Proud Windsorite

Sometimes I miss my hometown, Windsor, and here is one reason - The Windsor Star

3 excellent articles are on the front page of today's Star that show that the administration of law and justice appear to be strong in Windsor as opposed to my adotped city, Hamilton:

1)
A Casino Windsor security staff person is indicted in the United States for accepted a $100,000 bribe from a U.S. security firm to install survellaince cameras at the Casino. The guy also managed to get the same company business from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission where the man's brother works.

Our local legal system in Hamilton seems to have ignored s. 122 of Part IV of the Criminal Code with respect to Hamilton's mayor providing his campaign manager $12,000 plus $30,000 in city contracts and another Di Ianni campaigner recieved $5000 and a high ranking position with the mayor - as one Hamiltonian pointed out. Feigning ignorance about what was actually known about collecting donations above electoral regulations was not lost on another Hamiltonian.

Yet, the Hamilton Spectator continues to endorse Di Ianni in an attempt to have the people of Hamilton tolerate and accept his willful ignorance as proper community standard and blame the language of the legislation.

2)
First of all, Hotel Dieu Hospital is a very good hospital, with excellent staff. Save from the long wait times it's nurses, doctors and social workers are extremely professional. That's why it was strange to learn that the Hospital was directed by its lawyer not to co-operate in a criminal negligence investigation by the Windsor Police Services.

Now, Hotel Dieu Hospital will co-operate in a coroner's inquest into the murder of nurse Laurie Dupont who was killed by her ex-lover Dr. Marc Daniel.

The lawyer representing the hospital instructed the hospital not to co-operate. HR had concerns about obstruction of justice regarding the instructions of the laywer to its client not to co-operate based on evidence from a Supreme Court decision on the inclusion of investigations as the course of justice.

As the Law Society of Upper Canada complaints service representative stated in an email to HR - instructions of a lawyer to their client is expected. Although a caveat was added:

However, should a presiding judge make negative comments about a lawyer’s professional conduct, please provide us with a copy of the relevant transcript pages or the judge’s endorsement.

The issue of whether justice has been obstructed is a legal issue that cannot be determined by the Law Society.

3)
Lastly, a local Windsor law firm has launched a class action lawsuit on behalf on their client for the sale and use of tainted bone and tissue parts by Canadian and American companies.

Similar concerns were reported in the Hamilton Spectator on the tainted bones but the local legal commununity doesn't figure into the equation by having a lawyer represent the patient's possible desire to launch a class action lawsuit against Hamilton Health Sciences for continuing to use the distributor that sold the body parts.

The Spec could investigate further into the claim of St. Joseph's hospital CEO Kevin Smith that they didn't use any tissue at all.

I don't think Mr. Smith can be trusted since his hospital blatantly ignores other provincial legislation that their patient's have a right to be protected under.

The Registrar at the Ontario Privacy Commission has confirmed that a local woman's shelter in Hamilton is not within the "circle of care" that St. Joseph's Hospital staff collected personal health information from. This can result in charges being laid under s. 70 of the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2005

Mr. Smith, St. Joe's CEO, has also in the past was lazy to contact their patient's because of questionable blood products that could affect their hospital's patients.

Local Hamilton blood donor clinics tampered with the records from blood donors which prompted Canadian Blood Services to withdraw the products. Yet St. Joe's and Hamilton Health Sciences continued to use the products on their patients without telling them.

According to confidential information obtained by this column, last month Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) and St. Joseph's Healthcare held back information about the altered records because they were satisfied the increased risk to patients is minimal.

Of course, George Smitherman fully expected "hospitals will eventually notify all referring doctors about the withdrawal"