Tuesday, January 14, 2003
The fall of Gordon Campbell - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER – Gordon Campbell has lost the moral authority to govern. He must resign forthwith.
Prior to the Premier's press conference Sunday, I was asked whether I though Mr. Campbell should resign as Premier of the Province of British Columbia. I made no pronouncements as to whether or not the Premier should resign. I referred to my column of Saturday, where I said, I would, like Opposition leader Joy MacPhail, await the Premier's own statement. I would await to see how drunk the Premier was, and in fact, how much alcohol was consumed. After ascertaining that information, and after hearing his statement and the subsequent questions from the press, there is no question that Gordon Campbell should step down.
Rafe Mair, whom the CBC last night called "BC's most feared" radio host, has said that Campbell is nothing short of a hypocrite. Mair has said no one but Gordon Campbell himself, has instilled such a high level of scrutiny towards the actions of our elected officials. Mr. Campbell, as many have pointed out over the last 36 hours, called for the resignation of NDP cabinet ministers who were merely accused of misconduct in the discharge of their public duties. Mr. Campbell vociferously criticised and called for the resignation of his former leader, Gordon Wilson. Wilson's crime? He had an affair with his house leader, Judi Tyabji. Campbell forced a leadership convention, that he won, and forced Wilson and Tyabji to leave the BC Liberal Party. When the NDP had gotten linked to the syphoning of funds from a charity in Nanaimo, Mr. Campbell sanctimoniously called on then premier Mike Harcourt to step down, even though Harcourt was not personally implicated in the theft, that took place back in the 1970s. When Glen Clark's home got raided, Mr. Campbell called for then premier Clark to step aside. The taint of investigation, Campbell said, was not needed on the grand office of premier of the Province of British Columbia. Subsequently, Mr. Clark was found not guilty, nor criminally responsible.
Here and now, we have the Premier of the Province of British Columbia, admitting point blank that he did, following dinner at the home of former radio personalities Fred Latremouille and Cathy Baldazzi (whom the Premier in his statement spelled the name as "Kathy",) get pulled over by Maui police, whereby the officer charged him with driving under the influence. He spent some hours in jail, and has said that he has no intention of contesting the said charge. The Premier is a criminal, and he intends to "cooperate fully with the US authorities," planning to face a Maui judge this March.
Mair, in his scathing CKNW editorial (which can be found at: «http://www.cknw.com/various/2003-01-13.cfm »), has said that in his opinion and other constitutional experts, Mr. Campbell is not duty bound to resign. True, the constitution stipulates that only should a minister of Her Majesty's government resign (where Mr. Campbell happens to be the First Minister of Her Majesty's government in British Columbia), when he is in a position where his advice to the sovereign is compromised. Were the Premier arrested for driving under the influence in BC, no doubt the Premier would have resigned immediately, because he would have been breaking the law of the land, where he at the same time, served as the top lawmaker.
That aside, I am surprised and disappointed that the Premier has not heeded the calls of many to step down, or at least step aside. What happened in Maui was as the Premier has said, remorseful, regrettable and a supreme misjudgement. He's been charged with breaking the law in Maui, and does not intend to contest the charge. So just because it took place outside of British Columbia, he feels it unnecessary to step aside? He conceded in his statement on Sunday that as an elected official, he must discharge his duties in a responsible manner. Was driving drunk responsible? Was going over the 0.8 blood alcohol limit responsible? Was abdicating any sane semblance of common sense responsible, irrespective of the fact he was on vacation? Was endangering the lives of the people of Maui responsible?
In his statement on Sunday, the Premier has said it is an obligation of those in public life to "lead by example." Has the Premier been upstanding in his example, by driving drunk? What the Premier has done is shown the people of British Columbia, that it is okay for us to practice sensible road sense at home, but once on holiday it's perfectly fine to be a "stupid" idiot, with no regard for foreign law or life.
