Diane Beattie, I Want My $451,000 Back!

Dear LHSC Board of Directors and Diane Beattie,

I want my $451,000 back. That’s right, every single penny of severance that was recently afforded to Diane Beattie after the LHSC Board of Directors forced her to resign.

When a scandal like this one breaks out, there is no reason whatsoever that such gross misconduct should result in such a comfortable severance. $451,000 is almost two years worth of Ms. Beattie’s annual pay ($250,000 – not bad, huh?).

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What Canadian Cities Should Be Doing

Seeing as we have entered construction season here in Canada (a.k.a. spring and summer), I thought it prudent to collect some things that other cities have been doing that I think we ought to be implementing here in London (in some cases especially since we’re known as the Forest City) and other Canadian cities ought to be at least contemplating.

Let’s start with a great example from Vancouver: The roof of the Vancouver Convention Centre has been turned into a green roof. What does that mean?

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Open Letter to the NDP

A few years ago I became a supporter of the NDP. I listened to Jack Layton and his vision for Canada and was inspired. Not to mention that I couldn’t stand Paul Martin and the Liberals seemed to be agreeing more and more with the Conservatives on issues that I did not.

Recently it has become apparent that indeed, I am a centrist. I don’t tolerate overly polarizing views or people very well (though I do hear them out on the issue and give them their opportunity to explain their rationale) and would much prefer to see people get to the bottom of an issue, brainstorm all of the possible solutions and then pick the best. Sadly that doesn’t happen very often in this “democracy” of ours where few-to-no MPs actually listen to their constituents after gaining power.

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Why E! & A Channel Are Losing

After recent news that Canwest Global has placed it’s E! Channel stations up for sale, and is thinking of shutting them down if they can’t find a buyer, I decided to put in my 2 cents about why such a thing may be happening. Following further news that CTV’s A Channel, which operates a local station here in London, was shutting down it’s Wingham and Windsor stations, I realized it really needed to be done.

Speaking about E! Channel specifically, I think the network is in trouble mostly due to a large lack of quality programming. Think about it. The entire channel is based around the concept that potential viewers are so obsessed with “celebrity culture” that they will tune-in to shows like Dr. 90210, TMZ.com and True Hollywood Story (THS). I think that potential audience base has already been diluted by equally pointless shows like Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, which airs on MuchMoreMusic. I won’t dignify them by linking to them, sorry.

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