Declining trust in politicians is bad news for democracy

Governments need to take concrete steps now to restore Canadians’ confidence in the system

Suspected misdeeds by an assortment of politicians have left Canadians doubting those they’ve assigned to manage billions of tax dollars on their behalf.

Several politicians serving at various levels of government lately have brought shame on themselves and their peers.

The reputation of Rob Ford, mayor of Canada’s largest city, has been tainted by tales — albeit unproven — of crack cocaine use and consorting with crooks and drug dealers. The fact Ford has resorted to ducking and weaving rather than explaining has seriously damaged his own standing and, more worryingly, Toronto’s.

Further east, municipal leaders in Montreal have confirmed long- standing suspicions about political corruption in Quebec, with allegations about kickbacks from companies doing business with both Montreal and Laval. Laval mayor Gilles Vaillancourt was arrested in May and faces charges ranging from fraud to gangsterism. Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay resigned in crisis last November while his successor, Michael Applebaum, resigned last month after being slapped with a series of criminal charges.

But perhaps the most startling allegations relate to hundreds of thousands of dollars in improper expense claims made by a quartet of senators. The improprieties, which came to light earlier this year, involve housing and travel costs as well as per diems, and have prompted Liberals and Conservatives to expel from their respective caucuses Mac Harb, Patrick Brazeau, Pamela Wallin and Mike Duffy.

The most damaging revelation had Nigel Wright, Stephen Harper’s ( now former) chief of staff, quietly repaying $ 90,000 worth of questionable spending to Senate coffers on behalf of Duffy, creating a trail that leads directly to the prime minister’s office.

Such scandals all contribute to a trend that, while not new, is certainly problematic — that of declining trust in politicians.

A Canadian Press Harris- Decima survey in June found that 86 per cent

Scandals all contribute to a trend that, while not new, is certainly problematic — that of declining trust in politicians.

of respondents, including overwhelming majorities in all regions and age groups, feel it’s likely their MPs and senators are cheating on expense claims.

A Nanos Research poll recently showed 41 per cent of Canadians either don’t trust or aren’t sure about any of the federal party leaders.

And Ekos Research found that while doctors are highly trusted by 80 per cent of people, politicians get the nod from just 10 per cent — down from 13 per cent in 1996.

Frank Graves of Ekos wrote in a May 14 commentary on the subject that in Canada “the paucity of trust in politicians is almost cartoonishly low,” a situation he believes poses a threat to social cohesion and economic performance.

Indeed the entire system whereby citizens send tax dollars to Ottawa, Victoria and Vancouver city hall is based on an assumption the money will be handled so as to benefit the sender and society overall.

Once that basic assumption is threatened, so is democracy.

Which is why it is so crucial that politicians take decisive action to start rebuilding confidence.

They must put the money where their mouths are — and introduce new accountability mechanisms that would demonstrate clearly exactly how public cash gets spent, with comprehensive online postings and follow up verification by auditors and budget officers.

Discretion and personal honour are fine concepts. But they are not working.