Ken Dryden: No Place for Liberty
January 31, 2006 · By Tom Cerber
With Frank McKenna and John Manley out of the race for Liberal Party leadership, the names most often mentioned as possible contenders are Michael Ignatieff, Belinda Stronach, Scott Brison, and Ken Dryden. Via Paul Wells, here’s a snippet from an email that Ken Dryden sent his constituents before the election, detailing his “vision for Canada”:
Our country was built on great national endeavours - the joining of two great languages and cultures, the railroad, Medicare, the education system, the Charter of Rights. It’s what Macdonald, Pearson, Trudeau - what our greatest leaders - understood.
I don’t think Mr. Harper thinks in terms of “great national endeavours.” I don’t think that’s part of his understanding of Canada. I don’t think that’s what’s in his bones.
Their announcements on child care, public transit, persons with disabilities - so limited. So limiting. He tells us to: “Stand Up for Canada” — but what Canada are we to stand up for?
To Mr. Harper, it’s about what’s in my pocket, in my backyard, people having the chance to choose for themselves, the collective good emerging out of that.
…
What if, 100 years ago, government put $50 in every family’s pocket and told us to build a school system - if that’s where we’d like to put our money. What if, 40 years ago - here’s $100 for a health care system, if that’s where you want to spend it. Where would we be today? Just because our schools and health care aren’t all we’d like them to be - imagine where we’d be without them.The railroad, Medicare, the education system, the Charter of Rights - Canada is a great national endeavour. We’re a country whose greatest national endeavours are still ahead. I want big things for Canada. I don’t want anything less.
For Dryden, the common good means that which government provides. Civil society is a meaningless term for him, as suggested by his daycare plan that became a cornerstone for the Liberal Party in the last election.
I would suggest one can conceive of the common good independently and prior to government action.
As for his rhetorical question speculating if the government had simply doled out $100 to people 100 years ago, one can respond by speculating what society will look like when government has taken over all aspects of Canadian society. For instance, 3 million Canadians, about 10% of the total population, work for one level of government (including federal, provincial, and municipal). Having so many “pensioners” (Edmund Burke’s term) is bad for society because it makes for dependence and stifles dissent (who’d criticize government if their job was on the line?). Moreover, means Canada has a sizeable faction directly interested in the expansion of government.
Dryden’s vision for Canada, while apparently mainstream in the Liberal Party, is statist and allows for no freedom of the individual nor for civil associations (except as plenipotentiary power derived from the state), nor for provinces.
You can read more of Dryden’s vision here by clicking on “A Great National Trainwreck Endeavour”.
Too bad Dryden, one of the greatest NHL goalies of all time, didn’t do what most former athletes do: own a bar or become a color commentator.
Ken Dryden is corrupt and we have clear evidence which proves it. As Minister of Social Development Canada, Ken Dryden awarded millions of dollars of contracts to a company known as CGI, which is actually a company that works for Canadian private insurance companies, with is clearly a very serious conflict of interest issue considering the functions and responsibilities of Social Development Canada. We have abundant evidence to support that CGI used it’s signficant contracts with Social Development Canada and it’s relationship with this department and specifically Ken Dryden, to doctor records to attempt to help them defend a major medical malpractice lawsuit we are involved in, to attempt to have me see inappropriate health professionals to attempt to document a fake cause of my injuries to help defend the lawsuit CGI is the defense of, which we have filed, which they were willing to pay thousands of dollars for, as documents support, and to unethically and illegally interfere with my application for CPP disbility benefits, which I clearly qualify for, to avoid my approval, which would have added to the evidence supporting the lawsuit. When I contacted Ken Dryden about the clearly false information in my CPP file and the clearly unethcial behavior or his staff…he immediately dismissed it and told me that nothing had been done wrong, without having viewed the clear documentation that supports what I reported, and without investigating it in any way or speaking to me about it to get the full facts. Ken Dryden has a personal relationship with Serge Godin, the CEO of CGI, which supports he knows what CGI does and that it is very much involved with private insurance companies, which again is of course a serious conflict of interest for his department to be communicating with, let along giving millions of dollars of contracts to and having their employees work in his department, etc…The evidence supports that Ken Dryden allowed CGI to use it’s access to Canadians files, and very specifically mine, to view their confidential contents and doctor them and use their department to attempt to manipulate me and to deny me CPP disability benefits which I paid into to recieve and clearly qualify for, ALL for the purposes of CGI serving it’s private insurance business interests and to try to help them avoid paying damages in a very valid, very serious medical malpractice lawsuit. This is fraud, obstruction of justice and in violation of the laws and legislation in Canada and in direct conflict of the best interests of Canadians. It needs to be exposed and those negatively affected compensated and changed to protect Canadians and ensure them fair and just support and compensation. CGI, a company that represents the interests of private insurance companies, has no business holding any public service contracts and especially is unethical for them to be involved with any department that holds files that CGI can illegally and unethical use to their advantage in defending claims and lawsuits filed by Canadians.
Ken Dryden’s comments on stay at home parents being likened to not taking our kids to the doctor when they are sick may be an indication that he was “shoved into the boards” one too many times. If I had had my kids in my 20s, I certainly would not have made the stay at home sacrifice. Being an older mom gave me the opportunity to see the upbringings of many children and observe how they turned out. I knew what I was doing when I had my kids and have put my educated money where my values are. If Mr Dryden cared one whit, he would have asked the teachers what they think…because the teachers know. If he had asked seasoned teachers, he would have had an entirely different opinion to express to the Canadian public. Allegations of corruption do not surprise me in the least where this gentleman is concerned.
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