Laura Miller is so indispensable to the B.C. Liberal Party, it has decided to ignore the Ontario legal jam she’s in and hire her back as executive director.
It’s an audacious move that ignores all the political conventions to do with “appearances,” “doing the right thing,” “for the good of the party,” etc.
Any number of people over the years who found themselves in situations where their integrity was being examined by the authorities took time outs from political jobs until the matters were cleared up. Sometimes they have stepped aside just because they’re being investigated.
Miller is even further in the glue than that. She has been formally charged by Ontario Provincial Police with criminal offences, including breach of trust and mischief. They relate to the alleged deletion of evidence about an energy-plant scandal that was under investigation while she worked in the Ontario premier’s office.
She’s fully entitled to the presumption of innocence. But in the political world, the conventional approach is to presume innocence and shuttle the individual off to the sidelines for propriety’s sake until the issue is adjudicated.
The B.C. Liberal Party has listed all the pros and cons and made a calculated decision that the advantages of bringing Miller back to run the outfit outweigh the liabilities. But if that’s the case, why did she step aside in the first place?
When she quit the party job in December, it looked as if she was taking the time-honoured path pending resolution. It turns out it was only a time out taken “to organize her defence.”
B.C. Liberal Party president Sharon White said: “Since then, Laura has been working with her legal counsel to mount a vigorous and successful defence. She is now in a position to step back into her role.”
Miller hired a lawyer and crowd-funded $73,000, including a personal donation from White and some other prominent party members. By the old-fashioned expectations, though, she is still a long way from being clear to step back into her role.
Nonetheless, Premier Christy Clark endorsed her return, saying it’s the fair and right approach.
“We all know Laura for her hard work and her integrity. Her return means she can continue to make an outstanding contribution to our party.”
She reiterated the stance Friday, saying Miller is presumed innocent and has a right to employment just like anyone else in that situation.
Cabinet minister Rich Coleman, who carries a lot of clout in the party, was also quick to endorse Miller’s return.
He noted it’s a “pretty old case” (the charges date from an incident three years ago) and it’s not a B.C. issue.
The Liberals are fully aware the NDP is intent on making integrity an issue in next year’s election campaign and is going to highlight the fact its opponents’ top staffer is facing charges. Coleman said it was going to be an issue whether Miller was on the job or not.
The decision to rehire her turns Miller into a great big piñata the NDP can bash at will.
The only danger is that NDP Leader John Horgan will overswing, as he did last week on a different case.
When a former government aide was charged with offences last week, Horgan referred to “criminal” charges eight times in a news conference. They’re not criminal charges. They’re about alleged violations of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. And it took three tries for the Opposition to correct its news release to remove the word “criminal.”
He was more restrained on Miller’s case, saying: “That’s what you do when you just want to win.”
The precedent for the Liberal approach was set by former premier Gordon Campbell in 2003 after his drunk-driving arrest in Hawaii. He hung on to a far more important job after being charged, pleaded guilty, paid a fine and carried on (winning two more elections).
Miller has a far lower profile and there’s always the possibility the case will be dispensed with prior to the election. But it’s a measure of how badly the party needs her that the Liberals are willing to let appearances go by the wayside.
