There’s a white flag flying in Ottawa:
The Honourable John Baird, Minister of the Environment, today apologized to Ecotrust Canada for any inconvenience that may have ensued since the launch of the $1.5 billion Canada ecoTrust for Clean Air and Climate Change.
After we launched the initiative, it came to our attention that this non-profit organization was already using the name “EcoTrust Canada”. To avoid any possibility of confusion, we have agreed to stop using this name.
If they’d issued this release in the first week or so after this fiasco began, the Conservatives could have garnered some brownie points for responsiveness and humility. Now, the most they can point to is damage control.
Lesson: if you’re in the wrong, and the inevitable painful route out is clear, take it now. At the very least, you’ll look like a grown-up.
Thanks Rob,
I’ve been keeping an eye open to learn what, if anything, was going to come of this. The Cons blatant disregard of this company’s name just infuriated me as did their lack of any concern if they caused any trouble or distress, financial or otherwise.
I don’t take the papers so I was relying on blogs and once again I have not been let down. And I fully concur with your “Lesson”, but you know they aren’t listening. The cons do not apologise, not really.
Regards, Georgine
Thanks for your comment, Georgine. And for what it’s worth, it’s hard to find too many organizations that have the intestinal fortitude to back down quickly when they’re in the wrong.
That said, these guys are so much more arrogant than most.
What I find most disturbing… is that this blooper gives one the impression that no one in the Ministry of Environment was aware that Eco-Trust Canada exists. Considering the Feds have bucked up 30 million? for the Great Bear Conservation Coastal Communities financing program you would think they would be a tad more plugged in. sigh.