Carpet Bombing For Dummies

The attack on the public service continues, with the recent strident statements against diplomat Richard Colvin being the most troubling and intense. It strings out a pattern of behaviour now over three years in duration. We weren't surprised at the response to Colvin, having seen it on numerous occasions previously on everything from the Parliamentary Budget Officer to the former president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Linda Keen. Her judgement was totally questioned then, as Colvin's is now.Government officials like Peter MacKay are correct when they say that without facts it's impossible to make a true judgement, but it's how we actually get those proofs that reveals the attitude of this government. To acquire the evidence needed to make a conclusion there must be 1) an examination of all relevant documents; and 2) a respect for civil servants whose job it actually is to carry out policy in an integral manner. The government has failed these on both counts.It's one thing to question the judgement of a civil servant, another to smear him. How does one individual stand up against an entire governmental machine determined to pound him? It is this attitude that's really the problem in this serious affair, not just the truth of whatever might be revealed through investigation. Why? Because the carpet bombing of public servants is a tactic meant to dissuade any others critical of the government from coming forward. It creates a culture of secrecy in what is supposed to be an openly accountable society. General Hillier was brought in to perform the coup de gras and he performed as hoped. But, like his former bosses, he used the heavy hand to deal with a sensitive issue when it wasn't required.The second indication of the government's intention has been the handling of the paper trail that would at least get us closer to the truth. Many of Colvin's observations were more anecdotal in nature and required the full documentation to prove his point, yet even these the government and its ministers have been hesitant to release. Proper documentation is the one clear defence left to the civil servant who takes on his bosses. It's also the government's best hope if it has been falsely accused. Why then the hesitancy for disclosure? Some - many - would say it's because the Harper government has something to hide. That might well be true, but the real reason why it's reacting in this way is because that's just what it does. It's the closest thing to a totalitarian regime we've seen in a long time and in a period where the public isn't paying much attention, it thinks it can get away with being unreasonable. It's for this reason that it blames the opposition parties for being "Taliban sympathizers" when it knows better.Let's be clear on this. There is yet no clearly sustainable truth that our forces have undertaken what Colvin suggests. But there is a good portion of loosely collaborating evidence that causes us to accept some credibility in his claims. Recent polling reveals that the majority of Canadians trust his word over those of the government, so obviously doubt exists. With a government determined to conceal the facts and opposition parties equally tempted to play politics with it, only a transparent inquiry can deal with this issue effectively. It didn't have to be this way, if the government had just produced the paperwork. One can hardly blame the opposition parties for their desire to see all relevant data - it can keep the politics out of it as much as possible. The opposition parties are just doing their job, but the government isn't taking it seriously.And what does it say about citizens when they wonder if Peter MacKay or Richard Colvin is right? It's natural to want to get to the bottom of it, but while the diplomat has clearly laid his career on the line for the public's right to know, citizens get the spectacle of Canada's ethical equivalent of the "shock and awe" campaign. Sadly, carpet bombing not only destroys the lives of public servants, it also emasculates the truth and defies democracy. I don't know who is right on this matter, but hiding the facts and shooting the messenger surely can't be the way to bring proper closure to an obviously serious situation. Some think we're dummies, and so the bombing continues.