Public Figures Just Can't Win in Canada

Welcome to the grand illusion,
Come on in and see what happening,
Pay your price, get your ticket for the show.

Styx, “The Grand Illusion” (1977)

With the smell of turkey in the air, and the phantom ache of my missing wisdom tooth in my mouth, I sit and reflect on what I am thankful for.

When we look around the world there are many things, which we, as Canadians, can be thankful for. I have only to look around me to see that.

I have a roof over my head that is not in danger of coming down in a hurricane or being flooded out. I have a TV to watch, although there is usually nothing on and I have warmth that I may be able to afford this winter. My wife would be thankful if I finished putting up the drywall and actually replace the roof on the front of the house but I believe, in the big picture, she is thankful for this house as well.

We are both thankful that we aren’t Americans, given the situation there.

But mostly, I am extremely thankful that I am not a public personality in this country.

We, in this country, seem not to be happy unless we are blaming a politician for something, whether it is their fault or not.

In this province we elected Mike Harris to be Premier. Why did we do that? We believed he would keep his promises. For the entire time he was Premier he did exactly as he said he would. He stopped pandering to special interest groups, he took on the unions and he attempted to represent the silent majority, that group of people who were too busy trying to earn a living to be at Queen’s Park protesting.

For that, he was pilloried by the media, ridiculed by people and has basically been relegated to history as a bad Premier by the populace. Never mind that he was re-elected by a majority and was the one politician who kept to his word. Even now, the media talks about how refreshing it would be to have politicians who were completely up front, the very people who complained about Mike Harris.

Prime Minister Martin is another figure who just can’t seem to win lately. Last week, in a speech to American businessmen and on CNN, the Prime Minister finally got tough over the whole softwood lumber dispute. He pointed out how the American tariffs were adding an average of a thousand dollars to the cost of every new house built in the United States and how it put the entire North American Free Trade Agreement in jeopardy.

Of course, the Conservatives immediately attacked him. Their opinion is that he should stop making threats and get back to negotiating a settlement. It seems to me the whole dispute mechanism was negotiated with the United States; so what is there to settle? And why would we believe them anyway? There is just as much chance we would negotiate a settlement just to have the United States ignore it in the future. The only time they seem to insist on anyone living up to any agreement with them is when the rulings go in their favour. Unfortunately, the Conservatives seem to be so in bed with the Americans that they cannot see the forest for the trees.

It is sad, but a reality, that the Americans only respect strength. Unless someone stands up and slaps them in the face, they tend to ignore the truth. Even the vague threat of linking oil exports to the States to any retaliatory action has finally got their attention. Even the prestigious Wall Street Journal has come out in favour of the PM’s statements.

Perhaps we should keep up the momentum by launching a massive public relations campaign to show the American people the harm their administration is doing with their blatant disregard of NAFTA. Then we should launch a lawsuit against the United States government for breach of contract and damages. These are the types of things the Americans take notice of.

Then there is the whole David Dingwall affair. Dingwall, who was, until recently, the CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint and is a former cabinet minister, has been attacked by the opposition for excessive spending while CEO. Once again we have missed the point.

Sure, one can question the mentality of a person making $277,000 a year submitting receipts for packs of gum and bottles of water but the bigger question is who approved these expenses? He, in the big picture, did nothing wrong with submitting receipts for these. The real problem, and the part that should be the major issue in parliament, is that someone actually approved the payment of these. Sure there maybe a mentality of entitlement within the government, (which may explain why he even thought he should be paid back) but until the people who approve such expense are brought to account this situation will continue.

It is the same thing with Paul Coffin and the advertising scandal in Quebec. Coffin is the person who recently pleaded guilty to fraud for billing the government for services not rendered. The larger problem is that this situation is endemic in the dealing of government contracts, whether federal, provincial or municipal. Advertising, and other service contracts, are considered to be cash cows for any company that gets them. Not only are you expected to pad the bill due to the lack of government oversight, but the officials who are in charge of awarding these contracts expect to be wined and dined by anyone who wants these contracts. Until we address those sorts of issues we, the taxpayer, will continue to be ripped off. Like suckers at a magic show, we continue to be fooled by the misdirection put out by the various players, who with one hand point at someone else while emptying our wallets with the other hand.

So, with this in mind, I am also thankful for my wisdom tooth. At least I knew what was causing the pain and, unlike our politicians, it was easily removed so I can go on with my life.