Jezus, that's what United States Supreme Court Justices would make as Walmart Greeters!

Good Day Readers:

The graphic refers to a June, 2011 ruling by the court against a group of Walmart employees (some former some current) who claimed on behalf of its 1.5 million female workers they'd been discriminated against (pay/promotions). The 5 wearing the Greeters vests were those Justices who voted against the petitioners. It was a decision widely criticized publicly.

What a novel idea. When Canada's Supreme Court makes a controversial ruling why not festoon those Justices who swayed the decision in the garb or logos of those organizations they supported.

The point? In the accompanying article Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre hired a consultant to greet arriving Syrian refugees at $1,800/day or $9,000/week for an annualized rate of $468,000. Wouldn't it have been much, much cheaper to employ Walmart Greeters and teach them a few basic Arabic phrases ..... "Welcome to Canada. How's it going eh? Keep to the left and follow the signs."

How do you say patronage in French? What about, "Le patronage de gros ..... eh?

Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk

Syrian refugee coordinator in Montreal to make $1,800 a day to welcome the newcomers to Canada

Jason Magder
Sunday, November 29, 2015

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre speaks to media outside an ongoing Montreal city council meeting on Monday, November 23, 2015. (John Kenney/Postmedia News)

Michel Dorais was one of Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre’s top employees when he served as immigration minister. Now, he’ll head up the efforts to welcome thousands of Syrian refugees, at a rate of $1,800 per day.

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre speaks to the press on September 14, 2015. (Peter McCabe/Canadian Press)

Dorais, deputy minister of immigration and citizenship from 1998 to 2004, was appointed to be the city’s official co-ordinator for the effort to welcome Syrian refugees Wednesday. The appointment was made during the closed-door portion of the executive committee meeting, but the details of the hiring were made public to councillors shortly afterwards.

Coderre served as immigration minister as part of the Liberal government from 2002 to 2003.

The city will pay Dorais up to $110,000 over a three-month period. His appointment and his salary was approved by the executive committee on Wednesday, even though the appointment is retroactive to Nov. 19. The salary was justified partly because it includes vacation pay and a compensation for not being part of the city’s pension plan.

Guillaume Lavoie, the finance critic for opposition Projet Montréal, said the hiring shows a lack of transparency, and he questioned why Dorais has to be paid such a high salary.

“We need to do things in the right order,” Lavoie said. “First, (Coderre) should have described the challenges that the city was facing, and then explain why he needs outside council.

Lavoie said the appointment shows that Coderre does not have confidence in the thousands of employees currently working for the city.

We have thousands of very qualified employees at city hall. The idea that not one of them could do the job is ridiculous

“We have thousands of very qualified employees at city hall. The idea that not one of them could do the job is ridiculous,” Lavoie said.

“While no one can question the expertise of Mr. Dorais, it’s very hard to tell the public that there was no one who could have done the job.”

Dorais has been hired for three months of work, heading up the efforts to bring in Syrian refugees to the city. Thousands are expected to begin coming to the city starting in the next few weeks.

They’ll need access to clothing, health care and lodging, as well as schooling for children. Catherine Maurice, a spokesperson for Coderre, said in the next three months the work to welcome the refugees will be intense.

Related

Toronto, Montreal to receive nearly two-thirds of first 10,000 Syrian refugees, documents reveal

Chris Selley: Our not-so-selfless refugee policy

She said Dorais has extensive expertise working with refugees and is the best person for the job.

“He acted to welcome hundreds of Kosovar refugees when he was deputy minister; we could not have found someone with better expertise,” Maurice said.