570News - Jeff Allan

The last thing Brenda Martin needs right now is to be released from jail. I believe her supporters should shut up and let her get what she needs in jail.

She needs services right now that she can’t get otherwise so what’s the hurry to get her out? She can’t get health insurance in any province for ninety days. If she was out of jail now she’d be paying out of pocket and I understand she’s broke. Even if her family and friends had extra money to lend her for medical services there is still the issue of wait times and line-up’s.  If she needs  drug treatment as I’m told she does, why not get it at the jail she’s in now? Did you know that private facilities have long line-up’s too, and they cost 10 to 15 thousand bucks for two months! So even if her friends and family are willing to pay out of pocket, there’s no guarantee she’ll get the treatment she needs. Stay where you are Brenda, you’ll be better off for it in the long run and so will we.

                                                      Jeff Allan

Have you noticed that the CTV television network is juggling things to make room for their money making rating smash hit “American Idol”?  I have never watched one episode of the program. I think of it as a “young people’s thing”. Apparently it’s great fun for the kids and that’s fantastic, however I have one problem with the timing. First of all I believe that nine o’clock at night on a school night is too late for young kids to be awake, and secondly I don’t believe it’s in the best interest of young children to be exposed to ADULT programming while they wait for their favorite show to come on.  Law and Order, ER, and Criminal Minds are shows designed for adults with adult content, sexuality, graphic death and violent scenes that are not appropriate for children under 14 according to the broadcast standards. These programs are written for an adult audience and designed to run after nine pm  so they are not  seen by kids.  So I ask, why is the CTV network putting these ADULT programs on at 7pm!? I suggest you check what your kids are watching before the “singing show” starts because these ADULT shows are a kids nightmare waiting to happen.  ER at 7pm last night and Law & Order at 7pm on Wednesday night was inappropriate and wrong. Those programs are for me and you, not children.

In fairness, all of the networks in Canada and the U.S  do this to accomodate their nine o’clock live reality show etc.  The irony for me is the fact that kids have to stay up late to watch what they should be watching at seven PM?!

                                                  Jeff Allan

We have a responsibility to our Native people. There are things that our government has agreed to do and that’s it.  However I believe spending good money after bad is a crazy thing to do.  The flood victims from Kashechewan have been flown thousands of miles only to be here for a couple of days shopping at the “big mall” and now they’re going home already because water levels are receding. They have been moved temporarily three times in the last four years; are we going to keep doing this forever? The Native people of Kashechewan should have it put to them simply; you move or you’re on your own. The people of Canada shouldn’t be expected to pour funding into a money pit forever. This isn’t Las Vegas where you throw your money away for fun, this is our taxpayer dollars.

                                                    Jeff Allan

Baseball Hall of Famer and Canadian Fergie Jenkins says steroid users are giving baseball a bad name. He say players are not only tarnishing their image, but the beautiful game of baseball. Okay he’s right, but is he the one to say this? I recall that he admitted using illegal street drugs when he played. In fact he was busted at the U.S/Canada border while trying to smuggle drugs!!! How dare he talk about guys shooting steroids when there’s plenty of people who will tell you that he used street drugs while he played. A couple of lines of coke between innings will make you throw the ball a heck of a lot harder my friends, so what’s the difference between steroids and street drugs when it comes to enhancing your game? Everyone is human, including Fergie Jenkins and lots of other players of his era;  but come on  isn’t this a case of the pot calling the kettle black? 
As they say: He who is without sin,  may throw the first pitch.

                                             Jeff Allan 

Today Liberal Mp Dan Mcteague is saying that  the Canadian government is dragging it’s feet on the Brenda Martin case! Apparently the Government of Canada isn’t working as fast as he would like to obtain her release because they are “slow” to loan her the thirty-five hundred dollars she needs to pay the  fine that was levied upon her for the crime she was convicted of.  She can’t come back until the fine is paid first. My question is; why doesn’t  Mr. “opportunist” Mcteague, pay the fine himself if he wants her out so bad? While he’s at it, maybe he could look into over 1700 other cases of Canadians in similar trouble around the world. They need help too Dan! Put your money where your big mouth is Mr. Mcteague, that’s what classy people do.

                                                Jeff Allan

Recently our operation went through some changes and remodeling. One thing we did was ask every department to stop using their own coffee makers, kettles, toasters and other appliances for safety and conservation reasons.  In return for our cooperation the management decided to provide coffee and tea at no charge to us.

In our kitchen we had a single cup beverage delivery system. We used to pay per cup, but now we pay nothing. It’s a good deal I guess; however their is something that I’ve noticed over the past month that we’ve been doing this.

