Too Much Of A Good Thing ?

There's been a veritable smorgasbord of goodies laid out at City Hall this week.

Once again OC Transpo's head honcho Alain Mercier demonstrated his excellent managerial skills -- the skills which no doubt earn him a six-figure salary -- when he tried to impose federal work and rest rules on OC Transpo drivers without the legislation having been amended to include Ottawa and environs.

Naturally this riled up union boss Andre Cornellier, who got the sabre out and began rattling. Some bus drivers, upon hearing the rattling, commenced a bit of work-to-rule. Brother Cornellier says the union isn't sanctioning any actions such as slowdowns -- after all, that would be illegal -- but he's pleased, as he told CBO Morning, that his members have decided on their own to show their displeasure over pending federal legislation which will impose set rest periods and limit the number of consecutive hours a driver can work. Goodbye golden overtime egg !

Transport Minister John Baird is to be commended for taking action on this issue. There are those who wonder why he didn't step up long before now.

Maybe Minister Baird was in the dark like the rest of us regarding scheduling practices at OC Transpo. Yes, we heard the rumors. But it took the strike to bring out the truth. Some drivers were choosing to work back-to-back shifts, especially on Sundays and statutory holidays -- working 22 hours without a rest period. Apparently there was one driver who worked 190 days in a row. Brother Corneillier can say what he wants about drivers doing this in order to have quality family time. Fact is, it's all about overtime.

The public sees this as a safety issue and the public wants action. Senior drivers get first pick of the available shifts and seniority comes with length on the job. This generally means the driver is older and there's loads of medical evidence out there to the effect that as we age, our reflexes aren't as sharp as they were when we were younger. One can only wonder how quickly a bus driver who is over 50 years of age and is at the end of a 22-hour shift would react to an emergency situation.

Citizen Ellie would prefer not to be riding on an OC Transpo bus where one of these drivers is at the wheel. Citizen Ellie would prefer not to be driving her car next to or in front of an OCTranspo bus on the Queensway or on any city thoroughfare where one of these drivers is at the wheel of the bus. Judging from letters to the editor of local newspapers and calls to radio phone-ins, a lot of Ottawans feel exactly the same way.

The issue of scheduling which will go before the arbitrator in the bus dispute is about who controls the scheduling of bus drivers. Safety of passengers and of those who share the streets with OCTranspo buses is not a matter for arbitration. Citizen Ellie, like many Ottawans, is left to wonder why our municipal political masters, some 20 years ago, decided it would be a good thing to have Ottawa and environs exempted from federal safety guidelines. Who benefitted ?

Another question: who is paying for the expensive anti-God ads which will soon be decorating the city's buses ? The Freethought Association of Canada must be flush with dough to be able to afford these campaigns in a number of Canadian cities. Hope OC Transpo gets the money up front -- preferably in cold, hard cash. Would hate to see the taxpayers left holding the bag on this one.

And apparently we haven't heard the last of the Lansdowne Park international design competition.

If city council rejects the Lansdowne Live proposal which would renovate Frank Clair Stadium and bring a mix of commercial and residential to the site, the international design competition could be on again. Just means more shilly-shallying and delay. And why does it have to be international ? Are local designers, architects and planners incompetent ?

Nobody Here But Us Chickens...

Now here's something city council can really get its collective teeth into.

Imagine this: trendy Vancouverites can now keep chickens in their backyards. They've joined the ranks of folks living in cities from New York to Vancouver where backyard chickens have become the animal of choice for urban dwellers seeking simple, sustainable living habits. Can the Glebe be far behind ?

When can we expect Councillor Clive Doucet to bring forward a motion to amend the necessary city by-laws to allow backyard chicken coops ? Apparently Seattle is now allowing its residents to keep miniature goats in their backyards. And in Portland, Ore. "coop tours" are now as popular as house and garden tours -- people can survey the neighborhood hens and check out the latest in chicken gear including designer coops and hen houses.

According to those in the know, retrieving an egg from a hen's roost is fast becoming the activity of choice for those urbanites wanting a closer connection to their food sources. While Citizen Ellie is an urban gal, she knows a thing or two about chickens. There are two kinds: egg-layers and meat birds. If it's egg-layers you want, a rooster is an absolute necessity. Your neighbors may not be too thrilled at being awakened at dawn. If it's meat birds, you'll need to acquire a small hatchet, a good chopping block, a container large enough to hold the boiling water in which you immerse your bird (after its encounter with the small hatchet and chopping block) in order to loosen the feathers, a strong hand for the plucking and a strong stomach for the gutting. Don't chop the legs off until after the bird has had its boiling water bath.

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