Fear and Loathing South of the 40 : Professional Misbehaviors

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Here is one to blow you away, especially if you take taxi’s. In the province of Quebec there is no background and no criminal check required for taxi drivers. So my fellow Quebecers, you have absolutely no idea who you are jumping into a cab with, and neither does anyone else! This revelation has come to light after several women told CBC news they had been sexually harassed by taxi drivers. One passenger, only named Andrea, says two summers ago a taxi driver unzipped his pants and tried to touch her. Just thinking out loud here, but if the guy has his junk in his hand, he probably isn’t paying all that much attention to the road. Benoit Jugand, general director of the Montreal Taxi Bureau, says they have been waiting on a solution for years. Meanwhile, Quebec Transport Minister, Robert Poeti, says he was “shocked” to find out Quebec taxi drivers don’t get any screening. I am shocked too, Mr. Poeti, we all are, think you can do something about it? Please?

Is there a Proctologist in the Province?

Having trouble finding a doctor? Welcome aboard so are 50,000 other people in the province. Looks like there are also doctors having trouble finding patients. Since its expansion, the Victoria-Square Medical Center is ready to take on 3000 new patients. So the question is why have Montrealers that have been patiently waiting on a list for a doctor not been advised? The Center’s director, Judith Belanger, says they contacted Montreal’s Health Agency months ago. Seems the problem was a “jurisdictional” problem. But not to worry, the Regional Health Board (CSSS Jeanne-Mance) is now working with them to solve the problem asap. Know what I think? I think there is so much red tape that the Montreal Health Agency couldn’t find its own ass with both hands.

Workers Unite!

Roland Martin, President of the union which represents Montreal firefighters has finally addressed the media, for the first time since the Aug. 18 ransacking of City Hall. He explained that before making any comments, they had to conduct their own investigation. The Union is backing its members and will pay all legal costs associated with the 41 criminal charges. Martin said the incident was a “bit of a speed bump” in their strategy. I bet it was.

XL vs. XXL

OMG I have to get this off my chest. Last week I read an article at Huffington Post Canada about how we might be getting ripped off when we buy an extra-large Tim Hortons coffee. In a video being shared online, Mr. Bryan Issac Vaillancourt takes an extra-large Timmy’s cup, fills it with water, and pours it into a large Timmy’s cup and viola! There is only a little bit left in the extra-large cup. The article goes on about the prices and then Tim Hortons response and how many mLs are in each… Screech!! What the fuck am I doing? Who on the planet earth should give two shits about the difference between what is in a large and an extra-large coffee? I really hope this is just a publicity stunt on Tim Hortons’ part and that Mr. Vaillancourt has more important things to do with his life. And, people, stop reading shit like this. Whew! glad I got that out.

Last week at a Glance:

Does NFL stand for the Nasty Fist League?

And the hits keep coming. Inside of a week we have seen NFL Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice get fired for punching his then fiancée, now wife (yup, she married him), Janay Palmer out in an elevator, and Friday an arrest warrant was issued for Minnesota Viking running back Adrian Peterson on a charge of child abuse. He used a branch to spank his son. Ah yes, the heros of the NFL. BTW, if you’ve not seen the Rice video, don’t! I made the mistake and it’s disgusting.

Chicken Catchers

Best headline of the week “Guatemalan Chicken catcher in Quebec alleges “abusive work practices”. The article is actually not funny at all; it talks about temporary foreign workers being shit on by a company called Service Avicole JGL. I’m not here to judge who is right or who is wrong, you can read the article for yourself, I am just here to ask, who knew that chicken catching was a profession?

Charged with Culpable Homicide

Well the BladeRunner, Oscar Pistorius, was fast enough to beat a murder rap, but not fast enough to beat a “culpable homicide” verdict in the shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. The track star will be sentenced on Oct. 13 and could receive a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. You know, if I am woken in the middle of the night by a noise, first thing I do is turn to my wife and say “Did you hear that?” Other people turn to their gun and start shooting. It’s a funny old world.

Last word of the week:

Police say a 9-year-old Saskatoon boy will not be charged with stealing and crashing a city bus. The boy jumped into an empty bus that sat idling outside a transit yard. He managed to drive the bus two blocks, hitting a park car, a stop sign and another city bus (not bad for a guy who doesn’t even have a license). There were no injuries. Lets face it folks, I am not saying what the kid did was right, but an empty bus with the door open and the engine running is pretty much an invitation to a young boy. No?

Want to tell Ken your favourite news story of the week? Contact him at [email protected]