illustration: Remie Geoffroi

What a bunch of sadomasochists! I can't think of a better way to describe Canada's nobler, more civilized media commentators after last week's politically motivated arrest of federal public servant Jeffrey Monaghan.

The Ottawa man was handcuffed at his desk last Wednesday by Harper's private police force - the RCMP - and accused of leaking documents of major interest (if marginal importance) on the Conservatives' pathetic new environmental plan. The big song and dance was clearly meant to intimidate, thus Environment Minister John Baird's post-arrest warning to other civil servants who may have forgotten who's boss.

Monaghan took control of the agenda the following day at a press conference on Parliament Hill. "Our society knows the threat presented by the changing climate, global warming, and the rapidly increasing growth of industrial emissions," said the former Environment Canada media analyst. "We deserve real action, not cynically calculated PR campaigns and witch hunts on public servants."

Instead of relishing this possible affront to the PMO's guarded Power to Leak, or appreciating the fact that the Conservative minority government has been incapable of massaging the climate change issue, editorial boards and columnists stood by a prime minister who openly despises them. I call that masochistic.

The National Post and others tried to discredit Monaghan by branding him an anarchist, which he isn't. "Although I share many of the political ideals of anarchism - mutual aid, self-determination, equality and freedom - I decidedly eschew labels and identity politics," wrote Monaghan in the Post's letters section.

The Globe and Mail's editorial team thought handcuffing civil servants was A-okay if it spared their retirement savings plans from unofficial fluctuations. "The [environmental] plan could potentially have a significant impact on the future profits of companies in several industries, and it could have been controversial enough to potentially bring down the government, something that would have shaken the Canadian stock and bond markets and the country's currency," wrote the Globe on Saturday.

The sadism came out in CBC lifer Rex Murphy's condescending attack on all civil servants, not just Monaghan. Grumpy old Rex is cranky that one young "punk" seemed "under the delusion that his views on the Kyoto accord... carry the same - or rather, superior - weight to those of the minister and the government he is presumed, civilly, to serve."

First of all, my asshole carries as much weight as Harper on the issue of climate change. Secondly, as Monaghan has pointed out, a lot of his fellow Environment Canada workers are fed up with churning out partisan bullshit policies instead of doing what they're supposed to be doing: protecting the environment.

Murphy implied in his column that deference to authority is the only good quality of a good public servant. Leaks in the public interest be damned! "Gushy feelings about the planet confer no moral authority whatsoever," he wrote, apparently oblivious to the fact that Harper, himself a public servant, and a distinct global lack of "gushy feelings" are killing the planet very quickly.

Monaghan had the smarts to use his arrest as an opportunity to get up in front of the media and say what he and a lot of other Canadians are thinking about Harper's environmental plan: It sucks. The country's top pundits just proved how sadomasochistic they are, and how they'd rather we all just shut up and wait for Sir Harper to speak first.

 
 

		Write your comment on this article!

