This blog dances along a dicey path that my wife thinks is off-base. She thinks I am trying too hard to draw a parallel between two entirely different topics. Usually I take her word for it because I am limited to about 750 words and that, in itself, limits accurate communication. She is also eminently sensible and I am NOT always. Still, I am going to post it and see how it flies…please read it as a blog making a statement about the new-world of allegations rather than anything else.
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Apropos of very little lately written, I must point out that in the Me, Too movement currently, an allegation of misconduct by a woman is deemed sufficient to convict the man. Our Prime Minister has said as much (‘we must believe them’). He was not alone – almost all the M2 movement is based on believing all sexual allegations made by women without questioning.
Now the following is a bit of stretch and I am not accusing JW-R of doing this or purposefully using the Me, Too mindset. I am, however, saying that the Me, Too mindset is at play here anyway. Maybe. Maybe not. I think so. My wife thinks not.
To wit: JW-R alleged by her actions and subsequent strategic silence that she, too, had been Me, Too’d (politically) and she expects that we will all believe her. (And most of us do to some extent). Butts likely thought so as well, so he jumped. “Why wait for the facts? The allegation is out there. I’m done!”
The truth could very well be that Butts or the PM talked about SNC-L to W-R and they may have had some heated words and, possibly, they did NOT put any REAL provable pressure on her…
……BUT, BUT, BUT she definitely ‘heard’ it that way. She heard directly or in nuance and tone and, as a result of that hearing, ‘did NOT feel comfortable’. And then, like when a movie producer chooses another actress for the lead, she KNEW when she was demoted that she had been ‘propositioned’ and subsequently punished. And she reacted by resigning her portfolio.
Now, when a woman claims a Me, Too experience, I tend to agree with her simply because I know men often make the first move clumsily (often many times) and they are not always the best communicators – plus testosterone is a powerful force in nature. So, the initial proposal can sometimes be ‘seen and heard’ in a way that wasn’t really intended. (Certainly NOT enough to be called assault or harassment as much as it seems to be these days (‘course, as a male, I am blind to this…..so that is part of the weakness in this blog)).
And, of course, all men are pigs at times so they are sometimes guilty as alleged. NB: NOT ALWAYS. But sometimes. In addition: to distinguish between something normal but not welcome is entirely in the hands and head of the recipient of that attention. The proof of that is in the classic, “He made me feel uncomfortable”.
Now, Me, Too is generally applied to ‘proposals’ or worse of sexual intimacy. If Jane receives the proposal well, a pleasant encounter may occur. No story to be written. If Jane does not find the proposal attractive, she seems to have the power to allege being made to feel uncomfortable and the fellow has to lose his career and reputation. And, of course, hundreds of degrees of human interaction in between can and does occur.
Yes, I know I am painting a worst case scenario above but there have been more than a few miscarriages of justice in the NEW RULEBOOK FOR MEN as written by Me,Too. And, hugely ironically, one of the males-in-the-movement is our own self-professed feminist, Justin Trudeau. He supports allegations as being sufficient to convict – when a woman says them against a man.
So, how might that work in another realm? Politics, perhaps…..?
Enter Jody W-R. This recent case is NOT sexual in nature but it is still unsubstantiated allegations having the same effect – a man resigns. Another is in deep political trouble. Careers are derailed. Reputations ruined. The world goes nuts. AND THE REAL IRONY here is that JW-R didn’t actually say a word (officially). She merely acted as if she had been propositioned and then later made to feel uncomfortable (by her demotion).
The allegation is in the implications.
To be clear: I am NOT accusing JW-R of doing this on purpose to Gerald or Justin. In fact, I am sure she didn’t. Nor am I saying the ‘boys’ are innocent of the allegation. Maybe they are guilty. But the weird ‘mood’ we have created around female allegations has certainly exacerbated the very normal and common, ‘He said – she said’ dynamic of life. This time at the political level.
The purpose of this blog is NOT to beat any detail of the actual Jody/Justin/Gerald situation to death except to point out the newly altered weird and unholy power of unproven allegations. In fact, with this president, Fox, the internet, trolls, twitter and all social media, we are seeing a revolution of sorts. Lies, spin, deflection, rumours, gossip, tweets, allegations (and the list goes on) have ascended in the minds of people to the point that not only are they confused and left unknowing on most everything, they are also losing trust in the Rules of Evidence, due process, institutional trust and the role of the media.
Jus’ sayin’….
