So, we’re back at it again.
Several months after a nearly daily barrage of news coverage, speculation, analysis of ‘he-said’/’she-said”, Canadians are thrust into another media circus surrounding SNC Lavalin and federal politicians.
The most recent onslaught has come from an Ethics Commission report, and a subsequent RCMP investigation, looking at the allegation of political interference in a prosecutorial decision. Earlier this summer, Canada’s Ethics Commissioner, Marion Dion, determined that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau breached federal ethics rules in the SNC Lavalin affair.
In addition to Mr. Trudeau, the players in the original drama included Ms. Jody Wilson-Raybould, one time Attorney General, Ms. Jane Philpot, former Minister of Indigenous Affairs who resigned in protest over the issue, with some smaller parts for the former Clerk of the Privy Council, Michael Werneck, and the Prime Minister’s former Chief of Staff, Gerald Butts. You’ll notice there are a lot of “formers” in the titles. In fact, the weeks long drama resulted in all but the Prime Minister leaving their jobs.
For those who may not be as caught up in Canadian political drama, the crux of the story was that Ms. Wilson-Raybould accused the Prime Minster’s Office, and by extension, the Prime Minister, of interfering in a legal decision around the prosecution approach used by the government against SNC Lavalin, a multi-national engineering firm headquartered in Montreal, whose business practices, all agreed, did not align with Canadian law. The truncated version of the story, Ms. Wilson-Raybould felt the company should be fully prosecuted, the PMO felt that the newly introduced tool of deferred prosecution would be more appropriate.
Weeks, nay, months, were spent debating whether the then Attorney General’s decision was final, whether the PMO unduly interfered, whether Ms. Wilson-Raybould was simply a difficult employee, whether she was right in secretly recording a telephone conversation with a senior bureaucrat. In the end, it was all moot, as most players involved spoke “their truth”, stepped away, and we all headed into a summer free of the whole drama, though really no better off for it.
Until now…
The specter has shown its face again and will no doubt gain some momentum thanks to the election kick-off this week. The pundits and politicians are off and running again. Whether on the offensive to take down the government, or on the defensive, to maintain the government, it hardly really matters.
The news cycle will be clamouring for more information, more dirt, more innuendo, more great quotes. And we will gobble them up like it is a full turkey dinner with all the trimmings. We will gorge ourselves, to the point where all we can do, is sit on the couch in front of our televisions or laptops, our belts loosened, and pick over whatever bones may remain.
Meanwhile, stories that truly matter – such as the relentless fast creep of environmental damage, the continuing migration of hundreds of thousands of displaced people globally, or the growing evidence of potential health problems related to vaping – these stories will fade to the background.
So, here’s a novel idea for all the politicians and the pundits as we head into the election. Why not just agree that while mistakes were made by all in this endless political skirmish, all parties involved did what they felt was best under the circumstances, and let’s move on. As far as has been reported, none of the players involved had any nefarious intent, none were seeking to destroy the other.
Any basic leadership course – and there are many of the them available in the National Capital Region – will teach the principles of active listening, being aware of one’s own blindspots, and finding agreeable solutions when faced with conflict. It seems in no way necessary to highjack the daily news cycle with what was effectively differing, and perhaps misguided, opinions on the best course of action on a single prosecution.
If we can agree to that, then maybe, just maybe, we can spend time during this election discussing things that really matter, like perhaps how to craft an effective climate change plan, or possibly how the country is going to cope with an anticipated slowing economy.
Median Mama 