THE JOYS OF PUBLIC TRANSIT

"Around the country [America] we are seeing in many, many communities..., a rebirth in the use of public transportation,....People are discovering that for many of their trips, good, quiality public transportation suits their needs."

William Millar

As always, if pressed for time, scroll down to the WHAT CAN YOU DO section.

A friend of mine recently moved.  One of the main adjustments she mentioned was having to get used to public transit once again, and how she would spend about an hour getting to work, and then home again.  This inspired me to rethink the blog entry that I had planned for this week. 

I had started to prepare the research and materials I would need to discuss how wonderful public transit can be for the environment (don’t worry – an upcoming blog entry will deal with just this subject, lucky you!).  Many of us take buses, or metros (subways to those of you outside of Quebec and France), and know first-hand the economic benefits.  We often hear of the ecological benefits.  However, we rarely hear of the benefits that can be had on a personal level, with a shift in attitude. 

As someone who spends A LOT of time on public transit (some days four or five hours, getting to various meetings), I think I know a little something about the subject.  Yes, I’ll be honest; there are days that I wish I had a car, and that I spent less time travelling back and forth.  The truth is that public transit is the most practical option for me, given my budget.  The fact  is that it is also the most responsible option available to me if I have long distances within the city to travel to (otherwise walking, biking, etc. are the most responsible options – again, to be covered in upcoming blog entries).  It can be a royal pain in the butt at times – especially on those Saturday mornings that I have to be at the bus stop at 06h30 in order to get to work on time. 

However, I learned a long time ago that a shift in my attitude not only lead to an acceptance of my reality, but also celebrated unseen opportunities afforded me by my reliance on public transit.  The truth is that given the reality of rush-hour traffic these days, the time I spend on buses and metros is probably equal to or less than the amount of time I would spend in a car, stuck in traffic.  I feel much better about the environmental impact I have getting to work/meetings/etc. than I would if I were driving a car.  My expenses are much lower, and I can (and do) choose to spend the money I would have on car payments, parking, insurance, maintenance, and repairs on items that more accurately reflect my civic and political values. 

I have also learned the etiquette of bus/metro ‘culture’. 

1.   Go without perfume for the trip in to work or back home.  If you do choose to wear perfume, please use a very light hand as some of us are quite sensitive to scents. 

2.   Along that line, please PLEASE be kind and practice good personal hygiene (for obvious reasons). 

3.   If an elderly or disabled/injured person gets on a full bus, and if you see that that person would like a seat but is too embarrassed to ask for it, please politely encourage the person in the designated seat to relinquish it. (While occasionally someone with an ‘invisible’ disability will be installed in these seats, most of the time it is people who use them because they know that no one will call them on it.)  If these seats are already taken by elderly/disabled people, then please offer your seat. 

4.   If you are with children and an older person gets on a full bus, please either place the child on your lap and offer his/her seat to the older person, or have the child stand.  (You can steady the child in a number of ways, all of them safe.)  This will teach the child many lessons (respect for elders, the importance of sharing within a social context, basic etiquette, that s/he can improve his/her environment even at a young age, and that s/he is not the centre of the universe).

5.   Please carry Kleenex with you, and use it if you need to.

6.   Please cough/sneeze into your elbow, not into the air, the face of a fellow passenger, or into your hand (the same hand that will later touch a seat or pole on the bus).

7.   Please take your garbage with you.  If you can carry it in full, you can carry it out empty!

8.   Please be free with your use of the words “please”, “thank you”, and “I’m sorry”.  Buses and metros are often crowded, and filled with stressed fellow travellers.  You can make or break someone’s day just by being nice.

Perhaps the most significant thing I have learned from taking public transit is that fitting in ‘me time’ is possible in an insanely hectic schedule, and that it doesn’t have to take place on tropical beaches, or at expensive restaurants (although those who would like to provide me with those experiences, for comparative purposes of course, are welcome to make a donation to the auntiapathy research fund!). 

I am not saying that my readers should give up their cars and immediately switch to public transportation.  I am lucky enough to live in a city with a good public transit system.  Many live in areas with no public transit system at all, or in suburbs where using buses and/or metros are impractical.  (Now you know by now I’m going to mention an upcoming blog entry about those issues, don’t you?)  However, for those of us who rely or are able to choose public transportation, here are some ideas regarding how you can choose to spend your transit time.  Reading is an obvious choice, but here are a few others you may not have thought of:

 Cuddle with your Daddy, and then take a nap...

