Shame, shame, shame.
The National Hockey League has proven once again that it is bush league.
I'm just an average hockey fan. I don't dissect the entrails of every game like the pundits and rink rats.
But I know when I see something that is wrong, and what happened to Max Pacioretty was very wrong.
What will it take before this league takes its responsibility seriously?
Head shots, concussions, cheap shots, deliberate attempts to injure, will someone have to die?
The best player in the game, Sidney Crosby, is out indefinitely because of a head injury.
Our game is becoming like a roller derby on skates.
Don't tell me that Zdeno Chara didn't know exactly what he was doing. I don't buy it.
There are two standards here.
If I went up to someone on the street and knocked them senseless, I would be arrested and charged.
But why is it acceptable in a hockey rink? Why are brutal attacks tolerated by the deep thinkers running the NHL?
It's a mind boggling lack of leadership.
Some sponsors are now having second thoughts about being associated with the NHL, and I don't blame them.
It would probably take the loss of money to make Gary Bettman do anything about it.
If this continues, our game will certainly change for the worse.
You don't need an expert to tell you that.
Words of wisdom on shale gas
A moratorium by any other name is still a moratorium.
And that's precisely what is happening with shale gas in Quebec
The report from the BAPE, the environmental review board, was a wise one, as was the decision by the government to sit down and listen.
The shale gas industry is doing the dance of the seven veils, trying to entice us with dreams of untold riches.
But the science is not in on the dangers this could pose to the environment, especially to water tables.
So yes, it's good to take the foot off the gas for now. Let's get it right.
So thanks to the BAPE, for speaking words of wisdom.
Senate report makes sense
Finally, I'm not a big fan of the Senate.
But a Senate report this week makes sense and should be heeded.
It calls on the federal government to do a better job of protecting minority language rights in Quebec. It reports that we are an aging community, that we make less money than Francophones, that our numbers are shrinking, that services, training and jobs are often hard to obtain.
The report stresses that it doesn't mean the goals of the French and English communities can't be achieved in at atmosphere of respect. They don't have to be mutually exclusive. We are an asset not a threat.
Amen to that.
But whether anyone is listening, well, that's entirely another story.
