The Long Night of Stockwell Day

Why the rapid decline? What is the real story behind the dramatic fall from grace of the leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition?

Commentators are quick to point to the lack of political savvy of Mr. Day himself. Toronto Star reporter Tim Harper comments:

CBC commentator Larry Zolf saw Day’s trouble coming shortly after the November, 2000 election. He spoke to an anonymous "prominent Alberta Conservative" at the time who noted that:

Day certainly is an arrogant individualist.

But why does it work for Jean Chrétien and not for Day? And why is this same trait supposedly a defining feature of Pierre Elliot Trudeau’s "greatness"?

And what about the intelligence factor? Day certainly is an idiot.

But since when has stupidity meant failure as a right wing political leader? After all, George W. Bush is President of the United States.

Day was desperate to try to hide his anti-women, anti-gay policies during the federal election last fall, for fear of losing votes.

But activists knew better. Day was met by pickets and alternative press packages at almost every election campaign stop, exposing and opposing his sexist, homophobic politics.

Day’s bigoted politics came back to haunt him after the election.

Enter the Red Deer lawsuit scandal.

In the spring of 1999, a BC court decision struck down a law prohibiting child pornography on the grounds that it violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Lorne Goddard — a public school trustee, a failed federal Progressive Candidate in Red Deer Alberta, and a criminal lawyer — drew on this court ruling in presenting his defence of a client, Kevin Valley, facing charges relating to pedophilia and possession of pornography.

A debate about the case took place in the pages of the Red Deer Advocate.

Stockwell Day, then sitting MLA for Red Deer North, and a leading member of the Tory government, decided to add his views. Day’s April 7 letter to the Advocate stated:

Reporter Jill Mahoney wrote in The Globe and Mail:

"Lawyers were astonished that Mr. Day did not seem to understand that all citizens have the right to the best defence possible. Even the Crown prosecutor in Mr. Valley's case wrote to the Advocate, saying that ‘principled’ lawyers like Mr. Goddard are ‘to be treasured as the backbone of our judicial system.’ The opposition parties agreed, and pointed out that Mr. Day had also broken a golden rule of politics: never comment on matters still before the courts."

In June, Goddard served Day and the Red Deer Advocate with a $600,000 lawsuit. The suit claimed defamation on the grounds that the letter had seriously harmed the lawyer’s reputation.

The following September, it was revealed that Day was paying for his legal defense through the Alberta Risk Management Fund.

This is a provincial insurance program for MLAs and civil servants who suffer legal damages directly as a result of their duties in the service of government. The fund provides coverage up to $35 million, paid for by taxpayers, on a case by case basis after receiving formal approval.

Day, as Provincial Treasurer, was in charge of the department that administered the Fund.

The Alberta legislature was in an uproar as Opposition Liberals noted that previous cases, involving Liberal MLAs, had been declined.

A review from the Alberta Ethics Commissioner, Bob Clark, gave a green light to the Fund, with a few cautionary remarks. After this ruling, according to a statement issued by Goddard, Day telephoned saying that with the money assured he planned to hire a "hot-shot lawyer from one of the biggest law firms."

Even Tory loyalists were having trouble responding to challenges about the tax-cutting maverick relying on taxpayers to bail out a vendetta against a lawyer.

Meanwhile, Day set up a website (now discontinued) in defence of his martyrdom as he maintained his moral stance against Goddard. It was titled "Stockwell Day Protect the Children." On the site, Day explained that he would not pursue an out of court settlement because that "would be an admission of wrongdoing" and he had "done no wrong."

The federal election interrupted the court proceedings. And much of the deliberations were, as court cases are, confidential.

On December 22, 2000 it was announced that the two sides had settled out of court.

After massive public pressure to detail the settlement, the cost to the Alberta public purse was revealed at $792,064. Of this, $60,000 was in damages to Goddard; the rest was to cover the costs of the legal proceedings and lawyers’ fees.

The Goddard case broke the dam. The waters have been flooding through since then.

The crisis of Stockwell Day’s political leadership started when small groups of activists insisted on exposing his anti-gay, anti-women agenda. Now the veneer is off, and Day is simply revealed as the reactionary bigot he has always been.

The failure of Day’s agenda is there for all to see. And in the Alliance, the rats are scrambling to get off the sinking ship, hoping to leave Day isolated.

But if Day is on his way down, that doesn’t mean that the battle for freedom of expression, for choice, and for a world free of anti-gay, anti-lesbian and anti-woman oppression is over.

Day’s decline is just one marker in the rise of a new mood of resistance to the politics of oppression, scapegoating and bigotry. If we can carry on this movement, and build on our successes, we can look forward to celebrating far greater victories in the future.