Your suggestion that some of us were making hay, is entirely asinine. This is major story, because Vision Vancouver made it out to be exactly that. They stayed quiet. Why? If it is as you say, that it’s not a big deal, then why not release the information. Frankly, I COMPLETELY agree with Mike and Daniel at citycaucus on this one and I think Charlie Smith reporting was SUPERB. They are totally on the mark.

    4) Connie Barnes recd a loan at approx 40% of her stipend. That’s a notable amt considering her circumstances and her record.

    5) In a time where Vision Vancouver has slashed and burned budgets across the board, throughout the city, synchronously asking the public to tighten their belts, the same standard is not applicable to one of their own? This is lost on you? Have you so little respect for the taxpayer?

    6) In the future, if you don’t mind very much, I am not a commentator, but a columnist, like you. As is Charlie. And while the boys at citycaucus run a blog, referring to them as simple commentators, with your pink raised is a bit much even for you. I’ve earned my right, in spades, please see if you can bring yourself off your throne to afford us the respect some of us deserve.

    6) I’m sorry you didn’t find this story interesting. But I completely understand. Getting it wrong on laneway housing; supporting backwards zoning; comparing unlike examples; being (easily) confused on supportive housing’s real market values all make for much easier bedtime reading.

    Much, much simpler than needing to count sheep.

  • gmgw

    Frances:
    Sorry to go off-topic for a moment, but– I had wanted to contact you directly re an earlier story, but when I hit the “Contact” link all I get is empty white space– and this result occurs on two different browsers. Same thing happens when I click on “About”. Can you check into this, please? Thanks.
    gmgw

  • SV

    I love comment sections. I wish every website had them.

  • Chris Keam

    Ms Barnes made some poor choices on that day and that’s worrisome. Loaning her the money to try to address her issues seems like good business to me and I hope some good will come from it. When the amount of money we’re talking about equals a few months of Translink’s executive car allowance it’s hard (for me) to see the problem.

    If only rich people can afford to run for office (held liable for legal fees from public litigation, etc) then only rich people will run for office. I’m sure some would be most happy with that, but I like my democracy to be representative in more than name only.

    The columnist/commentator kerfuffle is making me LOL.

  • David

    Mr. A. G. Tsakumis,

    Check your blood pressure, and take a good nap.
    You’ll feel better in the morning.

  • rf

    The Orchard is a $500 per day spa for middle aged-alcoholics with money/resources and drug addict kids of the wealthy (i have experience with a former-loved one and this place).
    There no replacement for AA meetings and if Barnes was serious she would be at 2 or 3 a day.

  • Brenton

    Never one to miss an opportunity for outraged self-aggrandizement, are you AG? Ms. Bula is one of the more level-headed reporters in the city, so to see you of all people telling her to get off her throne is amusing and disrespectful.

  • A. G. Tsakumis

    Oh, and in the latter part of my commnets…

    Allowing cycling fascists and left wingnuts the right to spew any old moronic nonsense…

    Better than Sominex to facilitate 5% of the rabid left an opportunity to potty train…

  • Chris Keam

    You’ve been great for my ego AGT. All summer people have been complimenting me and thanking me for standing up to your prejudice and name-calling.

    But really, where’s the story? I think Frances nailed it.

  • Darcy McGee

    > Perhaps if you weren’t busy taking
    > pathetically cheap shots at other
    > columnists,

    That was completely uncalled for and insulting to Frances.

    > Allowing cycling fascists and left
    > wingnuts the right to spew any old
    > moronic nonsense…

    That was completely uncalled for an insulting to not only Frances but also many people who appreciate the public forum that Frances provides. This is something she neither needs to do, nor charges any money for.

    I have to say that I’m actually _extremely_ impressed with the fact the Frances’ privately operated, advertising free site allows comments with, essentially, no censorship. I’d bet there’s been some, but it appears to be naked to the eye.

    Perhaps a bit of professional jealousy on Mr. Tsakumis’ part? I’d hesitate to say that you and Frances share the same profession though…Frances is a respected journalist, and one whose departure from the Vancouver Sun I would point to as the singular death of quality journalism in that publication.

