Tories Will Miss John Hamm and His Integrity
THE OBSERVER – MARCH, 2006
“You can’t teach an old dog new trick.” It is an old saying, but it may be appropriate for the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party. Given the revelations of the past few weeks, it seems the only thing standing between the Tories acting like their natural “Buchanan at the trough” ways was John Hamm.
John Hamm decided to step down in October, 2005. I think it is generally accepted in this province that Dr. Hamm brought integrity to government. He expected his cabinet and MLAs to meet a standard that we have not seen in this province since the days of Robert Stanfield. He wanted to ensure the books were balanced and his government worked for the people of Nova Scotia and not for their own self-interest.
I can and have disagreed with many of the decision of the Tories under John Hamm, but I could not question his integrity or his ability to ensure his Ministers worked for the public good.
Once John Hamm announced he was retiring, the water changed on the beans. Rodney MacDonald was not elected by his Party until February 11, 2006, but for all intents and purposes John Hamm was a caretaker Premier since his retirement announcement in October, 2005.
If you understand that political fact you can see how things began to unravel before John Hamm’s official term ended.
One of the decisions made by the John Hamm Tories was to depoliticize the process by which loans and grants are given to businesses in our province. The creation of Nova Scotia Business Inc. (NSBI) in 2001 was a good idea (indeed, I suggested such an approach a year before the Tories announced the move).
NSBI ensured the process by which government funds were given to businesses was based on sound business practices, not politics. Provincial Cabinet was not directly involved in deciding which businesses received funds.
However, after John Hamm announced his retirement the Tory Cabinet approved funds for two companies – S&J Potato Farms Inc. and Magic Valley Family Fun Park (in Pictou County). The companies did not receive funds from NSBI but did receive funds directly from Cabinet.
The Tories also created a $50 million fund for further projects that is separate from any funds allocated by NSBI.
Ernie Fage was forced to resign on February 16, 2006 as a result of a conflict-of-interest. The millionaire farmer leases land to S&J Potato Farms Inc. – the same company that received funds from Cabinet.
It seems integrity was a John Hamm value, not a Tory value.
Without John Hamm at the helm, the Tories are back to their old ways. Self-interest trumps the public interest. Taxpayer dollars go to support questionable businesses that did not receive funding under the depoliticized process, but were able to get funds from Cabinet.
Nova Scotians have paid a price for the belt-tightening of the John Hamm Government. Our roads are in bad shape. Our schools are in need of improvement. Our surgery and emergency room wait times are some of the highest in Canada. Many have accepted these problems as a necessary short-term pain that will, in the long run, result in fiscal freedom to invest in our economy and our infrastructure.
John Hamm worked hard to turn this province around. We cannot allow it to sink back into the old-style politics that kept us down for so long. We must ensure that whoever is in government is working for the public good and is prepared to invest our new-found fiscal freedom in appropriate projects and programs.
If the Tories are not able to carry on the legacy of John Hamm then they should step aside and let someone else carry on his legacy.
