Episode 028 - Scarborough Fair

As seventeen suspects were hauled off into the William G. Davis/Grenville courthouse in Brampton, the media started to roar. Agencies, local and international, pumped out headlines and mulch that were from quaint to outrageous. There were a few media reports that suggest that the most basic Canadian principle we hold as a dominion, multiculturalism, was going to wane. This could be quoted from newspapers within the country, in the United States and most of the glove. An American congressman blamed our "lax immigration policies" from all this. My question out to the open is: when? As a Chinese Canadian, I did not see any difference before and after the sting operation. It angers me that the media has sensationalised all this, even though no lives were (directly) affected except those of the subjects (those being detained and their families). Don't we have our courts to decide whether all of this is right? In this world, there are always two extreme points of view, and a moderate balance. It is no fiction that some people are following a violent interpretation of Islam. But there are also people bent on hurting Muslims due to the acts of an extreme few. Canadians need to know that these are still accusations, and the last thing we all need to hear in this post-9/11 world is a sensationalised media. I'm disgusted at those preaching violence in such a peaceful religion. I am also disgusted at those bent on reeking violence at any certain group of people, regardless of circumstances. Haven't we learned from history that a peaceful world is better than a world of plight? Canada shall remain peacefully multicultural, regardless of circumstances.

As proven in a terrorist sting instigated by police officers in the Toronto area, the threat of bombs going off and people getting killed is no longer theorised as "what happens outside Canada". As told in a police conference, the suspects held, in their posession, around three tons of explosives, three times more than what was used in the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building back in 1995 around Oklahoma City. The media and citzenry had speculated on where they would've bombed: Our gracious CN Tower, the offices of CSIS (Canada's intelligence service), the subway system? Police won't officially say. What I do want to make clear, however, is that this is an isolated group, bent with the principles of Al-Qaeda. Muslim clerics in Toronto have condemned any violence at all, which doesn't surprise me due to Islam's teachings of peace. This, a disgrace to those who tried to handicap the Great White North, gives not only people of all ethnicities a fit of anger, but they have disgraced the country some of them hold citizenship with. Talk about biting the hand that fed you! I am giving my two cents on the matter because this deserves a look into. I would never wonder, back in my childhood looking in my backyard onward to Mississauga, that this Toronto suburb would be home to misled extremists. I am deeply saddened at their motive to destroy the country that I love. The country that extended its hand when my family had no where to go thanks to war. The country in which I am proud to be part of. Shame.

For smokers in Ontario and Quebec, lighting up will be so much harder from now on. A smoking ban that blankets just about every single indoor public space will be in effect, and restaurant owners and smokers are less than thrilled aobut this development. In my humble opinion, smoking is not a matter of nuisance. Smoking affects the lives of way more than just the person who lights up. People around this smoker have a higher chance of getting cancer. None of these people even lighted a match and they're at risk of dying. Is it fair for one to risk the lives of others so coldly and needlessly? In these lazy hazy crazy days of summer, business owners need not be worried about their business. What is the point of grumbling over the inevitable? Just set out a patio and sell some good cold beer. The law would only apply indoors. It's funny how over a decade back, people even smoked on airplanes. People are starting to realise how smoke could affect someone's life so easily. It angers me to hear about how the poor smokers can't have a smoke and a drink. What bullshoy! The two sins in life that will impair your health in such a "McDonald's" combo! For smokers, I say this is tough love. I'm tired of hearing about cancer caused by second-hand smoke. It upsets me to hear people talk of "government oppression" when this is done for the good of society! People who smoke indoors as a matter of choice risks a right other humans deserve to recieve: the right to life. I find this (accusing government) a childish excuse for not quitting. Take your smokes outside.

