Image Credit: The Canadian Press

By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: McLachlin Report shows the legislature needs proper supervision

May 17, 2019 | 5:40 AM

THE MANY WAYS adults act like children will never cease to be fascinating. From video game obsessions to adult colouring books, more and more grown-ups are trying to hold onto childhood as long as possible.

One of the ways adults act like children is by being completely untrustworthy when they are unsupervised. And that’s one of the big conclusions of the report former Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin filed this week. McLachlin was looking into the conduct of former Clerk of the B.C. Legislature Craig James and Sergeant-at-Arms Gary Lenz. She concluded James engaged in misconduct on several fronts, though Lenz did not. An RCMP investigation is still ongoing, but the likelihood of crimes being committed seems slim. In any case, James has now retired, complaining that he didn’t want to see his name dragged through the mud any longer.

But one of the most significant conclusions of the McLachlin Report is that the chain of accountability for legislature officials is murky at best.

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And rather than act as a person of fiduciary responsibility, Speaker Darryl Plecas was more concerned about his clandestine investigation to catch James and Lenz. Plecas was acting as a whistle-blower rather than a figure of authority who could have told James and Lenz to cut it out.

Theoretically, we trust our public officers to act with responsibility and accountability — even more so than the rest of us. But that’s just not human nature. Like children, adults will take as much rope as they are given.

That’s why the best thing our MLAs can do right now is build in a clear, linear accountability structure in order to prevent our public officers from living high off the hog on the taxpayers’ dime, without anyone saying they can’t or shouldn’t.

Every playground needs proper supervision.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.