When the B.C. Liberals scored an upset election victory in 2013, a number of political observers (myself included) wondered at the time if the miracle win would breed arrogance among the victors to the point where they thought they were bulletproof from losing power.
That arrogance has indeed been on display from time to time since then, as the government seems to operate in some kind of self-imposed bubble, far away from the prying or interested eyes of those who don’t drink their Kool-Aid.
Political opponents and critics are simply dismissed out of hand or ignored altogether. That is not particularly unusual in our political system, but the B.C. Liberals have taken this attitude to new high heights. But for solid and alarming evidence that this arrogance has taken deep root within the government, look no further than the controversy raging over the B.C. Liberals’ wanton disregard for following the law when it comes to making information public where it is warranted.
It’s not just that these folks seem to think they are above the law. No, it goes further than that: they think the particular law in question (which governs freedom of information) really doesn’t matter to the public, and therefore following the rules set down by that law doesn’t really matter much either.
Certainly, the B.C. Liberals may well be correct (however cynically) in gauging the public’s disinterest, although they may be underestimating things this time around.
While only a tiny fraction of the population even knows about the very concept of freedom of information, most folks will look darkly at a government that is gaining a reputation for improperly hiding things and illegally destroying documents.
However, it’s important to remember that the party seemed bruised and battered by the so-called “quick wins” scandal involving the courting of ethnic voters (aside from avid political watchers, who can recite what that was even about?) going into the last campaign and the scandal ended up mattering not a whit to the electorate.
Scandals rarely defeat governments and the last election outcome appears to have embedded this fact into the brains of many currently running the show. Contributing to this feeling of invincibility is the B.C. Liberals’ view that their political opponent — the NDP — has hit a stone wall in popularity and can only win elections through fluky statistical anomalies among voting results.
The current brouhaha over deleting emails may well pass from memory by the time voters head to the polls again 18 months from now, or at least it may not be the deciding question when people mark their ballots.
But that does not excuse the actions of what appears to be a fair number of key political staffers who have, to varying degrees, refused to create written documents or have improperly deleted emails or who have simply subverted the rules regarding the release of government information to the public.
This dismissal of the need to be accountable and provide openness is cavalier at best and sneeringly undemocratic at worst. The investigation by the province’s independent privacy and information commissioner into this affair was justifiably scathing and harsh in its findings and judgment.
This mentality — that “winning” is all-important — can leave vacant the moral and ethical high ground voters still expect to see occupied by those they vote for. Stephen Harper and his Conservative party learned that lesson in a very painful manner in the recent federal election.
The B.C. Liberals have had a very narrowly focused agenda the past few years. They have introduced few groundbreaking laws (other than perhaps overhauling the liquor system) and continue to put all their eggs in the liquefied natural gas basket.
Their philosophy rests on a key tenet: that government should get out of peoples’ faces, and not stick its nose into too many places.
However ironic it would be, then, that this modest approach to governing is elbowed aside by the one activity the government seems to have a rare zeal for: cynically ignoring the law in order to stop the flow of information.
It’s time to shed the arrogance and start following the law. Otherwise that sense of being bulletproof will one day prove to be delusional.
Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global BC. He can be reached via email at [email protected].
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