Re I’m Ashamed For My Country (March 2):
So Margaret Wente is ashamed for her country. Really? And she thinks that The New York Times columnist who believes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may be “more corrupt than Donald Trump” may have a point? Let’s just compare and contrast the degrees and motivations of the alleged acts of corruption.
Mr. Trudeau’s “offence” is that he tried, unsuccessfully I might add, to influence a cabinet minister, one of whose jobs is political, to drop legal charges in favour of a completely legal deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) for a company whose alleged crime was the bribing of a corrupt regime (Libya), where such practices are widely known to be the only way of doing business. Mr. Trump, on the other hand, is under investigation on collusion with a foreign power, the breaking of election laws, and lying to Congress in order to win the presidency for himself, among other things.
Mr. Trudeau's “offence” appears to have been motivated by the desire to save Canadian jobs and a Canadian company and, not incidentally, to save Liberal seats in Quebec in the coming federal elections. In balance, it would seem that more harm would have been done to Canadians by prosecuting SNC-Lavalin than by agreeing to a DPA.
Like the proverbial sausage factory, politics is a messy business where you don’t want to see what goes on inside. Pragmatism is an unfortunate necessity to balance interests and keep a large and diverse country running evenly.
Unlike Ms. Wente, I do not thank former attorney-general Jody Wilson-Raybould for making public what should have been kept private and for being unwilling or unable to see the bigger picture of what actions on her part would have resulted in the greater benefit to Canadians.
Liz Addison, Toronto
Ms. Wente says she “thinks of herself as a fairly hard-hearted realist” but then states the politics around the SNC-Lavalin affair made her feel “ashamed for her country.” As a realist, she must know that a more common solution would have been to simply replace the person who would not do what you wanted them to do (the Trump approach).
Indeed, this was finally done, but Ms. Wilson-Raybould was not dismissed from the cabinet. She resigned only after being reminded of the principle of cabinet solidarity and that her presence conveyed consent.
Admirably, she resigned, and admirably the Prime Minister allowed her to speak her truth. And so we will get the details of what normally goes on behind closed doors.
Ms. Wente despairs that the affair “destroys any remaining remnants of principles or idealism” that the Trudeau government may have had. One of those principles is “transparency” and surely this is a startlingly honest display of what that really means. So rather than feeling ashamed of my country, I feel proud that both the Prime Minister and Ms. Wilson-Raybould have displayed integrity and our system of government allowed us to observe how power (the Prime Minister’s Office) really speaks to power (SNC-Lavalin) in this country. It’s a cause for celebration, not shame, and I am hopeful we learn more.
Bill Jennings, Kingston
Indeed, this was finally done, but Ms. Wilson-Raybould was not dismissed from the cabinet. She resigned only after being reminded of the principle of cabinet solidarity and that her presence conveyed consent.
Admirably, she resigned, and admirably the Prime Minister allowed her to speak her truth. And so we will get the details of what normally goes on behind closed doors.
Ms. Wente despairs that the affair “destroys any remaining remnants of principles or idealism” that the Trudeau government may have had. One of those principles is “transparency” and surely this is a startlingly honest display of what that really means. So rather than feeling ashamed of my country, I feel proud that both the Prime Minister and Ms. Wilson-Raybould have displayed integrity and our system of government allowed us to observe how power (the Prime Minister’s Office) really speaks to power (SNC-Lavalin) in this country. It’s a cause for celebration, not shame, and I am hopeful we learn more.
Bill Jennings, Kingston
Am I the only one who’s fed up with all the moral outrage over the Wilson-Raybould affair? Even Ms. Wente is piling it on.
Well, I’m no more ashamed of my country than I was a few weeks ago. While the whole affair raises some good points for debate, I feel the government did no more than I would expect them to do under the circumstances. The case is arguable, but hardly beyond the pale, and I’d like to know which party, if in government, would have handled it differently.
As for Ms. Wilson-Raybould, good for her for holding her ground, but in any organization if you dig in your heels without support from above, the outcome is probably inevitable. Speaking truth to power and whistle-blowing can be in the public interest, and certainly it’s in the public interest for the issues surrounding SNC-Lavalin to be aired, but the hypocrisy of the opposition and frenzied tenor of much of the reporting are hard to stomach.
David Thomas, Ottawa
Well, I’m no more ashamed of my country than I was a few weeks ago. While the whole affair raises some good points for debate, I feel the government did no more than I would expect them to do under the circumstances. The case is arguable, but hardly beyond the pale, and I’d like to know which party, if in government, would have handled it differently.
As for Ms. Wilson-Raybould, good for her for holding her ground, but in any organization if you dig in your heels without support from above, the outcome is probably inevitable. Speaking truth to power and whistle-blowing can be in the public interest, and certainly it’s in the public interest for the issues surrounding SNC-Lavalin to be aired, but the hypocrisy of the opposition and frenzied tenor of much of the reporting are hard to stomach.
David Thomas, Ottawa
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