O guard my life and deliver me;
do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for you.
Psalm 25: 20-21 NRSVue
Integrity
the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles that you refuse to change
There is an Integrity Commissioner in Ontario which must be a challenging role these days. The office of commissioner, David Wake, is independent of government and charged with advising and directing senior public servants on the Conflict of Interest Rules and political activity restrictions.
Recently a report from this office was highly critical of decisions made by the Housing Minister, Steve Clark, and the Conservative government for decisions to allow development on portions of the protected Greenbelt, in clear violation of the purpose of that land and as a total flip-flop on promises made to uphold those protections. Reports by the Auditor General and the Integrity Commissioner make it clear that what has transpired has been deceitful and ethically wrong, and the majority of Ontarians including many Conservative voters are disgusted by this mess.
Wake describes the fiasco as a “process marked by misinterpretation, unnecessary hastiness and deception.” “Chaotic.” “Reckless.” “An uninformed and opaque decision.” “An opportunity to further the private interests some developers improperly.”
Steve Clark and Doug Ford
In response the minister and the premier, Doug Ford have made comments such as "I take full responsibility" and "the buck stops with me" while resisting acceptance that there should be consequences for their moral failure, nor moving to reverse their decisions. It is so shocking to hear them speak in such a brazenly disingenuous "sorry, but not sorry" manner, and once again I'm reminded of the novel 1984:
The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, the Ministry of Truth with lies, the Ministry of Love with torture and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation. These contradictions are not accidental, nor do they result from ordinary hypocrisy: they are deliberate exercises in doublethink.
Eventually Steve Clark resigned, following his chief of staff. Yet while they "fell on their swords" these were rubber swords with comments about no longer wanting to be a distraction for the government rather than admitting culpability.
I'm so old that I can remember politicians for whom integrity was a priority, even when at times it meant being at odds with their own parties. Stanley Knowles, the highly respected federal Member of Parliament and Bill Blaikie come to mind because both were United Church ministers. They brought the sensibilities of their Christian faith to the work of serving their constituents and the nation.
Should we start a campaign to send compasses to Queen's Park to remind the "for the people" government that it has lost its way? I suppose they would just sell them to the highest bidder.
1 comment:
Unfortunately, like our neighbours to the south, many folk are blinded to the truth of some governments' faulty ways, and they still maintain power and a large following - but I am happy to see the decline in support recently for this government. Now, we need to find strong leaders who can sway the popular vote to another party, with real integrity and real interests "for the people".
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