Thursday, July 27, 2006

"Totally out of Touch" or Willfully Blind?

Ontario's Community Safety Minister, Monte Kwinter must live in a safe, cozy little Neverland to come out with the statements attributed to him yesterday.


Speaking in Hamilton about Caledonia he stated, “At the present time, there is no occupation,” said Mr. Kwinter. “I'm not aware of any mayhem.” He called it more of a "symbolic" occupation.

So Judge Marshall's orders to evacuate the site are being defied and ignored, but only in a "symbolic" way. Nice.


"Caledonia residents can go about their business", added Kwinter.


This did not go down well with the non-native residents and some politicians:

"To argue that no occupation is still going on is ludicrous," said Conservative opposition leader John Tory yesterday.

"If there is no occupation taking place, then why are people still on the land?"

Tory said the Liberal government should "come clean and tell us" if Queen's Park has negotiated a settlement with natives. Tory said the government's strategy is to pretend there is no problem in Caledonia.

Conservative Leader John Tory said Kwinter's comments show he is "totally out of touch'' and is simply ignoring the dispute, hoping it will go away.



"It makes me very angry that he would make such a foolish comment when clearly there is an occupation," said Ken Hewitt, president of the Caledonia Citizens Coalition.


Lots more links to this story and others.


The point everyone is missing is that Monte Kwinter's reality is not the same as everyone else's. In his world, things are peaceful; the Liberals always win elections, and his fearless leader never breaks a promise. The rule of law is always obeyed.

Unfortunately, the rest of us have to live in the real world, and we are desperately in need of more than "symbolic" leadership.


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UPDATE: CTV Southwestern Ontario ran a clip on tonight's news that "Caledonia's mayor is calling on the province's community safety minister to resign. She's upset over Monte Kwinter's comments that the native occupation is more than under control."

Would she care to start a petition? I think I know a few people who would sign.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Monte is a piece of work!

A bit ago, I made an appointment and went to see him to express my concerns over misuse of funds and horrific operating conditions of a Toronto based charity that operates under legislation covered by his ministerial umbrella. He told me point blank that he knew there was illegal things happening and that the Board of Directors were corrupt and doing things the public would find reprehensible but he *couldn't* help. I responded and said, "you mean, you won't help" to which he replied..."correct". Go to the media to uncover the scandal was his suggestion.

Yup.. he *knows* there is corruption in an organization that takes public donations and is violating public trust that falls under the legislation of his Ministry and he told me to go away.

I was stunned, and realized the man is simply counting the days til he retires and has no desire to get involved with anything deemed 'controversial'

I think I’d classify Caledonia as controversial, non?

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Wow! That is shocking! In fact, it is sickening. Annie, if you feel like sending me any more info on this via email, the addy is on my profile. I would be interested in knowing if you had actually contacted MSM. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

He's a wilful idiot, along with a lot of other Liberals. McLiar's government should be dissolved by a higher Parliamentary authority for their decision to not govern the Province.

And the Ontario Provincial Police should be dis-banded for their unprofessionalism and incompetence, to be replaced by local police forces.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Anon - Everytime I see McGuinty is the media, I get this sick feeling in my stomach. Instead of doing the 'right' thing, he's doing the politically expedient thing. And Kwinter is just another wooden puppet mouthing his talking points.