    You may write, Mr. Tsakumis, but you are most certainly not a journalist, nor respected.

  • Darcy McGee

    And yes, kind of a non-story. I’d actually suggest that it’s an example of how we’d LIKE to see employers try to help employees through their personal crises’.

    I knew someone once who did this: underwrote a mortgage for one of his employees, lent another one some money to pay off student loans, paid bail in a situation when most would have abandoned a 20 year employee.

    He was a pain in the ass as a boss, but there was no doubt that guy did his best as a person to help his employees when they needed it.

  • Frances Bula

    A few responses

    Charlie — Apologies. You weren’t trying to put a smell around Constance; you were focused on assessing Raj Hundal’s performance. However, I still have to ask whether the real problem is NOT that he “tried to hide this” but that he actually made public a matter that should have been confidential between the HR department and Constance.

    Other apologies/corrections in general re the comparison to Peter Ladner. I’ve been told by a couple of people just this morning that in fact there was a vote on whether to pay his legal fees. It was in camera and I only just heard about it now. Apparently there would have been no question of paying them if his comments about Kim Kerr of DERA had been at a council meeting, but because he made them on a radio program, which is not council business per se, there was some question. I understand it was a unanimous vote. But I still maintain my point that, when there’s an existing city policy that provides a benefit to an elected person, I don’t see why people are foaming at the mouth that the benefit wasn’t “approved by the board.”

    As for Alex — well, Alex dear, I guess all of us who ever happen to disagree with you will just have to resign ourselves to the fact that we are idiots, morons, incompetent lightweights and all the rest. God knows, it’s impossible for people to have differing opinions without one of them being completely 100 per cent wrong.

    I will go back to focusing all of my pea-brained attention on the frivolous, sexy issues that I usually cover (urban-design panel meetings on the planning of Northeast False Creek, building permits and the like) instead of park board.

    I will try very hard to work up a suitable amount of outrage that the taxpayers may have to forego as much as $200 in interest on Constance Barnes’ $3,000 loan.

    And I will try very hard to remember that you think that somehow a commentator is a pejorative term unfitting a columnist. By the way, I don’t call myself a columnist. I’m a reporter and blogger. Although I write what’s called a “column” for Vancouver magazine, it’s not a column in the traditional newspaper sense of being weighted more towards opinion than new information.

    Good thing that we can all have reasonable discussions here without having any disagreement shift immediately into personal name-calling.

  • Darcy McGee

    Nah, you’re more than a reporter Frances. Jimmy Olsen and Peter Parker were reporters. You’re a true journalist, in the noblest spirit of the word.

  • Peter G

    Be gentle with Alex…after all he’s had his sorry ass kicked off more newspapers and websites than you have ever read. Highjacking other widely- read blogs is the only exposure he gets these days.

  • Chris Keam

    Well, to be fair, AGT does actually get paid to froth at the mouth, while the rest of us do it for free. I wish I could get such a cushy gig. If anybody needs a left-leaning, granola-eating biker type to incense their readership, please get in touch!

  • rf

    I can’t help but pontificate that if Gordon Campbell’s DUi went the way of Constance Barnes that the level of left-wing outrage would be off the charts. Would there have been sympathy for him if he took a month off, borrowed 3k from his health plan, and checked into a rehab? To date, he appears to be the only one who handled his mistake correctly. He went cold turkey and hasn’t drank since (so I hear). He plead guilty promptly and never hid it for a second. It’s a fine example of action (personal, not political) speaking louder than words.
    Tim Stevenson hid the thing hoping no one would notice. Constance really seems to be putting her elected obligation second (fair enough…but would she have been elected if she said she was an alcoholic and this is how she would handle passing out and crashing into a house….and it’s not her first time…).
    Is it fair to criticize that she is pushing towards being absent for 1/10th of her term shortly?
    I’d also love to know how Constance paid the $18k for the Orchard (but accept that it’s none of my business). They take credit cards? But i wonder (and only wonder, because it is none of my business) if one of Gregor’s big buck US smug envirocronies stepped up to help her out. Rehab is full of people with someone else footing the bill. I know $18k isn’t a lot to some…but my hunch is it’s a hell of a lot for her.
    I’ve seen the Orchard first hand (as a family member)….its pretty relaxed and very touchy feely (Edgewood is more of a drug jail, much more effective but maybe a little over the top for a functioning alcoholic). $18k sounds like 6 weeks. You would have to be pretty messed up (or pretty rich) to stay there for 6 weeks.
    Either way, I really think she should have stepped down by now. If she had put in a successful term or two and then ran into trouble…maybe I could let it go….but to date, she’s a complete dud as an elected official (not as a person, but as a politician). And if she really needs this much help and for it take this long, it really is time for her to resign and do what is best for the city (ie. have someone, as a opposed to an absentee with alcohol and legal problems).

