On Mon, 4 Dec 1995, Patricia Horn Fell wrote:

> On Mon, 4 Dec 1995, Laura Lynne Scharer wrote:
>
> > And did you see the news this morning about the transportation strike,
> > talk of a general strike, general disatisfaction etc, etc.
> >
> > What looks good from one angle may not look so good from another one.
> > I admit I don't know _anything_ about French taxes or how the French really
> > feel about them (even after watching 60 Minutes) but this looks like a
> > strong possibility of the grass being greener.
> >
>
> Oh, I dunno. A massive general strike would be an appropriate response to
> the beating we're taking right here in the US of A. Too bad it's not in
> our collective vocabulary of behaviors. It'd sure beat blaming, whining,
> competing for scraps, cheerfully working longer and harder for less, and
> generally waiting for the gummint to fix itself.
>


If you think things are bad in the USA you ought to take a good hard look
at what's happening north of the border in Canada generally and in Ontario
specifically.  Everything related to the arts, culture and heritage is
being slashed to the marrow, along with health, education and welfare.  By
comparison, Premier Harris makes Newt Gingrich look like a bleeding-heart
liberal wimp!  Funding for museums such as the Royal Ontario Museum, the
Art Gallery of Ontario and the Ontario Science Centre is being slashed to
the point where some institutions (e.g.: McLaughlin Planetarium and the
Ontario Agricultural Museum) are being closed permanently.  Many smaller
community museums are being forced to cut their staffs and hours of
operation way back.  Grants for all sectors of the arts, culture and
heritage, as well as universities and public education, are either being
reduced by significant factors (10, 20 or 40%), or eliminated entirely.
Public funding for archaeological research, survey, assessment, and/or
mitigation has virtually been eliminated. (Only one grant programme
remains and that is for doctoral dissertation research.  Unfortunately,
the total fund available for this purpose is now less than $30,000.) The
list of programmes which are being substantially cut or entirely
eliminated is huge, and growing almost hourly.  On top of this, labour
rights and even basic human rights are being severely curtailed through
changes to the labour laws and the human rights code.

The French certainly have a cause for complaint, but so do Ontarians and
Canadians in general.  Unfortunately, this is all part of an apparently
world-wide trend (see, for example, what has happened in New Zealand over
the last several years).  If Americans are hurting now, just wait.  It's
going to get a lot worse.