Maclean's fights back

The magazine responds after the House of Commons passes a bill condemning their story on Quebec corruption.

As previously noted in this space, there’s been a lot of anger over the Maclean’s cover story that labeled Quebec “the most corrupt province in Canada.” But perhaps one positive that can be drawn from the uproar is that it’s proof our politicians can still reach a consensus on something. Yesterday the House of Commons took the unusual step of unanimously passing a motion censuring the magazine for smearing Quebec’s reputation.

Maclean’s defended itself yesterday, posting this lengthy reply to the House. “It’s true that we lack a statistical database to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Quebec is an outlier among the provinces,” the editors write. “But that does not mean we are required to suspend all judgment in the face of a preponderance of evidence — scandal after scandal at every level of government in the province … It’s worth noting that none of our critics has mounted a credible case that any other province better deserves the title of worst in class.” Critics of the story have said that the article is a veiled attack on the people of Quebec from the Toronto-based magazine. The editors try to clarify their argument, saying corruption “is a political problem, and a reflection on the province’s politicians and its political culture, not a condemnation of the character of the province or its people.” Let’s see if that satisfies anyone.

Sun Media’s Lorrie Goldstein makes the argument that it’s not only Quebec’s politicians who are responsible for creating a culture of corruption in the province. Their colleagues in Ottawa are equally to blame. The real villain here is the sovereignty issue, Goldstein says, because “constantly trying to buy the loyalty of Quebecers by bribing them to stay in Canada corrupts everyone and everything it touches.” The sponsorship scandal (which originated in Ottawa) is a prime example of this, as are “infuriating, pathetic spectacles like eight Conservative MPs donning Nordiques jerseys to show their brainless support for shelling out $175 million of our money for a new hockey arena.”