  • Chris Keam

    RF:

    You say Constance needs to be going to AA 2 or 3 times a day, yet you have no problem with G. Campbell failing to seek help (according to your interpretation) with his alcohol issues?

    How many addicts do you know that have successfully overcome their addiction w/out help? My understanding is that it’s a pretty hard row to hoe without professional help.

  • Chris Keam

    “would she have been elected if she said she was an alcoholic and this is how she would handle passing out and crashing into a house”

    Would Campbell have been elected if he said he was an alcoholic and planned to weave down a Maui hwy after a couple or ten martinis?

    Sauce for the goose… pun intended.

  • Darcy McGee

    > if one of Gregor’s big buck US smug envirocronies stepped up to help her out

    Despite the fact that I have a view of Gregor Robertson as a bit of a hypocrite (learn about “not from concentrate” orange juice and tetra-pak recycling in Vancouver and you’ll have a hard time seeing him as an environmentalist) this kind of name calling seems disingenuous, unhelpful, and frankly fairly Tsakumis-like in nature.

  • SV

    “Tsakumis-like”
    +1

  • rf

    If Campbell relapsed, you would be right. You can’t criticize him for being successful after several years. If you were and addict/alcoholic or had experience with them, you certainly wouldn’t make a comment like that. He’s lucky. Most have to hit the wall (or a house) more than once.
    Some actually are able to just stop. Either he was not an alcoholic but chose to stop drinking, or he was and was fortunate and strong enough to stop. Pretty tough for him to go to AA meetings with his profile. He likely used a counsellor.
    I don’t think Constance has enough profile to be worried about it.

  • Stephanie

    People with public profiles considerably more significant than Gordon Campbell’s go to AA meetings all the time. Haven’t heard that they find it difficult.

    As for Barnes’s loan, I like Alan Garr’s take on it:
    http://www2.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/story.html?id=429d2581-ddff-4a78-a5db-23a489233150

  • Stephanie

    Whoops – Allen, not Alan, Garr. Oh, for an edit button,.

  • Chris Keam

    “If you were and addict/alcoholic or had experience with them, you certainly wouldn’t make a comment like that. ”

    I don’t know anyone (myself included) who doesn’t have some experience with addiction and its tenacious hold on people, be it personally or through witnessing friends or loved ones grapple with the issue.

  • Otis Krayola

    rf, a couple of points:

    First, there’s that word again. Mistake. Gordon Campbell didn’t make a ‘mistake’ when he got fogged on martinis and turned the key. He committed a criminal offence.

    If he honestly believed that Hawaii didn’t proscribe what he was about to do, he’d have been mistaken – perhaps tragically so. But I have yet to hear a persuasive argument that he didn’t realise that he was breaking the law. Liberal spinmeisters, the mainstream media, and you seen to think that (like the Big Lie) if you repeat it enough times, it’s true. Sorry, no wax banana.

    Second, if I hear different than you – that Gordo’s still a sot – does that make it true? Or, on ‘what you’ve heard’, must we conclude that he’s a paragon?

  • Hoarse Whisperer

    I think that we are all missing the point here, and it is this: why was Constance Barnes (a perfectly nice person) asked to run for Park Board in the first place? Her performance at Park Board all-candidates meetings during the election was, to put it mildly, abysmyl, and she hasn’t distinguished herself since the election, either.

