I rarely agree with the Star’s Martin Regg Cohn but he’s made a few pithy points in his latest column (Damage control in Elliot Lake’s disaster zone):
Premier Dalton McGuinty gassed up his government plane Wednesday to join a couple of cabinet ministers who made their way to Elliot Lake, belatedly, on Tuesday — three days after disaster struck. McGuinty and his cabinet were in Sudbury over the weekend, a mere two-hour drive away, but not a single minister thought to look in on them in their hour of need, when they felt abandoned by their own government.
Elliot Lake endured double jeopardy this week: A roof collapse too painful to watch, and a collapsed rescue effort on the ground that proved even harder to bear.
The mishandling — and miscommunication — of the rescue effort has driven a wedge between the government and the public. If people believe their elected officials and public servants cannot be entrusted with disaster management, disastrous consequences loom.
Of course we all know the buck-passing that ensued.
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Joanne: Stifling human initiative and resourcefulness ,
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Something was terribly wrong about the way Dalton McGuinty chose to handle this horrendous disaster in Elliot Lake.
The McGuinty Liberals showed a complete lack of concern for the people of Elliot Lake.
McGuinty arrived on Wednesday four days after the disaster.
This mall should have been condemned and cars prevented from parking on the roof.
This is the job of our Ontario Government Building Inspectors.
Stopping rescue teams was deplorable action.