Mike Chong, My member of Parliament was on the front page of the Globe and Mail. Normally, that would be a good thing, but when it's because he's resigning from cabinet, it's a little more complicated.
Mike says that by resigning he is taking a stand on principle. You absolutely have to respect that. As St Thomas More said, "I believe that when a man forsakes his own private conscience for the sake of his public duties, he leads his country by short route to chaos." Politicians must absolutely stand on their deeply held principles.
On the other hand, by resigning from cabinet, he's embarrassing his party and his government. There must have been a cleaner option. As intergovernmental affairs minister, surely he could have had a critical meeting in BC to talk about joint reaction to the recent storms, or Newfoundland to talk about the cod fisheries, anything far away from Ottawa, that would have made it impossible to vote on the motion he disagreed with. The other thing, is the motion passed handily 266 - 16; sometimes you've gotta pick your battles.
So I'm divided, I have to commend Mike for standing on his principles, but I wish he would have dealt with his concerns in a more discreet way.
1 comment:
MPs should not be discreet. They need to face the public for every decision they make. That is what keeps them accountable. He should believe that the public would support him in this decision or else he should have voted with his party. It's not about the party - it's about the people you represent.
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