I received this email below recently and decided to post it here. It has some good points. Why is it that only during contract time people start talking about showing "RESPECT" from the employer for the work that we do? Maybe it should start with us honouring those of us who have fallen in the line of duty.
I have said before, we don't need a hunk of rock at Queens Park to stand in front of to honour those who paid the ultimate price. Having a memorial for fallen peace officers does not make a lot of sense when we don’t even have a ceremony for ourselves. Do we want to be taken seriously only once every three or four years? When bargaining is done and we have a contract, we need to show the public and each other that we are serious.
Please read below
Dan,
Earlier this year McGinty took a trip to Las Vegas. He attended the International Firefighters Association (IFFA) convention. He also gave a speech to the membership. McGinty was wined and dined while he was there. All Canadian firefighter associations are dues paying members of the IFFA.
On October 3rd this year the Ontario firefighters started a campaign to raise $500,000 to repair their Memorial at Queen's Park. Earlier this year paint was slopped on it, and now the firefighters want to replace the Memorial. The Ontario government contributed $100,000 to the fund on October 3rd to kick off the campaign.
The government had put up $500,000 in 2000 for the firefighters memorial to be built, and in 2003 McGinty attended the ceremony to dedicate it.
The government had put up $750,000 in 1999 for the police memorial at Queen's Park, and Harris attended the dedication in 2000.
Bill 131 was introduced in the legislature before the last election. The Bill had to be reintroduced after the October 2007 election, and became Bill 51.
Bill 51 is for an Ontario Peace Officers memorial and it has sat at first reading since April 2008, and is not moving.
The total of $1,350,000 has been spent on the police and firefighters memorials. This does not include the additional awards ceremonies that are also held throughout the year to prop up these two bunches to the tune of another $500,000.
There is now a national firefighters memorial being built at Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
It would seem that if McGinty can take trips to big american conventions and be wined and dined, and give out exhorbitant amounts of money to these two groups in tough times, he had better be ready to face up to Ontario's peace officers and other government employees at contract time.
Anyway, the number of fallen correctional officers is now up to 16, and total number of fallen peace officers is up to 36, so far...