Does Murphy Remember What the Purpose of the Press Even Is?     Both the Liberal & Conservative governments have campaigned in the past 10 years with promises of whistle blowing protection for civil servants who want to speak out against federal waste or squandering of the public purse. Well, the Conservatives have shown their true colours on this issue, it would seem. And as for Rex Murphy & those of his following, aren't the media supposed to be spreading the news, keeping the public informed? Are they supposed to serve the public good, or the government's schemes? So Rex Murphy thinks that all civil servants should just keep their mouths shut. Sure, like Igor Gouzenko, the cipher clerk in the Soviet embassy. He should have kept his mouth shut & served his Soviet masters instead of warning us about all those Soviet moles in our government, right? Besides, what did Monaghan tell us that we didn't already hear about the Conservative government's weakness on environmental issues? Dr. Suzuki called it disappointing, & Al Gore called it a "crock".
Brad Thomas	{14 votes}	May 18th, 2007
Environment under Arrest     Personally I would have to say that the arrest was not uncalled for, mainly because leaking government secrets should be something to frown upon. Still because of the content in this information I believe that the government should possibly take steps to change these plans. I mean how much money are these corporations making and how much do they have to lose? Would this loss be acceptable to the Canadian people, considering were are the ones that taking the bus to work instead of driving, we are the ones saving the electricity to cut down on our bills. If someone would go as far as doing something that he could be arrested for, it may be time that we address our government and ask for a change that would help us all.
Frederick Warriner	{7 votes}	May 17th, 2007
What if the Arrested Party had been a Reporter?     It's easy for the media to jump on a member of the public service. The public, for the most part, perceives government workers as lazy and undeserving of their pay. I work in the PS and can tell you that many would like to work hard and get things done quickly and are frustrated by red tape and getting stuck in the mud, spinning wheels in a futile effort to serve within a system that is rife with flaws. Having said that, I do realize that confidentiality must be preserved as much as possible. We can't have all kinds of public servants running around spewing out private information. That would have detrimental consequences. However, in this particular case, the government has used it as a ploy and tried to discredit Mr. Monaghan because they are afraid of transparency. They like to follow their idol, ol' George W. Bush, and meet in secret and draft documents and plan things without the public's knowledge because they know what's best for us and we ought to just smile and be happy about it. Baloney! Monaghan didn't leak secret information. The public already knew it was bogus. It came from a party that has as much interest in the environment as they do in promoting the acceptance of gays. Sheesh! How stupid do they think we are? We already know! You don't give a hoot if the planet goes down the tubes because... you're jumpin' on the Jesus train outta here.
May Lebrun		June 7th, 2007
Confidentiality     Public civil servants have the obligation to keep their inside knowledge confidential at all times. I myself have signed non-disclosure agreements while working in the private sector so that I could be privy to advance information. It would be terrible to have a government employee leak juicy private income tax information on you because he harboured a long standing grudge on you. A government cannot function when the public gets wind of every policy discussion held behind closed doors. Many times silly preposterous ideas have to be brought out in discussion before thoughtful well-reasoned ones can be hammered into legislation.
Stephen Talko	{8 votes}	May 20th, 2007
Leaks...     Well, I don't think Leaks are a good thing, but some PS get conned when giving information or just trying to help out a friend. I experienced one such case and will never compromise my position like that again which needless to say the friendship was immediately terminated. On the other hand, people in the PS should be made aware of managers and employees alike who have been found guilty of certain conduct. Especially in light of the fact that favoritism is present, clicks of all kinds (particular of the feminine persuasion) and merit means nothing at all. I say this cause one particular department i used to work for got away with this. No wonder I've seen so many people leave it. Looks good on them as far as I'm concerned. Those people know who and what they are.
Ger Madden	{3 votes}	May 18th, 2007
Handcuffing the Truth     The handcuffing of a civil servant on this so called sensitive issue is nothing more than trying to stop a leak that has reaching torrent proportions. We all know how the government is keeping a low profile on climate change while it still encourages oil exploration and therefore more greenhouse gases. There is no real environmental ruling and the conservatives don't want bad publicity. So Harpers plan more than sucks and he is ineffectively trying to shut the mouths of people well aware that there is irreversible climate change happening and the most we can do is perhaps delay the process.
Martin Dansky	{1 vote}	May 18th, 2007
Anarchy - Nothing More than a Marketing Label     While the arrest of Mr. Monaghan was done in a heavy-handed manner, let's not forget that leaking information is still a crime, regardless whether the information is well received by the public or not. Stuart Trew is correct in stating that, despite having the backing of, and being a part of the collective running the recently opened anarchist infoshop Exile, Jeff Monaghan is not an anarchist. If he was, he wouldn't have disassociated himself from the term in his letter to the National Post as quickly as he did. As an anarchist, he would have used more violent means of getting his point across, and he certainly wouldn't have leaked the environmental plan to the opposition Liberal party, as bringing down the government by helping another government isn't what anarchism is about, according to the dictionary definition. Mr. Monaghan is an opportunist who used the anarchy label to promote himself and his interests when it was convenient and safe to do so. He got caught in a weak attempt to "fight the power" and now has to face the consequences. You can talk about not rockin' the boat, but sinkin' the fucker all you want, but it's hard to feel sympathy for someone who doesn't deserve it.
Andrew Franklin	{3 votes}	May 18th, 2007

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