Legitimising Crime In Canada

[MustangJay]

Gomery, Gomery, Gomery!! We're all sick of hearing it by now aren't we? In addition to sick, I myself, have become concerned with how this issue is effecting mortality in Canada. Ok, so $200 million and change aside, the core issue is about theft! An elite group of people, put in a position of trust, STOLE a shitload of money and have yet to be held accountable for that. In my experience, anybody caught stealing from their job is given the boot without a second thought and prosecuted to the extend of the law. Even if you were stealing the money to donate to a good cause, regardless, it's wrong, agreed?

The Gomery trial aside, Canadians seem to have differing views on what exactly "theft" is in this country. Albertans and Ontarians, for example, consider if theft to take X $billions out of their pockets and give it to "have not" provences who consider it "equalization" not theft. Quebecors see the X $'s in government subsidies as compensation for what was stolen from them centuries ago. Rich/poor have differing views on whether or not income taxes are stealing or conpensation for less fortunate. I could go on forever with this, but y'all see my point. My concern, however, is that younger Canadians are being influenced by cases like the Gomery trial (we young people are more poltically aware then most adults may think) into justifying unethical behaviour in their own lives. When I first started out as a retail store manager I was shocked by a statistic that said 80% of people age 18 to 25 said they would steal if given the chance! In discussing this with my own group of what I previously thought were fairly honest friends, I found out that many of them felt company practices of subsidizing full-time work with low-wage, part-time jobs was justification for internal theft. This seems to reflect the general consenus as our company (one of Canada's largest retail chains) has an internal theft rate of 60%! Furthermore, an online survey of unversity grads in Canada found that 80% said it was necessary to give mis-leading information during interviews in order to land meaninful employment. I find this astounding.

So, with that said, are we as a nation really breeding a generation of crafty theieves? Will future politics only become more of a snake pit for corruption and stealing as lying, cheating, and stealing are seen as increasingly acceptable ways to get ahead in business? With the retirement age in Canada set to increase, have corporations forced inexperienced graduates into a situation where they are forced to lie in order to get ahead? I fear the day in Canada when a job interview is as loopy as buying a used car!

Jay