    She clearly didn’t understand many of the issues when she was running, and was unable to address some pretty basic things, like the Park Board budget—a document, which presumably she could have boned up on prior to her appearances, and which was essential reading for initiatives that were being voted on at election time.

    When you get booed by the West Point Grey Neighborhood Homeowners Association (who do tend to lean to the left), you are clearly not on your game. She handed off a lot of questions to Raj or Aaron because she just didn’t know anything. It was apparent she had no interest in the actual boring business of Park Board work, preferring to try to paint herself as a high-minded protector of the “people’s business” (Whatever happened to her fervent promises to save the Mt. Pleasant community pool? Oh, yeah…the reality of budgets! Funny, that). Histrionics are best saved for the chambers and public gallery area at City Hall, and only after one has proven themselves a good foot soldier on the playing fields of Stanley Park, as it were…

    Let me exhibit a level of cynicism that will shock—shock!—you. Ms Barnes did not run on any of her achievements, unless you consider her tenure at the failed Storeyum some kind of badge of merit. No, she ran—and I presume this was the lure for Vision — on her surname. Again and again, in her booming voice, she invoked her hard-working, supportive, late father, and worked each audience by trying to draw a straight line from the long-time respected MLA back to her herself. She did do a good job of that—in fact, she topped the polls for Park Board.

    But, I knew Emery Barnes. I worked with Emery Barnes. And, sorry, but Constance Barnes is no Emery Barnes.

    What she is, clearly, is a troubled woman. I hope that she can excise her demons. That she is getting monetary assistance to help with her substance abuse seems logical and is not really the concern for me.

    But her lighter-than-air approach to civic business and her ability to govern, is.

  • Otis Krayola

    Regarding the story:

    As a Taxpayer (sorry Alex) I’m not so exercised about the cost of Ms. Barnes’ rehab.

    Charlie Smith makes good points re the spin. And how it was delivered. Of a pretty thin caucus on Park Board, Raj Hundal is the poster boy for the Peter Principle. Why is he Chair? Does it have anything to do with his abiding love for parks? Is he especially skilled in navigating perilous political shoals, while steering his Vision pals safely to reelection?

    Surely it has nothing to do with ethnicity. And the need to bring a sizable bloc ‘into the tent’.

    Nah. Surely it’s talent, and initiative.

  • rf

    but you miss the ultimate point, and i’ve made this before. You think that Campbell should have resigned. Fair enough.
    But you can’t then turn around and say Barnes should not resign because Campbell didn’t.
    You would have to think that Barnes should also resign.
    If it’s about ‘the principal’, then the precendent of a politician you don’t like is not a defense.
    Yet no one who seems to think that Campbell should have resigned has come out and said that Barnes should.
    It’s a blatant contradiction to use Campbell as a defense for Barnes. If Campbell disgusts you for not resigning, the Barnes should disgust you as well for not resigning.
    Otherwise you are basically saying that only politicians you dislike should resign

  • rf

    and if you watch her initial press conference, Barnes also referred to it as “a stupid ‘mistake'”

  • rf

    and Chris, if you have the experience, we should be able to share the admiration for those that pull off the miracle (honestly, i really believe it’s a miracle when an addict/alcoholic is able to say they are going to stop and then got sober and stay sober the first time). Ok, you dont’ have to admire Campbell….but at least have a little respect for it.
    I know a couple of others who have done it (only alcoholics) and I’m in awe sometimes. Its more of a miracle for their families than anything.
    Or…….maybe you don’t believe Campbell is an recovering alcoholic, but rather a guy who was stupid enough to commit the criminal offense of drunk driving and happened to get caught.
    You can’t tell me that you’ve never pedelled home after 5 or 6 beers before!
    Perhaps the cops should have some breathalyzers ready at the next Critical Mass!

  • Chris Keam

    I don’t know whether Campbell still drinks or not. I was just curious as to why you felt Barnes needed to be in A.A. meetings on a daily basis, but Campbell can manage without?

    (I don’t ride in Critical Mass btw, or more accurately, I do it so rarely the exception proves the rule. Riding my bike home after one too many is certainly something I’ve (stupidly) done, but I’d be hard-pressed to equate that with operating a car while impaired. I imagine that opinion will no doubt stir the pot.)