The Premier's actions have, as Unity Leader Chris Delaney said, "[shown] an egregious error in judgement that has harmed the dignity of the office of Premier, and eroded the trust, respect and credibility of Premier Campbell." In his statement on Sunday, the Premier said that his caucus "expects" him to continue to play a part in the implementation of the Liberals' programme, thus he did not feel compelled to resign then and there. He's the Liberals' leader. A good chunk of those 77 Liberals elected in May of 2001, have some allegiance to pay to Mr. Campbell, as it was on his coattails that they were so elected. He's part and parcel, the image of the BC Liberal Party. Now if he considers himself damaged political goods, why does he dare inflict himself on an already unpopular government that pays no attention to the sentiment of the public that elected them in the first place?
NDP Opposition Leader Joy MacPhail has said that the Premier has exempted himself from the standards he himself held members of her government when they were in office, as well as members of his own caucus. That said it is hypocritical in the extreme that Mr. Campbell not subject himself to the same rigorous scrutiny that he himself placed so well on so many others. Ms. MacPhail has her scars to prove it. Mind you, Mr. Campbell would not be in power today, were it not for his tough stance he took against past NDP improprieties.
Then again, Mike Harcourt was never guilty of anything. Glen Clark, following a lengthy and costly trial, was never found guilty of anything either. Mr. Campbell has been found guilty of driving under the influence. He's spent some time in jail. He's got a criminal record. He faces the possibility of jail still. Why then, doesn't he resign now? Why does he arrogantly consider himself beyond reproach?
This is not merely, as some have suggested to me, a personal mistake, or a personal matter that has no bearing on his duties as Premier. His judgement failed him in Maui, during his vacation. That judgement, or lack thereof, led to criminal behaviour. Why then should his judgement be at the fore of the governance of British Columbia, knowing that it has failed criminally so?
Mr. Campbell can no longer function as an effective leader. He has lost the trust of British Columbians, as he has said himself. Why should he be given the chance, in the Premier's chair, to regain the confidence of British Columbians, when he was no more generous to previous NDP premiers who did not do anything as serious as what he's done? What about, when this government's plans to privatise liquor stores, or cut the visibility of CounterAttack? Wouldn't the Premier's actions cause many to consider the sensibility of such government policy? And wouldn't that be unfair and undue attention, considering what the Premier did was personal and on his own time? Wouldn't that criticism reflect unfairly to the government and party that he leads now? Mr. Campbell would be in no moral position to propose any change to statute or legislation, considering he had no regard for the statutes of Maui, and for that matter British Columbia, where his crime would have carried a far more severe punishment. Mr. Campbell should resign merely for the fact that he values less, the lives of the people of Maui. That kind of rationalisation is deplorable and regrettable. And damn British Columbians for having him as a leader.
Gordon Campbell, admittedly, were he to resign, would suffer great loss. There's much more to be done, and for a sad mistake, he's lost his chance at public service. Alas, he made a choice. He cannot dare make laws for this jurisdiction, when he mindfully and blatantly broke the law of this and/or any other jurisdiction. His party and his legacy would be better off with someone else at the helm. Were he to have resigned on Sunday, I'd have greater respect for him. There would have been, no doubt, an oppurtunity posed for his subsequent return. However the longer he carries on, the longer his image will be tarnished, and the longer his party will be no better for it.
Gordon Campbell must at least step aside to redeem himself in the court of public opinion. As he remains stupidly in power, he shall deserve further shame, further difficulty and further ignominy, as someone who threw it all away because of a stupid decision made when inebriated, and for staying on for so long thereafter.
It is disgusting to see BC Liberal cabinet ministers and caucus members condoning the Premier's behaviour. Sure, they share the Premier's sentiment that what he did in Maui was wrong and a mistake, however one cannot believe the sheer disdain they have for the principles they supposedly hold, by allowing Mr. Campbell to remain Premier at a time when he's shown his inability to think at the same level he so passionately and vociferously held others to. He must go now, and failing to do so will cause irreparable damage and have untold consequences to all that he himself has worked for.
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An archive of Joseph Planta's previous columns can be found by clicking HERE .