In Plato’s Republic, Glaucon tells Socrates the fable, the Ring of Gyges, whereby a man becomes invisible when he wears the ring. The story speaks to moral behaviour. The real measure of behaviour is what we would do when there is no chance of being caught.

Corporations often fail this test of ethics when they operate in developing countries. Enbridge Inc. is such a company. Enbridge has a significant investment in Columbia S.A. The company owns approximately 25% of the OCENSA pipeline consortium, the largest pipeline system in Columbia. As owner-operator of OCENSA, “Enbridge provides management, personnel and technical support for the pipeline’s operation and port facilities.” In 1998 Amnesty International linked OCENSA to state repression stating, “What is particularly alarming is that OCENSA has purchased military equipment for the Columbian army’s 14th Brigade which has an atrocious reputation of human rights violations.” There is more to the questionable relationship between OCENSA and the 14th Brigade that can be found in the Guardian, CCAP Monitor (July/August 2004) and from Amnesty International. Farmers have been forced off their lands and their lives left in ruin. Marta Hinestroza, a human rights lawyer threatened with death, was forced into exile in London U.K. where she told her story of harassment and threats on her life for defending farmers against the pipeline consortium.

Politicians who do not know what goes on outside of Canada still should know of Enbridge’s experience in the Supreme Court. John Spears wrote in the Toronto Star, April 23, 2004, “Late payment penalties imposed by Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc. on its customers for a decade amounted to ‘criminal misconduct’ the Supreme Court of Canada ruled.”

It is a criminal offence (Section 347) to charge an effective rate in excess of 60% per annum. The Court decided that, based on actuarial evidence, Enbridge’s late penalty fee of 5% becomes over 60% annually, and that is usury. Section 347 of the Criminal Code was enacted to protect people from loan sharks and other criminal elements. That Enbridge did nothing to change their practice after being alerted by a class action suit suggests an arrogant indifference to its customers. The Court noted this lack of contrition and Justice Frank Lacobucci wrote,”As a matter of public policy, a criminal should not be permitted to keep the proceeds of their crime.” Enbridge was ordered to pay back 88 million dollars to customers overcharged.

Enbridge had argued that it was only following the guidelines of the Ontario Energy Board of 1975 permitting a maximum late penalty fee of 5%. The Supreme Court rejected that argument, basically saying that the Criminal Code trumps a Board’s decision. The man who started the class action suit is quoted as saying that the Court rejected the Adolf Eichmann defense, where Eichmann claimed he should not be held responsible because he was only following orders. Enbridge had a choice as demonstrated when they changed their late penalty fee to 2%.

Before we do business with a company, should we not know, when possible, how far a company is prepared to go for profit? All the above information lies in the public realm in court documents, the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, the Gowlings Report, the Guardian, the CCPA Monitor, and Amnesty International. It was available to Council members. Crucial decisions affecting people’s lives should not be made on the basis of glossy puffery but on the time-honoured principle, caveat emptor.

Do we not care with whom we go to bed or does the thought of money in our pockets blind us to all moral considerations? The Kincardine Council will answer that question by what it does about the rezoning so eagerly given to Enbridge and by all other dealings with this company. When poor farmers and human rights workers in Columbia risk their lives standing up against a giant energy company, what will be the reaction of our council members who are neither poor nor threatened?

July 12, 2006

Yes, Virginia, there is a Kincardine Market, and a wonderful start it has made. With support from the Agricultural Society, the outdoor market is located at Connaught Park, where the sun shines on nature’s wonderfully fresh produce.

Janice McKean, of the ARK, is there with greens so fresh the dew is still shimmering on the leaves. Janice is the heart and soul of all things organic and is one of the driving forces behind this market. Thank you, Janice, for your initiative.

If your taste buds fancy organic beef or chicken visit Grant Robinson; his Hereford cattle have never had drugs, hormones or animal by-products. You are eating pure beef rather than some commercial chemical brew. Grant not only brings healthy meat to market, Grant brings a wealth of Canadian history and years of political experience, giving another dimension to visiting at the market.

