First Yelp Review: Gord's Appliance Service, Winnipeg.

Well, I took to Yelp for the first time in order to give a review of Gord's Appliance Service in Winnipeg after an absolutely terrible experience. So, I thought, what the heck, I will share it here. I'm still so frustrated about the whole situation. Dammit all!

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Wow. Yesterday I dealt with Gord. That was one horrid experience, let me tell you. This COULD take a while to explain, so bear with me. We have Kenmore stacker washer and dryer. The washer done up and broke on us, and it is on the bottom of the stack. The set is in our mud room in the back of our house which also serves as a bathroom and is, admittedly cramped.

I called Sears and one of the people they recommended calling was good ol' Gord. So, I did. His rates seemed reasonable enough. He was gruff on the phone, but, whatever, maybe he would be better in person. NO. Not at all. He came into the mud room and started whining and complaining that he couldn't work in that small space, for starters (although we have had other repair people work in there with no problem). One of the issues, I guess, was that the top dryer had to come off which was something I was more than prepared to take care of. I mean, I don't know. The reason I called a "professional" was because I had no idea what was wrong and what needed to be done. Well, this dude was FAR from professional. He acted like he had never seen a situation like this and that I was ridiculous for even thinking that he might be able to deal with this in a professional manner. He acted like a teenager who was just asked to clean his room or something. It was rather weird. He was confrontational, grumpy and generally completely unhelpful making an already stressful situation THAT MUCH WORSE! How has this guy managed to stay in business??

So, to say the least I cannot possibly recommend this guy. In the end I was just glad that he was out of the house so I didn't have to deal with him anymore. I've never been happier to see the backside of a repairman.

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And there you have it, the short story of my horrid encounter with Gord. Ugh.

#stoptheswap Open Letter Opposing Earl Grey/LaVerendrye School Swap

Dear Trustees, Winnipeg School Division administration and other interested parties,

It is my understanding that because of overcrowding issues at Laverendrye school (Lav), one solution that has been put forth is a “school swap”, where Earl Grey School would swap places with Lav. Based on media reports and social media interactions, it seems that some of the Lav parents are quite serious about this idea, and appear to be pushing Trustees and the Winnipeg School Division in this direction.  As a parent of two children at Earl Grey School, I am deeply concerned by this proposal and frustrated that it is even being considered.

On the surface, this sounds simple. A school swap implies just that. It implies that two schools would just swap spaces and everyone would go along as if nothing happened. But what is being proposed is NOT a school swap. This is taking one group that has a space issue (LaVerendrye) and completely displacing and dismantling a tight knit community (Earl Grey) to solve their problem. It is taking a group that has no problem, is having success and building a top notch school and making them suffer to accommodate the needs of LaVerendrye.  In fact, it baffles me that Earl Grey even ended up in the equation as a way to solve LaVerendrye’s issues.

The students of LaVerendrye have everything to gain from this proposal which is why it is attractive to that group. However, the students of Earl Grey basically lose everything. How is this advantageous to anyone? The Earl Grey school community will lose its connection to the Earl Grey Community Centre. It will lose its connection with Dante Day Care, and it may lose its in-school Early Childhood Education programs and Montessori school. These are valuable programs that, if Earl Grey moves, will create a wealth of problems and pain to students and their families. Again, LaVerendrye will gain these, and we will lose them. How is this fair? Once again, this is not a swap. This is one group pushing another group out and gaining everything the other group will lose.

Furthermore, the proposal for a school swap involves taking away grade 7 and 8 programs from Earl Grey. Essentially, the system we have in place will be decapitated. In a school designed to have children from all grades work together, learn from each other, guide each other and participate in activities together, two of the senior grades will be taken away. This destroys so much of what has been worked for at Earl Grey. Where will these kids go? Dispersed to other schools where they will be just a number?

To outsiders, on paper, a “school swap” may look like a simple, easy solution to alleviate a problem. It is not. It will come with severe consequences for all of the families and students of Earl Grey School. This is NOT merely a school swap. This is tearing apart a school community, ripping all the pieces that make it a successful, productive and satisfying whole to shreds in order to solve a problem that another school is facing.

