Viewpoint

Collective responsibility

By Nils R. Connor

In the wake of the Star Kist Tuna scandal, in which about

and subsequently recalled by the minister of Fisheries, cer— tain aspects of the way the government handle itself may have been overlooked in the repugnance of the whole situation. The standard joke these days is that federal cabinet ministers are not accepting calls from New Brunswick for fear of Pre- mier Richard Hatfield in- volving them in some new scandal. Every time one hears of him calling Ottawa, it seems to precipitate an up— roar. That may (or may not) say something about Mr. Hatfield, but we were dis- cussing the Federal Govern- ment.

What we saw with the tuna incident was a minister suc- cumbing to political pressure from the fish company and Mr. Hatfield and reversing the decision of trained, ex- pert inspectors. Not surpris- ingly, this action eventually came to light and then life got rough for minister, John Fraser. Underlying the issue, we also saw what is a serious reflection on the whole Mulroney government. That is we saw the said minister and the Prime Minister con- tradicting each other in the media.

Hmmm. What about cabi- net solidarity? '

Fantastic fables

By Jim Lai

Once upon a time there ivas a viciously greedy miser who used to hide \his gold, jewelry, and stock certificates at the foot ofa tree in his vast garden. Every week he used to go and dig it up and gloat and laugh maniacally over his gains.

A half-deaf burglar, who had noticed this, went and dug up the gold, jewelry, and stock certificates and left for Rio with it. He was eventually mugged and killed, but that is another story. -

Anyway, when the miser next came to gloat and laugh

cans of rancid' fish were released for sale ,

Indeed. As was mentioned, this‘incident is a serious re- flection on the government; a reflection of a problem which seems to be endemic with the year-old Conservative ad— ministration. As the hapless Mr. Clark could attest to, Prime Minister Mulroney has on more than one occasion, allowed himself to make statements not consistent with, and sometimes contra- dictory to, statements made by his cabinet ministers. This tendency is due, no doubt, to the fact that the Prime Minister has, what some generously call, the “gift of gab”. To put it another way, when confronted by a micro- phone, he seems to give any convenient response and lets the chips fall where they may.

In all fairness, there may be another explanation. Per- haps in these situations, the ministers, who presumably become somewhat expert in their respective portfolios, are simply unaware of either the facts, or the actual government policy on the issue. Perhaps, but Idoubt it.

Ethics aside, these kinds of. discrepancies within the cabi- net are a bad sign for the government. As it becomes more common, one should begin to see a reluctance on the part of ministers to make any statements which could possibly come into question at some later (or earlier) time. To protect themselves it will be necessary for each minister tc either defer completely to

the Prime Minister, or to go through a confirmation pro! cess so intricate as to make it hardly worthwhile. Not only does this make for cumber- some concentration of re- sponsibility, it also makes it easy for the Opposition to, in fact, decimate the govern- ment in Parliament. Merely by sitting back and wating for the next blunder, the Opposi- tion parties can be assured of a continuing supply of am- munition for Question Period. While last year’s resignation of Defence Minister Coates was a fluke event, the tuna scandal, and the collapse of the Canadian Commercial and the Northland Banks were both events which should never have occurred, and would not have had such impact had the entire cabi- net acted in accordance with the principles of collective responsibility.

An interesting point that I will leave you to consider is the impact of the seeming willingness on the part of the PM and cabinet to let a be- leaguered colleague sink. As an afterthought, one might also wonder at the specifics of Mr. Fraser’s resignation. Are his contradictions of Mulroney’s statements deli- berate sabotage? And, is it like a fifteen year veteran of the House of Commons to‘ in- vent dubious stories about his leader’s information? The answer to this last question' is simple — No. -

maniacally over his treasures, he found nothing but an empty hole. I-Ie tore his hair and raised such an outcry that all his neighbors within earshot (about 100 kilo- meters) came around him. He told them how he used to come and visit his gold, his jewelry, and his stock certi- ficates like any good father would. He told them of his poetry. He told them his life story.

“Did you ever take any of the gold, jewelry, or stock certificates out?” one of his neighbours asked.

“Don’t be ridiculous! I

came just to look at my beautiful gold, my lovely jewelry, my crisp stock certi- ficates! Oh! This reminds me of a poem I —”

“Ahem ! “the sales man inter- rupted gleefully. “You, sir, should have bought an Acme Security System so you could admire all your wealth at home in safety. Coincidentally, I happen to be a dealer! This is your lucky day!”

Moral #1: Money is useless unless you show it off to other people.

Moral #2: Acme Security Systems has a full line of pro- ducts to suit your security needs. ,

October 10, 1985

THE NE’ITED GEM

Left-handch unite!

Speaking on behalf of the left-handed population, I have concluded that our society has failed in its at- tempt to treat everyone as equals. We, as southpaws, are forever being forced to go .against our natural left-handed tendencies and adapt to so- ciety’s right-handed mechan- ics. My particular beef this week is having to write on my lap while in class, because there appears to be no left- handed desks!

Being a southpaw, I have become accustomed to adapt- ing to the right-handed way of life. By this of course, I am referring to any ordinary every—day object that is es— sentially designed for usage by the right hand, little things that your average every-day Joe needs to survive in this cruel world. '

Besides the above-men- tioned desk, scissors can be quite annoying. Most are designed with a handle that is comfortably suited for the right hand, so of course; they are rather awkward for a southpaw to use. And what about your common ap- pliances such as TV sets and public vending machines that must be operated from the right side? Binders are also a particular pain because it’s nearly impossible for some- one lefthanded to write on the right-hand side. And that’s not all. You should’ve been around when I was learning how to drive a stand- ard! It’s a pretty funny sight when anyone is first learning how to drive a standard, whether, he is left-handed or not. Believe me, you simply

I can’t drop down into 2nd

- we can’t use!) While im

with your left hand while the same time steering v» your right — especially if } can’t steer with your right!

LEFT-HANDERS UNI We are unique individ (and we canfl;all compl about the same things t

visation may be a basic d at least we can brag t: something as typical as a opener must be customi‘ so that it may be g enough for our use .../ Left-handed people

certainly not incompet For example, I conquered problem with the binder writing in the back of binder instead of the frbnt anything, we must exercis greater degree of intellige than righthanders. After we have to figure out ho make this right-handed w work for us.

rPa