Tim Hortons comes through!

According to Lowell Green, host of The Lowell Green Show on AM580 CFRA in Ottawa, Tim Hortons has bowed to the public pressure and has reversed its position that was put forth last evening.

Details are sketchy at this point, but a veteran just encouraged us all to head to Tim Hortons to show our appreciation. I'll do my best - it's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it!

Thanks Tim Hortons - but please, don't do something like this again! Think it through because as you can see, it doesn't take much to mobilize civilian troops to drive a point across.

Boycott Tim Hortons until they come to their senses

I sat down last night to watch the 11pm local news before going to bed. Another Red Friday was just around the corner and yet another mini controversy was surfacing. After the House of Commons staff members were finally allowed to wear red ribbons last week, Tim Hortons was the new "scrooge" that reared its ugly head last night.

The story originated from the CFB Petawawa Tim Hortons location - yes, the one ON THE BASE - where a staff person was anonymously coming forward to highlight the fact that she and her colleagues had been told by Tim Hortons officials that they would not be allowed to wear red on Fridays. A company official claimed that a need to remain unbiased was paramount.

Unbiased? Showing support for your fellow countrymen is a bias against what? Please.

Until they change their ridiculous stance on this issue, let's quit the Timmy's habit and support someone else. Heck, try a Maxwell House coffee at home some time - or Folgers... commercials a good number of years ago claimed that you couldn't tell the difference anyway!!!

Let's get them right where it hurts most - in their earnings report. They'll come to their senses sooner than later!

To run, or not to run... or for what to run - mayor, councillor or dog catcher?!

I noticed the other day while driving down Carling Avenue that Bay ward candidate Sherril Noble's signs looked like they were once used by someone else. As they flashed by it seemed that the flipside of her "white" signs were actually green with yellow writing. Upon checking them out this morning at the corner of Carling and Richmond, I saw that that one sign was a "large" Shawn Little sign chopped into two!

Given how swiftly they went up late last week, one would have to speculate that Mr. Little knew far before the day he announced last week that upon further reflection, he would not seek re-election after all. Given his public dislike for Councillor Cullen, it seems somewhat amusing that he and his signs live on in the campaign of the third or fourth candidate for council in Bay ward!

It also makes it sound like it was a far more pre-meditated move than readers of the Sun and the Citizen last week were led to believe! It's highly unlikely that Ms. Noble would have been able to get a sign shop to print up her signs "overnight" after calling Mr. Little out of the blue after reading in the paper that he was retiring from public life.

Now that I think about it, it seems to me that Terry Kilrea's sudden move to recuse himself from the mayoralty race to run in ward 7 must also have had some involved planning, for no sooner than he announced that fateful Friday, he had a neat new sign to put up in the lighted fixture at his "new" campaign office on Richmond Road. Can you lease office space and whip backlit signs up in mere hours? Perhaps - but I doubt it!

Who said municipal elections were boring?!!

Follow-up: After exchanging e-mail with a local journalist I have learned that Councillor Little had in fact planned on acquiring new signage for the 2006 re-election campaign. Fascinating, though understandable - while most candidates for re-election reuse their old signs, the yellow on dark green likely needed replacement! This doesn't change the amusing fact that Councillor Little, certainly not a member of Alex Cullen's fan club, still have "have an influence" (however indirect) on his soon to be former foe's fate!

SUPPORT YOUR TROOPS - Wear Red Fridays

580 CFRA and A Channel Ottawa have teamed up with the wives of Canadian troops in Afghanistan to start a campaign to have Ottawans (and hopefully residents of municipalities throughout Eastern Ontario and, eventually, across Canada) show their support for their husbands and friends who are overseas fighting on our behalf.

To do so, everyone is encouraged to wear red every Friday. Whether it is a ribbon in your hair, a t-shirt or sweater, please wear red on Fridays to show your individual support. I understand that the Royal Canadian Legion is having t-shirts and magnets for cars printed up and they should be available very soon. Stay tuned to local media (or drop by here!) for more information as it becomes available.

http://www.cfra.com/headlines/index.asp?cat=1&nid=42522

CUPE retracts grievance but still "extremely upset"

There was a news story in the Ottawa Sun yesterday about how CUPE, the union representing municipal workers in Scugog, Ontario, had filed a grievance against a city councillor who bravely took the initiative and lowered the town flag after a Canadian soldier's death had been nationally reported.

The issue? The dastardly act was done on a Saturday and should have been done by a unionized employee. The union insisted yesterday that the grievance was "not about the money" (isn't it always about the money?) even though a unionized worker would be entitled to $120.00 in overtime pay for a job that takes about three minutes.

So after a national outcry the union has decided to stand down and try to work its way out of a major public relations mess. According to today's Ottawa Sun, the chair of the CUPE local is "extremely upset by the spin" that portrayed the grievance as a lack of respect and called it a misunderstanding over a labour relations issue.

And she has the gall to be upset over "spin"?! What, pray tell, is she trying to do now?

The bottom line is that the union and the town negotiated a bargaining agreement that had only sketchy details outlining the requirements and procedures should the town flag need to be lowered on a weekend or holiday. They likely saw this simple act as a perfect opportunity to pounce and embarrass municipal officials and use this as some future negotiation chip.

Well guess what - it blew up in their faces and rightly so. Management and union officials will apparently meet today to work out some new procedure. If Scugog could legally get away with it, I wish they'd tell CUPE to get the heck out of the office and stick their demands where the sun doesn't shine. I was personally outraged yesterday to hear that not only would a worker be entitled to $120 in overtime pay for lowering the flag (the councillor stated that it took but a few minutes to do it), but that CUPE would try to make a national story out of it and then be outraged when a less than favourable public opinion formed after the news cross the nation.

When is enough enough, CUPE?