  • A. G. Tsakumis

    Nice to see the sycophants running tot he rescue.

    Peter G, entertain us…I have NEVER been fired from any media job–period. In fact, Keam is correct, I recd fresh horses while others were getting their free rides shot and put out of their misery. Any contention to the contrary is a LIE. But it’s easy to smear. and then complain when you are called a fool for being one.

    If the opinion is bullshit, I suppose a compliment is in order? Not from me.

    The point here is not the interest on Barnes’ loan. It’s the fact that she recd it period, and, moreover, the silence and hiding.

    People who don’t see this are in Vision’s bailiwick or are trying to deflect criticism period.

    I could careless what any of the left coasters who largely populate this blog think.

    The story matters because of the way the loan was handled and the fact it was made at all, while Vision has asked people to tighten their belts.

    The hypocrisy is so thick you can cut it with a knife.

  • Chris Keam

    “The point here is not the interest on Barnes’ loan. It’s the fact that she recd it period, and, moreover, the silence and hiding.”

    Which has been pointed out as both congruent with City policy and an HR issue which should have remained confidential.

  • rf

    i was kidding about Critical Mass.
    But what I would love to hear is one lefty, who thinks Barnes should not resign, give me a reason other than “(Because Campbell didn’t)”, because that’s pretty much all I’ve heard from so far.

  • Peter G

    AGT.. You may not be able to write very well, but at least learn to read. “Fired???” I can’t find that in my message. Why don’t you tell us why you no longer appear on the CTV website and can only get published in a free flyer.(They pay you for that!) If giving positive feedback to a very entertaining journalist makes me a fool; I’m happy with that.

  • Otis Krayola

    OK, let’s be clear.

    The monetary/social/human cost associated with addiction is monumental. On balance, I believe that we are all better off supporting those addicts who are willing to address their problems rather than waiting to mop up after they’ve visited mayhem on us. So both Gordon Campbell and Constance Barnes deserve my respect (and support) in their struggle for sobriety.

    But.

    Regardless of whether one intends to do harm, operating a vehicle under the influence is a criminal act in any jurisdiction you can name. A mushmouthed attempt to excuse that act by characterizing it as a ‘terrible personal mistake’ shouldn’t go unchallenged. It degrades the language. It also deflects justifiable outrage at such an affront to public trust by an officeholder. Like all polite Canadians, we seek to spare that person embarrasment; ‘Oh, s/he’s struggling with personal demons – it would be unseemly to dwell on it publicly.

    I think the media does us a disservice when it allows politicians to evade public responsibility when they commit a crime. Barnes, Campbell or whomever. It is especially ironic when the media then goes on to decry public cynicism about democratic institutions.

    You’re right, rf. I do think that Gordon Campbell should have resigned. As the chief lawmaker, there is a clear standard of probity which must be maintained regardless of the size of his mandate. The only question is whether, on a continuum from dogcatcher to Prime Minister, all public officeholders are subject to the same standard.

  • rf

    good points, Otis.
    personally, i actual do think Campbell should have resigned and then the party could decide if he could run for premier again.
    I think “elected official” should be the litmus test.
    Barnes should resign. Call it cruel, but she’s obviously got some major personal issues and they are an obvious obstacle in doing a job she was so recently elected to do. It’s an $8,000 stipend. Save the anti-poverty rant, but if $8000 is your make or break amount, well, I hope we could find people for elected office who can take care of themselves before we put them in office to manage our affairs. She can run again next election. She’s going to have to anyway

  • Darcy McGee

    > Perhaps the cops should have some
    > breathalyzers ready at the next Critical
    > Mas

    At the Mass held on Friday, August 28th the cops seized alcohol from a few riders. One self-described homeless person in the mass had a 2 litre pop bottle full of alcohol which he was forced to dump out. which he raised quite a scuffle about (this was on Alma north of 4th.)

    I think they would have been easily justified in arresting and charging him, but they didn’t.

    The point being that cops do act on alcohol/cycling charges. I presume the same 0.08% blood alcohol limit would apply if to cycling, but I’m not sure.