What I ask is that this option be dropped from the table, for the sake of the Earl Grey Community. There are other options that will help LaVerendrye while not dismantling Earl Grey. These are what should be pursued for the sake of all.  Earl Grey, with its small class sizes and tight knit community that works together with the community center, early childhood education and Montessori programs, is a system that should be emulated, not destroyed.

The option that, from my perspective, makes better sense is developing another French milieu school elsewhere, possibly at the William Osler site. If the demand for these types of schools is so high, it really won’t be long until the Earl Grey site will no longer meet the needs of LaVerendrye either, which means it won’t be that long before the school is facing the same issues all over again. There are numbers floating out there suggesting Earl Grey can hold 600 students, and this appears to have supporters of the swap feeling that Earl Grey is a half empty, dying school. Well, there is actually only 1 empty classroom. All others are being utilized. And, from my understanding, the 600 number comes from outdated estimates before class sizes were capped, before dedicated classes for computer labs and a library were needed. The idea that 600 students can fit into the current Earl Grey site is just not accurate.

If the School Board and Trustees believe we have too much space in the Earl Grey School, I think you would be hard pressed to find a parent that wouldn’t support the opening of the space to new programs or new students and welcome proposals to share the school with others. But, I don’t think you will find a single parent in the school comfortable with the idea of having Earl Grey as we know it completely dismantled.

I live across from Earl Grey School and am watching as our neighbourhood is drawing younger people who are buying up relatively affordable housing and renovating. It seems to me that it won’t be too long before the demand for a school like Earl Grey increases.  Earl Grey, if stuck in the LaVerendrye School site, will be looking at space issues before long, as will Lav in the Earl Grey location. All that will have been achieved is some shuffling around and destroying of the Earl Grey School community that is showing success, where students are happy, where we have no issues. Temporary gain for Lav, but long term pain for all involved is not a solution. That is what a school swap delivers.

Earl Grey families and students face many losses if this proposed school swap goes through. Why do this to the Earl Grey kids? Why do it to the families of Earl Grey students? A better solution must exist. Many others have been put forth worth considering. For the sake of the Earl Grey community, please drop the school swap idea. Let Earl Grey continue with its successful formula. Allow Earl Grey families to continue to enjoy the programs they rely so much on that we will lose in the event of a swap. Let Earl Grey survive.  Stop the swap.

Gord Steeves Tastes Own Foot

Oh Gord, Gord, Gord. Mr Steeves, you have completely blown it.

If you aren't aware of the situation, Gord Steeves, Mayoral Candidate for Winnipeg in the 2014 election has been hit by a bit of controversy caused by his wife's racist remarks on Facebook. No, okay, lets' revise that, let's say EXTREMELY racist remarks. I mean, really, very, very racist. I mean, come on, we are talking terribly racist.

Ouch. No, not just ouch. OUCH! Wow, that's.....mean! Now, as I listen to the Gord Steeves presser (which you can watch right here) happening now, all I can say is, boy oh boy, has Gord Steeves and his wife missed the boat. As he is saying, the comments on Mrs Steeves Facebook was said in a sort of "heat of the moment" sense, after a few incidents where she had been downtown and approached by people looking for money. Apparently she felt scared. Now, I can't take that away from her. I can see how at times it would be scary. I won't deny that. However, the way this post was worded doesn't seem to reflect fear as much as looking down on people, a pure, 100 percent racist rant, targeting a specific group, showing an extreme lack of understanding when it comes to issues facing Natives in Winnipeg. There isn't a sense of fear as much as a sense of disgust, of loathing, and definitely NO understanding of issues that might be leading people to a life on the streets, begging for money.

Now, to Gord Steeves campaign. Here is the issue. No, Mr. Steeves is not responsible for his wife's views. He didn't write them, she did. These are her views. He shouldn't necessarily be punished for them. However, Mr. Steeves policies for dealing with cleaning downtown up and getting rid of drunkeness, etc seems to directly reflect her views...without the racist rant. He wants to add more Police Cadets downtown to deal with these folks, not even seeming to be interested in looking at the roots of the problem. Just sweep out the unwanted people. This is worrying. I'm not saying that attention does not have to be paid to downtown, that there aren't issues that should be addressed. But when a major campaign promise seems to mirror the concerns his wife have (who made a vile, vile racist Facebook post about it), I can't help but feel suspicious. 

