Beyond The Commons

 Beyond The Commons

Aaron Wherry covers all the goings-on in and around Parliament Hill. Follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaronwherry

Categories: Beyond The Commons, Capital Read

What would be the value of more information?

by Aaron Wherry on Thursday, July 28, 2011 4:13pm - 23 Comments

Chris Selley responds to Andre Picard’s column.

Picard offers lots of reasons why he thinks it should be no big deal for Layton to come clean, or why it would be nice. But the aforementioned are the only explanations we see in there for why he actually has a positive obligation to divulge the details — and we’re not even sure the first one’s true. Either the PM or opposition leader can perform his duties or he can’t. What would we do with the excess information?

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  • Anonymous

    Could we please leave Mr Layton alone?

  • TonyAdams

    “Either the PM or opposition leader can perform his duties or he can’t. What would we do with the excess information?”

    It is up to voter to decide what is too much information. I guarantee not every one who voted for Layton/NDP a couple of months ago would have if they knew about Layton’s illnesses. Some of us think what pharmaceuticals someone is taking have an effect on their judgement.

    Public should be allowed to decide whether Layton is competent, not Layton. 

    If pols want privacy, don’t take public job. Quite simple.

    • Anonymous

      Everyone (or anyone paying attention, at any rate) knew Layton had been sick and was recovering; most know that someone who has had one cancer is prone to a relapse or a different outbreak. And there is no guarantee that a person who is well on election day will remain that way through his or her term in office.

      Further, while Layton is the face of the party, people elected their local representatives (and those who think they are voting directly for the leader of any party needs to study up on our parliamentary system).

      You seem to be implying Jack was misleading the public as to his health; I don’t think that’s the case. And considering how much we were misled by pols of all stripes duringthe campaign on issues that affect us all, even if I’m wrong about Jack hiding the seriousness of his health issues, this one is small potatoes by comparison.

    • Anonymous

      In that case, I want a complete breakdown of what every MP is taking for medication.  Harper often looks so tranquilized we should call the Conservatives Bennie & the Jets.

      More seriously, though, I DON’T want this information (and I don’t want the government to have it about me.) 

    • Anonymous

      So what you are saying is that if a politician wants privacy, they should step down from their job? I agree. Apparently so does Jack. He stepped down. Had he decided to stay on while he fought this, you would have a point. But he didn’t, so you don’t.

      Public should be allowed to decide whether Layton is competent, not Layton.

      The public did decide that in May. Things have changed. Are you advocating that we have an election to see if Layton should stay in office or take a leave of absence?

      All that said, I do appreciate that you didn’t include a blurb or quote that has little or nothing to do with the topic at hand.

  • Anonymous

    I just got an telepathic message from Layton: Would you ghoulish, creepy, ambulance chasing sickos who only want to drag this out for a few more heart wrenching, tear stained, gruesome  weeks on the slow summer news cycle leave me alone?

  • Anonymous

    I am not sure why a person in his position would not disclose all the information he has regarding the kind of cancer he has, the treatments he will undergo and his prognosis as he understands it given that he has been so open about his medical problems to date.  I think honesty and full disclosure is always the best approach for someone in such a high profile job with the amount of responsibility it entails.  People are already guessing that the news is bad.

    • Anonymous

      I’d like to know why we know every detail about Mr Martin, Mr Dion and Mr Ignatieff….wives, sibs, money, kids, foibles  etc and Mr Layton’s medical condition…..and not one word about Mr Harper

      Does Harper have any sibs? Are his parents still alive? How much money does he have? And what is his medical condition?

      I mean, Harp’s the one running the country….and yet we still know zip about him after all these years

      If everybody is so interested in snooping through the private lives of politicians….the snooping should be evenly distributed don’t you think?

      • Anonymous

        If Mr. Harper announces he is sick then my comment would be exactly the same…I don’t know why a person in his position would not provide as much information as they can about their exact diagnosis, physician’s recommendation for treatment and prognosis.

        • Anonymous

          I’m not talking about being sick, I’m saying we know nothing at all about Harper….yet people feel entitled to every last detail of Layton’s medical reports….and it’s not necessary.

