Bureaucrats target seniors' euchre game
Episode Stats
Words per minute
175.38689
Harmful content
Misogyny
1
sentences flagged
Hate speech
2
sentences flagged
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
00:00:00.000
As Ronald Reagan said, the most terrifying words in the English language are,
00:00:08.700
Except sometimes the arrival of government isn't even put under the pretense of trying to help.
00:00:24.340
Yes, this reporting came from a fantastic piece by Sue Ann Levy in the Toronto Sun.
00:00:30.000
A euchre game with a $1.25 buy-in was investigated by multiple government agents,
00:00:37.520
including the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario,
00:00:40.840
because they suspected it of being an illegal gambling ring.
00:00:44.860
$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,
00:00:54.700
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.
00:01:09.920
And the investigation, which has actually been going back for a couple of months now,
00:01:13.900
will end without anyone being thrown into the clink.
00:01:17.180
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
00:01:28.300
is with political intervention prompted by a media story.
00:01:31.860
It makes you wonder how many situations there are
00:01:34.260
when bureaucrat, bylaw enforcement officers, provincial investigators
00:01:38.200
are pushing people into corners who don't have the ability to fight back,
00:01:42.600
who don't have a platform, who don't have a megaphone through which they can draw attention to their plight.
00:01:51.600
that have experienced some overzealousness from maybe it's a parking attendant,
00:01:56.080
maybe it's some other bureaucrat, but that doesn't matter.
00:01:58.740
And I'm not trying to besmirch people that are genuinely doing their job.
00:02:02.540
Yes, some bylaws have a purpose, and many provincial laws do,
00:02:06.140
although I'd say that we could probably get rid of a lot of the provincial and municipal regulations,
00:02:10.600
and the world would be a better place, not a worse one.
00:02:14.560
But when you have seniors that are being targeted for having a $1.25 Euchre game,
00:02:20.640
there is no moral high ground that could be claimed by the government, none whatsoever.
00:02:26.260
And this wasn't just one person unclear on the rules, by the way.
00:02:29.220
This went on, as I said, since at least May, and involved multiple people,
00:02:35.280
you know, maybe we should leave Grandma and Grandpa alone,
00:02:38.380
as they call Trump and decide whether to go it alone.