What happened to propriety?

Despite serious allegations of misconduct, Ralph Goodale says he won’t step aside. Some choice quotes from the article:

“This is not an allegation of jaywalking; it’s an allegation of something much more serious than that,” he said, “but it is just that, it is an allegation.

“It is not by any means proven and I know I’ve examined my own conduct in this matter and I’m confident that conduct is consistent with 30 years of integrity and trust in public life.”

But …

Questioned repeatedly about why he won’t step aside until the investigation is complete, Goodale said RCMP officials aren’t at the root of the allegations. “The opposition have made those allegations.”

You know, where I work we still abide by the old dictum that the appearance of impropriety is almost as severe as true impropriety. Apparently we are held (and hold ourselves) to a higher ethical standard than the feds.