I recently subscribed to CBC’s Search Engine and I’m making my way through the back catalog of episodes so I admit this post may be ill timed. I’m Long Tailing.

Today I listened to the September 20th edition of Search Engine in which host Jesse Brown spoke to Stockwell Day about the Public Safety Commission’s consultation process for a law that would allow police access to individual personal and private information from Internet Service Providers with as little as an unwarranted phone call.

Minister Day’s responses to Jesse’s questions sounded and felt like a series of well rehearsed platitudes and deflections, largely aimed at the Liberal government that had started the process. Minister Day’s focus on blaming the previous government (which was his job as the opposition, by the way) reminded me of a project management joke.

A new PM (Project Manager for the purpose of the joke, not Prime Minister) took over a program. He showed up to find three envelopes and a note on his desk. The note was from the previous PM and read “You will probably run into problems. When you’re stuck for an answer, open envelope number one.”

The new PM put away the envelopes. After a few months, a major problem came up and he opened the first envelope.

“Blame your predecessor. When the next major problem occurs, open envelope number two.”

The PM went to his boss, explained the problem, blamed it on his predecessor, made some changes and carried on.

A few months later another problem arose that was worse than the first. He opened envelope number two.

“Reorganize. When the next major problem occurs, open envelope number three.”

The PM reorganized the project. That fixed the problem.

Eventually more problems surfaced and the PM opened envelope number three.

“Prepare three envelopes.”