What we see here is just one example of an epidemic of racism in Winnipeg. Come on, face it, it's not like this is the first time any of us have heard similar rhetoric from other people. This is pretty common stuff. We all know and can't deny that. She isn't the first to say these things. Given this, here was Gord Steeves opportunity to maybe shine a bit, stand up against racism in Winnipeg and make a statement of solidarity with those that need a leader to help deal with the issue of racism. He blew it. He missed the boat. He defended himself and his wife and seemed to be oblivious or non commital to the idea that racism is a huge problem and that a Mayoral candidate might want to make statements to ensure that he understands the issue of racism and is willing to work with the community to fight it. He didn't. He didn't in the slightest. 

The way he handled the entire issue was just terrible, as far as I am concerned. The revelation of the Facebook comments his wife made happened 5 days ago. For some reason he chose today, Tuesday (August 12th), to address the issue. He set up a news conference, only telling news outlets where it would be an hour before the event. Media showed, he didn't, until several minutes past 1pm. Then, he began the press conference with some very dry and poorly presented information about zoning permits. It was rather bizarre I have to say. Clearly he wasn't looking forward to addressing the issue on everyone's mind and was stalling. Not overly professional and not overly smart. Finally, FINALLY, someone interrupted him and asked him to get to the matter at hand, which Mr. Steeves reluctantly did focusing almost solely on defending his wife and explaining the context (that doesn't really explain some of the worst statements she made about welfare, education and ass's) as opposed to acknowledging that this type of rhetoric is a serious issue.

After the press conference, which had an abrupt end when he had had enough, he walked out and left, not talking to anyone. He clearly does not want to deal with this issue. The problem is, there are many in the community who do, especially those directly affected by racism in Winnipeg. Instead of facing them and standing up for them, he dodged the issue and did everything he could to avoid it. This, ladies and gentlemen is NOT leadership material. 

Now, he loves his wife, which is lovely. I support him on that. I understand that. He wants to stick up for his wife. Fine. BUT, in the process he completely failed to realize the hurt that was caused by her statements and acknowledge the people affected by this type of racism. This was a chance to speak out, to reach out to those affected, to show at least a shred of understanding. Instead, it was just focused on how his wife was a victim and that led to her racist rant. He had a golden opportunity to address a serious issue that we face in this city....and he blew it. Instead, he seemed annoyed and fed up with even having to face any questions regarding the incident. 

We need a mayor who isn't afraid to look at the issue straight in the eye, understand what is happening downtown, why we have the "problems" we do and at least empathize with those his wife completely bashed in her comments. Yes, Lorrie made the comments, but in my view, Gord's lack of willingness to deal with the issue just made himself look bad. He blew an opportunity....squandered it. He showed lack of leadership. He showed lack of understanding. He showed lack of empathy. And he showed just how far away of finding a solution to one of the major issues we face in this city we truly are. Our leaders need to step up and face this problem. Gord Steeves showed he has no interest in doing that. 

Fighting Manitoba's Bill 18: How Low Can They GO!

Good job to you, the religious leaders and school officials in the province of Manitoba who have decided to oppose Manitoba's Bill 18 which aims at creating safe and fair spaces for ALL students in ALL schools in Manitoba and opposes bullying. What's the problem? Oh, students would be allowed to create a Straight-Gay Student Alliance in any school, eh? Oh NO! That would never do!

Wow, religious leaders and school officials opposing this, you have taken the cake when it comes to missing the point. Trying to prevent kids from being bullied, and being able to form groups where they can bond and create a good place to be apparently is something that YOU see as a threat to your "religious freedom". Lovely, just lovely. So, now, you are the victim, or at least that is how you are portraying yourself. The Manitoba Government comes up with legislation to prevent bullying and you get pissed off because it will actually do it's job, and you can't have that, can you?

Good work, I'm sure this is exactly what Jesus would want....people representing him fighting AGAINST a bill that helps create a safe environment in schools for everyone, including LGBT kids. Good work in BEING the bully and setting an example in the community of how the problem of bullying is created.

