Originally Published in the National Post on Thursday, October 05, 2006.
One expects that the auto-parts heiress from Aurora, Ont., does not need defending by the country pastor from Wolfe Island, but given that everyone seems to have had their say, I hereby offer my two bits.
Last week the Belinda Stronach story was everywhere. The National Post led the way with a front-page story and the excerpts from the new Belindography. When my Post colleague Don Martin first told me he was writing a book on said subject, I confess I didn’t think there was a book’s worth of things to say about her. Well, apparently there was that, plus enough left over for a cover story in Maclean’s and a fawning profile in The Globe and Mail to boot. The last was such a desperate attempt to get aboard the Belinda-train that the profile only quoted for-the-record people on the Stronach family payroll. It turns out that they were fans.
My doubts remain about all the attention. It’s not that pulchritude and patrimony are thin qualifications for public office; after all, the Kennedys are now entering their fourth generation of public service on that combination. It’s not that she got all her jobs from her father; that’s why it is called a family business after all. It’s not even that she is a rather uninspiring political figure – the House of Commons is well-stocked with those.
It’s just that the principal interest in Belinda seems to be her glamour and celebrity. Her rumoured romances are not the distraction; they are the attraction. Hence she entertains questions from her biographer about whether she enjoys sex. But just as the one who lives by the sword dies by the sword, the rumours and romances that previously added to Belinda’s buzz turned against her. She was named as the other woman – amongst other other women, it should be noted – in the Tie Domi divorce case.
Here’s the first bit of defence. I concede that it is rather retro, but isn’t the honourable and expected thing for men to do to protect the reputation of the women in their lives? I understand we are talking about an accused adulterer here, but shouldn’t Mr. Domi have been courageous enough to clear Ms. Stronach’s name, instead of letting her twist in the wind until she had to issue her own exculpatory press release? Until recently Mr. Domi was the enforcer, the tough guy, for the Toronto Maple Leafs – the one responsible for protecting the others. Did he retire from that too?
The other bit of defence has to do with the legal system. Is it not troubling that Mrs. Domi’s statement of claim about her allegedly philandering husband enters the public domain to the detriment of reputations all around, but that there is no subsequent opportunity for defending against the charges made therein? Mr. and Mrs. Domi have now settled their case, and yet the claims still hang around, like the bad odour which lingers even after the rotting garbage is taken out.
I recall being in Ottawa for the historic non-confidence vote after Ms. Stronach’s floor-crossing to the Liberals, and inquiring how her friends in the Conservative party were taking it. One (presumably bitter) Tory told me, “Belinda has the best friends money can buy – she will get new ones soon enough.”
That’s harsh partisanship talking. But it does allude to an important point. Being a billionaire helps Ms. Stronach defend her name – which is why she doesn’t need me. Last week also marked the return of Lord Black of Crossharbour to the top of the news, and in his case too his millions permit him to defend himself against the extravagant charges made by both prosecutors and pundits. And last month saw the clearing of Maher Arar’s name – something that required millions of dollars of taxpayer money to do.
Who defends those who don’t have access to such resources? It is both a private and, to the extent it involves the legal system, a public responsibility. It is easy to smear a good name; it is a much harder thing to clear it.
There are my two bits for Belinda. But no doubt there are others who could use more than two bits, and of whom we know nothing. They too deserve a defence.
© National Post 2006