A short while ago, the Ford government's plans to establish a healthcare superagency -- standard conservative policy for cutting costs -- leaked. There was a firestorm. The Fordians immediately fired the civil servant who leaked the draft legislation to the NDP. Robin Sears writes:
Of all the many hypocritical hobby horses in political life there are few that can match this dichotomy. The Ford government was badly bruised this month when their somewhat hair-raising ideas of “health care reform” were sent to the NDP. The cabinet documents were not entirely congruent with the government’s publicly declared objectives, to put it delicately.
Despite being exploiters of many a brown envelope in opposition, the government’s reaction was surprisingly predictable, if unimaginative. The two favourite crisis comms defences for responding to a leak are: “Early thinking only, not finalized, wait for the real policy announcement …” Then you attack the whistleblower. Calling in the cops was a more unusual additional cudgel, most often employed by another leaky administration to the south.
Neither of those defences work well. When it comes to confidential documents, Sears writes, there is a simple test which should be applied:
There is no point in attempting to make your government leak proof with the threat of heavy boots — it will have the opposite impact, by enraging your staff and public servants. Far better to apply the tried and true, “front page test”: “What would my partner/parents/children think if they saw this on…”, when drafting.
Unfortunately, that is a test that is seldom applied. Politicians continue to insist on silence -- the SNC-Lavalin debacle is a more recent example of the problem. What Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis wrote decades ago is still true: Sunlight is the best disinfectant.
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10 comments:
When your goal is to destroy public services to enrich the wealthy, you'd best operate by stealth. Look at the protests that happened when Ford cut autism funding. The minute these cuts become public, protests happen. Best to pass unpopular laws in massive omnibus bills, like Trudeau did with deferred prosecution agreements that create one set of laws for corporate criminals and another for everyone else.
Cap
That was how Stephen Harper got things done, too, Cap. But eventually it caught up with him.
.. I wish I were wrong about the dreadful failure that occurred when anyone in the provincial Conservative party could have become Premier. Unfortunately it was to be Patrick Brown.. who by being a glib fool begat Premier Doug Ford.. seemingly the provincial NDP, much like the federal NDP are just a Party that splits up the vote.. No party really had a credible 'leader' though at least ms Horwath tries.
I admit I was wrong re the Ms Wilson-Reybould - Lavalin fandangle. The smoke thickens & wisps of flame are seen. Fortunately, Justin Trudeau, ms Marie Henein and Scott Brison have illuminated a truly bizarre coincidence. Ms Wilson-Reybould resigned - lawyered up and went totally silent. Trudeau offered an a la carte menu of vague explains before stating that if Scott Brison had not resigned Ms Wilson-Reybould would still be Justic Minister ! Ms Henein tells the court in defense of her client ex Commander Norman, that the Justice Ministry and Government is refusing to provide critical 'discovery' docs the Government claims are Classified.. all 135 thousand of them ! Brison, off to 'spend more time with his family' has already taken a new job with Bank of Montreal.. and Ministry of Justice has not even requested he examine and secure any relevant docs pertaining to his initiative to stall the Navy procurement awarded to Davie Shipyard in Montreal - such that Irving Shipyard in New Brunswick can remain informed.. Really ? Says ms Henein ..
Watch for this to blow sky high .. Astonishing coincidence or complete abdication of honesty, transparency.. ? Just think of the witnesses ms Henein could subpoena ! The list is staggering. The at risk list is endless. At the very least ms Henein will ask the judge to examine under seal.. or the 'Crown' will withdraw charges against her client..
As was observed long ago, sal, the coverup always winds up being worse than the crime.
What distinguishes a politician from an ordinary, garden-variety zombie? Politicians usually die by their own hand these days. Whether it's Westminster, Ottawa, Washington or any of a half dozen European capitols what once might have been titillating and outrageous has become tedious, mundane and exhaustively boring. The problem is, once enough people start to tune out, it will only get worse.
Building that cabin on a mountain lake and only having to worry about a cougar on the roof waiting to jump you as you come out is beginning to sound attractive.
You have to wonder whether politicians these days knowingly play Russian Roulette, Mound. They know the bullet that will eventually take them out is in the chamber.
Who can tell, Owen? It is some sort of highly contagious affliction.
It's clear, Mound, that the disease has not been contained.
They're not playing Russian Roulette. Most don't have the balls for it. What they do, they do out of their sense of entitlement. They also think because they hold an important position, they too are important. However, they fail to understand they still put their pants on one leg at a time.
Ford has never been know for such things as diplomacy, etc. In my opinion, Ford is a thug. He looks like one, he talks like one, etc. He responded like one. He knows nothing else. If any one objects to anything, you stomp on it. That is the message Ford wants to send. Its in keeping with el gordo's, his advisor's, practise also. Get rid of anything and every thing which will oppose you. Firing and calling the cops on a whistle blower is much like trying to de fund Student Unions. They are opposition, have organization skills, have outreach, etc. They need to go.
Those in Ontario need to understand there will be more of this in the ensuing years. You also can not depend upon the Conservative MLAs to "talk back" to Ford either. In B.C. the M.L.A. caught el gordo in a big fat lie and handed him a letter with 12 MLAs' signatures on it and he left his post. Ford won't do it. In my opinion, he would have some one break their legs or at least their writing fingers.
The people of Ontario voted for Ford and now they will have to live with it or die because of it.
I agree, e.a.f., that Ford is a thug. And nothing is going to change his mind. The only alternative will be to change him in the next election.
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