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MEANDERINGS FROM AN OUTSIDER 20 August 2007 To have been invited to contribute along with those who have thoughtful insights into Canada's justice [or not] system, is welcomed. I had a career in the Royal Canadian Navy and retired in early 1975. I saw service in Korea and was for three years, the national public information officer of the Korea Veterans Association of Canada, Inc. It was during my tenure that I was tasked with the duty of convincing Ottawa that the 27,000 Canadians who volunteered for service in Korea had not been recognised by Canada properly. The upshot of my tour as national PIO was that Ottawa caved in and a suitable medal was struck and subsequently awarded. I confess that I was assisted in this task by others but I do claim sole responsibility for the three-prong attack that was instrumental in having Ottawa capitulating. Incidentally, it was not so much the medal that Korean veterans wanted but, rather, the recognition that they had served their country well as Canada was a member of the United Nations first-ever Force to remove a belligerent nation from a neighbour. The FirstGulf War was the second occasion. Prior to my term as national PIO, I was for seven years a ministerial assistant to a BC government cabinet minister. I learned much about how government functions efficiently or does not function efficiently. I learned that bureaucrats often -but not always - tend to take care of that part of their anatomy that they spend much of their time hiding from the public. Another thing I learned is that bureaucracy tends to have a multitude of reasons [excuses] for not doing or for doing something. Passing the buck is a well-honed sport that confirms the previous reference to ensure that the aforementioned part of the anatomy remains unseen and unscathed. Yet another observation was that weak ministers tended to have a strong bureaucracy that tended to 'run the show' on its terms; whereas, a strong minister [the type that I worked for/with] runs a tight ship with a responsible and responsive bureaucracy. One can draw one's own conclusions on that. It occurs to me that two faults are at the heart of Canada's [and British Columbia's] inability to rise above mediocrity. First, despite the best efforts of well-intentioned individuals - professional and otherwise - day after day this country is being attacked by fifth columnists whose sole purpose, it seems, is to promote an evil. That evil, I contend, is the slow, disgusting strangulation of the rights of individuals to enjoy freedom from all manner of criminals - both the professional [is there such an animal as a professional criminal?] and the neophyte - who are more interested in furthering their devious agendas than they are in the wellbeing of their fellow citizens. Time after time, Canadians are attacked verbally and physically by hoodlums who, if caught, are given a mild slap on the wrist, if at all, and then sent on their destructive ways to recommit. It is recognised that police forces throughout the land are taxed beyond reasonable resources and are forced, unwillingly I submit, to make decisions about which report to pursue. In time, the revolving door is spinning nearly off its hinges. The second evil is what I term the Charter of Rights and Wrongs. It seems that more and more the bad guys and gals have all the rights and the innocent victims suffer all the wrongs. Whose fault is that? At times, judges are attacked for being too lax; often this is the case. For some reason, some judges seem to have the idea that meeting out justice to recalcitrants is akin to slaughtering innocent children - a rather disgusting thought, to be sure. Others, judges with a backbone and an interest in upholding the laws of the land, are more ready to give the guilty the swift kick where it will do the most good. [The reference to swift kick is not intended to be taken literally]. Taken together, these twin evils are destroying Canada - the Canada that I willingly served and today weep for. What are the answers? Are there ready answers? Might I suggest that the primary fault lies with the politicians in Ottawa and each provincial/territorial capital. Observation suggests that far too many weak MLAs or MPs are elected to office by two few knowledgeable voters. I have observed times when voters have voted for a candidate based on that candidate's looks, or that candidate's connections, or that candidate's promises whereas a more knowledgeable voter will have researched the individual party's platforms and agreed or disagreed with the various planks. To elect a government simply because of a candidate's looks or connections or, as more than one voter has told me, "because that is how I have always voted" without giving serious consideration to the platforms and their eventual, possible outcomes, is pure folly. A more informed electorate will return a more responsible result with the certainty that those elected will represent the the best the country can offer rather than the mediocre who tend to reduce the bar to the point that it becomes meaningless. There have been and are several examples of politicians hanging on simply to collect a hefty pension and who contribute little meaningful legislation to the betterment of the country/province. Better legislation results in better justice and fewer lax judges with fewer criminals running roughshod over the innocent citizenry. A long time ago, I drafted a proposal that I termed the Ellesmere Island system. In a nutshell, the idea was to look carefully and closely at the bad guys and gals and separate those whom responsible people deemed to be incorrigibles from those thought to be petty criminals. The incorrigibles were to serve the full term of their sentences in a well-built, well-staffed penitentiary sited far away from Canada's populations - hence, Ellesmere Island. Not that Ellesmere Island was intended to be the actual location but Ellesmere Island represented a distant spot. Petty criminals were to be housed in existing facilities and they, too, were to serve their full terms. No parole, ever, to be considered. The old axiom, 'You do the crime, you do the time’ is apropos. [I rather like the US's three strikes system.] Would the Ellesmere Island idea work? Probably not for the simple reason that Canada - and particularly BC - is populated with softies who seem to feel strongly that the druggies, the dopers, the criminals and the like are the way they are because their mother spoke harshly to them at some point in their young, developing lives. To that crap, I say nuts and double nuts. People become criminals, etc. because it is their desire. I agree that peer pressure can sway a person but such a person, if schooled properly at home by responsible, caring, loving parents will not be swayed. In closing, I often recall my youth and think back to how things were then; I was not an angel by the standards of the day. Today, I would be considered a softy. My naval career taught me that each shipmate is responsible for his actions and that anyone who violated the law of the navy suffered the consequences; not always pleasant. Discipline was the common thread that held together the service. Discipline need not be harsh but just; it seems to me that today in civilian society the idea of harsh justice has gone the way of the five-cent coffee.
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Backgrounder on Robert (Bob) Orrick Royal Canadian Navy: 1950-75, 1952-53, HMCS Athabaskan DDE219. Following honourable discharge in 1975, Bob was a reporter/photographer then editor of a Vancouver Island community newspaper for a short period. In 1979, he was appointed ministerial assistant to a BC government cabinet minister. In 1986, Bob resigned his position and became a founding owner/vice-president of a Vancouver, BC based international marketing company. In 1989 he left the firm. Later that year Bob was appointed National Public Information Officer, Korea Veterans Association of Canada, Inc., a position he held for three years. During his tenure as PIO, he worked diligently to educate Canadians about their country’s involvement in the Korean War; moreover, bob toiled tirelessly to convince Ottawa to recognize the voluntarism of the 27,000 Canadians who served in Korea 1950-53 and to award a suitable medal. In November 1991, Governor-General ray Hnyatysen awarded the Canadian volunteer Service Medal (Korea) to a select group of Korean War veterans. Other veterans received their medal via Canada Post. Bob spent twelve years researching, interviewing, and writing Indelible Memories; Canadian Sailors in Korea 1950-1955 published in 2002. It truly was a labour of love. In 1990, Bob became a private ESL tutor, an undertaking he currently enjoys. W. G. Craig |
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