No recourse is what's wrong

This week, I'd like to respond to D. Graham Smith's letter to the editor on the historic reasons for no-fault workmen's compensation published last week. Mr. Smith referred to past commentary as an attack on the basic principle of no-fault insurance for the CSST. My words have been a significant part of that commentary and I must clearly state that I am a firm believer in the need for and the core principles behind workmen's compensation at employer expense.
I am well versed in the historic no-fault compromise of the 1930's that allowed it to first exist; it's the same one that tied our own hands from seeking recourse. After almost eighty years, perhaps it's time to revisit some of the limitations having no legal recourse to better serve the victims of negligence and crime.
Read my past words carefully and I have always been very clear that I simply seek the right for victims to sue for further compensation if negligence is clearly involved, not in the case of a simple and truly unavoidable accident. Any such legal action taken by the victim should not be allowed to reduce the delivery of benefits normally afforded to victims from the no-fault systems or create an unacceptable system of take what we offer or take your chances suing. In fact, legal action would not be against the SAAQ or the CSST but against the negligent employer or driver.
Canada has already agreed, after a fashion. In the aftermath of mining disasters, Canada added laws to enable criminally charging company officials who knew of or should have known of dangers, but failed to prevent accident or death. Rarely used, it sends the harsh message and deterrent of jail time for dangerous infractions and lack of oversight. It doesn't in fact better serve the actual victims. Victims would prefer compensation, not people in jail. But dangerous people in jail are at least a sometimes-effective deterrent and one small step forward.
A municipality operates an improperly equipped rescue boat without proper and safe seating or adequate handholds. The operator of the boat has not been provided adequate training by the municipality to fully understand the limitations of the inadequate configuration of the boat. There is inadequate supervision and no training plan, the night ended for one in a haphazard and unnecessary demonstration of an abrupt avoidance maneuver tossed in casually right at the end of the training exercise. That deadly accident was avoidable. Cost us everything and cost Hudson virtually nothing as they simply stood still and did nothing for us till the noise died down. I believe victims should at least have the legal right to choose to sue for compensation and attempt to deter other such accidents.
A company operates a meat press in production with a two-hand anti-tie down safety device knowingly disabled. Not just a simple work-related accident. In my opinion, defeating a safety system like this should never be allowed even in maintenance mode. If the company used any of the many other known and well-documented methods of preventing crushing injuries such as simple wrist tethers, the accident could have been avoided. Had the company accepted lower production by having one and only one trained operator who was fully aware of the defeated safety and producing product at a slower rate, the accident could have been avoided. I believe victims should at least have the legal right to choose to sue for compensation and attempt to deter other such accidents.
When a driver of any age is recklessly in the wrong lane at significantly higher than the speed limit illegally passing another car on a narrow winding residential street and hits Patricia Jolicoeur who was not even on the roadway when hit, that accident was avoidable. I believe victims should at least have the legal right to choose to sue for compensation and attempt to deter other such accidents.
The example case Mr. Smith related where an Ontario man sued and was awarded $1.2 million of which two-thirds went to legal costs is truly a condemnation of an inefficient legal system that doesn't swiftly deliver justice at reasonable cost. Our legal system agreed with the victim of the accident, who was in fact even more significantly victimized by the costs of seeking fairness and justice within the legal system. That surely needs fixing.
I take exception to Mr. Smith's description of how well the system provides ongoing care and compensation for the losses and inconvenience of injury or death. Has he ever stood in the victim's shoes? Why is the SAAQ cutting funding to support Patricia at the end of this year, further victimizing the Jolicoeur family? Reality: Victims simply become part of a bureaucracy designed to manage the unfortunate expenses of injury and death and victims will never get them the best of what they really need.
What would you want your loved one to have? Our system, which we all own and govern, is telling the victims a very different story than the idealistic one Mr. Smith believes exists. Mr. Smith's experience was apparently mostly on the employer's side managing expense and abuse. I speak from the victim's side while forever managing loss without even the satisfaction of recourse.
