A gracious apology is good, but behaviour that negates the need for an apology is far better. Politicians need to be more careful with what they say and write, so apologies aren鈥檛 needed.
On the day Premier Christy Clark鈥檚 government was holding a ceremony to recognize the 100th anniversary of the Komagata Maru incident, in which a group of would-be immigrants from India was turned back because of sa国际传媒鈥檚 racist laws, former agriculture minister Pat Pimm was apologizing for emailed remarks about First Nations people.
In the debate leading up to passage of the Agricultural Land Commission Act on Thursday, NDP agriculture critic Nicholas Simons read from emails that indicated the government鈥檚 plans to change the law had been in the works for at least two years.
In July 2012, Pimm, MLA for Peace River North, emailed Agricultural Land Commission chairman Richard Bullock and Liberal MLAs, including former agriculture minister Don McRae and current Energy Minister Bill Bennett, who is spearheading a review of the ALC.
鈥淲ho the hell is running this province anyways?鈥� complained Pimm. 鈥淗ere is an opportunity to actually muster up some support for our team, but instead we will ignore it and go out and find some way to give the Indians more money, which doesn鈥檛 get me one vote! I am getting tired of this nonsense.鈥�
鈥淯nacceptable,鈥� is how Clark described Pimm鈥檚 remarks. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 reflect government鈥檚 policy, government鈥檚 direction.鈥�
Had Pimm still been in cabinet, she should have booted him out, not just for insulting First Nations, but for insulting voters with his cynical implication that decisions and policies should be aimed at getting him votes.
As Pimm is undergoing treatment for cancer, he was replaced in the agriculture portfolio by Norm Letnick in April. We sincerely wish him a full recovery, but his illness does not absolve him of the poor judgment and bad attitude displayed in his remarks, nor should it absolve Clark, who should have known about his views when she appointed him to the cabinet following the 2013 election.
Pimm has apologized, of course.
鈥淚 deeply regret and apologize for my comments in regards to First Nations,鈥� he said in a prepared statement this week. 鈥淭hey were inappropriate and wrong, and do not in any way reflect the policy of our government, which has been working with First Nations to make sure sa国际传媒鈥檚 First Nations are full participants in our economy.鈥�
Fine words, but forgive us for observing that they have all the earmarks of having been prepared by government communications staff more concerned about damage control than truly making amends.
The apology, it seems, has become a handy implement in the political tool chest, a few carefully crafted words to cover the nether regions and get the public discourse onto a different track.
There are times when public apologies are desired, necessary and helpful, but the currency of apologies has been greatly devalued. The more they are used, the less effect they have.
When politicians put something in writing, they should choose their words carefully, and then perform self-examination to ensure they are walking the talk. If the wrong things are said thoughtlessly, then obviously more thought is needed.
