Tony Clement is reported to have said in one interview this week that "There’s not a micron of difference of opinion between myself and the prime minister on this."
Now it appears from some reports that Clement actually argued, in Cabinet, against the change but was overruled by His Harpiness. After tugging at his forelock he then went out into the wider, more intelligent, real world and tried to sell what was essentially unsellable, using all the tools so readily at hand for the Reform-a-Tories – lies, obfuscation, denial, blame, misdirection, fear.
By all accounts Tony Clement is not a stupid man, and one whom I assume went into politics with honourable intent. But where is the honour when he so clearly checks his integrity at the Cabinet doors? (And that’s not to pick on Clement. Think Poilievre, Baird, LeBreton, Day, and on, and on, and on – well some of them really are stupid, but you get the point.)
I’ve blogged on this before (http://viewsfromthelake-eh.blogspot.com/2007/11/if-we-both-think-alike-one-of-us-is.html), and like I said then, I just don’t understand how smart people can let themselves be manipulated and abused by a tin-pot dictator day in and day out without screaming “enough” and trying to salvage at least a small amount of their pride. I know many others who have quit more lucrative jobs (myself included) for far less reason, so what is their excuse?
I know some would say it’s easier to effect change from within, and that’s true to a point, but I would also suggest that when your boss tells you to lie in public it’s time to take a stand, and I for one, would hope that at least one or two of the principled people in whom we entrust the management of our country would stand up and be counted.
But sadly, in Canadian politics today, I can’t think of a single Member of Parliament that I would trust to do the right thing.
9 comments:
The "right thing" has already been done, by the former head of Statistics Canada. He resigned, remember? Seems he forgot that he actually worked for Minister Tony Clement, and not vice-versa. Too bad...by all accounts, he was a man of integrity. He just got a little full of himself and forgot his place.
Fred - so he "forgot his place"? Is it his place to be made out as a liar by his boss? Is it his place to reject his professional standards for a boss who has no professional standing in the field and who is himself lying for his boss?
So yes, Munir Sheikh did the right thing. But my point is that he's not the one who should have had to.
Canajun said...
Fred - so he "forgot his place"? Is it his place to be made out as a liar by his boss? Is it his place to reject his professional standards for a boss who has no professional standing in the field and who is himself lying for his boss?
In a word, yes.
So yes, Munir Sheikh did the right thing. But my point is that he's not the one who should have had to.
That's the whole point: he did *not* have to. No one forced him to resign...he chose to do that on his own, probably because he thought it might do some political damage to his bosses (not too classy of his, was it?). What he should have done was say nothing, ride this out and then take early retirement.
Again...like it or not, he worked for Minister Tony Clement, and it was not his choice whether or not to continue laying criminal charges for refusing to fill out the long-form census; his boss (the government of Canada) decides that, not him. It is also not his place to criticize his boss in public (or at all, for that matter).
Twisted like a true neo-con. He didn't quit because someone suggested not laying charges for refusing to fill out the form. He quit because his boss said, publicly, that he (Dr. Sheikh) had agreed that a voluntary census would provide the same level of accurate information - an assertion that has been refuted by virtually every statistician who has commented on the proposed change.
And in response you claim he should simply have shut up and followed orders.
I seem to recall a few instances in the not too distant past where that particular argument didn't work out so well.
(I'm sorry...I missed the childish "Reform-a Tories" taunt in your original post. Had I seen that, I wouldn't even have bothered posting to your blog. But since I already am...)
Canajun said...
Twisted like a true neo-con.
No. Spoken like a realist.
He didn't quit because someone suggested not laying charges for refusing to fill out the form. He quit because his boss said, publicly, that he (Dr. Sheikh) had agreed that a voluntary census would provide the same level of accurate information - an assertion that has been refuted by virtually every statistician who has commented on the proposed change.
Except Tony Clement DIDN'T SAY THAT.
(fast and loose with the facts like a typical Liberal?...)
Tony Clement said that Statistics Canada said that, not Dr. Sheikh. Dr. Sheikh is NOT Statistics Canada, he's just the director of it. A civil servant who seemed confused as to who he actually worked for. No one told him to lie. No one told him to say ANYTHING...and indeed he should have just kept his mouth shut and done what he was told. By HIS BOSS.
Welcome to the real world.
(oh, and for the record: he knew about this change months ago. Where was his objection then?)
