Tom’s Take: Carney’s political dilemma is proving a negative

It’s always awesome to watch the arbiters of political style in Ottawa run around with their collective hair on fire. I say awesome, because the word enlightening doesn’t really fit. Maybe it’s entertaining, too, but not in the good sense of that word.

The three alarm morality blaze this past week has all been about the Governor of the Bank of Canada, Mark Carney. The outrage comes from people speculating about his political future, and him having the audacity to turn it away privately and publicly – albeit not fiercely enough. In the political bubble, it’s all about fierceness.

Let’s examine the crime scene.

A group of unnamed Liberals got together, probably over lattes, and dreamed a dream of power. Their imaginary general was Mark Carney. It all seemed so real, so possible. The only missing part was Carney. So the reports go, it was Tim Murphy, late of the Paul Martin campaign, and who has now been put gently on the outskirts of the party, who made contact. Exactly what he said, and what Mark Carney replied is lost to history, as neither one is saying much. But we do know the outcome: Carney wanted no part of it.

What of the allegations that the cajoling and consultations went on and on, indicating that at least the governor was seriously thinking about leaving the world of international banking for a shot at leading Canada’s third party?

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Here again, we are left to speculate. Those who have passed sentence on Carney assume he was inches from making the leap. But here’s another possible assumption:

Murphy: “Hi Governor. So here’s the thing- we have this little party and
thought you’d like to run it.”

Carney: “Tim, here’s the thing. No. And no matter how many times you call,
the answer will always be the same.”

Murphy, being an eternal optimist (remember, he ran Martin’s campaign), calls his shadowy group:

Murphy: “Guys, I’ve got great news! He hasn’t said yes just yet, but is
expecting more calls from us.”

This is how the politics of denial works.

What’s missing in the “Carney as Liberal stooge” philosophy is any proof of anything; no proof that while he was saying no publicly, he was batting his eyelids privately. And, more importantly, there is no proof that any decision he made, any appointment he made, nor any advice he gave, was tainted or corrupted by crass partisan leanings.

Carney is faced with a very political dilemma: how can you prove a negative? And how does he prove that he said no to Liberal overtures, without showing political bias against the Liberals, which would be just as bad as bias towards the Conservatives?

It’s the sort of circular dilemma that Captain James T. Kirk of the space ship Enterprise used to make steam come out of the ears of evil robots.

If there is one legitimate question about Carney’s actions, it may be that he took his family to vacation last summer at the cottage of long-time friend and Liberal MP Scott Brison. That has acted as an accelerant to the fires of political outrage, and a smoking gun to the theories of political collusion. Knowing how this town works, he might have chosen a week in Death Valley as a better alternative.

The real test of whether all this amounts to a scandal is a look at the laws and conventions that apply to Bank of Canada governors. The convention is don’t get involved with politics.

Carney can check that box.

The law is … well, he’s not really covered by any law. The ethics commissioner has said that, as governor, he is not bound by the Conflict of Interest Act. And because he’s not a designated public office holder, he’s not even held to the same standards as a staffer in a minister’s office. That means he pretty well decides his own conduct.

Like him or not, Carney is widely respected with quite literally a world-wide reputation for integrity. That his own country is questioning that says more about the political class in Canada than it does about Mark Carney.

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