TERMINATION BUNGLED

“The first virtue is to restrain the tongue,” said Cato the Elder. Had Premier John Horgan and Jobs Minister Bruce Ralston heeded the Roman senator’s sage advice the government appointee they sacked last week would have packed up his paperweights and moved on.

It is, after all, the prerogative of any incoming government to replace key players in the public service with candidates of its own choosing. Horgan and his minister had every right to fire Gordon Wilson, who was the government’s adviser on the liquefied natural-gas file.

Unfortunately, Wilson’s dismissal was accompanied by unflattering descriptions of his performance that turned out to be false.

First, Ralston said that an internal government review was unable to find any written reports setting out what Wilson had done to earn the $550,000 he had been paid to serve as an LNG industry advocate since 2013.

Then Horgan told CBC Radio that Wilson produced “no briefings, no reports, no memoranda” during his time in the job.

However, while in opposition, the NDP obtained through a freedom-of-information request 180 pages of documents that Wilson had produced, and had them posted on the government’s website in 2015. Besides, Wilson pointed out that he wasn’t hired to write reports, but rather to ensure that companies were aware of the availability of work, and were certified for the LNG industry and that First Nations were given opportunities in the sector.

Ralston and Horgan have both apologized, but that might not be enough to appease Wilson who says he was defamed and has demanded full disclosure about that review of his work record. Notwithstanding the occasional careless comment that emanated from the previous government, a sitting government has to be more circumspect in its rhetoric than those on the opposition benches. It simply matters more when you’re in power.

The NDP government didn’t have to give cause to terminate Wilson’s contract — being appointed by the Liberals was cause enough. But, having decided to make a case against him, Horgan and Ralston should have made certain they knew what they were talking about. If Wilson sues, the premier and the minister have no one to blame but themselves.