OPINION
Justice in the justice system Claude McIntosh Mac’s Musings
EDITORIAL@cornwallseawaynews.com
Sometimes the last place a victim finds justice is the justice system. And so it is for a Cornwall man, Robert Cadieux, whose wife, Kristine, was killed in a crash on Highway 401 just west of the city last summer. The 20-year-old driver of the car that crashed into the rear of the Cadieux van and sent it rolling into a ditch was charged with careless driving under the Highway Traffic Act. Police said the man had fallen asleep at the wheel. On Jan. 9 the driver appeared before a justice of the peace. He had two previous court appearances. According to Postmedia a paralegal served as prosecutor. The accused, who represented himself, entered a guilty plea. The JP fined him $2,000. He was given 18 months to pay. Then he drove back to Quebec. Yes, drove. His licence was not suspended. Three days later Cadieux was invited to a meeting at the court house. He thought it was to discuss the upcoming trial and his victim impact statement, which is part of the healing process. Not so. It was to inform him the case had been settled. And, by the way, if you want to fill out an impact statement, here are the forms. What a callous back-handed slap in the face. Interesting that the accused had a family member in court for support, while the family of the victim was overlooked. Tells something about the system and its treatment of victims. When the public inquiry was rolling along a few years back, two witnesses who were victims of sexual assault told how they were mistreated
by the court system. In each case they were not notified that one of those saving court time plea deals had been struck. They found out about the guilty plea and sentence in the newspaper. They were denied the opportunity of providing an impact statement. For the court system, one of those ho-hum moments. If there is a thread of good news for Robert Cadieux and his kids it is that the Crown plans to appeal the sentence. And how about an official apology ... in writing. HERE AND THERE Neil Young has given $15,000, the profit from his concert in his hometown of Omemee (near Peterborough) to the Scott Young Public School for the purchase of musical instruments. The school is named after his sportswriter/author father. ... For the second time in the last two years, Cornwall Community Police Service Deputy Chief Danny Aikman has been elevated to acting chief while Chief Dan Parkinson vacations in Florida. The acting title kicks in when the chief is away for more than 28 consecutive days. ... Belleville has received a $736,285 cheque from the new Shorelines Casino as part a non-tax gaming revenue payment. And that is just for the third quarter of 2017. ... Sarnia Police Commission is looking for a new chief and deputy chief, both of whom will retire this spring. The commission has brought the police association onboard to help with an internal search to fill both positions. THIS AND THAT During the height of the Cold War - 1950s and ‘60s - a malfunction set off the two air raid sirens set up in the city (one was on the Bell Telephone building on Pitt Street). Unlike what happened in Hawaii, there was no panic. In fact the police switchboard was swamped with calls from folks wanting to know what the ear-piercing wail was about. This was a
time when the city had a civil defence co-ordinator who kept the population up to speed on what to do if the Ruskies nuked Ottawa and the St. Lawrence Seaway. Things like crawling under a school desk, falling on the ground face down and covering the back of your head, hiding out in the cellar, etc. The basement of the post office (now the public library) was set up as a nuclear attack shelter stocked with cots, cans of food and water for all the important people. I’m told it was a short list. **************** Today, a three-cent increase wouldn’t be noticed. But for some Cornwall families in 1966 it was a jolt to the tight household budget. Minimum wage was 90 cents an hour. A good job paid $2.20 an hour. So, the three-cent increase in the price of a quart of milk - this is when it was delivered by a milkman in glass bottles and really was a quart raised concerns the spike would cause hardship for many large, lower income Cornwall families that purchased several quarts a day. This was a time when a family with six or seven kids under the age of 16 wasn’t uncommon. A story on the price increase noted that the 13-member George Tyo family had seven quarts of milk delivered to their Vimy Avenue family home six days a week, a total of 42 quarts a week. ALSO THIS WEEK IN 1966 A 45-year-old disabled McConnell Avenue war veteran was dragged from his burning, smoke-filled bedroom by firefighters George Clarke, Larry Deebank and George Laplante. The man was taken to Cornwall General Hospital with second and thirddegree burns. ... Lucien Lamoureux, 45-year-old Liberal MP for Stormont, was elected Speaker of the House of Commons. ... Mayor Elzear Emard said a proposed three-year term for city council was more practical than the long-standing
two-year term. ... Cornwall Collegiate Institute Board announced that the new $3.9 million school on Cumberland Street would be named General Vanier Secondary School. ... North End Social Club annual winter carnival named its royal court - Louise Deschamps, queen; Mary Cotnam and Joan Ratelle, princesses. ... The body of a popular priest, Rev. Herbert Seguin, was recovered from the St. Lawrence River near Summerstown. The 36-year-old pastor of Canadian Martyrs Church drowned when his snowmobile crashed through the ice. ... The most popular names among the 2,450 babies born at the General and Hotel Dieu in 1965 were Robert, John and Diane. ... An Air Canada Ottawa-Tampa return flight was $152. ... Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets on Montreal Road and Augustus Street had Snack-Pac’s for 69 cents. ... The Royals “Punch Line” of Jean Payette, Wayne Horne and Bill Snelgrove had a total of 127 points in 24 Central Junior Hockey League games. TRIVIA ANSWER Before Derek Drouin won gold at the 2016 Summer Games, Cornwall native Duncan McNaughton was the only Canadian high jumper to win Olympic gold. He did it at the 1932 Los Angeles Games. McNaughton left Cornwall at a young age and grew up in California. He attended UCLA. However, because he was born in Canada, he was allowed to compete for this country. McNaughton died in 1998. TRIVIA This Cornwall resident succeeded Lionel Chrevrier as Stormont MP - 1) Lucien Lamoureux, 2) Grant Campbell, 3) Albert Lavigne, 4) Ed Lumley, 5) Norm Warner. FINAL THOUGHT Ninety-eight per cent of the adults in this country are decent, hard-working, honest Americans. It’s the other two per cent that get all the publicity. But then, we elect them. - Lily Tomlin
organizations repeated appeals to the Ontario Governments for assistance with the demise of Sears over the past years. They are also aware that a U.S.A hedge fund has taken from Sears workers 3.5 billion dollars out of our pensions and benefits. We are all taxpayers and we all deserve fair and equal help from the Ontario Government. Sears pensioners unlike Stelco, have different demographics as 70% in retail sales employ
females who have lower salary levels resulting lower monthly pension benefits which limits their ability to survive comfortably in their retirement. As a taxpayer, I request that MPP McDonell bring this serious issue to Queens Park. I am also disappointed in the Silence from our Federal Government and their inaction. Syd Gardiner
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
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livelihood of Senior citizens. To date, the Ontario Government have taken no meaningful actions to protect Sears retirees or others such as Stelco to alleviate their loses. There are documents, letters, meetings and other actions over the years which paint a picture of worried groups of pensioners whose efforts were thwarted by inaction and indecision. Sears Canada Retirees are aware of our
www.cornwallseawaynews.com - Seaway News - Wednesday, January 24, 2018 - 15
Dear Editor, There are 16,000 Sears pensioners in Ontario who need meaningful support from the Provincial Government. These innocent retirees have already lost nearly all of their earned 200 million dollars in post retirement health, dental and life insurance benefits. These benefits are deferred wages for Sears retirees performed during their employment upon which they rely on for their