Our Off the Grid Home 
I just got out of the hospital so am not up to full speed here. I believe this all started with the allegation, in the Globe, that there may have been undue pressure put to JRW to effect a certain cause. 1) Either the allegation is true (bad), or it’s not (good). 2) Come clean on whether or not said allegation is a) true or b) false.
Case solved and hundreds of thousands of dollars (and time) saved. Whatever the case, JRW did not succumb to the pressure that may or may not have been applied.
Was this just another case of diverting attention from the Plecas issue?
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Hope you are well….? Or, at least ‘good enough’? Too much cauliflower?
Remember….you have to CHEW your vegetables! And go easy on the cleaning ladies.
Nah…Plecas is ALL BC. This came out of the east. This is a bit of a tempest in a teapot but Trudeau dropped the teapot by demoting JW-R and now there is a mess all over the floor. If they just admitted to talking in the first place, they would have been ahead of it. Then they made it worse by slapping JW-R. My guess is that Justin’s support of the strong feminist just got really tested and he failed the test. But that is just a guess.
This blog is more on the ‘slippery slope’ of ignoring due process.
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I think your comment is a deep dive into the weedy bottom of the pond. Like all deep dives into the political pond of rat lines expect some pushback. Recently Robert Fife, the reporter of the rat line anonymous tip was on the comedy show, “Twenty-two Minutes” having a few laughs over the story in the Globe and Mail. Your surmise is perhaps just a few degrees off the bullseye but evidently the genesis of the anonymous story is likely in the emotional domain. Feelings were hurt and signs of contrition and penance were required. Interestingly similar to some metoo type assertions the alleged perpetrators must be summarily be reduced to rubble including a Quebec headquartered company currently facing criminal prosecution for alleged bribery of Muamman Gaddafi and his sons in Libya, but these bribery allegations are not yet proven in a Canadian court.
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“a Quebec headquartered company currently facing criminal prosecution for alleged bribery of Muamman Gaddafi and his sons in Libya, but these bribery allegations are not yet proven in a Canadian court….”
+++++
Okaaaay.
Lets look at what we know.
SNC BANNED from World Bank bidding for 10 years due to proven bribery allegations. Check.
SNC wins bid in Libyan construction project. Check.
Libyian Dictator tries to flee uprising. Check.
SNC employee arrested in Mexico City with Gaddafi’s son, gold bullion, Millions in cash and fake passports, final destination for jet…Canada.. Check.
4 weeks later.
SNC Headquarters in Montreal raided by RCMP with FBI watching Check.
SNC vice presidents arrested in Switzerland , Panama, etc for possible bribery allegations. Check.
Ex SNC employees in Europe, Arabia, Asia, Canada admit guilt and plea bargain. Check.
SNC wins bid on Montreal “Super Hospital for $1.3 billion. Check.
SNC employee pleads guilty to $22.5 million bribery in Montreal Super Hospital bid. Check.
WHAT do we need to finally ban this company from ANY govt contracts for a MINIMUM of 10 years?
Murder? Pedophilia?
My GOD!
The ROT in this company is endemic and they need to be PUNISHED.
And if they go bankrupt?
So be it.
The Quebec Pension plan advisers should be investing in honest companies…..not “pure lain” scum.
But I’m sure the Courts will toss out this charge because, “it took too long to prosecute”.
Justice?
In a pigs eye.
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Okay so why did the Conservatives not take SNC down? The Conservatives were in power during this run. I know it’s an inconvenience to say innocent until proven guilty. The major premise of the Conservatives is that the Liberals are trying to pervert justice in the SNC case. Calling SNC guilty in a criminal trial before the case has be tried…isn’t that undue influence and pressure and undermining the Canada’s justice system? If justice has been delayed then Harper and his PMO did that. The long list of activities cited are not on trial, not the focus of the trial but allegations of bribery are the charge before a Canadian court and as yet are unproven. Why in the Cons leave SNC uncharged…seats in Quebec?
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Pretty much on target. Props to you. Its a speculation in the land of ‘Just do not know!’
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Well.
To veer off into another machevellian twist.
We have THIS news story published in the Buffalo Chronicle ( possibly because the Canadian media wont urinate on the hand that feeds them?)
And when one reads between the lines.
This may be a HUGE story about BMO, the Pipeline, Aboriginals, Court Cases, undue influence, political pressure……
1st Brison,, Then J W-R, now Butts,,,,,,who’s next? Trudeau?
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@ Dubious
Why didnt the Conservatives charge SNC in Quebec????
