Breach of trust

Legal definition: BREACH OF TRUST. The willful misappropriation, by a trustee, of a thing which had been lawfully delivered to him in confidence.

So shouldn't politicians have to conduct themselves in the same manner as all professions involving the element of trust; professions such as judges, policemen, educators, doctors, clergy, public officials, and so on? Shouldn't we have codes and statutes that set a level of political ethical behaviour?

I ask these questions because in 2011, when running for the leadership of the Liberal Party of BC, Christy Clark promised to allow freer MLAs and free votes in the legislature. It is now three years later with no action so I emailed her asking for a definitive answer, yes or no, as to whether or not she intended to keep the promise. All  I received was an autonomous dissemble on how great she and the Liberal Party are, and no direct answer to the question. So I went to her constituency office in West Kelowna with document copies of the email and the promise and asked the staff if they could get an answer. No response at all.

So I then contacted the MLA for my riding, Dan Ashton, because it is his job to get answers for his constituents. I've gotten no answer whatsoever. But then, we all know our system requires that his primary allegiance is to serve the Liberal Party; not his constituents.

Because of their refusal to answer I have to conclude that they do not intend to keep this promise. Was the promise just a ploy to get elected with no intention of keeping it? If so, without public abrogation, it constitutes a breach of trust.

I think it is high time our politicians revamped our political system to raise itself to a higher level by establishing ethical codes and statutes to live by. They don't really have to be as nauseating as they are; it is a choice they make by being intellectually inert on self reform.

Roy Roope