When leaders don’t know wrong from right

Apparently, former Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips isn’t the only tone deaf politician who thought it was OK to take an international trip at the same time as Canadians are being repeatedly reminded to avoid non-essential travel.

Phillips, as we know, “resigned” from his cabinet job after being caught taking a luxury Caribbean vacation over Christmas. His website featured a prerecorded video of him offering sage advice and urging patience among his Ajax constituents, at the same time as he was enjoying luxury accommodation in the exclusive tropical getaway of St. Barts.

Some say Phillips got what he deserved when he was forced to return to being a lowly MPP. Maybe, maybe not, but it’s clear he is in good company.

Liberal MP Kamal Khera attended a private memorial service for relatives in Seattle. Her trip was deemed by officials to be essential, but she has stepped down from her parliamentary secretary role. MP Sameer Zuberi visited a sick relative in Delaware. His trip was also approved, but he has also stepped down from parliamentary committees.

Veteran Flamborough-dundas MP David Sweet spent leisure time in the U.S. without telling his party and lost his chair of the ethics committee. Alberta Conservative MP Ron Liepert travelled to California twice since March. NDP MP Niki Ashton was stripped of her critic roles after sharing that she visited her sick grandmother in Greece.

Also in Alberta, Premier Jason Kenney has had a change of heart after originally just slapping the wrists of several MLAS who travelled over the holidays, including his Municipal Affairs Minister Tracy Allard who vacationed in Hawaii. Kenney misjudged the extent of the public outrage on the matter, and once he got his own wrists slapped by furious Albertans, he reversed course and fired his minister as well as his chief of staff who also travelled over Christmas. Several other United Conservative Party MLAS who travelled were demoted or lost privileges.

Kenney did the right thing in the end, but his reluctance to do so is an indicator of why his pandemic management approval ratings are the lowest of any premier in Canada (30 per cent).

The politicians who asked and received permission to travel to visit sick relatives seem to us guilty of a lesser sin. They were attending to family matters, not frolicking on the beach. Still, thousands of Canadians would have liked the same opportunities, but chose to stay home based on public health and government advice.

The politicians like Phillips are in a class by themselves — as in no class at all. Phillips didn’t “resign” out of guilt or conscience. He was “resigned” for embarrassing his government and premier. And Doug Ford needed this ugly story to go away, in part to minimize his own role. He knew Phillips was on the beach for two weeks before he told him to return ASAP, so Ford is hardly guilt-free here.

Also, does anyone really believe no one else in government — not Phillips’ staff or anyone in the premier’s office — knew about him jetting off to the Caribbean? The second most senior minister in the government is MIA, and no one knows about it? Seems rather unlikely, no?

All the politicians who admitted travelling, or who just got caught, like Phillips, exhibited bad judgment, with the possible exception of those who got official permission to visit sick relatives. The others have clearly shown they don’t know wrong from right, and don’t really get that being a leader means being in service to the people you represent. Yet they’re still pulling in decent money — in Phillips case about $117,000 annually plus housing and other benefits. How well does that sit with you?