I need to be very clear. I accept no-fault insurance for SAAQ and CSST as an excellent principle for most accidents. I do not accept the limitations no-fault brings when it removes the victim's right to sue for further compensation where negligence or criminal actions can be proven to be a clear contributor to the accident.
In providing an impenetrable shield from legal action for the negligent or stupid to hide behind, no-recourse does not promote better safety. Limitations on legal recourse victimize the injured parties while distancing direct incentives for safe and responsible behavior for dangerous employers and dangerous citizens.
No-recourse of no-fault allows a system where dangerous employers and reckless drivers can sleep at night, smugly stating that they paid their premiums and the system will now take great care of their victims and that they therefore they need to do nothing more for the loss they caused. Disgraceful and woefully inadequate, that's the harsh reality. In my heart and mind I just know that no legal recourse in the light of negligence is very wrong and needs fixing.

Cue the violins

Now that Edward Hakim has been granted leave to appeal and is free for the summer, the path to justice in the Jolicoeur tragedy enters the remorse-exhibition phase.
A tragedy it most certainly is. Locals who have been hearing and reading about it incessantly since Nov. 29, 2006 may have developed a certain compassion fatigue, but this story is spreading like the ripples from a stone throughout Quebec society. Quebeckers are fed up with drunks and idiots behind the wheel and they're looking to the judiciary and politicians to send the message this behavior will no longer be tolerated.
As well, the haunting image of a young woman paralyzed and locked into her own brain for the rest of her life is profoundly moving and leads many of us to the conclusion that no-fault insurance plans such as Quebec's are fundamentally unfair. It will take the political equivalent of a nuclear weapon to dislodge Quebec's blind worship of this depassé dogma, but there, too, I feel a seismic shift.
An independent judiciary cares about none of the above. It simply asks this: would putting Hakim away for 18 months ensure that he doesn't reoffend? Will it deter others from doing the same thing? And most important: does he feel remorse? The Canadian legal system loves tears. If you show remorse, if you admit guilt, you're redeemed and free to go. Absence of remorse is what kept Saskatchewan farmer Robert Latimer in prison long after he should have been paroled for the mercy killing of his profoundly handicapped daughter Tracy.
The Hakims and their lawyer, Martin Pilotte, are keenly aware of the remorse requirement. Patricia was still in the neurological ward at the Montreal General when Pilotte made his first request for a visit to her bedside by the young man who put her there. The Jolicoeurs refused; the wound was still too fresh and Hakim's purpose too transparent. They informed the Hakims they could visit only at the end of the trial.
The next request came in the form of a letter to the Jolicoeurs via the Crown. Elise Maldemay, the third prosecutor to handle the Hakim case, found the letter in the file. Nobody can explain why it wasn't forwarded to the Jolicoeurs, but I suspect it's because Quebec's legal system still firmly believes the victim should have no status in law.
I once asked Hakim whether his son had made an effort to visit Patricia Jolicoeur in hospital, to see the terrible toll of his reckless driving.
"We offered to do that many, many months ago...just about as soon as the accident happened," Hakim told me. "And we re-offered to do that and we were told no. When [Mr. Jolicoeur] said no, I did understand why he said no."
I believe the appeal will attempt to show his son did his best to say he was sorry. Over the past couple of weeks, we've gotten hints of that from comments Hakim has made to the media, most of whom haven't a clue about the facts behind the case. I called Edward Hakim Sr. last week, moments after Appeals Court Judge Yves-Marie Morrissette finished hearing his son's lawyer explaining why a sentence served in the community would be the fairest thing all around.
I was expecting an earful, and I wasn't disappointed. The elder Hakim tore into me, accusing me of being one-sided in my comments on air and publishing four-letter words in the Hudson/St. Lazare Gazette. (Claude Jolicoeur used a four-letter word in a direct quote, given to me just after he had learned that Hakim would be seeking leave to appeal.)
Nor was I surprised when Hakim told me he made the decision to go to appeal over his son's objections. As we report this week, Hakim doesn't feel it's fair that his eldest serve as a whipping boy for Quebec's failure to crack down on drunk, dangerous driving.
