I subscribe to The Line for the insightful commentary, and for the way The Line tries to open up debate to all sides. But I love The Line for the times, every few months, when either Matt gets put on a plane and writes uncomfortably about travel, or when Jen absolutely loses her shit. Yeah, that's what earns the love.
Plus the two of you do it so well, Matt - you're like the Buster Keaton of travel writing, and Jen at her ranting best is Louis Black with better diction. The only thing more authentic than the suffering is the pure comedy gold it produces. For the good of your people, please, take VIA Rail to Halifax and then fly back, but route through Saint John on Air Canada - oooh - and have Jen try to make the bookings on the official websites! I can hardly wait!
Brilliant. Just brilliant. Thank you. This angry, funny, spot-on piece applies to just about everything coming from our ideological, virtue-signaling, nanny-state overlords these days.
With two exceptions, I've voted NDP/ Liberal since 1972, but JFC, enough!
A courageous confession on your voting record but one that hits a chord with me. While all this dumb shite out of Ottawa has one running for the Conservative membership website, Don Braid's commentary in today's Alberta papers illustrates criminal incompetence is a wide political phenomenon and not related to any one party. The cancelling of Dr. Hinshaw by the UCP is an abhorrent piece of political skullduggery. Shameful. Not because Hinshaw didn't make mistakes but because ..... Well, read Braid's piece https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/braid-hinshaw-firing-shows-the-era-of-covid-retribution-isnt-over-yet?
The only solution in my opinion is a constant push for less government. From either party.
I actually don't think Hinshaw should've been hired and the article I read yesterday with a lot of quotes about the person who had resigned left me wondering why the indigenous community would hang their hats on someone who didn't drive any change or improvements for them when she had more power, and has no connection to indigenous people at all. This is just a job for Hinshaw. One she's shown she has no problem doing poorly. (I don't like liars and Hinshaw lied - no trust or forgiveness for her. Public health figures should either keep their mouths closed and stay out of the way and use actual emergency preparedness plans, or they should tell the truth - not change what information is publicly available to make their decisions look more palatable or alter the way statistics are being presented.)
I do agree with you though in that we need less government - from all parties. But Hinshaw is incompetent and I think the community dodged a bullet in her hiring not being approved. It just happens to also make good articles and criticisms too.
How could Hinshaw be re-hired after being fired? Seems like the left hand of government not talking to the right. The Feds did the same with Julie Payette.
Thanks for this Gerson. I hope that writing this was at least cathartic.
I have a related story: I had a really simple question that wasn't answered in the FAQ of the fed department's website. So, unreasonably, I called a public servant this morning (well after 9:00 AM, it ought to be said). I won't identify the department because, really, it's not relevant anymore -- this is a fed-wide disease. My call rang then went to voicemail. A cheerfully recorded Karen's voice told me (in both official languages) that their department was 1) at minimum staffing due to COVID-19 (um...still?), 2) to please send an email instead, and 3) DO NOT leave a voicemail. Nice. Thanks for nothing.
Back to your article, clearly, nobody in Alberta is even capable of being environmentally conscious because y'all are climate change deniers! This is exactly what drives Canadians (who make the clearly unconscionable choice to live somewhere not within the shadows of the Laurentian Mountains) absolutely bonkers.
@SimulatedKnave, that's fair enough. The message I was trying to convey is that a brief phone conversation is vastly more efficient (for both parties) than an email, and during office hours the phone ought to be answered.
Jen . . . Right on. As an Ontario resident your opinion is country wide. I was previously a Liberal supporter but have come to despise JT and his party. At 76, I am sad and angry what he and his father have done to Canada in my lifetime. It's not adversity to change but all of the missed opportunities for greatness. Instead we have spent a lifetime self absorbed in redefining our existence as a country.
But, but...if the application of discernment, context, and consideration of the material facts at hand was used, it would increase the effort required, and more importantly, not resolve into a simple one size fits all solution. These 'easy' solutions are what passes for the progressive project these days. Complexity is feared above all else as it shows the 'hopey-changey' initiatives to be subject to reality. Better to impose and then ignore the consequences or hand it over to the 'comms team' to figure out how it was actually the fault of the citizenry in the first place. Muppets, indeed.
