You know that's funny, because I hear that Rob Ford, who has admitted to breaking the law while sitting as Chief Magistrate of the City of Toronto, doesn't believe he's got a conflict of interest in making decisions around the City Police budget.
The Mayor's brother/Councillor Doug Ford supported this position - in fact, he suggested reporters "look under the definition of conflict."
That would be a good idea for all of these folk, and a good number of others as well because I don't think the term means what they think it means.
Here's the Mirriam-Webster definition: a conflict between private interests and the official responsibilities of a person in a position of trust.
The key word in that definition is trust.
I know of nobody that trusts the Fords - rather, they trust the system less. Ford has, repeatedly, admitted to lying, to not being able to account for his own actions (drunken stupours and all) and dismissed out-of-hand any concerns about his competency.
If Chopra were an elected official, there'd be an uproar about his clear conflict of interest but so far as he's concerned, it's just business.
Trust isn't about money - it's about behaviour. Until leaders start internalizing this concept, they are going to keep finding themselves in conflicts that don't serve their interests.
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