You may wish to try something different - a touch of Texas perhaps. Johnson Creek Ranch, on the North Line, has Texas Longhorn beef. Proprietor Murray Johnson tells me the beef is lean and low in saturated fats offering more points for health. You may want to pick up a pamphlet for cooking directions since the leanness calls or a different approach.

Have a chat with Sarah Kuepfer, a pleasant Mennonite lady from the Tiverton area, and pick up deliciously tender young beets or try Sarah’s fresh peas. Shelling peas on the back porch are part of my boyhood memories. Shelling and eating fresh peas are made for each other.

There are others, such as Kathleen McInnis, who are present with vegetables and preserves all mouth-watering and fresh. What more in life could you want then a mouth-watering barbeque steak accompanied by fresh green salad of arugula, mustard greens, red and green leaf lettuce or spinach, on a warm summer day?

For a truly summer’s treat buy bread fresh from the oven at Carla Arnold’s booth. Take a couple of loaves home with you along with any of the jams or preserves available at the different tables. Fresh country bread and homemade jam will transport you to summer heaven.

A Taste of Honey is not just a movie; it is a wonderful life experience that can be discovered at the Lazy J Farm. Proprietors Guy and Gail Anderson produce an excellent honey. Gail also makes all her own jams including a neat wild blackberry. Don’t miss their table and while you are there, ask of the interesting origin of the name, Lazy J.

It is a small beginning with the space and potential to grow as our residents begin to “think organic and fresh” and more vendors realize there is an opportunity here to develop a bustling Saturday morning market. I’ll have my market basket; you bring yours.

July 19, 2006

I do not remember who said it but the phrase stuck with me: ethics demands decency, not saintliness. This astute observation puts us all on the hook and we stay on the hook until we come to terms with our own behaviour. By seeing ethical demands as other-worldly and practically impossible to follow, man excuses himself. It is a cop-out.

So it is in politics and business. When a youth robs a variety store the cries arise to get tough on crime. Our federal government demands mandatory sentences. Even though these demands fly in the face of all studies throughout the western world which testify to the ineffectiveness of mandatory sentencing in addition to the harm it does.

But getting tough on crime never applies to government or business corruption in Canada. Nor do we hear talk of mandatory sentencing to be applied to politics and business. Nor will any government get tough on sleaze, the slippery slope to corruption. We should be suspicious of any politician who speaks loudly and boldly about being tough on crime. We should never forget that President Richard Nixon successfully campaigned on a law and order platform and ended up resigning from office to escape impeachment while his aides went to goal? Law and order makes for good politics but terrible policy when it only applies to a minority of the population, those who are generally at the bottom end of the social ladder.

Nor should we equate what is legal with what is ethical. When a person argues that what he does is legal though he knows the behaviour is unethical, it will not be long before that person steps over the line to illegal acts. Should we trust a person whose basis for behaviour is what he or she can get away with rather than what is right?

Recently, a person spoke with me regarding my Enbridge article accepted the history of Enbridge in Columbia as outlined in the article; yet said he disagreed with me critizing Enbridge because it was a company that always paid good dividends. Sadly, that was the argument made in England by the plantation owners and stockholders in the slave trade during the abolition struggle – the slave trade paid good dividends.

Why did Alan Eagleson, lawyer and hockey czar, only receive an 18 month sentence after being convicted of multiple fraud charges, having robbed his clients of thousands of dollars from their pension plan. When a wealthy, educated man holding a position of trust robs his clients, should the penalty not be greater than that for the youth who steals cars? In Canada, law and order does not apply to the rich and connected. When Chuck Guité, who along with Alfonso Gagliano - Minister of Public Works, was at the centre of the Adscam scandal, is described as “an exemplary citizen”, we have totally lost our perspective on what is right or wrong.

