Simcoe-Grey MP Helena Guergis. Photo credit: Canadian Press.

Flying can be stressful, and I suppose that being an MP is stressful as well. While most of us have experienced the former, few have the opportunity to live through the latter. In late February, Helena Guergis had the misfortune of experiencing both.

For those of you who were caught up in the Olympics and missed the news, Helena Guergis, MP for Simcoe-Grey, apparently threw a diva fit at the Charlottetown airport on February 19. The incident became public when someone sent an anonymous letter describing the tantrum to Liberal MP Wayne Easter.

According to the letter, Ms. Guergis and her aide arrived very late for an Air Canada flight. While clearing security, her footwear set off an alarm so security staff asked that she remove it. In response, Ms. Guergis allegedly removed her boots, chucked them in a bin, swore, and then declared PEI a hellhole (or shithole, depending on the source). After abusing the staff but still clearing security, she ordered her aide to fetch her boots for her. She then discovered that the glass doors leading to the tarmac were locked. She reportedly beat on the doors and tried to force her way out. Of course, the whole time the plane was being held for her. She finally boarded and left the hellhole behind.

We can all understand airport frustration. When I traveled for business I was searched far more frequently than my middle-aged male boss for no reason that we could ever discern. We theorized that CATSA selects and searches a large number of obviously low risk people to balance their statistics and prevent claims of profiling. Note to CATSA: Re-check definition of “random”. Whether security procedures are legitimate or simply a costly exercise in showmanship, it is humiliating to stand in an airport in sock feet, arms raised, belt undone and pants hanging open while a stranger pats you down. By now, any self-respecting terrorist will have learned that if he (or she, I suppose) wants to smuggle explosives or pointy things on board it must be done suppository style.

My point is that although I do not especially like the Conservative party or Ms. Guergis, I do have some sympathy for her. The odds of her presenting a genuine security risk are low – in all likelihood, her Parliamentary status comes with enhanced security clearance. While many screeners are professional and pleasant, some get their kicks by tormenting frustrated passengers. Though airport staff may be “friendly” and “jolly”, as Wayne Easter claims, they are not that way with everyone. You do not have to search hard to find stories of bullying or foolishness during airport screening.

Like anyone, most Islanders have a keen sense of when it is worth their while to suck up (no hate mail – I am one so I can say that). When people see Wayne Easter coming through security, no one is going to give him a hard time. Helena Guergis, on the other hand, might not get the same jovial treatment – I can see how a bad day could suddenly turn awful. The staffer who, late in the process, reminded Ms. Guergis that she should arrive two hours before her flight was not contributing positively to the situation. Anyone with a quarter of a brain should have known not to poke the bear. If the staff had wished to diffuse the situation from the beginning, the people at the Air Canada check-in desk could have told her the flight would be held, and then – maybe – kindly reminded her of the two-hour rule.

Years ago, I had an encounter with a Charlottetown screener who spent ten minutes tormenting me and dissecting my (harmless) belongings. The people behind me grew restless while I grew increasingly embarrassed and frustrated. The screener, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying herself. People are not stupid. They know when they are being jerked around. She was pushing my buttons – I knew it and she knew it. I am not saying that the people Ms. Guergis dealt with that day necessarily did anything wrong, but some folks mess with people just because they can and there are two sides to every story.

During my airport encounter, I managed to keep my mouth shut and board my plane. If the average Canadian did what Ms. Guergis did, he or she likely would have been tasered, incarcerated and fired – her behaviour is obviously unacceptable. Airport staff say that she was late and she was screened like everyone else. But, she wasn’t treated exactly like everyone else, was she? After pitching a fit of monumental proportions, she and her aide were permitted to board a flight. I understand wanting to get rid of her, but you are either holding politicians to the same standard as the public or you are not. She should not have been on that plane.

Ms. Guergis clearly lost control of her emotions. It was embarrassing for her and for the people she represents. Should she be fired over it? I don’t know – worse things are spit back and forth across the aisles of government every day and no one (at least no politician) bats an eye. If governments start turfing people for bad or embarrassing behaviour, then we will have to hold elections on a monthly basis just to keep bums in chairs. Jean Chrétien tried to choke the life out of someone in front of television cameras and he kept his job.

The punishment one receives for bad behaviour is usually in inverse proportion to the amount of power and money one has. That’s just the way it is. People have been getting special treatment because of who they are and the peons have been objecting for as long as humans have existed. The airport staff tattled and got their revenge, and Ms. Guergis has apologized. The Liberal MPs calling for her resignation (should) have bigger fish to fry. It’s time to move on.

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Tags: air canada, airport security, helena guergis, PEI

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