    FWIW, I _do_ make the choice to cycle to events and bars where alcohol is going to be involved. This is despite the fact that I learned long ago that exercise has no effect on the speed at which your liver processes alcohol (that was my rationale in University days.) I’m generally a light drinker and would have at most three beers in a night across four or five hours, though I know I’ve had more on rare occasions–most recently Monday night, when I went home from the Canadians game.

    By contrast, I would never have three beers and drive a car. In that case I’m a danger to everyone on the road. On a bike I’m a danger only to myself.

    When I had a motorcycle I had a no beer rule. I remember violating that once: I had one, then rode home three hours later.

  • Crazyworld

    This conversation is just out of this world!! Barnes only received the loan because she qulaified (as assesed by trained HR professionals) This city hall program is open to her and other politicians and other staff (I bet NPA politicians have recieved loans as well since it was established by the NPA- Garr’s column). As for a cover up— please, this program is confidential as are most EAP programs— this only came out because people were leaky when they shouldn’t have been. Its a loan that get’s deducted from her paycheck not a gift! she’s going to recieve this money from the taxpayers anyway through her Park board stipend.

    As for gordon campbell he never had the guts to publicly admit his problem and check himself into rehab– Ms. Barnes did. You tell me which one takes more guts and is responsible.

  • Darcy McGee

    Gordon Campbell wanted to resign, but was talked out of it by supporters. True story.

    No one will believe me of course, and I only consider the person who told me about 90% reliable so there’s a chance it’s a less true story.

  • A. G. Tsakumis

    Peter G:

    I knew you’d take the bait…you are very foolish indeed.

    Only too happy to oblige. I no longer write for CTV because I LEFT THEM, contrary to the spin of certain producers who couldn’t take the fact that I demanded support for my site and not having to beg for tech support every week. In their defence, I was their first blogger and while my blog pulled in a good number of readers, the budget wasn’t there for anything long term. We knew that going into to it. Besides, Sun Media who own 24Hours were comfortable with only a short stint. Even Frances’ excellent work after I left was not fundable past the municipal election.

    Additionally, there were at least two occasions where I felt conflicted. I don’t take kindly to that, but I wrote a column on abortion and another on the federal election, months apart, and both times inappropriate comments were made by higher ups that I felt were bordering on censorship.

    At the end of the day, I was not prepared to stay and spend countless hours answering emails and working mostly on the site and being paid a pittance. Not their fault I suppose, just the budget. As I said, they only kept Frances through the election only. Look, they are clearly trying anything to keep up with mighty Global and good for them. At the end of the day I have no hard feelings at all. They crashed my site right before the federal election last year and I basically said if they weren’t prepared to talk about why there was so much of a problem, I was gone immediately. Three days later they wrote me back saying they were not prepared to continue either. There was no dismissal. We parted paths without issues. They do a good program and I enjoy watching them very much.

    As for your review of my writing or why I write for “a free daily”, it’s not a complicated calculus. I don’t write for the money. I recd two very generous offers last year, from other papers and I turned them down. 24 Hours has one of the best teams I’ve ever had the privilege to write for and we have mutual respect.

    My writing is never going to be anything most people populating Frances’ blog will like because the vast majority are not of my political persuasion or don’t like that I don’t suffer navel gazers.

    I couldn’t care less. But there’s your answer. Enjoy.

    As for Keam’s typically pathetic excuse making for his friends in Vision…yawn.

    The majority of folks who have heard about the Barnes issues are outraged, as well they should be.

    But then again, it’s about the principal of the matter, and what would sycophants spinning sophistry and bullshit know about that?

  • Chris Keam

    Remember all your bluster when I got in touch with you personally AGT to discuss your idiotic comments regarding cyclists? Really puts things into perspective doesn’t it:

    “Don’t dare invade my privacy (not that I did, but it’s certainly your perspective) to try to hold me accountable for my hate-speech, but it’s perfectly OK for me to discuss confidential personnel matters and other people’s problems in a public forum ad nauseam.”

    Too funny.

  • Chris Keam

    Also, it’s principle, not principal. I LOL’ed

    Further, the principle of confidentiality with EAP programs and medical treatment is the issue here.

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