Canadian MP Has Difficulty Separating Private from Public Comments

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Earlier this week, Stéphane Dion (Leader of the Canadian Liberal Party – Official Opposition) traveled to Calgary, AB to take in the sights and enjoyment of the Calgary Stampede. While there, he also took the opportunity to announce his Green Plan to local supporters and detractors alike. The mixed reaction to his formula to a 'greener Canada' was to be expected; later commentary by one of his own party members, Garth Turner, was not.

According to the CBC report, Turner did not stop at simple praise for his leader's visit to Western Canada. His blog entry – from his official MP site – for July 3rd says,

... You might not agree with everything [Dion] says, but you have to admire this about him. He stood up once to the self-aggrandizing, hostile, me-first, greedy, macho, selfish and balkanizing separatist losers in Quebec. I guess he can do it again in Alberta.

Outrage and demands of censure from Cdn. Conservative Party members was quick. Given that the politics prompting Turner's comments focused on the environment, the request to "rein in" this MP, from Environment Minister John Baird was not unexpected. Dion did just that. Rather than let sleeping dogs lie, Turner felt it necessary to comment further on this issue (July 4th):

In case you missed it, I’m in trouble again...I began receiving lots of emails in French from folks in Quebec telling me what I could do with myself...co-mingled with messages from Albertans reminding me that they have the oil and we have the problem...And, just to cap things off, Stephane Dion [sic] called and chewed me out.

He goes on to say, as partial justification for his written outburst:

But there’s no way I, as a federal member of the Canadian House of Commons, am going to lay down before people who openly advocate ripping the country apart. Moan all you want about money, or lament those who don’t share your culture or language. But don’t expect me to roll.

His comments would be somewhat acceptable—within the confines of free speech—were he not a currently sitting member of Canadian Parliament. Publishing such contentious and divisive words on his official MP website is unacceptable. In today's environment of information on-demand, it's more important than before to heed the warning, "not to write something you wouldn't want family to see". Elected officials must be held to the highest standard when expressing their views.

Unlike the US, Canada's national elections run a little differently. We are currently suffering from a minority government, i.e., none of the parties won enough seats to establish a clear majority. In this case, all that is needed is a Non-Confidence Vote to bring down the government. In reality, Canadians have been living under the strain of a pending national election for almost a decade. Neither national party—of more than 1/2 dozen—has the widespread support of past days. Common sense and political expediency suggest that our elected officials would bear this in mind when making off-the-cuff commentary in any forum that is readily accessible.

Given the recent, and ongoing, firestorms over Maxime Bernier (form. Foreign Minister), the AirBus scandal, recent apologies to our Aboriginal Peoples, threats of continued separatist interest in Quebec, and other smaller fires, the absolute last thing Canadians need is further embarrassment caused by indiscreet blog entries.

We're not ashamed of our politicians, by and large; we just prefer that if they must rattle their bones, they do so in the privacy of their own closet(s).