It's easy to see where Hakim is coming from. He's a successful businessman; he does deals. He sees justice as a deal to be done, and he's not wrong. Our courts encourage the wheeling and dealing that goes on between adversaries, between the prosecutors and the defence. It may mean speedier resolution of civil cases, but it holds no place for the victim. In that respect, it is profoundly, fundamentally unjust.
Does Edward Hakim Jr. feel remorse about what he did to Patricia Jolicoeur?
I don't know. How do you measure remorse? In words? In tears? In one's ability to act?
Last year, Hakim Sr. told me this:
"I see two lives ruined, one life that's been ruined already...only God can bring this poor girl back. I see another person's life also ruined, his future ruined. He'll get a criminal record, no matter what happens...there goes his aspirations to be in accounting and to be in law...we're talking about a guy who goes full time, part time to school...for years, he works three nights and weekends even though I can afford to take care of him.
"Both families are victimized and will have to live with it for the rest of their lives. There's not much we can do to change the facts."
Hakim continues to maintain that the Crown has no business loading the ills of the legal system onto his son, given the absence of proof of anything more than stupidity.
"When Edward saw that his friend Holhouse was in front of him, he made the stupidest judgment error that he could have made in his life, that he's going to pay for for the rest of his life, and that is he pulled over beside his friend to flag him down on a night where it was pitch black. That's when the accident happened. There was no alcohol involved, there were no drugs involved, there was no drag racing involved."
Remorse, rehabilitation, deterrence. They're the cornerstones of the Canadian judicial system, and in that order. There's no place in the current formula for the victim or the victim's family, because it would only serve to complicate matters. Cue the violins.

Let's play ball!

Now that hockey mania is over, I can safely begin touting the merits of baseball-which, in my opinion, gets way too little press in this province. All you need to do to know this is true is look at the local baseball league compared to the local soccer league. And I'm not talking about the adult level, either-I'm talking about grassroots-the little kids-where sports like these begin to take hold. When my son was five and playing soccer, there were almost 20 teams in his league. Last year, at seven, he took up baseball-and lo and behold, there were only three teams in his league. And it's a crying shame. For all kinds of reasons.
For one, it's a great sport. It calls upon several different skills and myriad levels of strategy. And because of these different skills, it demands something else of its players, something I think is so beneficial as kids get older, especially in this computerized world of fragmented concentration and instant electronic gratification. It demands focus-only focus will allow you to master all the skills in the game and then synthesize them so that you become a good player. And that ability to focus and synthesize will inevitably be carried into our children's adult lives and serve them well.
So if baseball offers focus as a by-product, why is it so lacking in popularity? Why is it that in the early 1990s, there were more than 1500 registrants with Lakeshore Baseball, and now, there are only about 300? I decided to talk to an expert. Michael J. Masters, who heads up Lakeshore Baseball Academy, is a fully certified Level 3 coach through the National Coaching Certification Program with Baseball Canada and a fully certified learning facilitator through the same program. He spends his weekends hosting baseball clinics for kids from the ages of five through 14.
Masters thinks that part of the reason baseball has been on the decline in Quebec is Montreal no longer has a major league team. "When you don't have a major league team in the city, it hurts. When you do, people jump on it," he said. "When the Expos left, it put a nail in the coffin."
But Masters thinks there's more to it than this. There's no doubt, he says, that there is a time element. Busy parents want an activity that fits neatly into a slot and soccer games are typically 50 minutes. Baseball is much longer. "Baseball is more of a capital investment," he explained, pointing out not only the time factor but also the fact that more equipment is needed.
But the biggest hindrance, he thinks, is something I've already touched on: the fact that baseball requires much concentration-and needs to be taught properly. How can you master it if, for one, you don't focus carefully on each aspect of the game, and secondly, if there is no one there to teach you? That's why Masters devotes so much of his time to teaching the sport. "It's about getting to the younger ones-if they get hooked, they'll stick with it. But they'll only get hooked if they're having fun. And they'll only have fun if they start having some success. And to be successful, they need to learn." It's a circle-and Masters makes it work for kids.
