I've said it before, and the person who assembled the proverbs and sayings recorded in Ecclesiastes said it a few thousand years before me: "There's nothing new under the sun." The ancient saying comes to mind again as the mini-Greek tragedy unfolding under the Belleville Street dome entertains, shocks and saddens those who hold the great traditions of democracy dear.
A week or two ago a committee of MLAs - chaired by the Speaker and responsible for the management of the legislature - awakened to the fact that when the legislature granted a two-year "consulting" position to retiring clerk George MacMinn, based on his current salary, it carried close to a halfmillion-dollar price tag.
NDP MLAs voted against the consultancy appointment, but didn't make much fuss about the cost at the time. The party is now demanding a full review of the appointment, with its $240,000 annual payments, plus a few perks.
For some background, they should check out the Ontario legislature, circa 1986, when longtime clerk Roderick Lewis, 75, retired but continued to serve as "clerk emeritus" for a healthy fee and some nice "add-ons." Lewis had been clerk for 31 years after inheriting the job from his father, Alex, who had guided the fortunes of Ontario legislators for 28 years before Rod took over. So impressed were Ontario legislators with the Lewis record that they invited Roderick - "notwithstanding the customs of Parliament" - to address the House on his retirement.
The Canadian Parliament Review reported Lewis spoke "with the mace on the table indicating the House was still in session."
It was a sweetness-andlight session, with Lewis "thanking all members for their kindness, their patience and their words."
It was not an honest portrayal of feelings held by Lewis or the legislature. In the early 1980s, Liberal leader David Peterson, sitting in opposition, had been heard to say that if he ever became premier, Lewis would be "gone tomorrow." In 1985, Peterson became premier. Little less than a year later he solemnly informed the House it was his "sad duty" to announce Lewis was retiring.
Lewis told a different story. He said Peterson had called him to his office and told him he had to go. Lewis demanded conditions and pointed out that legislation passed in 1974 stated he could only be removed from office for cause - and even then only by a vote of the legislature. He demanded his annual pension be increased from $38,400 to $60,000 - plus an extra $31,500 a year and an office and staff while he wrote a book; the title of Clerk Emeritus; and $117,000 to cover unused vacation time and sick leave.
A nervous, even alarmed, government asked Lewis to trim his demands.
The Orangeville Citizen newspaper tells us when Lewis received a plea from the provincial treasurer to modify his demanded settlement, he told him to "stuff it in your ear."
In the legislature, a brash young NDPer named Bob Rae demanded details and explanations from then-premier Peterson. He said his own research had revealed "a so-called attendance gratuity of $64,712; vacation pay of $49,276; benefits of $600; an annuity worth $220,000; a gratuity of $31,500 - plus the use of a secretary, furniture - and a chauffeur."
Peterson flipped the question to his treasurer, Robert Nixon, who didn't challenge Rae's numbers but said there was nothing he could do, that the law passed by a Conservatives government in 1974 "gave him [the clerk] a lifetime entitlement to that money. I also think it is too much money, but that is what he is [legally] entitled to."
When our legislature management committee next meets, I anticipate a similar presentation in detail of the MacMinn settlement. I'm sure NDP researchers are already combing public accounts and asking questions about office space, secretarial support, car allowances, retirement allowances, pension payments, double-dipping (if there is any) and any other perks. Like Rae, they'll want to know how it all happened. And like Rae, they'll be told that everything has been done in accordance with legislated approval. We might even hear an echo from new Finance Minister Mike de Jong saying: "Personally, I think the settlement is too high, but it's what he's legally entitled to."
De Jong could even go so far as to ask, as Ontario's treasurer did, if MacMinn would be willing in these hard economic times to forgo payment for the second year of the consulting agreement. MacMinn could then reply, as did Lewis: "Stuff it in your ear." Or he could silence the barks of the NDP pit bulls by agreeing to give up the second half of his retirement "contract" as a donation to The Hospice - an organization he worked hard for in the past.
It really is Greek tragedy material. Two men who devoted their careers to strengthening the foundations of democratic government, endangering what they built for just a few dollars more. Somebody should write the play.
jhume@shaw.ca
