Way off in distant BC Canada the Liberal premier Gordon Campbell is screaming ‘you are breaking the law!’ at striking BC teachers.
This is the same Premier who was done for drink driving a couple of years back; the same Premier who sheepishly slid out from under his little encounter with the law.
In doing so, while visiting Hawaii, this premier lawmaker visited shame on his own province.
The difference here Gordon is that drink driving laws actually deliver a positive result for the community. They fall well into the category of sound, just laws.
The Campbell agenda in BC has been notable for a number of other ethical, if not legal, ‘breaches’.
The Liberals ripped up mutually negotiated contracts between employers and hospital workers, nurses, teachers and health sciences workers, despite explicit Campbell’s promises by not to, before he was elected premier.
From doctors to ferry workers to teachers, this government is fundamentally unwilling or unable to allow collective bargaining to work.
He has imposed two contracts on public-school teachers, stripped them of their right to bargain learning conditions and severely restricted their right to strike by designating education as an essential service.
The whole process is one of bullying and overriding acceptable and ethical practices.
For a man who would berate others for breaking the law, Campbell’s record is far from pure.
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2 comments:
It would seem to me that there is still an issue left unaddressed. Certainly it is improper for one lawbreaker to berate others--unless, of course, it is their *job* to do so.
You cannot wash away the guilt of one group by pointing out the guilt of their accuser.
If it is against the law, it is against the law--regardless of who points it out.
We learned those rules early in grade school: If you tattle-tale on someone, they get detention--but so do you, because tattle-telling is a detentionable offense. It did not, however, exonerate the wrong-doers for their illegal actions.
The test of legality is still ahead on this 'curious' application of law.
The accepted pathway on proving acceptability of new legislation is to test it in court. A difficult thing to do without breaking the law first.
There is good opinion that this application of law, based on classifying teaching as an 'essential service' will fail the test.
This is dicy territory, and only time will tell.
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