The accused men, clockwise from top left: Patrick Brown, Kent Hehr, Paul Bliss and Rick Dykstra. Ernest Doroszuk/Postmedia; Jim Wells/Postmedia; CTV; Julie Jocsak/Postmedia
Criminal courts offer protections and fairness for the accused. The same can’t be said for blog posts, secret investigations and corporate HR procedures
Of the four prominent men who fell from grace at warp speed over the last few days, all are finished.
They are former Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown, who lost his job last Wednesday night; federal Sports and Disabilities Minister Kent Hehr, who resigned from cabinet Thursday afternoon; CTV anchor Paul Bliss, who was suspended last Friday; and Ontario PC party president Rick Dykstra, who resigned Sunday night.
It isn’t just that for all but Hehr and Bliss, there simply is no process — not even a hint of one — they can turn to that would allow them to give their side of things and potentially undo the damage done.
Hehr and Bliss have a glimmer of hope, but it is a faint and probably cruel one.
The complaints against Hehr are being investigated by a lawyer hired by the Justin Trudeau government.
That report is likely to remain private, as indeed did the report, also done by a lawyer, for the Liberal party when it was in Opposition and two of its MPs (Scott Andrews and Massimo Pacetti) were accused of inappropriate conduct and then given the boot.
Now, as then, whatever the lawyer determines in Hehr’s case, details will almost certainly be kept secret.
[…]
