Civility and frugality would help the process as well as the nation.
by Geoffrey Stevens
New Year's resolutions are generally an exercise in futility, especially among politicians. Even so, here are a couple of resolutions that, if implemented, would improve our politics in 2012.
Resolution #1:
To inject a healthy dose of civility into daily politics by treating the public with respect; to deal with supporters of other parties and causes as worthy opponents not as enemies; to behave in Parliament, legislatures and municipal councils as we all would want our children to behave in school (no shouting, no swearing, no dirty tricks). Oh yes, and kill those ugly political attack ads.
Resolution #2:
To manage the taxpayers' money as carefully as if it were each politicians' personal household income. If they did that, Ottawa would not spend $50 million to cosmetically enhance Tony Clement's riding, or billions for fighter jets and prisons the country doesn't need. And the annual cost of maintaining an individual MP (salary, perks, staff and expenses) would not have been permitted to soar to $1 million (as noted in last week's column).
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Ornge receives $150 million a year from the Ontario government, yet it arrogantly refused to tell the public how it was spending their money. |
Let's start with civility. We find ourselves in a society where some parents won't let their children watch the parliamentary channel lest they copy the bad behaviour they witness in the Commons. Ottawa is not the only offender — witness the negative Ontario election campaign last October or Toronto city council (where Mayor Rob Ford clearly needs professional help for anger management).
Civility begins with leaders who set the tone. Prime Minister Stephen Harper could benefit from spending extra time with the gentleman who lives just across Sussex Drive: Governor General David Johnston. As president of the University of Waterloo, Johnston was a model of even temper and restraint — open, friendly and unfailingly courteous to all, including students.
He hasn't changed since he moved into Rideau Hall. In a session with editorial board of the Globe and Mail before Christmas, Johnston was thoughtful, forthright and quite candid. He said he meets with Harper every four to six weeks to discuss matters both domestic and international. They discuss the government's agenda for the coming three to six months.
The governor general won't do this, of course, but he would be doing a service if he were to give Harper a bit of advice by saying something like this: "If I may be so bold, Prime Minister, don't you think it is time you relaxed? You've won your election. You have your majority. No one can lay a glove on you until 2015. You don't need to attack each day as a test of mortal combat. And why don't you get rid of Peter Van Loan, who acts more like a bouncer in a seedy bar than a house leader in Parliament? And perhaps you could order John Baird to stop bullying the opposition and stick to foreign affairs."
That's one conversation that won't take place on Sussex Drive — more's the pity.
As to the second resolution — treating public money with care — there is no shortage of examples to illustrate the need. A couple come to mind.
At the provincial level in Ontario, the Toronto Star has succeeded in peeling away some of the secrecy surrounding the way Ornge, the air ambulance service, spends (or wastes) public money. Ornge receives $150 million a year from the Ontario government, yet it arrogantly refused to tell the public how it was spending their money. As it turns out, its CEO (now at home on indefinite sick leave) is paid $1.4 million a year, and the company spent another $600,000 to send top executives ("high performers," they call them) back to university to get business degrees. Has no one told these high-performing profligates that Ontario is running a record deficit?
At the federal level, what possessed the idiots at the CBC, already on the defensive about spending, to blow $6.6 million in public funds to celebrate its own 75th anniversary? Who cared about the silly anniversary? Isn't anyone watching the money?
About Geoffrey Stevens
Cambridge resident Geoffrey Stevens, an author and former Ottawa columnist and managing editor of the Globe and Mail, teaches political science at Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Guelph. He welcomes comments at the address below. This article appeared in the Waterloo Region Record and the Guelph Mercury.
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