Juno News - Bureaucrats target seniors' euchre game

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.

00:00:00.000 As Ronald Reagan said, the most terrifying words in the English language are,

00:00:06.220 I'm from the government, and I'm here to help.

00:00:08.700 Except sometimes the arrival of government isn't even put under the pretense of trying to help.

00:00:13.960 It is only to hurt.

00:00:16.500 Yes, the nanny state cometh. 1.00

00:00:18.980 The latest target of the nanny state? 0.54

00:00:21.880 A euchre game for seniors.

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.

00:01:16.320 Let's hope, anyway.

00:01:17.180 But this episode, even if it does have a somewhat happy ending,

00:01:21.500 is illuminating in so many ways.

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.

00:01:47.960 This happens in any number of areas.

00:01:49.820 I've talked to people, as I'm sure you have,

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,

00:02:33.360 not one of whom apparently said,

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.

00:02:41.380 For True North, I'm Andrew Lutton.

Juno News - August 18, 2019

Bureaucrats target seniors' euchre game

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