The spate of public apologies merits examination.

Tony Blair apologized for the Irish famine; the Japanese prime minister apologized for the Second World War; the Pope apologized - or repented - for the behaviour of the Catholic Church during the Holocaust. And, Bill Clinton, as president of the US, apologized - in Africa - for slavery. But it is not quite clear who is saying sorry to whom. Or on whose behalf. Or how sorry they really are.

It’s a little more clear in the recent flurry of apologies by the Prime Minister of Canada “on behalf of the Canadian Government” for the 1914 Komagata Maru incident in which hundreds of Indians seeking a better life in Canada were turned away; to Maher Arar for any role Canadian officials may have played in the terrible ordeal that he experienced; and for the Canadian government's role in a century of isolating native children from their homes, families and cultures.

Generally, the Harper apologies have passed muster as real. They adhere to the simple rules for publicly showing remorse and trying to repair relationships -- with the possible exception of being personal. But then, Mr. Harper offering a personal apology would not have been accepted as sincere.

Apologies should be succinct, specific, and detailed. They must be clear about that for which the offerer is sorry.

Apologies cannot and should not offer explanations (that can come later), defenses, deflections, or blame. Too often, like a school child in the principal’s office, the offerer of an apology muddies the waters with excuses. However relevant these may be, they make matters worse and, unfortunately, a poor apology may be worse than no apology at all.

Apologies should be personal. “I apologize on behalf of the Giant Corporation,” just doesn’t feel sincere, heartfelt, or real. On the other hand, when a high-level Air Force official came to a community dramatically affected by groundwater pollution from an Air Force base, he said in a large public forum: “I am sorry we polluted your water. I am sorry we have not dealt with investigation and cleanup in the way we should have. I will take responsibility for ensuring that the Air Force makes your community whole again.” The statement was personal and filled with “I” language.

Apologies must be genuine. Perhaps the most important word of advice to any CEO, politician, or spokesperson is this: if you are not really sorry, don’t pretend to be. Apologies do have important functional value for one’s shareholders, constituents, or others. But they cannot and must not be false. The public can be surprisingly forgiving. But, they can also see through half-hearted apologies, wording that looks like a lawyer or publicist wrote it. If it isn’t felt, it isn’t real, and if it isn’t real, that will be conveyed one way or the other.

There's a powerful reason for the most senior person – the CEO, president, prime minister – to apologize. The public doesn't forgive corporations. What do they care about the alphabet soup of power: IBM or NCR or ADM or AMD? But they do care about people. It is people they're willing to forgive. No matter how high and mighty, whether you're the Minister of Defense or a CEO, being human personalizes the relationship with public jurors.