"Hell Hath No Wrath ..."
It was an impossible situation for the government, and they knew it. When Suzanne Trepanier, wife of the recently deceased president of Rights and Democracy, seated herself in front of the Foreign Affairs Committee this morning, government members were whispering to one another, clearly uncomfortable with their lot. Their way of handling her intervention was to refrain from even asking her a question. This was nitro and there was no way they were going to shake it up.Ms. Trepanier’s husband, Remy Beauregard, had been attempting to rescue Rights and Democracy from a Conservative and hostile takeover of its board when he sadly fell prey to a heart attack. The accounts of the agency’s difficulties have been recounted repeatedly in the last number of months, but it all seemed to be building up to his wife’s visit today.Emotional at times, Ms. Trepanier nevertheless laid out powerful arguments concerning the mistreatment of her husband at the hands of ideological forces. And she asked some clear questions. Why, for instance, had Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon refused to meet with Beauregard following his request of November 3rd of last year? But more than anything, she asked with a clear voice why the government would permit the sterling reputation of a trusted and experienced human rights leader to be so sullied as it has been?The last question was especially important, since people from around the world who knew Beauregard intimately over the past two decades found him one of the finest examples of leadership in any government agency. In fact, up until the time of the hostile takeover bid, Rights and Democracy was receiving kudos from around the world for its effective, above board actions.Other witnesses came to the defence of the deceased and the agency itself. Past presidents Ed Broadbent and Warren Allmand spoke of the sheer partisan nature of the attacks on the agency as a whole, and reminded the committee that under historical Liberal and Conservative governments of the past, non-partisan, evidence based research were some of the organization’s strongest characteristics. Pulling no punches, they laid the blame squarely at the feet of the Harper government and its ideological, hyper-partisan, bent. Broadbent spoke of his international travels having shown him how far Canada has declined in the eyes of the world over this sorry tale.Compelling as their presentations were, it was nevertheless Ms. Trepanier who pulled the emotional weight in the room towards her. I watched as observers and even aides to the Conservative members grew ever-sadder expressions on their faces. Who wouldn’t expect a loving wife to come out swinging and demand justice for someone so suddenly taken from her? As the group responsible for the oversight of groups like Rights and Democracy, she pleaded with the committee to launch an inquiry into the false allegations laid against her husband and the former employees of the organization.What else could she do? Would we not have done the same if someone we cared for had been maligned in such a fashion? For the Conservatives on the committee who disagreed with her, why not let a full investigation get to the bottom of it all? The people passing through the hallways of Rights and Democracy have been a Who's Who of champions for human rights and the force of democracy around the world. Could they all have it wrong? Obviously no, yet still no such inquiry is being granted.This was a woman in full grief, but also in full advocacy mode, fighting for a demeaned spouse no longer capable of fighting for himself. It was as profound a moment as you’ll see in Parliament. Saddened, aggrieved, and still in obvious pain, she finally concluded that what had transpired was a “moment of utter shame” for this country. Indeed.