 Visit with some of the local fauna...

including future entomologists and their subjects.

Text, or listen to music, or eat lunch...

...or eat breakfast for that matter.

You can prepare for a protest by cutting up flyers...

You can knit (and if you give knitting courses, this is a good way to advertise too, as long as you bring along business cards!)...

If it's summer, you can play 'spot the tattoo', which is actually a lot easier and more fun than you might imagine...

You can even reap economical benifits in unexpected ways!

I guess the point of this blog entry is that using public transit, while it may be a necessity rather than a choice for some, does provide us with an opportunity to be good to ourselves as well as good to others, in addition to leaving a smaller environmental footprint and a larger bank account.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

1.   Shift your attitude.  See your travel time as ‘down time’ in which to shift into gear (pun definitely intended) for work, or decompress for home.

2.   Prepare for your time.  Bring snacks.  Bring music.  Bring literature.  (Bring bugs, bring pets, bring whatever…)

3.   Use the travel time to visit with friends, or bond with family.

4.   Calculate how much a car would cost (and include all the expenses).  Then calculate how much you spend on public transit.  By yourself a treat and reward yourself with some of your savings.

5.   Learn how you lessen your environmental impact by taking public transit.  You should feel better. You can do this by calculating the distance and using  this website .

6.   You may also be able to calculate the difference by using your public transit system’s website.  Mine tells you how many tons of carbon emissions I save a year by making return trips to the addresses I plug in.

UPDATE: FATFAC CANDLE LIGHT VIGIL

(Once again, this blog supports and encourages civic and political involvement.  The causes presented here may or may not represent the viewpoint of the author.)

As this is an update, there is no WHAT YOU CAN DO section at the bottom of this entry.

Yesterday, Daniel Bonin (see previous Blog entry) held a candle light vigil, in honour of fathers and extended families who have lost their children.  Entitled "Fathers Care", this vigil allowed grieving fathers and families to come together and support each other in a public setting, and provided a platform for the participants to inform the general public about issues related to family court and lost children.  While there were a total of nine participants, many people asked questions. 

In fact, Daniel was able to reach people from other countries as well as native Montrealers.  Four grandparents, tourists from Israel, took the time to discuss the issues with Daniel, and a tourist from China also took about twenty minutes, asking questions and grappling with the issues.

Given the fact that steps forward are often of the 'baby step' variety in issues of social justice, Daniel felt it was a real success and plans to hold another vigil next year.  Here are the photos:

Taping posters announcing the vigil to poles around the park.

Handing out flyers and working the crowds at another Fathers' Day event held by the city.





Hoisting the banner.  "Responsibilite paternelle/Fathers Care" is what is written.

Each candle was given a yellow wind-shade, symbolizing missing children ("Tie a yellow ribbon...").

Handing out candles to passers-by, who wanted to take part.

A giant Fathers' Day Card was signed by two of the participants, symbolizing the importance of fathers in family life.

CELEBRATING: SHARA ROSEN

(As with all entries, if you are pressed for time you may scroll down to the WHAT CAN YOU DO section.)

As can be said about  virtually all civically/politically active people I know, Shara’s family was a huge influence in her development as a community worker. 

My parents (of blessed memory) were the perfect role models.  Our home was always open to strangers who spent many a holiday feast with us.  My mom was active in the school PTA and numerous Jewish women’s groups.  My dad worked six days a week but was an essential participant in my elementary school's annual bazaar - he was in charge of the clothing section - he had been in retail clothing sales.

 Shara’s first conscious memories of being involved in community service were from when she was about nine years old.  She joined a Jewish youth group called Habonim  that:

…taught us the merits of social democracy where all citizens are valued and assured by the state a life of dignity, education, healthcare and free from poverty.

She remained an active member of Habonim for ten years. 

 Over the years, Shara has been active in a number of non-profit groups, both here ( B'Nai Brith Youth), and the Health Action Committee, and overseas (Senegal), as a volunteer with American Jewish World Service .  Presently she is on the Board and a number of committees of Project Genesis , and she is the founding member and President of Fondation Sénégal Santé Mobile (FSSM) - you can visit their website by clicking  here .

