It is very clear the our current provincial government has to make a decision on whether they will beholding to their dance partners or the taxpayers.  It is not clear whether this little “Bill 115” jig reflects yet another “allemande right” which was just a juke for voting affect with full knowledge that an invoice would be in the main later rather than sooner.

I will apply equanimity as the operative principle and deem the governments action as righteous to start with regardless whether the courts have deemed it otherwise.

Which brings us to the point yet again,  how do we bring this nonsensical “poor boy” taxpayer gouging routine to an end ?  Perhaps, it is time for the govt to demonstrate some spine and purpose by sitting under the sword of Damocles while passing some comprehensive charter school legislation.  In one fell swoop they would effectively demonstrate that they are a govt of the people concerned about the cost and quality of education rather than mere puppets of their powerful lobbyists.

Does the current government have more courage and determination than Dionysius (btw I will allow the horse hair to be converted into stainless steel wire) ?

I actually just finished reading this decision and as far as I can tell, it defies simple side-taking. It’s available here:
http://goldblattpartners.com/wp-content/uploads/ETFOBill115.pdf
I’m actually very impressed by the decision. It does a number of things well, including a very good job of explaining the state of the law on the various topics this case touches on, showing, in my opinion, how necessary it is that competing interests are also represented in public sector labour cases, especially at the Supreme Court of Canada where the judges are making binding law.

The account of the events leading up to the bill is well-told and viewed both objectively and comprehensively. No one is spared a spanking that deserves one! No one got anything past this judge. And the fact that this decision doesn’t solve anything is frankly acknowledged, if I read correctly.

Governments certainly need to take action, but they need to take rational action that is well-considered, and as I read this tale, Bill 115 and the events surrounding it were not. If there is anything that the judge left out, I’d love to hear about it.