Leaders often take back seat

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/03/2020 (2235 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“I find it odd Mayor Rick Chrest of the City of Brandon has been silent throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. When the past city manager Rod Sage news came out regarding Christine Mitchell’s overdose at his home and subsequently died, he was quick to come to Rod’s defence publicly. Is it not a mayor’s duty to address the public in times of crisis? Mayor Rick where are you?”

— A recent Sound Off to the Sun

 

Rather than publish this in the regular Sound Off section on Page A2, I thought I would take a moment to address this comment, seeing as how it isn’t necessarily a fair comment, but one that might be lurking in the minds of other Brandon residents.

At the heart of the statement is a belief that every politician must be seen and heard by the electorate in times of strife, grief, disaster or even triumph. It demands that our elected officials have to get out in front of the cameras and lead by saying more than pleasantries.

And while there is certainly something to be said for a nation that can look toward its leaders in times of crisis for words of comfort or inspiration, there are also times that mayors, premiers and prime ministers need to stay out of the way. And the COVID-19 situation our society is facing is a perfect example.

After three cases of the coronavirus were confirmed on March 12 in Winnipeg, it was the City of Brandon’s director of risk and emergency management, Brian Kayes, who was out in front speaking to media about the measures the city would be enacting.

“(Coronavirus) does seem to be moving into North America … we’re not sticking our head in the sand. We are putting into place a number of different plans that are meant, at this particular point, to limit the spread,” Kayes told the Sun at the time.

And last week Thursday, it was acting city manager Dean Hammond who was quoted when the city announced that Brandon Transit had temporarily stopped collecting bus fares as a result of the pandemic. Kayes was quoted in our article on that announcement, too. The mayor was not included.

But I would ask, why should he have been? The city pays employees such as Hammond and Kayes to do a job, and to speak for the city when it is warranted. As an expert in disaster management, Kayes is the right spokesperson for the city when it comes to planning and explaining how the city will deal with a hazard like COVID-19. Mayor Chrest, whose comments would not be unwelcome, of course, was not vital to the city’s message in this case.

And to be fair to the mayor, he has not abstained completely from media interviews — he has gone on the record for both the Sun and the CBC in the past week and a half to address media questions about city council’s response, and spoken to the growing stress within the business community. But he has given the team at city hall some time to shine, and show leadership as well. That, to me, is the sign of a good public servant. 

There are other examples, not the least of which is our own provincial government. Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer, and Lanette Siragusa, Shared Health chief of nursing, have been the provincial government’s main spokespeople to the public. And while the premier and other ministers have held press conferences, it’s Roussin and Siragusa who have been given wide latitude to address the province’s implementation of new health measures and provide COVID-19 updates.

They’re the experts, not the premier or his ministers. Again, this is what strong leaders do — allow others to speak, knowing that they have the knowledge and expertise to answer media questions. 

Perhaps the one exception to the rule has been Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who — after staying out of much of the spotlight since his humbling minority government win — has been holding daily briefings to address the country’s concerns, provide national updates and provide a measured, level-headed response to media questions. 

A poll published last week by the Angus Reid Institute suggested that Canadians were generally responding well to federal and provincial handling of this pandemic. As CBC reported, the poll suggested that more and more Canadians believe that the coronavirus pandemic is a serious threat to Canada — as they should. But it also found that 87 per cent of respondents said they trust the information coming from their local health authorities and medical health officers “a great deal” or “a fair amount.”

Contrast this to our neighbours south of the border, where U.S. President Donald Trump has been contradicting his own public health experts for weeks, much to the dismay of medical professionals across the nation, and to the confusion of ordinary Americans. 

We are very lucky as Canadians to have leadership that knows when to let the experts speak — and even more importantly, leadership that knows when to listen to those experts when crises emerge. 

 

» Matt Goerzen, editor