What should we think of politicians when all parties in our federal parliament agree to increase their monthly housing expenses, while in Ottawa, from $2,000 to $2,400 without public discussion or public announcement? The man we called Mr. Parliament, Stanley Knowles, lived in a boarding house all his many years in Ottawa. Today, how do they justify $2,000 a month let alone $2,400, when the working poor and those on welfare have to decide between food and rent. Why do citizens of this country meekly accept members of the federal government giving themselves $75.00 a day as a food allowance while Parliament is sitting when they are prepared to let children in Canada go hungry every day? Do MP’s need $75.00 a day food allowance? Obviously not because again secretly, all the parties quietly agreed to allow MP’s to apply that daily $75.00 to a mortgage if they buy a house in Ottawa. Tell that to the independent transport driver, raising his family, paying down a mortgage, and dealing with continually rising gas prices. Tell that to the single mother living in a cockroach infested apartment trying to feed and cloth her children. It may be legal but it is also sleaze.

And why do we call Garth Turner, the MP from Halton, a maverick because he was the only MP to blow the whistle on this sordid attack on the public trough? It is a sad reflection on political morality when we call the only MP who is honest with the public, “a maverick.”

Behaving ethically in politics and business is not difficult. All you have to do is to treat others with respect and not try to advance yourself on the backs of others or make a profit at a cost to the innocent. You do not have to be a saint; just be decent.

July26, 2006

In November, citizens go to the polls to elect a mayor and councillors, this time for a four-year term. Also new is the format for the selection of councillors across the municipality, a poor compromise made by unelected, appointed officials that may mitigate but not solve the problems caused by the make-up of council since amalgamation.

Considering these unasked-for changes, it is more important than ever for voters to vigorously scrutinize the position of the candidates on the issues. This is not the time to take sop from candidates. It is too important an election for the municipality.

For example, Les Ribey announced that he is running for the Ward 3 councillor position. In his interview, Mr. Ribey makes only one concrete, clear statement that tells us what he will work for if elected: Kincardine should extend its water intake pipe further into Lake Huron. That is a contentious issue and many citizens would agree with him. The statement is sufficiently concrete to hold Mr. Ribey accountable if elected. All those running should have the integrity to tell us where they stand on this matter. If candidates refuse, they do not deserve our vote. The same applies to all issues. Candidates ought to tell us unequivocally with no fudging and no spin where they stand.

Mr. Ribey’s other comments illustrate of what voters should be suspicious when considering candidates. There is too much smoke and not enough fire in the rest of his announcement. “I think it’s important that we get our infrastructure fixed up and stop spending money on trinkets and toys.” This is motherhood. What does it mean? Mr. Ribey does not tell us what infrastructure needs fixing; he should specify where he thinks the waste is. That is the only way voters can know if they agree or disagree with him. And when this candidate says that he wants to ensure taxpayers in the north end are treated fairly, does he believe they are not treated fairly? If so, Mr. Ribey is obliged to tell us the details, otherwise it is a statement signifying nothing. As far as Mr. Ribey spending “our money wisely,” I suspect all candidates would say they will spend our money wisely. What voters need to know before voting is just where candidates will spend or save our money. Does Mr. Ribey mean he will work to remove councillors and the mayor from the Bruce Telecom Board away from that particular money trough? He does not say. Will Mr. Ribey reduce staff or reduce grants to the Municipality’s volunteer organizations or lower taxes? He does not say. What is Mr. Ribey’s position regarding the Tourist Booth location and cost? We need to know now, not after he is elected.

Voters should demand specifics, not fulsome motherhood statements. It is the only way we can judge candidates, vote accordingly and, if elected, hold them accountable throughout their term. And what is wrong with candidates saying where they stand on the issues of the day? If candidates do not have the courage of their convictions, they should not get our vote.

There are laws governing truth in advertising; if decency will not do it, perhaps we need similar laws governing elections.