12:43 a.m. - 2004-03-31
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This morning four Returning Officers from Calgary met the Canada Post delivery truck at the local U-Haul storage facility to receive our first shipment of election supplies. We had received a memo telling us that we would be reimbursed $25 per month for storing the material at home, or would be allowed to spend up to $100 per month to use a commercial storage facility.
Each of the four of us determined that we did not have enough space to store the material in our homes, particularly with the timing of the election apparently up in the air, so we opted to rent the commercial facilities. Three of us paid with our government credit cards, because Elections Canada had not provided us with a cash advance to pay the expenses. Therefore, no other option was available. When the fourth Returning Officer tried to pay with his credit card, he called the Elections Canada helpline (being it was his first transaction) and was told that the charge would be rejected. He was told that under no circumstances would he be allowed to use his credit card for that expense. He ended up paying for the space with his own personal cheque.
Quite frankly, if I had been given that same story, I would have instructed Canada Post to return the material to their warehouse or to Ottawa, until I was satisfied that my ability to do my job was not going to be obstructed by the withholding of the funds necessary to carry out my duties. There is nothing in our contracts/appointments that requires us to be continually out of pocket in order to do our work, yet that is often the case. In addition, it is often two to three months before we are reimbursed. Most of us work for a living because we support our families. Elections Canada continually demands time away from the other work we do in non-election times, with no regard for the impact that has on our income. A lot of us have contracts that only pay us for the time we are actually present or working on a project, so there is no holiday pay or benefits to tide us over. I was so steamed by the bullying the new Returning Officer is receiving from Elections Canada's hands ( this is only one of several really mean things they've done to him)that I wrote an e-mail to the number two boss as soon as I got home. It may not do any good, but silence is an agreement to the tretment of a co-worker and I won't do that. I told them I expected the new Returning Officer would be reimbursed before the weekend. I'm sure they're still chortling in their lattes.
A lot of "hmmmmm" news stories. Are they all connected or is it just some random happenstance. Major busts in Canada, England, the Phillipines, and Indonesia around the assembly of explosives. London, Indonesia_Philippines, and Canada
I was mentioning I had a migraine yesterday but forgot to mention the triggers, it was a combination of the allergy season and the weather patterns here. We had a high of +25 C/80 F , but tomorrow it is supposed to be cold enough for snow. Spring and fall are usually the worst times for asthma attacks for me but sometimes I get migraines instead. Can't say which is worse - not being able to see or not being able to breathe. Any way the headache is gone now that the weatherfront has arrived. Asthma Last a book review that has meant another tome put on my list to purchase once Elections Canda sees fit to pay me. It is in French so I'll just read a little slower and sit with one of my translation dictionaries on my lap. However, it sounds like it will be worth the trouble since it discusses one of the underlying social dynamics that drives the flow of politics in Canada. Quebec Lastly an update on the dispute over an island in the Arctic - both Canada and Denmark are claiming sovereignty HanIsland and the Canadian army has been told that they will be spending time patrolling that region. Ok, so is the little spit of land solid gold under the ice, or what. Best solution from my point of view is the one I always used when my guys were small. If two of them couldn't resolve their differences neither one got the toy. It went to a brother who wasn't fighting and would share. So I vote it be given to Greenland - it's closest to them anyway, and they're behaving themselves.
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