However cynical I am about politics is about to change dramatically. The tides have turned and I am as cynical as ever. Alberta Premier Ralph Klein recently announced that he would be seeking legal advice in regards to withdrawing from the federal equalisation plan. The province has recently reaped some great benefits due to the upward price of crude oil, stimulating its economy. So what is equalisation? In Canada's ten provinces, there are those provinces that have a well-developed economy, and are called "have provinces". Other provinces, who can't provide the same government services on their own are called "have not" provinces. They simply couldn't afford it. The federal government a few years back came out with a plan with much fanfare that tries to lessen this gap from the have and the have not provinces by asking for money to suppliment that budget of have-nots. This is done by contribution from the have provinces. This helps create a uniform way of providing government services. In Ontario, provincial politicians are raising a little hell about this issue. Allegations flew about Ontarians not getting their fair share of money in, money out. A few billion dollars, perhaps. But the subways are deteriorating, schools are poorly maintained and built and the health care system is almost in critical mode. What to do? In my tiny opinion, this equalisation scheme should be cancelled. I could care less whether we need to "equalise" government services. This is just the federal government's way of saying "we're too lazy to develop our country". Yeah yeah, call me a redneck, but Ontario deserves its own tax money.

Justice for me is a two-pronged approach. I am a proponent of sentencing criminals to fair sentences, but from a human standpoint, I also believe in healing and forgiveness. Take the case of Min Chen. He was the person who murdered Cecilia Zhang back in 2003. The crime sent shockwaves to mainstream Chinese-Canadians, seeing that something like this could come out of our own backyard. A few minutes ago, whilst I was gathering my thoughts, the news radio station finally reported on how long Chen had to remain in prison: fifteen years. Min Chen was a mislead man. His student visa was about to expire, and in order to remain in the Great White North, he had to pay for a marriage of conveinence. Cecilia was his ticket to staying in Canada. In my honest opinion, if Chen had meant to kill the talented young girl or not is nothing compared to the heartbreak and tragedy caused by him when he entered the Zhang home that night. The Zhangs will never see their heart and soul, and my heart aches to hear such a tragedy happen within Toronto. Cecilia did not deserve to die, and Chen's greed caused this great misfortune. I believe in rehabilitation; I am sure Chen will understand his wrongdoing while serving his fifteen year sentence without parole. A man needs to understand the human side of what happened just three years earlier.

At lunchtime one day, I picked up my little sister, Jen, from elementary school. Whilst I was waiting for her in the main hallway, two ladies with around thirty boxes of pizza were organising the slices for the students who ordered in each class. It was then I realised that it was Pizza Day that afternoon. If you are not familiar with the idea, it is where the students could order pizza from the store en masse, where the school acts as a middleman earning a small profit. I was confused to see all the ruckus in the hallway as I waited for Jen. The lunchladies were telling everyone to return to their classes because the lunch bell hadn't rung and that they were not ready to distribute the savoury goodies just yet. A little baby who apparently participated in this ritual was crying because two or three kids started playing peek-a-boo, and according to one of the lunchladies "she doesn't like being peek-a-boo-ed at". As I read the mail that I picked up on the way to the school, a couple of boys came along the hallway and started fiddling with the boxes that sat on designation. "Don't touch it! We're not ready yet," a lunchlady quickly snapped, and the two boys quietly retreated to the corner. The bell then came a sudden rang, and students from all three hallways started rushing through. There came Jen who was surprised that I showed up. So that's how I got my pizza when I was little!

Are you going to Scarborough Fair? Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Remember me to one who lives there. She who was a true love of mine. - Traditional English Ballad Of course, this traditional English ballad is talking about the town in Yorkshire, England, but what about the Toronto suburb (of the same name)? This part of the city has a very interesting history, which sadly has a bitter aftertaste. It was the wife of the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada who described the Scarborough Bluffs as "extremely bold". Hence the Simcoes named this plot of land Scarborough because its rolling bluffs reminded them of the town back home. As this romantic tale unravelled, the town was eventually transformed to a suburb of multicultural proportions. What baffles me is that the former home of Mike Myers would be compared to this romantic tale of homesickness and memory. This Scarborough Fair, in her majesty's dominion, has become somewhat of an eyesore in recent days. What saddens me is the growing amount of crime that has stricken this part of Toronto. It is forever unfortunate that the most culturally autonomous part of the Golden Horseshoe has to be seen in this light. A number of people propose to build a causeway along the bluffs to alleviate traffic. Seriously, is this even a serious suggestion? Would it be as much of a romantic ballad if Scarborough Fair was held in ye olde North York? Cheh.