Name me a file where Junior impresses with his in-depth knowledge.
There isn't one because of all his faults such as lack of ethical compass, totalitarian instincts, rampant narcissism the worst has to be his bone idleness.
When you have the enormous privilege of governing the country it would be fair to expect that in return you would do your homework and spend the hours necessary to grasp the important issues.
But our Junior is manifestly too lazy to do the hard work needed to master the hard files. Instead, he tasks Katie with coming up with a woke addled bromide which he then commits to memory and parrots ad nauseam in his breathy nasal manner whenever the subject comes up.
So if the boss can't be bothered to do the hard work why would any of his subordinates do so?
Every line of this brilliant and funny piece is dead on - Jen Gerson you have spoken for the entire country. This government is terminal and has left the bureaucracy to its own devices. There is no one at home and they have lost the keys.
I was a senior manager in the federal government in Ottawa. I know what thoughtful, effective management is and this government is not it. Keep screaming from the rooftops !
Jen, you just earned a subscription from me! As a fellow Westerner, I appreciate your common sense, straight-shooting words. Thanks for making me laugh out loud this morning and for pointing out what any sensible person already knows - that our government is broken beyond repair.
I couldn't love this any more if I lived in Calgary, which I don't. Jen, you hit this one out of the park. Brilliant, and right on target. We are so broken. I always appreciate and enjoy the insightful commentary from The Line, even when I don't agree (which isn't often), but when you or Matt loses it, you make my day. It's almost worth the crap that causes you to go ballistic. Don't ever stop.
We tried to tell the Karens in ECCC. Tried and tried and tried. But they aren't Crown servants anymore, they became Guillbeaut's activists. It's pathetic.
Absolutely, yes! Having read several articles on this bizarre directive on the COOP bags, one simply shrugs in despair, but Jen has thoroughly and sweetly profanely put the boots to those responsible for it.
I’ve encountered this before - government policy based on a shallow understanding of the issue that largely seems informed by a TED Talk or talking points from activist groups with access. What I don’t know is how much blame to allocate to civil servants who’re supposed to provide expertise vs. politicians and appointees at the top who have the authority to set policy. It’s not hard to imagine an arrogant politician setting a policy based on their preconceptions, and ignoring contradictory advice from their ministry or department. It’s also not hard to imagine a bureaucracy mired in groupthink lacking the ambition or intellectual rigor to study the issue.
Brenda, there was a time some years ago that I ended up calling an MP from an adjacent riding (mine was sick with terminal cancer and in hospital). That MP called me back at about 8.30 in the evening, Ottawa time (I live in - wait for it! - Alberta) and he really helped. He was in the opposition but he knew he had to take care of (almost) constituents and the system allowed him to do so.
Now, it is not that they ignore their emails; they don't even know that they get them. They are appointed Ministers of the Crown but they don't have proper security clearance to read their mail, electronic and otherwise, even though it is their responsibility to look at said mail.
So, write to an MP? If that MP is in the opposition it will have no effect. If that MP is in the government they are one of a) illiterate; b) will choose to ignore your message; c) not have sufficient security clearance to read your (non-secret) correspondence; or d) any other damned excuse they can think of to ignore you.
Dear Ms. Gerson, Thank you. I have recently upped by subscription and promise to do so again once I am in better shape. I may have a story for you this July. I citizen's project to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the battle for Sicily. www.remembrancewalk.ca No govt support, zero... if you are interested call or write steve@isaix.com or 514-919-5858
I subscribe to The Line for the insightful commentary, and for the way The Line tries to open up debate to all sides. But I love The Line for the times, every few months, when either Matt gets put on a plane and writes uncomfortably about travel, or when Jen absolutely loses her shit. Yeah, that's what earns the love.
Why do you love our suffering.
Because you both do it so well.
Plus the two of you do it so well, Matt - you're like the Buster Keaton of travel writing, and Jen at her ranting best is Louis Black with better diction. The only thing more authentic than the suffering is the pure comedy gold it produces. For the good of your people, please, take VIA Rail to Halifax and then fly back, but route through Saint John on Air Canada - oooh - and have Jen try to make the bookings on the official websites! I can hardly wait!
