29 August 2008

Oh, man... that's just spooky

So, Charlie... what you're saying is... the Inspectors at Maple Leaf Foods... were totally unqualified alcoholics who got their jobs because their dad was the boss?
-- OTTAWA -- The Mayor of Walkerton, Ont. is calling for a public inquiry into the outbreak of listeria, saying he cannot believe lessons failed to be learned from the tainted water tragedy that killed seven people in May 2000.

Mayor Charlie Bagnato released a statement today decrying the current outbreak as “outrageous” and noting that some of the cabinet ministers who were in the Ontario government in 2000 are now in the federal cabinet.
Sorry Charlie... your buddy Stephane already stepped in this one.

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FROM THE COMMENTS:

And Charlie... you're blaming "cabinet ministers" for the seven fatalities in Walkerton?

Seriously?
"Mayor Bagnato knows a lot about the importance of a trustworthy and reliable operator. In 2000, contaminated water killed seven people and sickened more than 2,300."

"After the tragedy, Walkerton disbanded its public utilities commission, shed the dishonest and inept Koebel brothers and handed operations over to Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA), the Crown-owned agency that operates water or wastewater facilities for more than 200 municipalities across the province."
And yeah, Chuckles... while we're here, let's just take a closer look at who's responsible for what.

(h/t jag in comments)

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LAST WORD: Speaking of cabinet ministers
-- MONTREAL -- A Montreal newspaper is reporting that a former cabinet minister in charge of the federal program linked to the sponsorship scandal has bought a vineyard in Quebec's Eastern Townships with a government loan of more than $500,000.

Montreal La Presse reports today that the purchase of the Dunham vineyard was registered last Friday in the Quebec Land Registry for $733,687. The loan from Farm Credit Canada, a federal crown corporation, was for $550,000.
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