In a column lamenting the fact that John Manley is apparently out of politics for good since he'll soon be taking over the presidency of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, Andrew Potter gives us this curious passage:
For Manley himself, after a lifetime of public service, the job presents an opportunity to finally spin that experience into some decent money, as he enters the last decade or so of his working life.
Is a lifetime now defined as 16 years? Because that's how long Manley was a politician.
He was first elected in 1988 after spending ten years as a tax attorney. I do believe that tax attorneys make pretty decent money, at least by my definition. He left politics in 2004 and immediately joined another law firm. Following that he was quickly named to the boards of Nortel Networks and the CIBC. In 2005 he was named as the Canadian chair of a task force on the future of North America sponsored by the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations. And of course he recently headed up the panel that our illustrious prime minister put together to review the mission in Afghanistan so that the government could cherry pick things it wanted to hear and ignore the rest benefit from some objective advice.
So, hands up anyone who thinks that Manley hasn't been pretty well paid for his activities in the last five years.
This certainly isn't the silliest thing that's been published recently. And offhand I don't know if it qualifies as the silliest thing Andrew Potter has ever written. But it still managed to annoy me. While 16 years is a fairly long political career, it isn't "a lifetime of public service" and given the salaries and benefits we pay our MPs, not to mention our cabinet ministers, combined with the compensation that Manley has no doubt received for his subsequent activities, I object to the impression that he's made some supreme financial sacrifice of long standing on our behalf so it's only fair that he now get even more money representing the richest among us.
Almost immediate update:
I suppose I should point out that Potter and I approach this subject from different points of view. Potter seems to have a high opinion of John Manley while I keep wishing Manley would just put a sock in it. Sadly, it appears he's not going to. And you know that given his new position, the institutional media will fall all over themselves to give him a megaphone.
Great point, exactly what is 'decent money'?
I suppose we can expect Manley to be just to the left of Harper at the re-named North American Leaders' Summit in Mexico, August 8th. Difficult to find any info about this upcoming SPP summit as it is not posted on the 'official' SPP gov site. Remember Obama as a candidate? Transparency among the 3 amigos? Not bloody likely. And of course Nothing that requires legislative changes.
I have always had a simple test to see if you are making "decent money". If you can go to the grocery store and buy whatever you want without having to check the price tag, you're making decent money. But, then, I'm just a peasant so wtf do I know about the economic plight of poor, long suffering cabinet ministers, lawyers and CEOs?
"Following that he was quickly named to the boards of Nortel Networks and the CIBC."
Thass interesting - apparently there was a possibility of 'saving' Nortel in 2005 - now gone as it is being sold off, piece by hunk, to any bidder that will take it. As for CIBC - god love it, it lost about a billion dollars after becoming involved with the housing mess in the USA (that it could not do in Canada.)
So, lets see:
Member of Paul Martin's failed Liberal government (check)
Director of Nortel while an almost criminally incompetent CEO destroyed the company. (check)
Director of CIBC as it reaches out beyond Canada's borders to lose a billion or so. (check(
Way-to-go, Gerry! Da man just goes from one success to anudder.
John Manley is apparently out of politics for good since he'll soon be taking over the presidency of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives
Oh, that's just too funny. "Out of politics" because he's going to the CCCE -- ha ha ha -- pull the other one.
Surely the CCCE is one of Manley's natural homes. Actually, I'm wondering -- since he has been one of the godparents of the SPP all this time (Anne McLellan having been his henchperson), and they didn't need to be in office to do that, is becoming head of the CCCE not a step down from his position on high, floating over the whole process?
Surely the CCCE is one of Manley's natural homes.
And I would have thought so too. Potter makes much of Manley's ability to get along with Tom Ridge who was then the head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. But how hard would it be to get along when Manley went into the job with the attitude that Canada's top priority should be American security?