Best check your facts.
Harper in power Feb 2006 to Nov 2015.
SNC charged for the “Libyan affair”. 2012
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/snc-lavalin-exec-present-when-suspect-arrested-in-saadi-gaddafi-mexico-smuggling-plot
However.
I will freely admit that the Conservatives wouldnt touch SNC UNTIL the US Dept of Justice DEMANDED action.
The US govt takes a dim view of any other country urinating in their back yard so when the CIA informed the Mexican govt that a jet full of Libyan persona non grata were about to land in Mexico City with a SNC charterd jet full of bullion, cash and fake passports…… Ooooo la la!
Its no secret that the US asked the RCMP to raid SNC’s Head office less than 4 weeks after the “Mexico Affair”.
As for Cindy Vanier, the SNC “consultant” arrested in Mexico City….SNC left her to rot.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/cyndy-vanier-sues-snc-lavalin-for-15m-over-mexico-jail-ordeal-1.3227639
I dont care if SNC has fired ALL the scum that infested that pile of merde.
They still need to be held accountable for what they did.
And if the Canadian govt doesnt have the testicular fortitude to deal with it during an election year……..
So be it.
The US is waiting to hammer them into financial oblivion.
I ….cant….wait.
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The Cons did nothing and if the cons get back in power they will do whatever is needed to save 75,00 jobs.
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Muddy Waters
“The cons did nothing”
Wow!
Raiding the Montreal Headquarters is “nothing”.?
Laying bribery charges and convicting top employees.is nothing?
Jailing former SNC employees is “nothing”?
All during Harper’s tenure.
So biased.
So wrong.
So pathetic.
But then again living on Planet Denial is a wonderful thing.
Unless , of course you want to look at the latest SNC Court case this past week during the LIBERAL’s Trudeau tenure.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-fraud-bribery-charges-against-former-snc-lavalin-executive-stephane-2/
Gee, does that pass the smell test?
Anywho.
We can only hope the stock price of SNC falls to a level that every corporate vulture on the planet can pick at it’s bones and render its name out of existence.
Hope you dont own SNC stock?
I sold my shares years ago.for a very tidy profit.
Todays stock holding employees must be livid at what their company has done to their retirement.
“Too big to Fail?”
Too bad so sad.
They should have thought of the consequences before doing business that way.
SNC is going down in flames and anyone that’s standing too close is getting burned.
Including the thousands of innocent SNC employees that were forced to sign “employee conflict of interest forms” annually.
Speaking of vultures.
Wait for the class action lawsuit from shareholders losing millions due to these bribery convictions affecting the share price…. 🙂
As if that will do anything to stop the rot.
Costing Quebec and Canadian taxpayers ….Billions.
Other Quebec companies that “do business” in a similar fashion best be watching their backs.
If Canada is too spineless to “deal with the defecating elephant in the room”……
I suspect the US Dept of Justice, the FBI, etc etc etc. will take a dim view of any further Quebec companies taking contracts from competing US companies by bribing govt officials.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Corrupt_Practices_Act
Are those waters muddy enough for you?
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I think it’s fair to say .
As a former SNC Lavalin employee that quit in disgust more than 10 years ago……
I have been following the travails of SNC’s corruption allegations with a bit more interest than most.
So unless, you currently work for that sordid conglomeration of companies known as SNC…
Chances are….. my knowledge of the company and the allegations AND convictions leveled against it are a bit more in depth than the average Joe that has just woken up to the fact that a Quebec based company with thousands of jobs in peril is facing…… annihilation.
Bring on the arguements folks ’cause I’ve been studying SNC for more than 10 years.
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Your passion shows. How do you think a hit to. heavily invested Quebec pension plans in SNC-Lavalin, will play if SCN were not to remain solvent? Will it play well politically in Quebec? Will they bail out SCN or will the politicians let it fail?
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SNC may cease to exist but the contracts the company has are sound.
The type of work they now do ( design, construction AND lucrative maintenance contracts) are worth billions.
They have multi billion dollar contracts with the Feds, ( Military, Post Office, Public Works) with the Provinces (BC Ferries, BC Hydro, Skytrain, etc).
They are also still working world wide on multi billion dollar projects.
Apparently they have been putting out feelers for someone to buy the company and rename it thus avoiding the federal ban.
I fully expect that to happen.
Only a few companies world wide would be in a position to do it.
Bouygues of France comes to mind.
Warren Buffet and billionaires like him must be sniffing around the perimeter.