When I asked Shara what had led her to found FSSM, she replied as follows:

"Several years ago, my husband a Senegalese man I met while in Senegal,  got off the phone with his family and he was crying.  His 12 year old niece had just passed away having been wrongly diagnosed with  malaria  instead of yellow fever.  The treatments are different and so she did not make it.  I told him at that time that we who are privileged have to do something.  Especially since both of these diseases are endemic in the country and it should be very routine to get a proper diagnosis.  A few years later the Fondation Senegal Santé Mobile was established - 2009 and in 2010 we received our Revenue Canada Charities status and began our work in earnest." 

The combination of  a strong sense of social responsibility and the personal tragedy of her niece mobilized Shara to take action. 

I realize that there is a great need in Canada as well, but my experience in Senegal has shown me that even the most needy here are in better shape than there [Senegal]. This is because most of our basic health care needs are provided by our government.

FSSM was founded to “…provide basic primary healthcare to under-served populations in Senegal.”  At present, there have been two shipments of basic medications and diabetes monitoring equipment to the community health centre (known as Post de santé) in the town Gorom 1.  Serving roughly ten villages and between 40,000 and 60,000 villages, this Post de santé is critically important.

 FSSM is presently in the process of planning a Gala evening of multicultural food, parables, and music, with all proceeds going to support a maternity and birthing centre – recently built in Gorom 1.  Shara’s goals as President of FSSM is “…to raise enough money to provide these, and eventually other village populations, with the basic healthcare they now lack.”

(These planning sessions are always comfortable, replete with wonderful food, and often include the  non-human 'member' of the committee.)

WHAT YOU CAN DO

1.       Donate to the  Brick by Brick   campaign of FSSM, either as part of your regular donations or as a gift to another.

2.       If you are in the Montreal area, buy a ticket to the Gala, to be held on Oct 26, 2011, from 18h00-22h00 (place to be determined).  You can buy tickets by contacting FSSM at 514-369-8607, or get more information at their website .

3.       Think about some injustice you’ve experienced

4.       Do a bit of research and see if there are any groups dealing with this issue

5.       If there are, donate time and/or money.  Educate others.

6.       If there aren’t, do some research and start your own group.

CELEBRATING: DANIEL BONIN

"Doing is a quantum leap from imagining."  Barbara Sher

The goal of the “Celebrating…” blog entries is to celebrate social/political involvement, and to present a range of people and groups.  The views expressed may or may not be representative of your opinions, or of mine, but the goal here is to illustrate the many ways people get involved, and to encourage others to become more active. 

As always, if pressed for time skip ahead to the WHAT YOU CAN DO section.

Daniel Bonin’s earliest memories of social and political involvement consist of raising money for different charities, and of church involvement. 

Elders, whether they be my mother, my godparents, my father, or various member of the community often encouraged me to help others and  to make the world a better place, even if it was through simple or little acts.  One of the lessons I remember the most from when I was a child is that I should never ‘hide my light under a bushel’, and I’ve always had a strong need for social justice.

Over the last decade, this need has been shaped by personal loss.  In 2003, Daniel lost a long battle for custody of his daughter.  He has not heard from her since.

His long struggle with the court system focused his interest in social activism and social justice on gender bias within the family court system.  Constitutionally, laws must be applied equally to all, regardless of gender.  In Daniel’s case (and in many other custody cases), the laws are applied with a clear bias towards women, and with the apparent assumption that women are better parents.  The loss of his daughter galvanized Daniel, and over the last ten years or so, he has worked to raise awareness of this bias, as well as sexism in general. 

Dealing with the emotional fall out of his loss, Daniel sought support.  “Not much was available for fathers in 2003.  Most social services revolved around women and their needs.” After much searching, he found a small group of men who met to talk of their loss, but  Daniel felt a need for action on the matter, not just emotional support.  Through contacts with the first group, he was lead to another, action-oriented group of fathers. 

The Quebec chapter of Fathers 4 Justice (F4J) was small, but vocal.  In May 2005, they took part in a North American-wide series of protests.  The Montreal chapter ‘pirated’ billboards overlooking the TransCanada Highway, hanging banners where passing motorists could see them.  Additionally, thousands of live crickets were released into court houses within Quebec, and across the Canada (see here and here) in protest of unfair treatment in the family court system.

Daniel even climbed the cross on Mount Royal, disguised as Spiderman in order to draw attention to the plight of fathers.  

(A long tradition of using Superhero disguises exists within the Fathers 4 Justice movement see here  and here).

This resulted in others climbing various structures in and around the city, to draw the same attention to the problem, creating a snowball effect.

