It is not surprising, but it is very discouraging that a Justice Charles Vaillancourt found Senator Mike Duffy innocent of all charges last week.
Here are five important things we have learned from that verdict:
1. The standard of criminal responsibility is a lot higher than the standard for moral culpability.
Mike Duffy and his lawyer are claiming vindication. There is little doubt Duffy was the sacrificial lamb, since he was only one of a number of senators who were abusing the public trust, but the only one who was charged.
The CBC’s Neil MacDonald makes a pretty good case, in fact, for abuse of power from Stephen Harper all the way down to the RCMP.
Despite the judge’s decision—which you can’t really say is wrong, they rarely are—Canadians still know that Duffy and others are guilty of wrongdoing even if they didn’t break any actual laws.
2. The rules are made to benefit the people who make the rules.
At the heart of the judge’s ruling was the fact Senate rules are so ambiguous, it is virtually impossible to find anyone guilty of anything.
The idea that this is not by design is laughable. This is an extremely sophisticated organization that has been around for a century and a half. If it has been unable to establish regulations that are unambiguous and enforceable, it is on purpose.
3. Prime Ministers are untouchable.
While Justice Vaillancourt praised Duffy for being honest, he was scathing in assessment of Stephen Harper’s PMO. Harper’s hubris and ethical bankruptcy is now legendary, but he will never be held accountable for anything.
4. Lawyers matter.
Duffy had a great one, Don Bayne. The Crown, represented by Mark Holmes and Jason Neubauer, basically bungled the case.
Foremost, it relied on witnesses that were not credible by their very involvement in the coverup scandal. Nigel Wright and Chris Woodcock probably should have been on trial themselves.
In closing arguments, Bayne attacked the professionalism of the Crown’s representatives and called the witnesses “the very paragon of unreliability.” He was correct.
5. The people are powerless.
Let’s face it, for all the public outrage, nothing ever changes in Ottawa. Everything that has transpired since Harper decided to throw Duffy under the bus has done nothing but maintain the status quo.
