One drawback to the whole announce-an-inquiry/investigation-(public- or-otherwise)-to-push-a-scandal- onto-the-backburner strategy of damage control. . .

Eventually, a nosy reporter with time (and column inches) to fill during the Christmas-to-New-Year’s news holiday may start asking annoying questions about why it still hasn’t gotten underway, which will lead to the revelation that nearly four months later, the government hasn’t even appointed a lead investigator for its promised probe into last summer’s listeriosis outbreak.

Eventually, a nosy reporter with time (and column inches) to fill during the Christmas-to-New-Year’s news holiday may start asking annoying questions about why it still hasn’t gotten underway, which will lead to the revelation that nearly four months later, the government hasn’t even appointed a lead investigator for its promised probe into last summer’s listeriosis outbreak.

(Speaking of news holidays, and holidays in general – as of tomorrow morning, ITQ will be back on the job.)

UPDATE: Colleague Wells explains how this sort of dithering might give observers the distinct impression that Canada currently has “no coherent government.”