What IS the fucking problem? Oh, you are against gays and lesbians. Right. Because they are an abomination to god or some ridiculous crap like that? And, you don't want the big bad government forcing legislation on you that will restrict your "religious freedom" while they try to protect the rights of CHILDREN! And you can't have groups in YOUR schools that might suggest that kids who are gay or lesbian are, you know, HUMAN! Of course the thing to do is to continue to alienate LGBT kids and let them know in no uncertain terms that they are WRONG and horrible for choosing that lifestyle.

But WAIT! Here's something that you should know: LGBT kids DON'T choose their lifestyle. They are who they are. It isn't a lifestyle...it's a fucking reality! Oh, but, wait, there are many religious CHOICES out there, and you have CHOSEN which religious path to follow....soooooo, YOU are actually the ones who chose your lifestyle. Isn't that interesting? People who actually DID choose their lifestyle wanting protection to discriminate and alienate against people that DIDN'T choose their sexual orientation. Well, isn't that interesting. Fucking idiots!

Sorry, yes, I am unleashing a volley of swears here because this subject absolutely PISSES me off. I can't believe the backlash that Bill 18, which, to steal from the National Post "... is aimed at preventing bullying in schools and promoting equality based on gender, race, sexual orientation and other factors." is actually causing an uproar! And of course, as the NP says, "A section that would require schools to allow gay-straight alliance groups if students wished to establish them has drawn the most criticism." How dare schools that get ANY public money whatsoever have the nerve to talk about their religious freedom when it comes to such an important issue as kids being bullied. Good work, religious leaders who are supposed to be fucking ADULTS in wanting to ensure the "freedom" of their little networks to discriminate and alienate children based on their sexual orientation. Nice job, adults. That's a great message to send to other kids.

Religion in general pisses me off, but this takes the cake I have to say, at least in Canada. It just blows me away how these religious jerks cling so heavily to this notion that "God Hates Fags" without actually saying it out loud, while absolutely ignoring 99 percent of the other things god isn't so keen on. For example, pigs. I wonder how many of those opposed to this bill eat bacon or farmer's sausage? Well, given that much of the opposition we have seen comes from the community of Steinbach where 1,200 people showed up to oppose the legislation are Mennonites, and farmer's sausage is a cultural dish, I would say that there is a whole lot of fucking hypocrisy going on here. If we look at Leviticus, doesn't god specifically say not to eat pigs! What part of this are you fuckers having trouble with exactly? You have no trouble with enforcing the gay thing as you perceive it, but then chow down when it comes to pigs. Ridiculous!

Even as I write this, I seethe with anger and rage. I'm disgusted that this is happening in our province. I'm disgusted that this level of homophobia exists in this province and that people are so against LGBT's that they are actually fighting against legislation to curb bullying. How fucking LOW can you get? I suppose we are going to see in the days and weeks to come just how low these people can actually go.

Sick and sad.

Christ the King School to Give Credit for Being a Jerk

Oh good GAWD! Now what's going on.

I have little respect for people who stand outside of places that offer abortions with their "vigils" and such to show how much they care about fetuses and wish to show women who they do not know that they are awful for choosing to have an abortion, something that SHOULD be a woman's choice.

And, I have even less respect for Christ the King School of Winnipeg, Manitoba and their principal David Hood's brilliant idea of giving extra credit to school kids who attend anti-choice vigils like the Campaign Life Coalition's 40 Days for Life one being held in front of the Women's Hospital here in the city right now. Isn't this called bribery? "Hey, kid, if you go out there and make women feel guilty for having an abortion without bothering to find out the circumstances or the tough choices the women have had to make to get there, we'll give you extra credit! Whaddya say?"

You know what I say? Let's start holding vigils outside of Catholic Churches to recognize the thousands upon thousands of children globally who have been sexually abused by the Catholic Church. Or a vigil to people in Africa who have become HIV positive because the Pope, the good man he is, has condemned the use of condoms. We should also hold a vigil for aboriginal children who were beat, molested and died in boarding schools in Canada, some run by the Catholic Church. We should hold a vigil for members of the LGBT community who have taken their own lives partly because of a feeling of lack of acceptance, understanding and support, and the often extreme feelings of guilt and self loathing partly kept alive in our society because of wonderful organizations like the Catholic Church.

