Scandal!!: 130 Years of Damnable Deeds in Canada's Lotus Land

Paul G. Thomas is the Duff Roblin Professor of Government at the
University of Manitoba, the author of Parliamentary Reform Through
Political Parties, and the co-author of Canadian Public Administration:
Problematical Perspectives.

This very readable book looks at the 39 scandals that have shaken
British Columbia over the past 130 years. Most of the scandals involved
politicians, and most took place during the second half of the 20th
century. This suggests to the author that political ethics have slipped
badly. But it is also the case that as governments grew larger, more
things could go wrong. In addition, there were more institutions—such
as provincial auditors and aggressive media—to expose wrongdoing.

The misuse of public money, incompetence, abuses of authority,
corruption, sexual misdeeds, and cover-ups are among the scandals Rayner
examines. We read about the dismissal of a lieutenant governor who
overstepped his powers, about sexual abuse in residential schools, about
politicians conducting secret love affairs, and about crooked cops.
Rayner’s greatest scorn is reserved for the New Democratic Party, and
especially for Glen Clark, who became premier in 1995 and whose
shenanigans are documented in a section entitled “Glendoggles” (a
pun on the word “boondoggles”). The worst scandal in B.C. history
was the failed $463-million fast-ferry scheme promoted by Clark.

Apologies for misdeeds are as vaporous as political promises; what we
really need, Rayner concludes, are politicians with integrity.