While the sentiment that “no News is good News” makes sense some days, it can also be compared to an ostrich burying its head in the sand to avoid facing trouble. Sometimes you cannot be watching closely enough.
The recent efforts by Wellington North Township council to curtail the number and frequency of bridge inspections seemingly fell on deaf ears. A Ministry of Transportation engineer gave a thumbs down to a recent resolution by council asking to spread out the intervals for testing.
Red tape continues to burden municipalities.
In this case, Wellington North Township faces charges ranging from $7,600 to nearly $30,000 to keep its bridge reports up to date. It was completely reasonable for council to wonder aloud how a relatively small township can be expected to pony up that amount of money each year – knowing full well that at some point, far larger sums will be needed for the replacement of said structures.
That, as they say, is merely a cost of doing business. The benefactor of that government regulation, is the engineering firms who do the work.
In the longer term the township and residents will benefit from a road system in which they can have confidence.
But tough economic times and a shortage of money have a way of bringing questions of cost to the fore. Today, municipalities and businesses are regulated to a point of concern. Costs continue to rise, and while governments might not like doing it, the simple solution to their problem is raising taxes to cover those costs.
Private businesses, however, do not have that luxury. Sure, prices can go up, but in these uncertain times many business owners are hesitant to recoup their costs on the backs of their customers, so they take one for the team and forego profit – but that can only last so long before there are too few dollars to spread around.
A greater issue for municipal entities is paying for structures and the associated red tape when the time comes for replacement. It seems most ministries have a handout for fees and consultation – including the Conservation Authority, Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Transportation.
When asked about cheaper alternatives, most engineers will offer the standard line of building to code, diminishing liability and meeting the needs of the future. While the notion of weight and width must be considered for bridges, particularly in light of the large agricultural equipment being used these days, there are some spots suited to cheaper alternatives – such as a culvert.
In the interim, Wellington North Township is stuck like others, performing costly inspections on a prescribed schedule. It is yet another example of regulations that are difficult to change once legislated, despite good intentions to save a buck.
Black eye for the Red Eye
When it’s late at night, there are very few original shows to watch. Much of the fare is repeats, or infomercials.
One program that caught our attention after midnight on one sleepless night was the Red Eye on Fox News, but truthfully, the satire and bologna that seem to permeate some American News channels was too much – and we went with Star Trek instead.
Having said that, the Red Eye, with Greg Gutfeld, made international News this past week when it made fun of the Canadian military, specifically that Canada will pull out of Afghanistan. Jokes about our soldiers having fun in the sun, wearing white uniforms, taking a year off of battle, and the like drew the ire of Canadians coast to coast.
That four of our soldiers would soon arrive home after perishing in battle simply amplified our outrage.
It seems to us that the lines of good taste get crossed far too frequently now, and the pat phrase to explain such rudeness is that it was “satire.” A faint apology from Gutfeld was issued the day after the comments, indicating it was satirical opinion.
Few Canadians, let alone grieving families, found it funny. The Red Eye needs a black eye for incredibly poor taste.