Masters emphasizes that there is so much to the game of baseball, but that because it's slow (compared to soccer, for example), "you've got to keep young kids interested." The trick, he says, is to have more games than practices. This way, kids have a chance of mastering the skills. "If you develop them properly, teach them the complexity of the game, you won't lose them," he said. "With practices, you hone in on the skills, get them to focus, and then they start appreciating the sport and feeling a sense of accomplishment."
"You break it all down and then bring it all together," he told me. Just like I said: focus and synthesize.
Masters particularly likes working with younger kids. "That's where you instill things," he said, "things like community and school." He sees baseball as, apart from the sport, a springboard to other things. "Sometimes I'll ask the kids-'And what's more important-baseball or school?' When they say baseball, I tell them there is nothing more important than school, but that baseball helps instill the basics, like concentration."
Masters and I are on the same page. The lessons baseball teaches are things we can carry with us for the rest of our lives. Masters said it well: "Having the desire is what takes you anywhere." And that can be applied as much to baseball as anything else we undertake. But if baseball helps teach it, why shouldn't we expose our kids to it?
Email me at vandermeer.carolyne@gmail.com

New wheels

It took us quite a while. Plenty of trips to car dealerships, plenty of angry and painful grunts as we attempted to cram two car seats and a booster into the back row of various vehicles in a sterling attempt to avoid minivan hell.
The process was worthwhile. We managed to find a station wagon capable of lugging us, three kids and all their stuff around. If anybody's interested, our choice was a Mazda 6 wagon: two full-size car seats can JUST fit next to a booster. Fortunately Mazda designed it well, with extra-long universal mount anchors to tether two seats adjacent and a rear anchor mounted in the ceiling for centre-positioned car seats.
I read last week that more trains will soon be coming to Hudson. About time! Coming from England, the birthplace of public transportation, I have to admit that I am disappointed by the token service we receive here. Not that I need to get downtown very often, but when I do, invariably I am forced to drive.
Back in England, even where my grandmother lives, a fairly small town not much bigger than Hudson and about the same distance from London as Hudson is from Montreal, we have trains to London every half-hour during the day and hourly until after midnight. Local buses are also frequent.
Still people complain about late running and patchy coverage. I guess you don't know how lucky you are until something you take for granted is no longer available.
On the subject of which, I strongly advise any of you with a bone to pick with our Medicare system to watch the Michael Moore documentary, Sicko. It certainly has made us think twice about even a short trip to the US without getting comprehensive health insurance.
While Moore paints his usual overly-simplistic portrait of the arguments he's illustrating, it doesn't take much imagination to recognise another of America's great follies. The lack of a real public health system is just one more way that an economic superpower keeps most of its citizens in comparative poverty.
Perhaps the border guards on the US side should begin a softly-softly approach. The past assumption, that people want to sneak into the US and stay there, is being reversed. The more I learn about the USA, the happier I am to be living in Canada instead. Sleep well.
Connect with me online! Email: jaspersdad@live.ca Internet: www.jaspersdad.com

Spring is in the air, new fashions are being flaunted and Fashion Around the World! is the theme of Westwood Senior High School's upcoming fashion show tomorrow (Thursday, May 8), at 7 p.m. at Westwood Senior High School, 69 Côte St-Charles. The models are all students, most of them graduating this year. The sets are designed by the art students and the lighting done by the technical students. All proceeds from the show will help students with the cost of their grad celebrations.
Tickets are $8 and available at the Westwood Senior Campus Library, Vêtements Façade, 532 Main Road (450) 458-2160 or at the door.
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The Beaconsfield Quilters' Guild is an interesting mix of over one hundred members and many of them exhibit their work in the U.S. and internationally. They also have members who have had quilts successfully juried into the International Quilting Association's prestigious shows in Chicago and Houston which, from a quilter's perspective, is a great achievement.
