Although I'm mostly retired, I've got a bit of residual consulting work in Toronto. Downtown. Last Sunday, the TTC promised, as in PROMISED, to let us know by 4pm whether they were striking. Silly me. I believed the TTC. Logged on at 4pm for the news. No news. Finally, at around 5:15pm, I figured I had to make a decision -- my downtown hotel reservation had to be cancelled by 6pm. So I left our Toronto condo and headed downtown, so I would be in downtown Toronto for Monday am. business. That cost about $140. When I got to the hotel, and checked in, I learned that the strike had been averted. Too late for me. I had to pack, check into the hotel, early next morning check out of the hotel, deal with downtown parking, etc. etc.
All because a union leader failed to keep his word.
This same guy promised to give Toronto residents 48 hours notice of any pending strike action. As in PROMISED. He broke that promise too. The union went on strike, suddenly, at midnight Friday. A lot of people were stranded. I was driving back into Toronto on Sunday, with more work downtown, and, once again, I needed to know: is the TTC going to be on strike, or not? The legislature met, and ordered the TTC back to work. The left-leaning CBC dutifully reported that the TTC planned to honor the government legislation and return to work. As if defying the law would have been a possible and perhaps reasonable response for a union. Is the rule of law really that tenuous in today's rights-obsessed Canada?
Anyway, I found out in time to cancel tonight's reservation at the Holiday Inn on King. And, with the Lord's help, I'll be in downtown Toronto tomorrow morning fulfilling my contractual promises. Still, the contempt that the TTC has shown for the citizens of Toronto lingers, along with the sharp memory of personal uncertainty, inconvenience and expense. Here's my point: I would like to see the TTC Union leader arrested and thrown into jail.
Is that too much to ask?
No comments:
Post a Comment