The staff and the contracts would basically remain.
The stocks would probably switch over to the new company ( probably at a bit better than market price to have full “buy in” from the shareholders.
The way the shares are dropping makes the purchase of SNC appealing the further down it goes.
The shareholders shouldnt be too badly hammered and most Pension Plans should be far more diversified than holding only one or two investments to avoid situations like this.
All the more reason for Quebec Pensioners to be demanding answers from their govt investment officials.
The best thing to happen to SNC would be to move the head office OUT of Quebec where corruption and bribery seem to be second nature for large companies.
(Please see Charbonneau Commission)
A sad legacy but this is what SNC has brought upon itself.
Thus the company name deserves to be deleted and the headquarters moved.
A much bigger deterrent to Quebec companies doing business the same way.
The days of back door bribes may not be over….
But SNC’s decades long flaunting of national and international law……certainly is.
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So many topics, so little time: First SNC-L as a corrupt corporation? Proven beyond doubt. Everyone knows it. I will defer to NonCon on all things SNC. Second, suitable punishment? Hard to say. Quebec has a culture of corruption. It seems ‘built-in’. Like Mexico. Do you ‘correct’ the whole of the Quebecois Napoleonic underbelly culture or just the dark, ugly corporate culture of SNC? Or do you extinguish it as a functioning company taking many innocents with it? On that, I defer to the courts but, to be frank, I have little trust in any court east of Winnipeg when it comes to SNC. More bluntly put: we, too, live in corruption. I have not-a-lot of faith in any courts except the ones that effect the little guy. Against the little guy, we are tough on crime!
Thirdly, how corrupt/complicit is Trudeau and the Libs on this? Well, Trudeau is an extremely dumb bunny so, in that sense, maybe some innocence (kept in the dark, out of the loop, plausible deniability, arms length relationships, etc) can be claimed. But you would have to be a brick not to know SNC is guilty and even a brick would know to stand far away from them in a court case. He did not. Did JW-R ‘know’ that SNC was a political tar-baby and she went at it like it was nuclear waste as well – strictly by the book? Including refusing to talk about it with Justin? Did she stay pure? And maybe the heavies leaned on the PMO and Gerry went over to the dark side…….? I doubt that anyone will ever know. Ever. That one is way-too-deep-state for our superficial media to ever chase down.
But how to go on from here? Do not think the opposition would be honest where they differ from their opponent. Don’t be a bunny. There is plenty of corruption to go around and the Cons are equally as steeped in it. So….where to go from here…? No idea. Not a clue. Do our institutions rule our country? No. They rule the bottom 95%. They ‘cut deals’ (plea bargains) with the next 4% and they are not involved at all with the top 1% who get a pass. That is just the way it is.
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So we just accept the corruption?
Well good luck with that.
The US Govt has been hammering international companies for exactly this over the past 5-10 years all over the world.
With fines in the $ Hundreds of millions to the Billions.
Google Foreign Practices Act Fines and grab a coffee…..
I’m amazed they havent hit SNC with a multi billion dollar lawsuit…..yet.
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Accept? Moi? Non! Non! Mon dieu, non! But, but, but….it ain’t gonna change any time soon. Re read your own joke….below.
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Have a look at what was said today at the “Justice Committee.” The Clerk of the Privy Counsel said today that the rumour in The Globe and Mail, was libellous.
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I did. And, sadly, it does not mean as much as it should. The CPC is appointed by the Gov. Gen on the advice of the PM (Trudeau). Moreover, just because the CPC did not hear any such allegations means nothing. Maybe he was away that day? Secondly, it may be libelous but that is the Globe&M’s problem. The government still has to deal with JW-R and the demotion (what was it for?), GB’s resignation (what was THAT for?) and, of course, the larger SNC-L case which has now gone into the toilet as far as SNC-L is concerned (unless they argue the case is now so biased, they can’t get a fair trial?).
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Three contractors were asked to Ottawa to bid on a fence around Parliament.
The 1st contractor from BC showed up and measured the entire area and said,” I can do this for $100,000.00, $50,000 for material, $50,000 for labor.”
The 2nd contractor from Manitoba walked around the entire area and said, ” I can do this job for $70,000.00, $35,000 for material and $35,000 for labor.”
The final contractor from Quebec didn’t even look at the job and said , ” I can do this job for $570,000.00. $250,000.00 for you, $250,000.00 for me and we’ll hire the guy from Winnipeg to do the job for $70,000.”
Your tax dollars at work.
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