OPSEU 330 President Silvanna Petersen wearing riot gear…
If you were reading my stories back in June you would remember my series of articles about how the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) was promoting the use of martial arts gear against autistic children in the Simcoe County School District. The battle was intense, the parents & kids were going through some serious pain, and many people around the world were highly upset with this proposal. During this conflict I introduced my readers to a rather unsavoury character named Sylvanna Petersen.
Sylvanna was the most gung-ho proponents of using tools of violence against helpless children- to the point of where (as pictured above) she showed up for pictures in the media dressed up like a neo-nazi stormtrooper. Not only was this an incredibly insensitive act, but it was a public relations nightmare. Sylvanna didn’t make the Educational Assistants at OPSEU 330 look very good.
Well, it seems that OPSEU has figured this out now. Someone shared an announcement with me today from their website- Sylvanna will be leaving the 330 local. I can imagine there are dozens of parents of special needs kids who are taking a collective (no pun intended) sigh of relief.
Don’t be too happy about this though because, as with most good news, there’s some bad news that comes along with the story. Sylvanna will be taking-up a new position as a Labour Relations Officer with the Ontario Nurses Association. So, while autistic children can feel safer with her gone, the nursing business may be in for some trouble.
Nursing can be a challenging business, and there are often situations where nurses face aggressive patients. The question is, what will Sylvanna suggest for them? I’m guessing she’s already worn-out her martial arts equipment concept and will bring some new ideas to the nurses. How about arming nurses with machine guns!
I’ll be keeping a close eye on Sylvanna, as will a few other people I know. There’s an old Chinese curse that says “may you live in interesting times.” Let’s hope things don’t get too interesting for Ontario’s nurses…
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Thanks for the update.
I always find it remarkable the lack of insight that Government workers display into what they do. They imprison children, and those smart enough to rebel against their captors are labelled “autistic” or whatever, and given toxic neurodestructive chemicals under the guise of “treatment.” The real purpose, however, is to retard the development of these children, because if they ever learn to communicate, almost all of them will have serious charges to levy against the hacks who purportedly “cared” for them.
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Yep. Sylvanna had better hope she doesn’t meet one of these kids in a dark alley one day in the future. It may not work out well for her…
What is it with adults always dreaming up new ways to abuse kids…
The question to as is who will be replacing her. It could end up being someone worse.
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That’s a scary thought. Sylvanna is so absolutely bad, it never crossed my mind they could end up with someone worse. :(
Thank god she’s gone!!!
She’ll need to get pretty creative with the nurses since they have taken a clear stand against restraints:
http://rnao.ca/bpg/fact-sheets/promoting-safety-alternative-approaches-use-restraints
And they’re also governed by the Patient Restraints Minimization Act. Strange how Minister Broten won’t involve herself in this matter. Or maybe not so strange. You actually have to give a damn in order to take a stand.
Author
Well, that’s good to hear. Let’s hope that the nurses can keep her “restrained”. (pun intended)
I’ll be at the legislature on Thursday, expecting to hear this covered then. Let’s hope that the province can end this shameful chapter for once and for all…
I’m curious: between all of your activist work and ethical/political/philosophical waxing, have you spent any time in a Special Ed classroom working with students on the Autism spectrum?
Also, the next time you devote such time and effort to your witty slanders, you might do the courtesy of spelling your target’s name correctly.
Greg has been a tireless advocate for my son and others in Barrie Covering their challenges when no one else would He speaks the truth and is a good person
Author
Thank you for the kind words…