Before anything more is said about Indian Head-Milestone MLA Don McMorris, allow me to relay a story.
The lives of those at the Regina Leader-Post became a little sadder four years ago when we lost the late, great Ron Petrie — a friend and writer of extraordinary talent.
Losing his battle with cancer, Ron left behind his incredible wife Joan and four kids — three of them, his 15-year-old triplets.
McMorris, really a stranger to Ron, did an extraordinary thing for the family.
Notwithstanding the needs of his own family and his own busy schedule as health minister, McMorris, a one-time driving instructor, took time out to teach the triplets to drive.
Few know about this, largely because McMorris didn’t want anyone to know.
But in the wake of McMorris’s drunken driving conviction, maybe people should have an opportunity to judge the man by something other his worst decision.
Driving with a blood alcohol content two and half times the legal limit was surely Don McMorris’s worst decision.
That it happened in the late morning — after what he described as late night drinking with an old school friend — has caused many to wonder.
His lawyer Arron Fox suggested after McMorris pleaded guilty, described it as “an issue with alcohol”.
That painful admission has been as one of many for the Indian Head-Milestone MLA.
He immediately lost his high-ranking standing as deputy premier and minister responsible for SGI and the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA).
And, quite frankly, it’s difficult to understand right now how he should be allowed to keep his seat.
The rules of the legislature say MLAs can be booted out for criminal code convictions while serving, but only for sentences greater than two years. McMorris’s punishment was a one-year driving suspension and an $1,800 fine.
But can a law-breaker fulfill his duties as a law-maker? Many Saskatchewan people feel it’s just not right.
Premier Brad Wall has already determined he can. However, McMorris’s conviction brings to four elected to the current Sask. Party caucus with a history of drinking and driving.
It’s not the message that should be sent out by any provincial government — let alone one that is presiding over a province with the highest rate of drinking and driving convictions in the country.
But there might be one good thing emerging out of the McMorris’s story.
It is one of the things forcing the Saskatchewan Party government — and the rest of us, for that matter — to begin a serious dialogue on how we need to change.
On his Facebook page, Premier Brad Wall offered some rather heartfelt and important words on the subject.
“Saskatchewan. We have a serious problem. We have had it for some time,” Wall wrote. “Too many of us are still drinking and driving and it is taking the lives of our neighbours and friends, fathers, mothers and our kids. And it is devastating the lives of others who are left behind.
“We need to stop this.”
It’s sentiment hard to dispute, although there are some who still do.
According to an August Mainstreet/Postmedia poll — one in five of us still seem to believe it’s okay to drive drunk if it’s only for a short distance.
This speaks to a long-standing culture — especially in rural Saskatchewan — where we use long-distances, cold nights and the lack of taxis or public transportation as a convenient excuse.
Admittedly, Wall’s Facebook post likely had less to do with McMorris than it has with a rash of incidents in our province this summer that have.
However, it is McMorris who will be the lightning rod.
But maybe that’s a good thing.
Maybe McMorris’s woes should remind us all how much is at stake when we drink and drive.
Murray Mandryk has been covering provincial politics for over 22 years.