Fred - So your point is THE BOSS is always right. You do what THE BOSS says, even if it's stupid, immoral, or illegal? What if THE BOSS told an employee to falsify documents? He should just shut up and do it? And if THE BOSS brings your integrity into question publicly you should say and do nothing and just sneak out the back door at some later time?
You've turned this into a Munir Sheikh debate and it really isn't. This is about the integrity of our political masters.
There is a line that gets crossed and I happen to believe that line is right on the border between personal integrity and blind obedience. And what I'm seeing more and more in politics these days is the line is shifting in favor of blind obedience. No one in politics today, that I can think of, would put their personal integrity ahead of cow-towing to their leader's whims - no matter how wrong-headed they may be. And that's wrong. That's not why they were elected.
If you're happy with that in your "real world", then enjoy it. But I don't happen to share your opinion.
Canajun said...
Fred - So your point is THE BOSS is always right. You do what THE BOSS says, even if it's stupid, immoral, or illegal? What if THE BOSS told an employee to falsify documents? He should just shut up and do it? And if THE BOSS brings your integrity into question publicly you should say and do nothing and just sneak out the back door at some later time?
No. But none of that happened here, sorry.
(nice 'strawman', though..)
Mr. Sheikh destroyed his own integrity by going public and resigning in a way calculated to produce maximum embarrassment for the government. He broke rule number one of the civil service: show NO political favoritism. He has now put other civil servants at risk because of his selfish grandstanding; the only thing protecting them during a change of government was their supposed impartiality, and that is now questionable. What if the government now decides to replace all senior civil servants with people deemed more friendly to them...who will you blame for that? Stephen Harper?
A dangerous precedent has been set, and you act as though it is the government's fault.
Since you persist in making this a Munir Sheikh issue.....
"But none of that happened here, sorry."
Wrong. That's EXACTLY what happened here. A minister made public comments that brought not only the integrity of Dr. Sheikh into question, but the entire department.
And if you followed his appearance before the committee last week you would also know that he went out of his way to clearly state his issue was NOT with the change to the long form census (he clearly said that was the government's prerogative) but was with the way he and his department were falsely represented in the media as endorsing the validity of a voluntary long form census, which they could not do and maintain their professional integrity. And that was done by Tony Clement, even though some reports have indicated that he (Clement) argued against the change initially but was overruled by Harper.
"He broke rule number one of the civil service: show NO political favoritism."
He didn't show political favouritism. He didn't resign because it was the Conservatives in power. He resigned because his boss, through his actions, publicly brought his and his department's professionalism into question.
"He has now put other civil servants at risk because of his selfish grandstanding."
Bullshit. Governments of the day regularly shuffle senior civil servants for a whole variety of reasons, one of which is to make sure that the minister and deputy minister are simpatico. That has been part of the deal long before this sorry episode.
"you act as though it is the government's fault"
Yes I do. It is entirely the government's fault - more specifically Tony Clement and Stephen Harpers fault - for their ham-fisted handling of this file and their bone-headed defence of the indefensible.
And since it has now become obvious that you have no intention of letting the facts get in the way of a good rant, this conversation is over.
Since you persist in making this a Munir Sheikh issue.....
"But none of that happened here, sorry."
Wrong. That's EXACTLY what happened here. A minister made public comments that brought not only the integrity of Dr. Sheikh into question, but the entire department.
And if you followed his appearance before the committee last week you would also know that he went out of his way to clearly state his issue was NOT with the change to the long form census (he clearly said that was the government's prerogative) but was with the way he and his department were falsely represented in the media as endorsing the validity of a voluntary long form census, which they could not do and maintain their professional integrity. And that was done by Tony Clement.
"He broke rule number one of the civil service: show NO political favoritism."
He didn't show political favouritism. He didn't resign because it was the Conservatives in power; he resigned because his boss, through his actions, publicly brought his and his department's professionalism into question.
"He has now put other civil servants at risk because of his selfish grandstanding."
Bullshit. Governments of the day regularly shuffle senior civil servants for a whole variety of reasons, one of which is to make sure that the minister and deputy minister are simpatico. That has been part of the deal long before this sorry episode.
"you act as though it is the government's fault"
Yes I do. It is entirely the government's fault - more specifically Tony Clement and Stephen Harpers fault - for their ham-fisted handling of this file and their bone-headed defence of the indefensible.
And since it is obvious that you have no intention of letting the facts get in the way of a good rant, this conversation is over.
Post a Comment