My Toronto Star Op-Ed Piece on the Jody Wilson-Raybould Affair

Bismarck Had A Point

Toronto Star
April 4, 2019

By Stephen Lautens

Bismarck once supposedly said: “You should never watch while your laws or sausages are being made.”

The realities of what goes into both of them can be distinctly off-putting.

Canada has had a front row seat in the SNC-Lavalin sausage factory for the past two months and it has distinctly spoiled our appetites.

Starting with a leak, a narrative emerged that then Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould was under siege, holding out like the Alamo against an onslaught of attempts to persuade her that she should use her extraordinary powers as AG to change the already decided course of the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin and allow them to enter into negotiations for a plea deal. The plea deal may be on terms more or less onerous than a roll of the dice on the outcome of a criminal trial, but it comes with the ability of SNC-Lavalin too keep bidding on Canadian contracts. A conviction would not.

SNC-Lavalin is on trial for what was at one point systemic corporate corruption. Because of institutionalized bribery and kickbacks, they were banned by the World Bank from bidding on any of their contracts, and if convicted in Canada could face a similar 10-year ban here as well.

Well and good. The Prime Minister, his office and various other departments thought a deal was in the best interests of Canada, investors (including Quebec pension funds), employees, and would be generally popular in Quebec. Except the independent prosecutor in the Attorney General’s office said no deal. The AG backed her prosecutors and said that was the end of it – prosecutorial independence, cornerstone of our justice system.

Except it wasn’t. The government pressed, pleaded and argued. Some experts say that is acceptable, as long as the final decision remains with the Attorney General. Others are stricter and say no means no. Trudeau and others pressed on and the AG said their attempts at persuasion were unwelcome. Buzz off.

It is an accepted rule that if an Attorney General feels their independence has been compromised, they have to resign – immediately - usually with a short statement in the House of Commons as to why. The few times it has happened, it has been devastating to a government.

But that didn’t happen here. Instead of a bombshell we’ve had a brush fire. The Attorney General didn’t resign. At least not as Attorney General. Someone else became Attorney General, she was shuffled to another portfolio and after a month resigned.

For two months there have been arguments, speeches, leaks, taped phone calls, tweets, hearings, statements and now expulsion from caucus.

So the question is, are we better or worse off having seen the sausages being made?

© Stephen Lautens 2019

SNC-Lavalin, Deferred Prosecution Agreements and the Whole Ball of Wax.

I was doing the rounds last ween after a tweet thread of mine took off about the duty of an Attorney General to resign if he/she feels pressured (not secretly tape record government officials, be the subject of leaks, letters, and tweets). Here's my appearance on the Jon McComb Show, a Global affiliate radio show in BC, chatting about the Liberal caucus expulsions, the SNC-Lavalin mess, and what's next.

https://omny.fm/shows/the-jon-mccomb-show/trudeau-boots-out-wilson-raybould-and-philpott-the

I also managed an appearance on CTV, a local show in Cobourg and a column in the Toronto Star.

Playboy - End of an Era

The passing of Hugh Hefner makes me remember one of my prize possessions - a collection of vintage Playboy magazines I inherited from my grandfather. They are now in the 'library' of my own cottage and lest you think I keep them for prurient interests (an innocent Google search of an ambiguous word will bring up infinitely worse images) I consider them interesting historical documents. Yes, I read the articles.

 

I wrote about them back in 1999. Here's that column...

Angel In The Centerfold

by Stephen Lautens

We celebrated my Grandfather’s 85^th birthday last week.  He shows no signs of slowing down.  He goes shopping every day, and although legally blind he still won his local mini-golf tournament.

It’s a good thing I’m not counting on any inheritance.  His mother kept going well into her nineties.  I’ll be in the next room at the retirement home before I’m likely to collect a dime.

Besides, I already have the family treasure.  Packed away in the basement is Grampa’s vintage Playboy collection.

The hundred or so magazines run from the late 50s to the 70s, and were the highlight of my summers at the cottage, where Grampa maintained his library.  He kept them in the attic, along with a couple of nudist volleyball magazines.  The nudist magazines caused great confusion during my formative years.  In the 50s everyone’s bodies were so highly airbrushed that they were as featureless as Barbie dolls.

Looking back though the old Playboys is like opening a time capsule. The men’s fashions start off looking like Drew Carey in the fifties, and end up in with the velvet capes and ruffled shirts of the seventies.  It would be funny except for the fact that most teenagers are now wearing the same clothes.  Not to mention Austin Powers.

I get hours of fun looking at the ads. Bob Dylan’s greatest hits are for sale on 8-Track or reel-to-reel tape for $2.50.  And who could resist Ravi Shankar Live at the Monterey Pop Festival, or John Davidson singing Georgy Girl?

The 1963 Volkswagen Beetle looks interesting, especially with a new one selling for $1,500.  I wonder if they'll ever catch on?  The same goes for these new home computers they kept talking about in the 70s.  I can't imagine anyone ever needing one of those things.

It’s not all funny.  There’s a letter to the editor by the mother of Lee Harvey Oswald saying she doesn’t believe her son was a lone gunman, spawning decades of conspiracy theories.  An American Senator writes in 1968 questioning the wisdom of waging war in Vietnam.

And of course, there’s the sex.

Looking through the back issues it seems like there was less nudity in Playboy than you now get in an evening of television.

What really surprised me was how the centerfolds looked.  In a word, they looked normal. 

While certainly not chubby, make no mistake - these are full-figured gals. No skinny stick insects with plastic additions that today inspire a generation of girls to develop eating disorders.  These days they would be rushed off to a weight clinic and fed nothing but sprouts and low fat yogurt.

The models aren’t airbrushed to perfection.  Tan lines are there for all to see. So is every mole and imperfection.  In short, while pretty, they didn’t set up standards that are impossible to meet.  They are real people. The girl next door.

Somehow that seems like a healthier attitude towards beauty than we have today with liposuction, cosmetic surgery and trying to squeeze a size 12 body into a size 2 dress.

By my calculations, Miss November 1966 will be fifty-five sometime this year.  I hope she's aged gracefully and naturally. No matter what, according to Grandpa's library she'll always be twenty-two. 

(c) Stephen Lautens