Marian Horne could easily have disarmed the handicapped parking controversy.
She could have held her hands up and admitted her error.
She could have apologized.
She might even have offered to pay $250 (the cost of a fine) to a charity.
She had the opportunity.
But in the mall after getting a new hairdo, the Justice minister denied she parked in a handicapped space.
Witness accounts and the photos we took suggest otherwise. You be the judge.
As well, you should know that days later, before we went to press with the story, we phoned Horne and offered her a chance, in a less confrontational atmosphere, to explain herself. Or to apologize.
She refused.
So, what are we to take from this?
Horne recently authorized Whitehorse to ticket people who park in handicapped spaces on private land.
The city asked for this power because it is a problem in the city.
Whitehorse bylaw officers issue about 30 tickets a month to people who break this law. One a day.
Clearly there are many people in town who are contemptuous of the handicapped and their needs, which include dedicated parking stalls.
And one of those is Horne, who has sworn an oath to uphold the territory’s laws.
Well, most of ‘em. The important ones. Or, rather, the ones she deems important enough to recognize.
The others?
Well, you get the drift ... where does it end?
For Whitehorse’s handicapped, scofflaw drivers are a problem.
Horne clearly knows this - she widened the city’s enforcement powers.
And then, late for a hair appointment, she broke that same law. Denied she’d done so. And, to date, has offered no cogent explanation or apology.
Of course, nobody’s perfect.
It’s how we handle our little screwups that defines us.
Horne could have easily fixed this.
She didn’t.
And that speaks volumes.
(Richard Mostyn)