In other words, people of the Catholic Church, shut up. As long as you are involved with an organization that has brought so much horror and evil to the world, you have lost all legitimacy to speak out on practically any ethical issue. Go ahead with your little prayer vigils. You've already made your pact with the devil. You must get your own house in order. Otherwise, your theatrics are nothing more than that. And please, involving your children? Giving them school credit for taking part in these prayer vigils and saying that it is a community service? Talk about pushing the line ethically. And, to make things all that much more fun, although the school is a private school it does get public funding. I wonder what would happen if a secular school gave credit to students who attended pro-choice rallies? Hmmmmm.

Colour me unimpressed.

Clark Stevenson and the "Where are the Parents?!" Question

It’s a pretty normal after something goes wrong in the world of kids and young adults to ask “Where are the parents!?” Is it a fair question to ask in the case of Clark “Clarky” Stevenson, the 15 year old boy who was stabbed so severely at 2:30am out in the streets of Winnipeg that he later died? Is it fair to ask why a 15 year old kid, and his young attackers were out roaming the streets of Winnipeg at such an ungodly hour? Where exactly were the parents? Did the parents know these kids were out, and what kind of mischief they were up to? Something has gone terribly wrong here, but what is it?

 According to an interview with the CBC “Jenna Wirch, a friend of Clark Stevenson's, said she believes a lack of funding for youth programs has failed him and other troubled young people.”? Sniff, sniff. Do you smell that? You’re right. It does appear to be the smell of a scape goat! It is fair to say that Clarke lived in a rough ‘hood. Are community programs important? Yes. Is a 15 year old kid not being out on the streets at night important? Yes! Can a program keep a kid at home late at night so he isn’t roaming the streets getting stabbed? Good question, no? So, how much responsibility should be on the parent’s shoulders and how much goes to the community? It seems that the job of keeping a kid at home falls squarely on the shoulders of the parents. If they don’t take responsibility, what can be done? Does the city have to step in with curfews for young kids to prevent them being out on the streets stabbing one another at 2:30am? If so, won’t that further move funds away from programs and into policing? And, then does it not, by default, put the responsibility of parenting on to the shoulders of the city?

Now, let’s rewind for a moment to earlier in the summer when riots broke out in London. Although initially being sparked by the shooting of young man by police, before long areas of that city were torn apart by what appeared to be absolute senseless violence, looting and vandalism. The same story was used to explain what had happened there as in the Clarke case, when some said that the riots are the result of drastic cutbacks to community programing in low income areas which have left a generation disenfranchised, living without direction and, in many cases, bored. But, the question was raised over and over again, by the media, police and the community, “Where were the parents?” Why were kids, some of them very young, able to be out on the streets at late hours taking part in such serious crimes? Who is in charge of keeping kids in, where they will be safe? Were there no parents wondering “Where is my son tonight, and why does he suddenly have a large screen TV in his room?”? Police took to the airwaves, asking parents to step in and keep their kids at home. And it seemed like a reasonable request.

So, here we have what seems to be senseless violence happening in two parts of the world with the same reasoning given for both. Lack of community programming is being blamed and the “Where are the parents?” question is being asked. Is it fair to say that both have validity? Yes. The community as a whole does have to look at what it can do to help areas of the city where there are issues with poverty, gangs, violence and drugs. But, ultimately, a community and community programs can only do so much. Family and friends are in mourning, and it’s a tough time to be asking questions, but, it really does have to be asked. Could this tragedy have been prevented simply by someone, a parent, a guardian, an aunt and uncle, or whoever, making sure that 15 year old Clarke Stevenson was in his bed at 2:30am instead of out in the streets fighting?

UPDATE: So, today, it appears that an arrest has been made. They have charged a 14 year old boy with the 2^nd degree murder of Clark Stevenson. How on earth does this happen? Where the heck are the parents of THIS kid?! How is a 14 year old kid able to be out on the streets of Winnipeg at 2:30 in the morning, with a knife, stabbing another kid?? It makes no sense to me. Something needs to change. But what?