MP on the middle class

 

A Lesson From My Horse

Over the years, I have learned many life lessons from my horse, specifically in the area of relationships. I have learned trust, communication, respect, teamwork, patience, and many other valuable character traits.

I realize this might sound a bit odd, and maybe even crazy, to those who aren’t familiar with horses but let me explain. 

In a herd of horses, there is always a pecking order. The boss is always the dominate one and the rest follow his/her lead. 

Once the pecking order is established, the horse at the top only needs to pin his ears against his neck and the others back off without a fight. They have their way of communicating with each other. 

It is helpful to understand and use their language as much as possible when working with them. When I am walking towards my horse in the field, if I approach her head, chances are that she will walk away from me but if I approach her shoulder, she will probably stand still. 

In both cases I am approaching her and both seem to be a reasonable option, but I get a different response to each one. 

The same is true in human relationships. You can say the same thing in a million different ways using different words, body language and tone of voice and get different responses. 

How you approach a conversation will often determine the response you get from a person even before they say anything. If you are blaming or accusing someone, their response will probably be defensive but if you are looking for understanding, the response will likely bring clarity. 

Your approach and even your responses are key in effective communication. Proverbs 15:1 (MSG) states it so well, “A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire.”

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Hospital Hiring

Friends,

My name is Christopher Cameron and I am a Registered Nurse employed full-time at The Ottawa Hospital and casual at Cornwall Community Hospital (CCH). On two separate occasions I was denied full-time employment at CCH because I did not speak advanced French. In addition, I had over seven years of experience and certification in the specialty. The nurses who were awarded the positions spoke advanced French; however had no training or experience in the specialty. The Hospital spent approximately $12,000 to $15,000 on each separate occasion to train both nurses in the specialty. Please take the time to view my You-Tube video: type “Language Discrimination”

Over the past several months, since Dr. Tombler wrote his infamous Letter to the Editor, “Loss of Good Nurses” (Standard Freeholder-Feb.2, 2012)-exposing CCH discriminatory hiring practices, I have been protesting in front of the Hospital.

On March 3, 2012, a rally was called and over 200 people came out to support Equality for All.

Many Hospital staff, over the last few months, have expressed their own stories of discrimination and the stories of others who are too afraid to speak up. One staff member was so distraught about the bullying and abuse she has encountered from administration that she broke down in tears.  How does a public entity condone bullying behaviour towards staff whose main objective is to care for others?

Since this peaceful protest started, I have met many wonderful and supportive people in our community, but it’s not all good. Hospital administration has called the police three times, complaining about me stopping traffic at the hospital entrance. When in fact, I was called over by drivers to sign our petition asking for the Provincial Government to assess CCH’s discriminatory hiring practices. 

I have been called many things, including–bigot, hillbilly, thug, KKK and Anglo-Saxon extremist…I have gotten many honks and a few “birds”. One retired nurse protester’s life was even threatened by a group of young men. Local media groups have even been approached by some groups to stop printing “Hospital Protest” stories. Furthermore, Francophone interest groups and associations have decided to get involved and divide our community.

The fact of the matter is all this never had to happen if CCH administration had really cared about the community it serves. When the two English Hospitals–Cornwall General and Hotel Dieu amalgamated in 2004, CCH applied for the FLSA (French Language Service Act). Since the FLSA’s implementation, countless people have been discriminated against either because they did not speak French or did not speak French well enough. 

The Administration has the ability to change the French requirement from mandatory to asset, but is unwilling to budge. This does not serve our community or our patients’ best interests when language trumps education and experience.

Chris Cameron RN

Long Sault, ON

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Let’s face it. The dating scene in 2013 has changed…just a little. 

If the last time you went out on a blind date, Elvis was just leaving the army, cars had huge chrome fins and Tommy and Annette were chanting “Meeska, Mouska Mousketeer” you may find the 21st century dating rituals a bit daunting.

Parents, well-meaning college room mates, your Aunt Tilly (“Have I got the perfect guy for you! So he’s a little short. And lumpy. And appears to be looking in two directions at the same time!”)  are no longer the source of introductions. No, today’s career man and woman must turn to a totally different kind of match maker.

This match maker has a screen, a wired brain, a lot of bytes and needs your credit card number. 

Just answer a few simple questions, punch the responses in, and a massive computer brain will sift through millions of contenders, then pop out the ideal match. (Couldn’t be any worse than Aunt Tilly.)

Why not, I thought? Let’s see who my perfect soul mate could be. After all, 50 million ads for dating sites running on television every day must mean something.

So I chose my site, and settled down to honestly answer the “let’s develop your dating profile” questions.

Sex? Well, isn’t that sort of why one wants to find a permanent soul m…oh, I see. Female.

Age? 39. Give or take a decade or two. (Don’t push me.)

Qualities you are looking for in the perfect mate? Easy question. Male. Breathing.

Geographical area you would consider for matches? Again, an easy question. Earth.

What is your favourite colour? Green. No, blue. Wait! Red! Yellow? Final response: plaid.

If you were washed ashore on a desert island, and you could only have three things with you, what would they be?

Easy one. A fully fueled 60 foot yacht, the Ottawa Senators and an unlimited bank account.

Which do you admire? A sense of humour? A sense of adventure? A sense of accomplishment?

You betcha.

What is your personal net worth?

Next question.

In which sports are you accomplished?

Next question.

Why have you selected this on-line dating service?

Aunt Tilly is out of town.

I won’t go into a lot of details on how this all came out. I will say I carried on quite an exciting computer conversation with one potential for a while…until I discovered “he” was a programmable digital toaster oven.

I still don’t know which of us finally broke it off. 

 

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