Hindsight is always 20-20, but you can bet that if the Dwight Ball government knew what they know now, and could turn the clock back in the Eddie Joyce debacle and handle things differently, they probably would.
Joyce is out of cabinet and caucus at least until the results of an independent investigation into whether other MHAs felt harassed or intimidated by his behaviour. But it wasn’t easy getting to that point. Allegations in the House of Assembly, raised in question period by Opposition Leader Paul Davis, were first met with denials by Ball.
And the issue that was, according to Ball, not an issue, just kept growing.
When you have a loose cannon, you pack lots of chocks underneath it so it doesn’t go rolling around and injuring everyone else.
Looking back, the Liberals might have been proactive and relieved Joyce of his position pending an investigation before the issue was even raised in the House.
Then, instead of a denial, the premier could have said something like, “this is an issue that we take very seriously, and I will not be discussing it further until a full investigation is done, out of respect for the process and the confidentiality of the complainants.” (Refusing to comment during an investigation is a tried-and-true method for soft-pedalling issues and removing them from public debate in the House of Assembly.)
The party and the premier’s brain trust might also have advised Joyce to keep his mouth shut for the duration of the investigation, and not to identify anyone who might have complained. When you have a loose cannon, you pack lots of chocks underneath it so it doesn’t go rolling around and injuring everyone else.
That would have been two victories for the Liberals: first, that they had taken action, acknowledging that the complaints were against one of their own. Second, instead of a week-long drip-drip-drip of allegations, missteps and new revelations, the issue would have gone on hiatus until it was fully dealt with. (Witness the relative quiet that has settled in since the federal Liberals came forward and announced that there was an investigation being undertaken into the behaviour of one of their members of Parliament at a Liberal convention in Halifax.)
Instead, the premier bravely went out in front of the cameras and shot himself in both feet, with the happily rolling Joyce cannon taking out bystanders (and complainants) at the knees.
It’s a textbook example of how not to handle a complaint, especially something as sensitive as a harassment complaint.
This is not rocket science, people. Any number of corporate human resources policy books and any number of HR professionals would tell you quicker, faster and fairer ways to deal with harassment complaints.
And that raises a bigger concern: if the provincial Liberals can’t handle something as simple as a harassment and bullying complaint, something for which there are plenty of clear guidelines, what the heck else are they incapable of?