Now that the coffee is free guess what? We have a line-up for it, the equipment is wearing down quicker, and the stock or product (coffee & tea)  is gone three times as fast; and often it’s out of stock unlike before when there was a small charge for the service.  It occurred to me that this is exactly what happens in our health care system.  Give something away for free and the result is the same; first you get a line-up,  next your system gets run down,  and then you’re out of stock or product.   Just something to think about the next time you need medical services.

                                                        Jeff Allan

You know what kills me? Politicians and people who say things like; “That’s not the way we did things with the last government.” or “Why are things different now?” When ever I’ve had a new boss for example, I have always expected changes. Whether it’s a change in the way we operate, or co-workers being reassigned or fired, there are always major changes when their is a replacement at the top. If things were going well there wouldn’t be any changes, so why are people so dumb founded when changes are made.  After thirteen years of Federal Liberal rule, many people are grumbling about what they think are drastic changes in ideology by the Conservative Party. What did you expect? They were the opposition! Did you think they would emulate their predecessors? Come on,  step into reality; people who don’t like the current government should have thought about this easy human nature issue before they voted. They shouldn’t be surprised by it. Mr. Harper and his gang are going to do things differently, just the same as any new boss would. That’s life, that’s human nature, that’s politics too. Don’t be surprised by it!

                                                          Jeff Allan

Yesterday on the Gary Doyle Show, he did a story about a parents coalition called Tragically O-Hip. These folks want the provincial government to provide more treatment facilities for teenagers that are addicted to drugs. Currently there are less than one hundred beds for this purpose in all of Ontario! Right now,  government approved teens are sent to the U.S.A for treatment and that costs us taxpayers a fortune. We need to open teen treatment centres here. Don’t underestimate the urgency! This is  growing industry unfortunately,  and we have to deal with it. It also makes good financial sense to build good facilities here so that the OHIP bill is reduced.

One thing to keep in mind; you’ll need a lot of money to set this up initially, because  you’ll have to allow for relapses and insight treatment. Teens have a tough time in recovery for  a number of reasons. Parents need “insight courses” so they know how to help continue the treatment when the kids are released. In addition to this I believe any treatment centre that has a program that is less than sixty days is a waste of time! I know because I have been through it personally five years ago. Most people don’t even detox or “dry-out” in twenty-eight days.  Just as their heads clear up they go back home without learning anything; then they fail. It’s common. The people at AA will tell you that.  Rehab or Treatment Centres are  great but one must remember that ultimately it’s up to the individual to stay “clean” whether they’re fifteen or fifty. People of all ages are directly “infected” and “affected” by their environment.  Remember the treatment centres teach that you can’t touch any drug including the worst drug ever invented; Alcohol. It’s a tough battle, but we have to do something for our youth to give them a fighting chance.

                                                        Jeff Allan

During the last provincial election I asked Premier McGunity if his government would consider paying for the PSA test for men over fifty under OHIP. He told me that he would discuss it with his staff and consider the idea. A week later his local soldier John Malloy called me to announce publicly on-air that the Premier had decided to approve the plan to have OHIP cover the PSA test. I thought I had actually done something constructive. Less than a month ago I questioned Minister Malloy and asked him when the PSA coverage was going to begin. He talked to me like I was a child that should have known better. He said “things don’t happen overnight Jeff”.  I was disturbed by that, but I assumed we were just weeks away from an announcement, I mean come on, we’re talking about a $30 to $35 dollar test not an MRI machine! I thought the PSA test was doo-able!  Was I ever let down the other day when it was announced that the PSA coverage is years away from being covered!!! I’m disappointed. Now I know what you all mean when you say that the Ontario Liberal Party tends to misrepresent themselves from time to time. This one of those times. I was fooled. I won’t be so gullible next time. From now on I will assume that everything that comes from the Premiers office is untrue and I will act accordingly with my Liberal guests. That’s a promise; unlike the Liberal party of Ontario I will keep mine!

                                                Jeff Allan

I believe Prime Minister Harper will regret not removing MP Tom Lukwski from the party for one simple reason; the opposition will replay the awful footage over and over again in attack ad’s during the election! The caption will say something like “look here’s the bigoted, intolerant, redneck face of the Conservative Party that Mr. Harper condones”. Mr. Harper can not win a majority without Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver on his side. How is he going to win without the immigrant vote, the moderate liberal thinking vote, the women’s vote and the gay communities vote? That’s who lives in these cities! That’s who he has to win over and he’s already lost them with his bonehead decision not to even discipline a Party member who made intolerable anti-gay comments on film.  I know Tom Lukwiski apologized, but Tom’s gotta take one for the team here. Too bad the Coach (PM HARPER) can’t see that!

I predict that this will cause them more trouble than the funding for faith based schools issue did for the Provincial Conservative Party in Ontario during the last election.

                                                                  Jeff Allan