Why Save Bad Jobs?

The Manitoba government is vowing to save 500 jobs threatened by mining company Vale SA's decision to close its Thompson operation.

If the mine is profitable it would probably stay open, why would you step in and "save jobs" when they are not producing what they are intended to produce?

Vale announced Wednesday that it will close its smelter and refinery by 2015, saying they're no longer profitable.

There ya go. Hey, how about the government save the jobs of those blacksmiths, they are closing down you know because the market is changing. Or how about those typewriter manufacturing jobs, better save those!

Selinger said the Brazilian mining giant's plan to shut down in the community is unacceptable. There hasn't been proper notice or consultation with the province or the City of Thompson, he said.

"We don't like decisions being dropped on us without any consultation and we want them to come to the table with an open mind to look at what we can do about these concerns," Selinger said.

Hey Greg Selinger, it's not your company, so butt out. This shows the hubris with these government people, they think they own everybody and everything and that business need to "consults" with them in making business decision.

The government should stay out of the way and let the market government itself in cases like these. If it's not a profitable business then it should close down and try something else.

Sunday Shopping Hours

The only reason that I can think of for government-imposed reduced shopping hours on Sunday is as a throw back to honoring the Christian Sabbath. Slowly over the years Sunday shopping laws have been changed to allow for longer times that business can be open on Sunday and to more types of businesses. Convenience stores were able to be open but the big box stores and malls weren't, slowly that has changed.

Since we supposedly have a secular government why is it that they can tell stores that they can't be open or have reduced hours on Sunday? This is in fact a form of endorsing one faith over another since Jewish people have their day of rest on Saturday, and there are Jewish people in Manitoba.

After pressuring the provincial government, retailers in Manitoba will be able to set their own hours this Boxing Day, which takes place on a Sunday.

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Again we see an example of how the government actually restricts rights and freedoms and that it is a fight to get them to stop then from doing so.

A store is private property, it should be up to the private property owners what their hours will be. If they can be profitable on Sundays then they will open, if they can't then they won't open.

As an employee my labour is sold to my employer with an agreement between us as to what my shift will be. I don't need, nor want, the government stepping in between us telling me when I can or can't work.

The government makes an exception on Boxing Day, what is so special about that day? It is a secular day, has nothing to do with religion, and frankly neither does Christmas unless you choose to make it that way.

If they are willing to be hands-ff on Boxing Day than every other Sunday should be the same case. Leave it up to retailers to pick the hours they want to be open.

Workplace Death Should Not be Prosecuted

Andrew James was 15 when hes wa killed in a workplace accident, get that? Accident. If he was 17 it would have been the same, if he was 50 it would have been the same.

Andrew was shoveling asphalt from a raised trailer box into a back-hoe scoop when the trailer tailgate gave way, Crown attorney Sean Brennan told court. Andrew lost his balance, fell into the trailer and was immediately buried under tons of sliding asphalt.

The tailgate gave way; that is due to lack of experience or lack of skill, it couldn't have been anticipated.

His parents understand this and don't want the business owned charged.

"This is not something that Andrew would have wanted," his mother Roberta James told court. "Gerald was like a second dad. We all miss (Andrew) terribly, but it was a tragedy."

Andrew's parents have vowed to help Shepell pay whatever fines the court imposes.

"From the time I met (Shepell), the way he mentored my son, it was incredible," said father Rick James, who continues to work with Shepell on a casual basis.

James said Shepell shouldn't be punished for breaking regulations that are often ignored as impractical in the work world.

His parents get it, but in the government paradigm there is no room for reason for compassion, it is a black and white one size fits all world.

Leave this man alone, leave his business alone, he has already suffered, and any fine he would be forced to pay goes to the government, not to any injured party.

Stiffer Penalties Don't Do Anything

A new federal law aimed at curbing auto theft and including stiffer penalties for car thieves has passed.

The Criminal Code has been amended making auto theft a separate crime punishable by up to a decade in prison, and a mandatory minimum sentence of six months in jail upon a third conviction.

Criminals already don't obey the law, so why would stiffer penalties make a difference? The answer, it won't. This is just more showboating by politicians trying to look like they are dong something. They don't fool me.

More forced Schooling

Beginning as early as next fall, Manitobans will no longer be allowed to drop out of school at age 16.

Education Minister Nancy Allan announced Thursday that a new law will soon be introduced that will mandate that students stay in school until age 18 or until they graduate from high school.

And just what is the point of this exactly? If a person wants to drop out when they are 16, perhaps those forced final 2 years are going to be pretty unproductive. Perhaps the Prussian style school system we have in Manitoba Public Education isn't working for them and they would like to try a different path like get a job in a chosen vocation for a few years.

Under the current Public Schools Act, parents can be fined up to $500 if their child drops out before age 16. The rarely-used penalty requires a school division to make a complaint through the courts.

Allan said part of the new law will involve updating and strengthening the penalty, which she said could involve doubling the fine, extending it to the student, or other measures.

And that is all of the answers government people have; force and fines. And if I as a parent refuse to pay this fine because I respect my child's choices? What do you think happens then?

Public Education is becoming more and more like jail for teenagers.