One of the themes often heard at this time of year is gratitude towards veterans of past conflicts. Many people say, quite sincerely, that soldiers fought and many died to preserve our freedoms and our way of life.
And it’s true — they did. Anyone who doubts that should take a close look at the plans that Adolf Hitler had, if Germany had won the Second World War.
Yet as the Second World War grows distant, it seems more of the bureaucrats we have allowed to oversee our lives forget about basic concepts such as fairness and making sensible decisions. Instead, they rely on ever-complicated rules, often created by other bureaucracies without any consultation, as an good excuse to do nothing.
An excellent example of this is an incident involving Langley Township fire department, which has in the past 10 years grown to consume much more of the local municipal budget. Scores of firefighters have been hired to replace volunteers, because of the growth of the community.
A woman in Willoughby called 911 more than a year ago, because she had dropped a thermometer containing a very small amount of mercury. The fire department responded — and did nothing. Fire chief Stephen Gamble says Worksafe BC rules won’t allow firefighters to clean up a tiny bit of mercury. Instead, they call a private firm in such situations — which billed the woman close to $2,000.
After negotiation with the fire department, the bill was reduced to $850. That’s ridiculous.
The questions raised by this non-response are this — why would anyone call 911 in a non-life threatening situation, if this is the end result?
Why did the fire department not advise the woman to do what the ministry of environment suggests — clean it up herself and place the mercury in a sealed container?