Never in my right mind did I ever expect anything like this happening in Ontario. Eight bodies were found just south of London, Ontario. Police believe the victims knew each other. News organisations scramble to delve out as much information as they could grasp, even though the authorities have been tight lipped. Residents are interviewed by the scene, wondering, like the news crews, what went on. To be honest with you, this has caught me by surprise. I normally viewed the Southwestern area of Ontario as quite the quiet place. I thought most gang-related murders happened within the Greater Toronto Area. Of course, I was naive with those thoughts. Even the police were caught by surprise, the first investigation into so many deaths. Mass murder isn't exactly a common occurence, even in the Greater Toronto Area. Actually, crime itself isn't rampant here. Bu when you hear news like this, it definitely concerns you; what can you do to prevent further crime and such. But what CAN we do to prevent crime? It is such a puzzling component to society that I do not understand. Therei s always the examination of what leads to the crime. Community service workers believe that one's economic state could play a factor in committing said crime. You could bet on teen angst, anger or just plain stupidity that results in breaking the law. But for this specific investigation, organised crime could be involved. That, and only that makes the investigation even more complicated.

I am probably the last person who can criticise the policy of broadcasting regulations, but I have a very big beef over how the Canadian Radio-Telecommunications Commission is working from case to case. The appropriate decisions the CRTC have not made recently really have bugged me. In late 2004, the company who ran MTV Canada was taken over by the parent of MuchMusic, CHUM Television. Because of branding contracts, MTV Canada had to adopt a new brand name, and as a result MTV Canada and MTV 2 became MUCH-branded channels. When the parent of MTV, the American Viacom conglomerate, signed an agreement with CTV to reincarnate MTV Canada, CHUM Television had thew their chins up, worried that the new-old old-new channel will swamp the ratings of MuchMusic. What I don't like is the fact that there are over 10 MUCH channels and the government hasn't done anything about the issue. PUNCHMuch, MuchMoreMusic et al is swamping the music television market with a multiopoly, if that even is a word. As soon as a possible competitor moves in natural MUCH turf, the CHUM mafia started swiping with their claws. Why is the CRTC so hush hush about CHUM running a dangerous monopoly? While the two companies snot each other out, the television channels relating to music has swamped the digital spectrum, while people are gradually watching less television. I've been on the MuchOnDemand audience before, and like a communist government, we clapped when they wanted us to clap. Eeek.

This week is a hectic one for many people; whomever earned income from the previous year will have to file an income tax return. This year is probably the worst one to file a return for me because my former employer was the first to send me three separate slips. I never thought that I would have trouble figuring out paperwork before. The language is confusing, the guidelines can be hard to follow, and if you spend money in donations it adds to the confusion. That would explain why so many people are employed in the field of income tax preparation. There are so many H&R Blocks that are closed until tax time. I used to wonder how they can afford the rent! But then again, it's not my money that funds it. I prefer to file by myself, even if it confuses me. Behold the misery of accounting we all have to go through. A high-school like class where, like a high school class, students don't understand the work assigned. You could say those tax preparation people are the smart elite that you pay to do your homework. For those of us who have to earn money somewhere else, it is their pleasure to earn money off calculating stuff. Hey, maybe math teahers should promote the job as the true "stay at home" job. All you need to open up this type of business are a bunch of tax forms and a pen or two. With little start-up cost and high income potiential, why don't all of us open an H&R Block-type business?