This is actually a good idea.
It makes you seem more human and not just lofty super-smart wordy people that have a newsletter!
Yes, this article paid for this months subscription and a few more months :)
Brilliant. Just brilliant. Thank you. This angry, funny, spot-on piece applies to just about everything coming from our ideological, virtue-signaling, nanny-state overlords these days.
With two exceptions, I've voted NDP/ Liberal since 1972, but JFC, enough!
A courageous confession on your voting record but one that hits a chord with me. While all this dumb shite out of Ottawa has one running for the Conservative membership website, Don Braid's commentary in today's Alberta papers illustrates criminal incompetence is a wide political phenomenon and not related to any one party. The cancelling of Dr. Hinshaw by the UCP is an abhorrent piece of political skullduggery. Shameful. Not because Hinshaw didn't make mistakes but because ..... Well, read Braid's piece https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/braid-hinshaw-firing-shows-the-era-of-covid-retribution-isnt-over-yet?
The only solution in my opinion is a constant push for less government. From either party.
I actually don't think Hinshaw should've been hired and the article I read yesterday with a lot of quotes about the person who had resigned left me wondering why the indigenous community would hang their hats on someone who didn't drive any change or improvements for them when she had more power, and has no connection to indigenous people at all. This is just a job for Hinshaw. One she's shown she has no problem doing poorly. (I don't like liars and Hinshaw lied - no trust or forgiveness for her. Public health figures should either keep their mouths closed and stay out of the way and use actual emergency preparedness plans, or they should tell the truth - not change what information is publicly available to make their decisions look more palatable or alter the way statistics are being presented.)
I do agree with you though in that we need less government - from all parties. But Hinshaw is incompetent and I think the community dodged a bullet in her hiring not being approved. It just happens to also make good articles and criticisms too.
How could Hinshaw be re-hired after being fired? Seems like the left hand of government not talking to the right. The Feds did the same with Julie Payette.
Thanks for this Gerson. I hope that writing this was at least cathartic.
I have a related story: I had a really simple question that wasn't answered in the FAQ of the fed department's website. So, unreasonably, I called a public servant this morning (well after 9:00 AM, it ought to be said). I won't identify the department because, really, it's not relevant anymore -- this is a fed-wide disease. My call rang then went to voicemail. A cheerfully recorded Karen's voice told me (in both official languages) that their department was 1) at minimum staffing due to COVID-19 (um...still?), 2) to please send an email instead, and 3) DO NOT leave a voicemail. Nice. Thanks for nothing.
Back to your article, clearly, nobody in Alberta is even capable of being environmentally conscious because y'all are climate change deniers! This is exactly what drives Canadians (who make the clearly unconscionable choice to live somewhere not within the shadows of the Laurentian Mountains) absolutely bonkers.
Speaking as a former provincial public servant, 99% of voicemails should be e-mails. It's vastly more efficient.
@SimulatedKnave, that's fair enough. The message I was trying to convey is that a brief phone conversation is vastly more efficient (for both parties) than an email, and during office hours the phone ought to be answered.
Jen . . . Right on. As an Ontario resident your opinion is country wide. I was previously a Liberal supporter but have come to despise JT and his party. At 76, I am sad and angry what he and his father have done to Canada in my lifetime. It's not adversity to change but all of the missed opportunities for greatness. Instead we have spent a lifetime self absorbed in redefining our existence as a country.
But, but...if the application of discernment, context, and consideration of the material facts at hand was used, it would increase the effort required, and more importantly, not resolve into a simple one size fits all solution. These 'easy' solutions are what passes for the progressive project these days. Complexity is feared above all else as it shows the 'hopey-changey' initiatives to be subject to reality. Better to impose and then ignore the consequences or hand it over to the 'comms team' to figure out how it was actually the fault of the citizenry in the first place. Muppets, indeed.
It's worse. It's muppets dancing so liberals have a feel-good announceable. Reality is irrelevant so long as you can point to a piece of paper.
"Complexity is feared above all else ..."
I would, respectfully, change that to "Thinking is feared above else ..."
It all starts at the top, doesn't it.
