Berardinetti sleeps next to doctors, nurses and other lawyers some nights.
This is so fucking maddening. We have people who are hoarding hundreds of billions of dollars being the worst type of human beings, and we have to rely on luck to survive, even if you are a benefit to society?
Life would be easier, Berardinetti said, if it wasn’t for the Mike Harris government, which got rid of the lifetime pension plan for MPPs in 1995
A spokesperson for Premier Doug Ford’s office told the Star his government will not be reinstating the pension plan either.
Not surprising. And voters think that Ford, or any Conservative Government, is going to help them?
I really hope that Mr. Berardinetti has a brighter future, and it makes me sick that this has even happened to him.
No politician should get a lifetime pension in a country with failing healthcare, unaffordable housing and unchecked corporate gouging.
We can’t punish disabled elderly because voters keep choosing Conservative governments, who have no interest in making our lives better.
Nobody should be forced to be homeless. The article mentions doctors and nurses living in shelters, man.
I definitely agree with the cost of living being what it is, it’s so easy to make a misstep and be destitute.
However, this story has far too many holes in it to make sense. “If you’re a defeated politician, no one wants to give you an opportunity,” including his cousin on city council? The “over-prescription” of medication? A seemingly successful family being no longer willing to help to the point you’re in a homeless shelter? The article does talk a little about depression after losing an election, and I suspect there’s more to that, possibly with mental health and possibly substance abuse. I’m not trying to write off his downfall as “just mental health” or blame him for our lack of social supports. I just wish we got the whole honest story, it’s hard to read this highly editorialized account.
I feel deeply for him and the challenges he’s facing. His story is a powerful reminder for those still employed to take steps to secure long-term disability insurance. Circumstances like his—being thrust into hardship due to health issues and events beyond his control—highlight how fragile stability can be. While a career in politics is inherently uncertain, his experiences underscore just how quickly life can change.
“I’m not saying I should be getting more than other people,” said Berardinetti. “But I could have had a successful law career. I put it on hold to serve the community. Now I’m surviving on $830 a month from my Canada pension.”
Welp, bud. Welcome to life.
In this article he mentions several times that he was unable to find work in politics and law. There’s no reason he couldn’t have walked into a business in any other field and started paying rent again.