The quilters meet every month to exchange ideas, show quilts and enroll in the many workshops that are offered. They also meet monthly to sew quilts for charity. Their Outreach Program, something they pride themselves on, has just been written up in the Canadian Quilter Magazine as a fine example of how a group of people can come together and create lovely quilts and comforters for those most in need in the community.
This weekend's annual Quilt Show moves to a larger and better-lit venue, the McGill/MacDonald Campus located at 21,111 Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. Quilters will be on hand exhibiting their creations, some of which will be for sale. The Tea Room will be serving refreshments and a gorgeous quilt will be raffled.
Organizer Helena Scheffer initiated the idea of the Raffle Quilt. The blocks were then made by at least twenty members over several months and then were assembled by Helena and Kristen Johnson. Finally, it was machine quilted by Colleen Paul who is known for her talent with her 'long arm quilter'. The binding and hanging sleeve were applied by Maria Krauchi. This beautiful quilt represents a real group effort, something which the Beaconsfield Quilters' Guild prides itself on. It is definitely one of the reasons that their charity work is also so successful. This year, the proceeds from this Raffle Quilt will be shared between NOVA Hudson and the Hudson palliative care facility.
The standard of these quilts is exceptionally high and so these shows are always spectacular. Running from Friday, May 9: 7-9 p.m., Saturday, May 10: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sunday, May 11: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Admission is free.
In addition, a small show called Through New Eyes featuring past ribbon winner quilts is now running in the Media Room of the Beaconsfield Library at 303 Beaconsfield Blvd. until May 30.
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Seems like improv theatre is catching on around here and Hudson Productions is thrilled to bring you Another Improv Café. It's going to be more awe-inspiring improv ­ a great night of fun, foolishness and frivolity!
Mary Vuorela says "all you have to do is put on your party shoes and come on down to the wacky and wonderful Galerie Harwood, 3663 Harwood Drive, Hudson on Saturday, May 17th at 7:30 pm. $5 at the door - refreshments available. Limited seating - so first in get to stay!
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A quick follow-up on the Opération Enfant Soleil family event held a couple of weeks ago in St. Lazare. Lots of parents and kids had a ton of fun with Kidmercury's magic show and Tikiti the clown had kids and adults alike laughing. There were loads of door prizes and the local band Comic Book Villains were on deck. Congratulations to sponsors and organizers - $500 was raised for sick kids.
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A lovely service of thanksgiving and remembrance was held last Saturday at the Côte St. Charles United Church for the life of Job Taylor Bradbury who left us on February 1, 2008. The service was well attended by family from near and far, friends and co-workers.
During the service, a trio made up by Maureen Young Ruiter, Lynn Poirier and Sue Winslow-Spragge sang a harmonious musical tribute ­ Lift Thine Eyes (from Elijah) by Felix Mendelssohn.
Tiffany Johnstone from Newfoundland and currently at UBC recalled her Grampy's "razor sharp wit", how he used to tell her to "keep her nose to the grindstone" and his sage advice that she should be true to herself. He said "it's the hardest thing to achieve, and it's the most rewarding." Bonnie's husband Rick Johnstone fondly recalled his father-in-law's love of family. He also spoke eloquently of "Brad, the Statesman", who served a wider kind of family - the community, where he spent 35 years on the town council as well as 15 years of the Mayor of Hudson. Bonnie and Rick's son-in-law Arnie Guha (husband of Zoe) wrote and delivered a very special and captivating poem called In Memory of Brad. Finally Brad's son Jay, shared many touching memories of his growing up days with his Dad.
Over at Whitlock, a reception befitting such a man as Brad was held. Oona Johnstone, currently living in Boston, displayed a wonderful slideshow of her Grampy's life for friends and family. Throughout the afternoon, James Armstrong played some of the family's best-remembered music on the grand piano as background music. Being what 30's and 40's music is however, this eventually became a high-spirited sing-along ending the afternoon on a celebratory note.
Items of interest for Sue? E-mail her at s.winslow.spragge@gmail.com or write her c/o the Hudson/St. Lazare Gazette.