Truemors
"Canada Must Be A Just Society", Pierre Elliott Trudeau
I couldn’t believe that my business was already ruined before I’d even started. I was still going to have to pay for the merchandise en route bought on borrowed money. "But you have a big name and reputation, how could you do such a dishonourable thing to me?" I asked. The President of the company, a Queen’s Counsel and one of the "500 Who’s Who In Canada" said "We didn’t give you any written legal guarantee that we wouldn’t compete with you, did we? " One of Canada’s largest companies had used me to promote its so-called sacred brand name, discarded me like a rag, told distributors not to buy my product, and now threatened to do even worse things to me if I didn’t just roll over and die. I thought of jumping off Granville Street Bridge, or maybe Burrard, with its dramatic illuminated arches.
Wait a minute, Trudeau said Canada is a just society, didn’t he? This is a country of law and order where everyone is equal under the law, surely Canadians wouldn’t tolerate such a despicable predatory behaviour by a model member of the business world. I would get a lawyer and sue. I trusted the legal system. The lawyers said "Sure, you have a winnable case. It will cost you about $150-$200,000 if we go to trial. Make it $350,000 if they appeal, $500,000 if they take it to the Supreme Court, and they probably will. We need a retainer of $50,000 to start." If I had that kind of money I would have already retired. Appalled, I asked if they wouldn’t do it on contingency. They said "Only ambulance chasers in BC do contingency for traffic cases. We are professional business lawyers." The lawyer looked at his Rolex watch and said "Maybe you should just chalk it up to experience, or publicize it."
Yes, I would publicize it. I’d hit them at their home base of Toronto where their employees would read about it and know what kind of management they were working for. The Editor of Toronto’s largest daily newspaper thought it was an interesting story that should be published. It took two weeks for his reporter to put it together. On the day she called the company President to verify the story she was shrieking with excitement. She said "When I called they put me right through, he thought I’d called to interview him about one of his multimillion dollar sponsorships. When I asked him questions about the story I thought he had just had a heart attack. He dropped the receiver. Then he said no comments and hung up on me. Now I know it’s all true."
On the day it was supposed to be published the editor killed the story. At least they were honest about it. The reporter told me the company turned out to be one of the paper’s biggest advertisers and had threatened to pull its advertising account if the story was published. She said "Welcome to the real world of news reporting."
With the increasing consolidation of control in the corporate world and interconnectedness of interest groups today’s news editor is faced with an increasingly difficult task of balancing commercial and political interests against the public’s right to know. My college buddy, an award-winning investigative reporter at one time, was recently laid off from the Los Angeles Times after years of distinguished service. Not many people were reading the politically filtered stories he had to write. Laying off two dozen reporters, the LA Times said fewer people read newspapers and more are turning to the Internet today.
For a relevant story see "Vancouver Province Kills Story of St. Paul’s Hospital Death", December 14, 2007, Opinions, www.nowpublic.com
Candidus Maximus,
Vancouver
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