Within two months, the Montreal chapter received between 1,600 and 2,000 calls from people asking for help in dealing with the family court system.  This small group was not capable of dealing with all these requests; it was simply more than they could handle. 

Along with these requests, the publicity generated by their public protests resulted in pressure from groups (some of whom were quite powerful) – groups who saw F4J as being anti-woman and sexist, rather than pro-family and anti-sexist. These groups:

…branded us as the opposite of feminists, which I personally believe was contrary to what I believe our movement was – a movement which would liberate women from their pedestal of being the perfect mother who can work and take care of the children.  The only thing F4J wanted was to have men be seen as equals in their parenting skills and abilities, in accordance with Quebec’s Legal System.

The years of “…breaking our heads against a pretty solid wall of ignorance, misandry, propaganda and legal bigotry…” took its toll on many members of F4J, including Daniel. He cut back on activism and protesting for a few years, choosing instead to recharge his batteries and rebuild his emotional reserves.   

Now, having suffered eight years without any contact from my child, I realize that while attitudes might be slowly trickling forward, there is still a lot that needs to be done, and a lack of leadership.  The groups that presently exit for fathers, or male victims of domestic violence, are under the financial boot of the Ministre de Famille and the Condition Feminine, government organisations that seem to have excluded the idea of having masculine or paternal representation within their organisations, leaving the small and very few men’s groups and support systems to be constantly on guard not to offend…

Daniel is now beginning to become active in the movement once more, choosing to focus his attention on a new group: Fathers and the Family Action Collective (FATFAC). The seed for FATFAC was planted by former members of F4J who felt that their work was important and necessary in order to maintain some sort of presence in the public eye, and to sustain momentum in public education regarding this issue. (F4J Montreal is presently without real organisation or form, and FATFAC is interested in a different form of protest – more subdued, more inclusive.) While he still considers himself a “…T-shirt wearing member of F4J…” (referring to the F4J T-shirt he wears often, and intentionally, to public protests in order to draw attention to the plight of fathers), Daniel is branching out, and ready to begin to learn the skills necessary to lead FATFAC.


Their first event is a Candle Light Vigil to be held in honour of Fathers Who Care, and for fathers and extended family members who wish to take part in memory of lost children.  This event will take place Saturday, June 18, 2011 from 20h00-22h30, in Phillips Square, Montreal (McGill Metro, St. Catherine’s St. across from The Bay.)  All are welcome. Bring your own candle. 

WHAT YOU CAN DO

1. If you are in the area, drop in and take part in the Candle Light Vigil in honour of Fathers Who Care
2. Think about personal experiences that have left you feeling as though an injustice has been done
3. Find like-minded groups that try to correct this type of injustice
4. If you find them, donate money or time to the cause
5. If you don't find groups that deal with this issue, do some research and start your own group.

All are

ELIMINATION OF THE PER-VOTE SUBSIDY

As always, if you are pressed for time you can scroll down to the WHAT YOU CAN DO section.

Nope.  No pictures this entry, and a rather serious subject.  Pretty long entry, too.   I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read this piece as I do believe that it outlines a hugely important alteration to Canadian Federal politics – one that may greatly affect our future.

Stephen Harper was very clear during his recent campaign:  if he were to be elected with a majority, one of the first things he would do would be to eliminate the per-vote subsidy.  This is the subsidy which each party gets at a rate of about $2 per vote.   There are those who welcome this change. They say that this subsidy ‘rewards’ frequent elections (ibid.)  They say that as it costs $30 million dollars a year, and that in fact it penalizes taxpayers for voting, as an increase of votes results in higher expenses to taxpayers. 

$30 million dollars is a lot of working capital.  Limits to the amount donated to a political party by a corporation or union were announced in May of 2002 by Jean Chrétien, in order to reduce unfair influence of our representatives, and the per-vote subsidy introduced. These changes took place Jan. 1, 2004.  Stephen Harper amended these changes “…by allowing individual business or unions to contribute a maximum of $1,000 to a single election candidate, or, collectively, several candidates during any federal election…” (ibid.)   The obvious solution to party fund reduction created by the elimination of the per-vote subsidy is an increase to the present limit to party donations allowed by an individual or a business, and a greater expenditure of time dedicated by MPs and party leaders to fundraising, instead of governing.

