Robert Poeti, are you listening?

Letter originally sent June 12, 2013. Still waiting for a reply.

Dear Monsieur Robert Poeti,

We seek your help in getting Québec’s Minister of Public Safety,
Stephane Bergeron, to call a public or judicial enquiry into the
deaths of Dylan Ford, Ricardo Conesa, and Mitchell Bracken-Guenet who were killed by a VIA Rail train on Oct. 31, 2010*.

We recently received a letter(dated June 7, 2013) from the Minister
suggesting that a Coroner’s report was adequate in explaining the
causes of death of the 3 boys. Previously, Dylan Ford’s mother, Jamie
MacAllan and I wrote the Minister a letter(dated Mar 26, 2013)
explaining our concerns that the Coroner’s report included erroneous
findings of fact, which ultimately affected the Coroner’s conclusions.

We wrote:
“Unfortunately, the coroner made numerous errors in describing the
circumstances surrounding this tragedy. Those errors include:

1. Wrong assessment of where the accident occurred;
2. The speed of the fast moving train; and
3. Conclusions as to the cause of the deaths and the legal
responsibility for the deaths.”

We attach a copy of the Minister’s reply and the original Coroner’s
Report.  Our concerns are that the operator of the train was largely
responsible for the deaths and that the review of the Coroner was
wholly inadequate.

We would be more than willing to speak with you further about this. We look forward to further discussions.

Sincerely,
Jamie MacAllan
Jack Locke

*Original letter had mistakenly said 2013.

13 foreplay poems this Sunday

I wouldn’t miss this for nothing.

https://jjlocke.wordpress.com/2014/04/24/largest-reading-by-english-poets-in-montreal-region-during-national-poetry-month/

Largest Reading by English poets in Montreal-region during National Poetry Month

Poetry & Pastry Event

An old photo of me taken by Ross Peterson

2 PM, Sunday, April 27

Westmount Public Library, 4574 Sherbrooke West, Westmount, Quebec.

Fourteen readers are scheduled to perform their work.

Admission is free, but the library would like people to register in advance, 514-989-5299. This is the fourth consecutive year for this event.

And I’ll be reading 2 poems:

Onomatopoeia, or, Vladimir: What Sound Should I Put In This Poem?

and a villanelle: In Forty-eight Hours I Shall See A Friend

Poetry and Pastry Event

At 2 PM, April 27, 2014, I’ll be joining some superb poets(a baker’s dozen) at the Westmount Library for a reading.

RSVPs are requested, Circulation Desk – 514-989-5299, just to ensure there’s enough sweets. “When lilacs last at the library bloom’d…”

Concordia’s Department of Proofreading

Concordia University has a superb Department of English, but their Department of Proofreading needs a little boost:

List of Part-time postings for Summber 2014

http://english.concordia.ca/announcements/jobpostings/Part-timeTeaching.php

 

The Fare Elections Act

 

The fare elections act/

will charge us a fee to vote/

its authors should be smacked/

cause fair it don’t promote.

On A Rainy Day In Verdun/

On a rainy day in Verdun/
we stopped for lunch/
at the charm-armed Bingo restaurant./

He bent over forward for us/
as we were parking behind him/
he reached into his trunk/
exposing a crack the length of the Nile/
we had to avert our eyes./

And we laughed heartily as our faces/
scrunched in unison./

THE ELECTION IN QUEBEC IS LAUGHABLE

The election in Quebec is laughable/
Whilst efforts at voter suppression affable/
With students denied/
The courts I deride/
Though the stab by Julius Grey quite laudable.

Explaining the Lac Megantic Tragedy

The Railway Safety Act was changed in 2012. Can you see why the Lac Megantic tragedy occurred?

CURRENT RAILWAY SAFETY ACT

Objectives

3. The objectives of this Act are to

• (a) promote and provide for the safety and security of the public and personnel, and the protection of property and the environment, in railway operations;

• (b) encourage the collaboration and participation of interested parties in improving railway safety and security;

• (c) recognize the responsibility of companies to demonstrate, by using safety management systems and other means at their disposal, that they continuously manage risks related to safety matters; and

• (d) facilitate a modern, flexible and efficient regulatory scheme that will ensure the continuing enhancement of railway safety and security.

PREVIOUS RAILWAY SAFETY ACT

Objectives

3. The objectives of this Act are to

• (a) promote and provide for the safety of the public and personnel, and the protection of property and the environment, in the operation of railways;

• (b) encourage the collaboration and participation of interested parties in improving railway safety;

• (c) recognize the responsibility of railway companies in ensuring the safety of their operations; and

• (d) facilitate a modern, flexible and efficient regulatory scheme that will ensure the continuing enhancement of railway safety.