by JIM DUFF

Consider this: If you or someone close to you should suffer a heart attack or stroke, you or they will likely be brain dead by the time the ambulance arrives.

With an average Priority 1 (immediate risk of death) response time of more than 17 minutes for the northern half of Vaudreuil-Soulanges, brain death is the most likely outcome unless you’re living in a municipality with its own medical first responders.

As we point out again this week, only seven of the 23 Vaudreuil-Soulanges municipalities have their own emergency medical service paramedics near enough to begin treatment within the crucial first 10 minutes.

We’re frankly astounded that our region’s MNAs, mayors and councillors aren’t demanding immediate explanations from the Montérégie health and social services agency. They’re the body responsible for ensuring the Coopérative des techniciens ambulanciers de la Montérégie (CETAM) has a sufficient number of technicians and vehicles for any given sector.

If the Montérégie average is 11.7 minutes, who is getting the speedy service we’re not?

Welcome to Vaudreuil-Soulanges, the orphan child of the Montérégie, where your chances of survival depend on where you live. Anybody who doesn’t think this is an issue is brain dead.

by JIM DUFF

Quebec is proposing a law that would ban anyone under 18 from tanning salons. Come April, it will be illegal for drivers 21 and under to have even a trace of alcohol in their systems. Quebec is also reconsidering a change to the Highway Code — never passed — that would suspend the driving permits of anyone charged with drag racing, couch surfing or other asinine behaviour behind the wheel.

All this leads us to marvel at the incoherence that grips Quebec’s supposed big thinkers. If tanning salons kill, ban them for everyone. As for blood alcohol levels, look to Europe, where a dozen nations have a zero-tolerance policy for all drivers.

Stupid, reckless, incompetent driving isn’t confined to under-25s, so why single them out with harsh punishments while adult offenders continue to drive? If you treat people like children, don’t be surprised if they act like children.

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Sgt. Bruno Beaulieu, the Sûreté du Québec’s spokesman for the two Vaudreuil-Soulanges detachments, stresses the message that a child should NEVER stay alone with the issue of bullying, whatever the source. They can call Tel-Jeunes, 1-800-263-2266. (Again, we’ve discovered there are not always English-speaking responders.) They can also call or come to one of the CLSCs in our region.

They can also turn to their teachers. Educators will soon be required by law to report bullying, but that doesn’t mean they can’t help deal with a situation without putting the child at greater risk. There’s a fine line we all must learn to walk.