N.B. ombudsman says forgive governments for changing their mind on issues

The New Brunswick flag is seen in this file image.

FREDERICTON -- The public needs to forgive governments when they change their mind, New Brunswick's ombudsman says in an unusual plea for patience that has prompted a debate over the nature of promises and politics.

In a commentary published Wednesday, ombudsman Charles Murray says governments should get credit for changing policies that aren't working, instead of being attacked for flip-flopping.

"When the public reacts to a change very negatively, I think to myself we're actually making it harder and harder for these folks to change their minds and that's not in our long-term best interests," Murray said in an interview.

He said if the public always attacks government for changing plans, they'll get a government that covers up mistakes and is unwilling to adapt to changing situations.

"What we want is a government that is mature enough, flexible enough and open enough ... to change its mind. That's a good thing. That's democracy working the way it should," he said.

"Saying that government policy is set in stone is not good government."

Murray pointed to a decision by New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant to backtrack on a plan to increase fees for seniors in nursing homes. The plan, which was announced in the last provincial budget, was cancelled in September after months of public opposition.

He said New Brunswick has a history of electing young premiers such as Gallant, Shawn Graham and Bernard Lord and the public understands they need time to grow into the job and may not always make the right decisions.

Donald Savoie, a prominent governance expert at the University of Moncton, agrees with Murray, but says the nature of politics means that promises are made and broken.

"Election campaigns are designed to win the election. They're not designed to define good public policy," said Savoie, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Public Administration and Governance.

"Is it giving politics a bad name? Yes, but that's the nature of politics."

Jonathan Rose, a political science professor at Queen's University, said the current federal government's inability to meet a target of getting 10,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by the end of December is acceptable because government realized it wasn't logistically possible.

However he said if a government campaigns on a mandate and then does something the opposite, that's a different story.

"The famous example of this is in 1972 when Pierre Trudeau campaigned against wage and price controls and then brought them in when he was elected," Rose said.

He said that kind of change erodes trust in politics.

Savoie said if changes are framed as broken promises it is an erosion of public trust, but if governments are smart enough to be able to explain the rationale for the change in direction, most citizens will understand that situations change.

Murray said the public needs to be the drivers of the process.

"Government is in a marketplace for our support and how we offer that support determines what sort of people emerge, what sort of policies emerge, what sort of parties emerge, what sort of government emerges," he said.