Avoid absolute statements in a crisis

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says that his government still plans to hand more responsibility for food inspections to the industry, “to change the system to make sure that we have greater responsibility on those who ultimately market the product." He will regret sticking to his guns.

The advice I give clients in crisis includes a warning against making absolute statements. “There’s no possible way that listeria contaminated product could come from our processing plant.” In the early stages of a developing crisis, put emphasis on collecting evidence and facts. Information is incomplete in the early phases of a surprise event. It is important to be able to confront opinion with facts. Making a statement that you eventually have to repudiate can destroy credibility.

In this case, the Prime Minister should have left his options open. Regardless of his faith in the policy of devolving responsibility for product quality to industry as “right”, he has painted himself into a corner. When the federal inspection system at the plant is found to have been inadequate in the perception of the Canadian public, being “right” will be dead wrong.