Name me a file where Junior impresses with his in-depth knowledge.
There isn't one because of all his faults such as lack of ethical compass, totalitarian instincts, rampant narcissism the worst has to be his bone idleness.
When you have the enormous privilege of governing the country it would be fair to expect that in return you would do your homework and spend the hours necessary to grasp the important issues.
But our Junior is manifestly too lazy to do the hard work needed to master the hard files. Instead, he tasks Katie with coming up with a woke addled bromide which he then commits to memory and parrots ad nauseam in his breathy nasal manner whenever the subject comes up.
So if the boss can't be bothered to do the hard work why would any of his subordinates do so?
Every line of this brilliant and funny piece is dead on - Jen Gerson you have spoken for the entire country. This government is terminal and has left the bureaucracy to its own devices. There is no one at home and they have lost the keys.
I was a senior manager in the federal government in Ottawa. I know what thoughtful, effective management is and this government is not it. Keep screaming from the rooftops !
Jen, you just earned a subscription from me! As a fellow Westerner, I appreciate your common sense, straight-shooting words. Thanks for making me laugh out loud this morning and for pointing out what any sensible person already knows - that our government is broken beyond repair.
hahaha!
I thought the snark level was already off the charts... and then I hit "Come, Maude,..."
Just a fantastic piece.
I couldn't love this any more if I lived in Calgary, which I don't. Jen, you hit this one out of the park. Brilliant, and right on target. We are so broken. I always appreciate and enjoy the insightful commentary from The Line, even when I don't agree (which isn't often), but when you or Matt loses it, you make my day. It's almost worth the crap that causes you to go ballistic. Don't ever stop.
We tried to tell the Karens in ECCC. Tried and tried and tried. But they aren't Crown servants anymore, they became Guillbeaut's activists. It's pathetic.
Jen manages to articulate what thousands (tens of thousands, probably) of our fellow Calgary COOP members are thinking! Bravo!!
Absolutely, yes! Having read several articles on this bizarre directive on the COOP bags, one simply shrugs in despair, but Jen has thoroughly and sweetly profanely put the boots to those responsible for it.
I’ve encountered this before - government policy based on a shallow understanding of the issue that largely seems informed by a TED Talk or talking points from activist groups with access. What I don’t know is how much blame to allocate to civil servants who’re supposed to provide expertise vs. politicians and appointees at the top who have the authority to set policy. It’s not hard to imagine an arrogant politician setting a policy based on their preconceptions, and ignoring contradictory advice from their ministry or department. It’s also not hard to imagine a bureaucracy mired in groupthink lacking the ambition or intellectual rigor to study the issue.
Why I love you, Jen Gerson, “...fine new supercluster-aspirational buzzword-laden legislative boondoggle coming from our federal government ...”
And, nah, the Ottawa PolitBureau Muppets won’t listen. I’m long past expecting anything beyond the usual ‘we didn’t know, we weren’t told.’
Wow, Jen is on fire!
What can we do about this? Write to MP?
Absolutely. Also, can go to the source. PlastiquesUU-SUPlastics@ec.gc.ca
Brenda, there was a time some years ago that I ended up calling an MP from an adjacent riding (mine was sick with terminal cancer and in hospital). That MP called me back at about 8.30 in the evening, Ottawa time (I live in - wait for it! - Alberta) and he really helped. He was in the opposition but he knew he had to take care of (almost) constituents and the system allowed him to do so.
Now, it is not that they ignore their emails; they don't even know that they get them. They are appointed Ministers of the Crown but they don't have proper security clearance to read their mail, electronic and otherwise, even though it is their responsibility to look at said mail.
So, write to an MP? If that MP is in the opposition it will have no effect. If that MP is in the government they are one of a) illiterate; b) will choose to ignore your message; c) not have sufficient security clearance to read your (non-secret) correspondence; or d) any other damned excuse they can think of to ignore you.
Dear Ms. Gerson, Thank you. I have recently upped by subscription and promise to do so again once I am in better shape. I may have a story for you this July. I citizen's project to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the battle for Sicily. www.remembrancewalk.ca No govt support, zero... if you are interested call or write steve@isaix.com or 514-919-5858