Wednesday, March 10, 2010 12:11 AM
Explanations are owed
Tim Powers
On Tuesday, Rahim Jaffer pleaded guilty in a provincial court in Ontario to careless driving and received a $500 fine and no criminal record. This plea bargain struck between the provincial Crown and Jaffer's defence team, coming after charges of cocaine possession and drunk driving that were levied against him in September were abandoned, has perplexed and infuriated many observers.
The only people who know how the plea bargain came about are the Ontario Crown, Jaffer's defence team and Jaffer himself. While Jaffer has apologized for his wrong doing I think, as some others have suggested, he has to go further. He needs to explain what happened last September and what transpired with the plea bargain. Though no longer an MP, and therefore free of public responsibilities, he remains a public figure. His reputation and things he fought for while in office are at stake. While I am sure Rahim wants to turn the page and rebuild his life he should strongly consider explaining himself.
Canadians are fair minded people and will listen to legitimate explanations. I am sure Rahim, who as a Conservative MP fought hard for the average Canadian, does not want to be remembered as a guy who got special treatment. While there is no evidence to suggest he did, perceptions wrong or otherwise are hard to break.
Rahim Jaffer is not the only one who needs to talk to the public. Either the Ontario Crown responsible for this case or the provincial Attorney-General should explain their motivation for the plea bargain they struck. There were two in this dance.
Moving from cocaine possession and drunk driving charges to a $500 fine for careless driving seems on the surface to be baffling. If the government of Ontario wants the citizens of this province to have confidence in the judicial system someone needs to speak up.
Yes plea bargains happen everyday. But unfortunately this is no ordinary case because of who is involved. The parties that know what occurred need to open up and tell us what happened here or the public's confidence in our system of justice will suffer. That helps no one.
