You Can't Go Back To Constantinople, Or Work For Lakeport

I'm not an expert on labour relations.  But here is what I think is going down (there is a lot some bias towards the workers):

• Labatts bought Lakeport a few years ago
• Labatts called the workers in and told them 3 weeks from now y'all are out of a job, we're closing the plant
• 143 people lose their jobs
• Labatts says the plant and its equipment are old and inefficient and it's moving the equipment to other plants
• Labatts has the lease on the plant until next May and say they are open to someone else taking over the lease as long as it's not another brewer - much like someone holding a lease to a bowling alley, taking the pins and balls out and saying anyone can move in, just as long as you don't try and have a bowling alley going in there
• 3 different brewers have put in offers and have been rejected by Labbats

I stopped by a wee rally in support of the workers last week.  Here are a few pics...

Who Was That Guy?

There are a number of things in Hamilton that are named after people. Mostly, I have little idea who these people are.

So courtesy of Google and Wikipedia, I'm going to introduce you to some of these peeps via facts that I think are neat.

Meet Sir Allan MacNab:

• born in Niagara, ON in 1798
  
• when he was 14 he fought in the war of 1812
• was a lawyer in Hamilton
• successfully defended some area Tories after they were charged for tarring and feathering a local reformer who was accused adultery
  
• he was knighted for leading British militias against William Lyon Mackenzie's rebels
• with another dude was responsible for the construction of the Great Western Railway
• his house was Dundurn Castle
• was the Prime Minister of the Province of Canada for a couple of years