Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday November 19, 1997
Airbus fiasco still stinks
You don’t have to be a fan of Brian Mulroney to say that the Liberal government’s handling of the Airbus affair has the smell of a rotten potato. The former prime minister’s penchant for gloating and partisanship is distasteful in the extreme, but the fact remains the government has much to explain about a fiasco that sandbagged taxpayers. The odour surrounding the RCMP’s botched prosecution against Mulroney isn’t likely to fade as long as the Liberals refuse to clear the air with an independent inquiry.
It’s hard to blame Mulroney for going public with his belief that he was the victim of a politically-motivated abuse of power. No evidence of any impropriety by Mulroney in the sale of Airbus jets to Air Canada has ever surfaced. The Liberals allowed the RCMP to malign Mulroney’s reputation with a letter to Swiss authorities that treated him as guilty. They still haven’t withdrawn the letter. No senior officials in the cabinet or the RCMP have taken any responsibility for the mess, which saddled taxpayers with a $2-million out-of-court settlement with Mulroney. Inexcusably, the government has done nothing to answer many lingering questions.
Mulroney aside, people should care when individuals are subjected to prosecutions that prove to be politically-driven witchhunts. Mulroney’s case has disturbing parallels to the RCMP’s abortive prosecution of former Liberal cabinet minister John Munro, who incurred nearly $1 million in legal fees to fight unfounded allegations about a grant to the Assembly of First Nations. Unlike Mulroney, Munro received no compensation from the government and no apology.
The arrogance of politicians and police in cases such as these is breathtaking. Too often, the strategy is to close the door, and let a scapegoat take the rap. RCMP Staff Sergeant Fraser Fiegenwald appears to be the convenient fall guy in the Airbus affair.
The case against Mulroney collapsed when the government learned that Fiegenwald had discussed the case with a journalist. He was subsequently charged with violating the RCMP’s oath of office, but the charges were dropped last month in return for his retirement from the force. The settlement enabled the RCMP to avoid a potentially embarrassing hearing which might have revealed some answers.
The government saw fit to express regret that the facts wouldn’t be disclosed because of the hearing not going ahead. Regret? It has many avenues at its disposal to determine the truth. A judicial inquiry is one. A special judicial review, such as that by Justice Archie Campbell into the police investigation of the Paul Bernardo case, is another. The worst approach is to do nothing in the hope that the case will be forgotten.
Mulroney is carrying bombast to the extreme in calling for a royal commission, but the Liberals are wrong to draw a veil of secrecy on this affair. The Chretien government can only damage its reputation by refusing an inquiry to let the chips fall where they may. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial, A10, 11/19/1997)
* * * Airbus Affair Redux * * *
As I dust off the ink-stained pages of my cartoon archives, I find myself drawn back to a piece I penned in 1997, capturing the tumultuous Airbus affair that left the Canadian political landscape in disarray. The editorial cartoon depicted Jean Chrétien releasing the RCMP hound, chasing down Brian Mulroney, tethered by a leash of political rivalry and whispers of vendetta.
March 2, 2024
In those inked strokes of satire, I sought to encapsulate the palpable tension, the whiff of personal vendetta, and the lingering conspiracy that Mulroney was being unjustly picked on. Two prime ministers, locked in a fierce rivalry — one notorious for driving the getaway car for his old boss Pierre Trudeau, the other infamous for his Gucci shoes and cozying up with Reagan. The narrative echoed a Shakespearean drama, unfolding in the political theatres of Ottawa.
Fast forward to 2024, and the shadows of the Airbus affair still loom over my drawing board. The cartoon remains a time capsule, preserving the skepticism and questions that swirled around Mulroney’s claims of being the victim of a politically-motivated abuse of power. The Liberal government’s handling of the affair, the odorous air surrounding the RCMP’s actions, and Mulroney’s bombast in calling for transparency through a royal commission — all etched in the strokes of my pen.
As the ink of time has dried, it’s imperative to acknowledge the nuances that emerged in the subsequent years. The legal processes, epitomized by the Oliphant Commission, walked a fine line, revealing inappropriate dealings without casting a definitive judgment on guilt. Mulroney’s assertions persist in the annals of Canadian political lore, a narrative thread that unraveled in echoes from the past.
Karlheinz Schreiber, a central figure in the affair, moved from the shadows to the spotlight. His connections, cash payments, and the intertwining of his fate with Mulroney’s further complicated the narrative, adding layers to a story already rich in political intrigue.
As a cartoonist navigating the corridors of time, my reflection on that 1997 cartoon is not one of finality but of ongoing curiosity. The questions persist: Was Mulroney truly a victim of political vendetta? Did the inked lines of my cartoon capture a moment of political theatre or unveil a deeper truth?
In the realm of editorial cartoons, where satire and skepticism dance a delicate waltz, the Airbus affair remains an evergreen muse. The characters may change, but the questions linger, inviting new generations to scrutinize the inked frames of history, searching for the elusive shades of truth and justice. (Graeme MacKay, March 3, 2024)