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	Rick's Rants Thursday October 8th/09 Church Confirms Lahey's Travel Abroad! and Halifax City Council Flip Flop!! By Rick Howe Halifax News Net October 8, 2009 http://www.halifaxnewsnet.ca/index.cfm?sid=293194&sc=612 The Roman Catholic church now confirms ex-Antigonish bishop Raymond Lahey has travelled to Southeast Asian countries considered favoured destinations for child sex predators. "It's no secret that he travelled to Southeast Asia in the past," Marilyn Sweet of the archdiocese of Halifax told Herald reporter Stephen Maher. The purpose of his trips however remains remain unclear. Were the visits to Thailand for example on church business or personal matters? And did the parishioners of the Antigonish diocese pay for those trips? It was Lahey's travel to Southeast Asia that red-flagged him for a search by Canada Border Services Agency personnel upon his return to Ottawa International from a trip abroad last month. That search eventually led to child pornography charges against Lahey and his resignation as bishop of Antigonish. Marilyn Sweet told me this week Nova Scotia's bishops do not have to have their travel pre-approved by Archbishop Anthony Mancini in Halifax. She says the province's bishops often travel internationally but the archbishop has no say in the matter. A spokesman with the Antigonish diocese says Bishop Lahey made his own travel plans. Perhaps the church might want to think about tightening up its travel rules. What a big flip-flop by Halifax city council this week!! Council voted down a motion Tuesday to write the minister of transportation in support of Liberal MLA Andrew Younger's private members bill that would make those orange crosswalk safety flags official safety devices under the law. Until Tuesday this city council had been a vocal supporter of the flag program launched by a group of citizens on the Waverly Road to make using crosswalks safer. Councillors including Mayor Peter Kelly couldn't say enough about what a great program it was and the province was being urged to permit the program to continue. But Tuesday night the majority of councillors did an about face and now say the flags are actually a risk to pedestrians by lulling them into a false sense of security. Looks like Traffic Authority Ken Reashore got to them. I was sorry to hear the news this week about Paul Calda's death. He was 77 years old. The former city manager of Halifax before amalgamation had been battling cancer. It was hard to recall a time when I didn't see a cigarette dangling from his lips. I liked Calda who came to Canada after escaping Czechoslovakia after the Russians invaded in 1968 to quell a short-lived effort at democracy.. He was a colourful individual who often locked horns with members of the city council of the day. Funeral arrangements are being held privately. Have you checked out your house yet on Google's new street view? And today's a banner day for the port of Halifax. No fewer than 5 cruise ships will be sailing into the port today with some 11,000 passengers on board. It brings to 16 the number of cruise ships paying us a visit in the last 5 days, a port record. Since Labour Day, 85,000 cruise ship passengers have visited our city. The industry is worth about $50 million a year to the province's economy. The five ships in today will dock behind Pier 21 in the city's south end. Welcome. Have a great day. Get involved. And if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention.
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