The New Democrat critic of federal childcare policy, Olivia Chow, was considering a formal complaint to the Speaker of the Commons about the rude treatment afforded her at this week's federal-provincial-territorial ministers meeting. Chow, on the heels of the federal minister Diane Finley, then three provincial ministers, had just stepped up to the microphones to give her reaction to the media (who had been earlier shooed off the hotel floor where the meeting was held and sent to a media room).
"Hey, this is a fed-prov meeting," said Alain Garceau, the public servant in charge of media relations for Finley's department. With that, Garceau unplugged the microphone's feed into the soundbox, as Chow was mid-quote.
Zap! The feed went dead. Camera operators looked around. And Chow was left, momentarily, speechless.
Chow told reporters her privileges as an MP were violated by the public servant's actions. But late today she opted for a letter to Finley herself to complain about her department's behaviour.
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