Bureaucrats target seniors' euchre game
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
175.38689
Summary
The latest target of the nanny state? A $1.25 euchre game for seniors. Yes, the one where you can win $30 or $40 if you win. But this was apparently too much for the government, who suggested there might even be an element of criminality here.
Transcript
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As Ronald Reagan said, the most terrifying words in the English language are,
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Except sometimes the arrival of government isn't even put under the pretense of trying to help.
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Yes, this reporting came from a fantastic piece by Sue Ann Levy in the Toronto Sun.
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A euchre game with a $1.25 buy-in was investigated by multiple government agents,
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including the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario,
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because they suspected it of being an illegal gambling ring.
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$1.25, and if you win the euchre tournament, you get a pot that is basically $30 or $40.
00:00:51.280
But this was apparently too much for the government,
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who suggested there might even be an element of criminality here.
00:00:58.120
Now, thanks to Sue Ann Levy's reporting in the Toronto Sun,
00:01:02.520
which prompted John Tory to tell the municipal enforcement officers to stand down,
00:01:07.240
it appears that all is going to be right again.
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And the investigation, which has actually been going back for a couple of months now,
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will end without anyone being thrown into the clink.
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But this episode, even if it does have a somewhat happy ending,
00:01:23.820
It shouldn't have to be that the only way government bureaucrats will stand down
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is with political intervention prompted by a media story.
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It makes you wonder how many situations there are
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when bureaucrat, bylaw enforcement officers, provincial investigators
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are pushing people into corners who don't have the ability to fight back,
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who don't have a platform, who don't have a megaphone through which they can draw attention to their plight.
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that have experienced some overzealousness from maybe it's a parking attendant,
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maybe it's some other bureaucrat, but that doesn't matter.
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And I'm not trying to besmirch people that are genuinely doing their job.
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Yes, some bylaws have a purpose, and many provincial laws do,
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although I'd say that we could probably get rid of a lot of the provincial and municipal regulations,
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and the world would be a better place, not a worse one.
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But when you have seniors that are being targeted for having a $1.25 Euchre game,
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there is no moral high ground that could be claimed by the government, none whatsoever.
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And this wasn't just one person unclear on the rules, by the way.
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This went on, as I said, since at least May, and involved multiple people,
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you know, maybe we should leave Grandma and Grandpa alone,
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as they call Trump and decide whether to go it alone.