          The last thing Layton needs is 32 million doctor-wannabees guessing about his condition

          • Anonymous

            Say what?!  The subject of this editorial is whether Jack Layton should provide more info about his latest battle with cancer.  I am not sure how providing full disclosure about the nature & seriousness of his illness would cause more guessing about his condition nor what any of this has to do with Stephen Harper.  If you want more info on Stephen Harper, look it up on Wikipedia.

          • Anonymous

            Yes and there have been numerous other items and columns insisting we have a need to know….well we don’t

            As to Harper….there is nothing on his personal life anywhere…and if we don’t get to know anything about Harper, we don’t need to know about Layton

          • modster99

            @OriginalEmily1:disqus

            “and if we don’t get to know anything about Harper, we don’t need to know about Layton”

            - what a silly comment.

          • Anonymous

            How about I modify Harper’s Wiki article before I look something up on it.  One can do that on Wikipedia, you know.

    • Anonymous

      See I don’t see why anyone would want to disclose all of this… it’s a personal matter. If he didn’t take the leave of absence and attempted to fight this while maintaining his position, sure. If we were in a minority situation and he could potentially become PM at any time, yes certainly. But none of those things are happening. He’s on leave, and unless a huge chunk of the CPC caucus suddenly crosses the floor or something, there is no chance of him becoming PM for at least another few years.

      Don’t get me wrong, I’m curious too. I would like to know all the details, much like I’d love to know my neighbor’s salary and financial state, and why he and his wife were fighting the other day. But in both cases, it’s absolutely none of my business. Likewise with Jack’s health woes.

      • Anonymous

        The whole privacy issue was never an issue with regard to Jack Layton’s health until now.  He fully disclosed EVERYTHING before with regard to his other battle with cancer and his hip fracture.  Now, all of a sudden his health is none of anyone’s business?  I don’t get it.  When the information is positive you share it, when it isn’t you are suddenly outraged that people have the audacity to express an interest in knowing.

  • modster99

    There is nothing wrong with wanting to know if the LOO or the PM are physically fit to do the job. It is not a knock against anyone, regardless of who they are. As citizens, we can expect to be told if our leaders are, or can be expected to be out of the running in a short while. This is regardless of their political stripe. We deserve to know.

    While I hope Jack gets well, and is back to his old self, I can see the political reasons for not divulging any information. I think that puts the interests of the NDP ahead of the interests of Canadians on a whole. We need to know the exact diagnosis, what drugs are being given, and what outcome can be expected. This allows Canadians to be ready it the LOO is down for the count. Keeping this a secret helps only the NDP, and for no reasons other than political.

    • Anonymous

      No…you don’t.

    • Phil King

      “…I think that puts the interests of the NDP ahead of the interests of Canadians on a whole…”

      That’s simply partisan hyperbole. What possible “interests of Canadians” does this reflect?

      None that I can see.

      I mean let’s not exagerrate the situation eh?

      • modster99

        Not partisan. It would be the exact same if SH was not forthcoming about his health, if the reason was to enable the CCP to quietly come up with a new leader. Doesn’t matter what political party it is.

        Canadians have a right to know if the PM or the LOO can do their jobs. They also have the right to know if there are any conditions that can affect their judgement. It is very much in our interest to know that.

        Not exaggerating anything. Jack might be back in 5 months – who knows. Either way, Canadians need to be told what is happening, as these folks have a huge impact on the running of our country.

  • http://www.jailnation.com/tx/ Jail Nation

    The value of data or information stored on your personal computer only becomes relevant when you have lost it.

    You have had a HD failure, your daughter deleted a folder not belonging to her and your husband found something he thought was inappropriate. So now it’s gone! No backup!
    __________________
    Jail Nation – Texas State Jails

  • Phil King

    “…What would we do with the excess information?…”

    More information might be nice to feed the media beast, but it seems to me the relavent details are already out there.

  • Anonymous

    Uncertainty is bad for the market.

    Particularly for the established class.

    Did he really have to ask or was he just being rhetorical?

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