By Howard Levitt and Stephen Gillman 

Former employment minister would never be treated with same leniency in private sector as was accorded him by the federal government

In Canada, the concept of just cause does not seem to apply to our current political elite. Gone are the days when elected officials found guilty of serious misconduct faced far harsher punishments than their counterparts in the private sector. We should return to those days because, in employment law at least, the more senior you are, the higher the expectations of you and the greater the punishment meted out by courts. And when a government affords leniency to corrupt politicians, itpunishes their constituents instead.
The highly publicized Robocall scandal involving conservative member of Parliament Dean Del Mastro serves as a good example of this. When it came to light that Del Mastro had exceeded his personal campaign spending limit for the 2008 elections, the Harper government saw to it that he was immediately removed from Parliament, subsequent to which he was criminally charged and later jailed

Whether or not that punishment met the crime, most will agree that politicians should be held to a higher standard. A bad business leader will only affect a select few, whereas the actions of an unscrupulous politician can impact the entire nation.

In the past decade, however, Canadians have witnessed routine leniency for politicians guilty of misconduct, on the approval of the Trudeau administration.

The most recent and unsettling case study involves former Liberal employment minister, Randy Boissonnault. Boissonnault had been under a microscope after it was discovered that he co-founded a medical supply business that secured government contracts while he was still in office — an indisputable conflict of interest. Despite being caught red-handed, Boissonnault went on to mislead various parliamentary committees and media outlets about his continued involvement with the company — which falsely, like him, claimed Indigenous status.

Fortunately for Boissonnault, and despite his highly unlawful conduct, his status as a Liberal insider allowed him to hold onto his cushy six-figure cabinet gig, at least until public protests became inexorable. 

While conflicts of interest, lying under oath, and the unchecked theft of tax dollars are routinely waived by the Trudeau administration, Boissonnault’s latest misdeed, involving a false longstanding claim that he was of Indigenous descent, was finally too much for the Liberal party to bear.

As a result, the Trudeau administration forced Boissonnault to resign as employment minister, though not from his position altogether. While many are calling his removal from cabinet a “resignation,” it is merely a demotion to the back bench, where Boissonnault will still receive an annual salary in excess of $200,000 per year, along with his lifetime pension worth many times that amount.

If a similar scenario happened in the private sector, it is almost certain that it would not be treated with the same leniency.

Put differently, if a corporation requested our opinion respecting a manager who had engaged in misconduct similar to that of Boissonnault, we would swiftly advise that just cause for dismissal without severance was the only option. And such a manager would have absolutely no entitlement to employment insurance.

Without reservation, it is our view (and undoubtedly that of the majority of Canadians) that when a politician fundamentally violates their duties, misuses taxpayer dollars, and commits illegal acts, they should be dismissed for cause.

Whatever party is elected next needs to restore taxpayers’ trust that our elected officials will be held to account. Regardless of the position the politician holds or their ties to the party leadership, misconduct must be called out by our leaders and the appropriate punishment enforced. 

It is a tenet of democratic society that no one person is above the law. I hope that Canada, and its politicians, return to that place soon, as their constituents have been punished enough.