“In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt
I saw an apt meme on Twitter this week that summed up the recent goings-on at Confederation Building. It showed Al Pacino as Arthur Kirkland in that famous scene from “…And Justice for All.”
You know the one, where Pacino loses his cool in the courtroom and points at the judge, yelling “You’re out of order! You’re out of order! The whole trial is out of order! They’re out of order!”
That was pretty much the House of Assembly when the air was thick with allegations of bullying behaviour by MHAs and some cabinet ministers, with rumours swirling of more to come.
Any sense of discretion was out the window as members of the opposition — sensing disarray and even dissension among the Liberal ranks — used the opportunity to cast doubts on Premier Dwight Ball’s leadership, throwing out the names of MHAs laying complaints or being at the heart of them, sometimes even before complaints had been filed. The word “chaos” came to mind.
Legislative Standards Commissioner Bruce Chaulk, the person responsible for investigating alleged breaches of the MHA Code of Conduct, was watching as things heated up in the House and says he was ready to trigger an investigation himself by the time the first formal complaint came forward.
“Things get emotional,” he acknowledged. “But there was a process. I was just getting ready (to launch an investigation into the allegations). But my preference is that generally I don’t want to impose myself… I prefer they came to me.”
Chaulk, who is not a “Liberal appointee,” as I have mistakenly called him — mea culpa — says there needn’t be any confusion as the process is well-established and straightforward.
And there is no reason to question the independence of his investigations, he said.
Chaulk was appointed Commissioner of Legislative Standards in 2016 by the Independent Appointments Commission and endorsed by the House of Assembly Management Commission — representing all three political parties, including Progressive Conservative Paul Davis and the NDP’s Lorraine Michael.
In politics, however, some MHAs have never seen a bandwagon they didn’t want to jump on or a perceived political weakness in a rival that they didn’t want to exploit.
“I have the same power as a commissioner under the Public Inquiries Act,” Chaulk told me on Thursday, when he was doing the media rounds to explain his role. “I can compel people, I can issue subpoenas for people to testify under oath.”
He can reprimand or fire MHAs.
Chaulk doesn’t comment on politicians’ behaviour, but wasn’t surprised when discretion went out the window in the legislature.
“In a political process, it’s pretty much never private…,” he said.
If the complaints had been made directly to him, he would’ve been discreet.
“I don’t broadcast what I’m doing,” he said.
In politics, however, some MHAs have never seen a bandwagon they didn’t want to jump on or a perceived political weakness in a rival that they didn’t want to exploit.
But Chaulk says perhaps there’s a silver lining to the kerfuffle in that it’s now clear that harassment on Confederation Hill will no longer be tolerated.
“I would rather it had not unfolded that way,” he acknowledged, “but there’s two ways of looking at it. If (the first complaint) had just come to me on the quiet, then maybe I would not have had the others.”
He’s unperturbed by the concern expressed by some MHAs that he hasn’t had a lot of experience investigating harassment complaints.
“I don’t profess to be an expert in harassment investigations,” he said, “but I do have the ability to go outside and get the expertise I need.”
Hesitant to put a timeline on the investigations, Chaulk says, “I’d like to have it done as soon as possible, but it takes what it takes. … It could take a couple of months.”
Now that the issue of workplace harassment has had a good airing, and elected officials have been reminded of the process that’s in place and how it’s supposed to work, perhaps they will return to other pressing issues, such as the province’s perilous financial state and the stagnant economy.
Muskrat Falls, anyone?
Related columns by this author:
Pam Frampton: Bullying claims unfold in public
Pam Frampton: Shemozzle on Confederation Hill
Pam Frampton is a columnist whose work is published in The Western Star and The Telegram. Email [email protected]. Twitter: pam_frampton
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