It is so hard to imagine the pain and grief of the people of tiny Isle Verte.
32 deaths in one cold and evil night. Mothers, fathers and grandparents dying in such a violent way.
Fire is so unforgiving. It is so hard to comprehend.
But what is even tougher to figure out, is why this was allowed to happen.
Premier Marois visiting Isle Verte said "if we could only stop this from happening again."
Well Madame Marois, you can.
Not to oversimplify, but let's just assume for a minute that we passed a law making it mandatory for every retirement home in Quebec to be equipped with sprinklers.
Every facility, regardless of its age.
Let's assume our government had the political will to make it the law of the land.
Then I would wager that we might prevent another Isle Verte.
Really, what is so complicated about this?
A Quebec coroner first called for sprinklers in 1997.
The premier says a police investigation is needed and then they will see about making a decision.
That is political blah blah. I don't get it.
Yes, it would be expensive. It's estimated the retrofit for nursing homes in Quebec would cost about $80 million. That''s about a quarter of the cost of a new roof for the Big O.
The cost doesn't matter. The people at La Residence du Havre were in the final stages of their lives.
They deserved to be able end their days in dignity and that means no expense is too great.
It's all about priorities
Short-term expediency
Priorities are something Quebec governments have trouble with.
It's so easy to mortgage the future for short term political expediency.
No one has the guts to really do anything that might seem unpopular.
Quebec is a financial mess--in key indicators we are barely above the Maritimes--and we are headed to the poor house.
We spend too much and create too little.
That's the main point of a study from the business school at the University of Montreal this week: we are living way beyond our means and have maxed out the credit cards.
And yet like Don Quixote tilting at windmills, our government talks about sovereignty and Charters and language.
Perhaps that is their strategy: a separate Quebec would no longer be the poorest place in Canada.
The Me Generation
Do you remember David Dingwall, the former federal Liberal minister who quit his job as head of the Mint and then demanded severance?
The entitlement culture since then has become a growth industry.
Bixi declares bankruptcy and you and I will be on the hook for millions.
But before they pull the plug employees received a quarter-million dollars in bonuses. (Obviously for a job well done.)
We paid over $4 million in departure bonus to city councillors who either lost or decided not to run last time.
The disgraced Michael Applebaum, who was in the mayor's chair for an insignificant amount of time, was given a $267,000 good bye.
We have four former top cops in the SQ charged with fraud and breach of trust over entitlements over their pensions and misappropriation of funds.
As taxpayers we have entitlements too.
We are entitled to decency from those who work for us and not to be taken for fools.