Those who support the elimination of the subsidy argue that the Conservative Party has the most to lose, as it had the highest subsidy.  Prior to May 2, 2011, the annual subsidy breakdown was as follows:

Conservative Party         $10.4 million

Liberal Party                   $7.3 million

NDP                               $5 million

Bloc Quebecois               $2.8 million

Finally, this line of reasoning states that the public will compensate for per-vote subsidies by donating directly to whichever political party it deems most representative of its point of view, thereby creating a truly democratic system.

I have tried to fairly represent this perspective here, but I clearly hold the opposing point of view.

The ability to contribute financially to a political party is restricted to those who have the disposable income to do so.  If one is poor, struggling to pay rent, or visiting a food bank in order to feed one’s family, charitable donations of any kind are impossibility.  Single parents, the elderly, unemployed, underemployed, and the homeless are all groups that would have difficulty financially supporting a party that they feel is representative of their needs.  The reality is that the upper middle-class (while it exists), the wealthy, and corporations will be the primary sponsors of political parties, and the inevitable influence (even if meant benevolently) will result in unfair representation.

$30 million dollars a year seems like a huge sum of money – and it is.  It needs to be considered within the context of the Canadian annual budget, though, in order to properly evaluate it.  Let’s look at just one project that was funded by the Federal government last year. 

Waterfront Toronto (formerly known as The Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation) was given a total of $61 million over three quarters during 2010 in order to build a park and housing (including social housing).  This breaks down as follows: 

2010/07/29 = $21,125,000

2010/11/04 = $6,000,000

2010/04/06 = $9,800,000

                     $7,600,000

                     $4,086,000

                     $4,749,333

                     $8,588,055

– You do the math!

 This project sounds innovative, and God knows I think we need more green space.  Canada also needs more social housing, and this project purports to provide  affordable social housing.  How much of the “affordable social housing” consists of low-income or subsidized housing is a question I cannot answer (after several emails over the course of a week-and-a-half to the company, which were not answered).  A significant issue with this project is the  governance of public funds  received by the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (involved in the project, and responsible for building social housing on the site) – twice receiving scathing reports from Auditor General Jeff Griffiths for misuse of funds.  One report summed up the situation as follows:

“…imagine how the corporation’s 164,000 tenants —

many of them poverty-stricken — feel living with leaking roofs,

mould [sic], cockroaches and bed bugs, rusted plumbing,

bad wiring, crumbling balconies and crime.

     Imagine living in a public housing unit like that and learning

that corporation staff were being treated to pedicures

and massages, spa water therapy, $40,000 to $50,000

Christmas parties, a boat cruise, gift cards and luxury chocolates.”

(For more articles on this scandal, you can link  here, here, and here.)

I don’t want to get too far off topic.  This blog is concerned with the elimination of per-vote subsidy. I did want to put the annual $30 million cost to taxpayers into perspective, though.  This happens to be a particularly volatile example, but it does illustrate how quite a bit of grant money can be misspent and misused.  Is $30 million dollars, within this context, used to help level the playing field between rich and poor, between established and disenfranchised within a democracy really that much money?  People often confuse “democracy” (in our case, a Westminster-Style Parliamentary Democracy  with “capitalism”. The per-vote subsidy was a method of supporting equal representation, regardless of corporate or individual income status. 

Again, clearly I support the per-vote subsidy, and feel that it is worth fighting for.  However, I have tried to be fair and present the opposing viewpoint.  No matter what your stance, this issue is worth taking a bit of action and writing a few letters and emails.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

So, the list of what you can do is actually pretty short.

1.    Think about this issue.  Do a bit of reading, or if you are inclined, a bit of your own research.

2.    Decide which side of the fence you stand on.

3.    Discuss this issue with others, and inform them of both sides of the argument.

4.    If you are against the elimination of the per-vote subsidy, go to gopetition.com and sign their online petition. If you are for the elimination, no petition signing is necessary as Harper has already stated that the elimination of the subsidy will be phased in.

5.    Write to your MP, to Stephen Harper, and to Jack Layton, letting each of them know how you feel about this issue.  Let them know that you have signed the online petition.  You can find your MP by linking here,  and you can email Harper  and Layton. You can also write a ‘real’ letter and mail it (postage free) care of:

                              The House of Commons
                              Ottawa, Ontario
                              Canada
                              K1A 0A6

Thank you for taking the time to read this extra-long entry.  The next two entries will be shorter, and will deal with people who have used personal experience as a galvanizing force to make change.