Now that Jean Pelletier has been fired as VIA chairman for his remarks about Myriam Bédard (see previous entry), is the media having second thoughts? The Saturday papers mostly put it above the fold (except the Toronto Star). Now John Ibbitson is saying that Pelletier has been treated badly. Warren Kinsella is making hay as well, but he’s not at all neutral. While I think the reason given by the government for the firing — we don’t want to intimidate whistleblowers — is defensible, I think the main reaction is shock that he was actually fired for it. Lots of people in government, after all, have said much more offensive things (as Kinsella points out) without getting fired for it. We’re used to fulminating against people to no avail, damn it!

The next time VIA Rail hits the news, it had better be something to do about trains, or so help me.