Standing up for the troops

Prime Minister Stephen Harper doesn't answer reporters questions at all in Ottawa anymore, basically. Yes, I know, boo hoo, so sad for us --  all we do is whine about it. 

But I would like to draw people's attention to the way we're hearing of a possible extension in Canada's commitment to Afghanistan.  It first emerged in news reports from "senior government sources" over the weekend -- here in the Star and elsewhere, for instance.

Had this been a week that the House was sitting, the Prime Minister might have been called upon to speak on this issue in the Commons.  He does still speak there, unscripted,  from time to time. Instead, Harper appeared at an anti-Semitism conference taking place on Parliament Hill, made some brief remarks, and vanished, leaving it to his spokesperson, Dimitri Soudas, to explain the matter on television and elsewhere.

Soudas, unless I've missed the news of a coup or something, doesn't make decisions about Canada's military commitments. Not too long ago, I recall hearing that he was too junior to be called to a Commons committee -- that this government believed in the notion of ministerial accountability and staff would not forced to explain their bosses' actions. 

"It is ministers who decide policy and ministers who must defend it before the House and ultimately before the people of Canada," then Government House Leader Jay Hill told the  Commons. "Public servants and staff support ministers' authority; they do not supplant it."

 

So I ask, seriously, on this most important of issues -- putting Canadian troops in harm's way, even if it's just a training mission in Afghanistan  -- why the heck are we putting up with Harper's silence on this today? It took a certain amount of chutzpah this morning to surface in public and not speak about it.  And I guess it takes a certain amount  of whining to point it out.   Never mind reporters, though.  Citizens, and Canada's troops, deserve better. You might consider telling him yourself.

Comments

[anna]

Boo-hoo making a storm out of nothing!

[Dan Aiken]

Yay, yay, Liberals are us!
We love them and they us!
TorStar, TorStar, facts are dull
Let us propagate through your skull!
Telling the truth is kind of lame
Liberal drib-drab is our game
We've got no ethics, morals, or skill
So swallow our Kool-Aid left wing shill!

Goooooo TorStar!

Hey Delacourt, when did you stop beating your wife? Why won't you answer that question, Huh? It's more valid than anything you people ask.

[Aaron]

I hope we are seeing the dying days of the arrogant Harper government. His contempt for the press is contempt for the people he is supposed to represent -Canadians.

[jad]

Could it perhaps be that numbers have not yet been finalized, that discussions are ongoing within the military and between Canada and the other NATO countries, that the PM does not want to come out and commit to a specific number and then have to change it.

No of course not, he simply wants to keep the media in the dark.

[Irritable Canadian]

Perhaps he doesn't answer your questions Susan because you were the water carrier for Paul Martin and his crew.

[John W]

Thanks for the frank posting.
What I can never get over is how Harper can get away with the support the troops, if you question anything you're a traitor or Taliban sympathizer line, and at the same time he gets away with treating veterans like the scum of the earth. And the Ottawa media just rolls along as if this is the most obvious thing imaginable. Love the troops; hate the veterans; what could be more logical?

[jerry]

What do you expect from HARPER ,He will get one of his lieing dogs to do the dirty work The PM has no backbone All this BS about potash, the 13 sask seats made the decision Why wont he speak to the press ,is it becuse they know heis a lier

[Michael horn]

Excuse me people, there are real facts at stake here. While I wish we hadn't commited to a 2011 pull out date I'm more concerned that the Afghan discussion is being kept out of parliment again. There was little or no debate for the intial mission or it's compromise deadline so it matters to me that liberal and conservative politicians are announcing another compromise without wanting to think outloud. I think it's a good plan but the original reason for parlimentary democracy was to discourage our leaders from wasting tax money on poorly planned military strategies.

[J Teller]

Just wondering if you're still a journalist if you're advocating for people to speak out. Seems to me that's obvious crossing of the line. If you're outraged, then bitch about it. But this blog is part of a newspaper and you're on the payroll Susan. I share your outrage, but set up your own private blog to vent about Harper - don't blur the line between journalism and advocacy - some will say you're no longer balanced in your reporting.

[Aongasha]

Why speak to a press printing rumours that have not become official government policy. And more importantly why speak to a press that does nothing but malign the man and his government. He owes you nothing! And you certainly don't speak for the citizens of Canada.
Only for the Liberal Party.

[hollinm]

Don't get your knickers in a knot Susan. All will be revealed in the fullness of time. If the government hasn't made a decision and is still consulting what would the PM say. He will speak when he has something to say and not before. I know that bothers the progressives in this country including the media but as I say there will be an announcement when the decisions have been made. There is enough information out there where the government can read the tea leaves before making a decision.

[albertaclipper]

The business of the country is done in parliament and not through the Star.

[thermo]

All these people defending Harper would be howling at the moon for blood if this was a Liberal behaving like this. He was voted into office on a platform of accountability.
That means answering to the public and not hiding behind his unelected staffers (another thing he rallied against once upon a time). if they are merely "rumours" he needs to tell us that and if there's truth to it, he needs to defend the Government's plans in parliament. This is a democracy, not a dictatorship.

It disgusts me to see people putting partisan bs ahead of the safety of our troops and the accountability of our government.

[albertaclipper]

Because Susan girly, military decisions usually don't appear in the Star before they come up in parliament.

[westcoastcedar]

I find it disturbing how aggressive and abusive the pro-government voices are in this thread. Is it possible to disagree without immediately going into attack mode? The virulence of these comments reminds me of the worst elements of US political discourse.

[Anne Peterson]

I was wondering when Dmitri Soudas had been appointed Prime Minister, what with his making the important announcements these days.

[Anne Peterson]

It occurs to me that everything is strangely undemocratic now. The Globe and Mail is conducting the health care debate that should be going on in parliament. We don't know if the comments on these discussion threads are being made by people paid by the Prime Minister's Office. Answers in QP are spin repeated again and again. Seems like the main talent required on the government bench is short term memory. Important announcements are made by unelected people while the Prime Minister skitters away from any real discussion of anything. Most decisions appear to be off the cuff with no real input from anyone other than the PM. And then when things go awry there is a great kerfluffle of blame and fuss and bafflegab to attempt to hide the mess. And most of the press goes merrily on behaving as though things are OK. Seems like they are running scared. From whom I am not quite sure. Their corporate masters? The government? Woe is me.

[MJH]

The Star should be supporting the Liberals Plan for keeping troops in Afghanistan.

[Cam]

well jad, "Could it perhaps be that numbers have not yet been finalized, that discussions are ongoing within the military and between Canada and the other NATO countries, that the PM does not want to come out and commit to a specific number and then have to change it."

then why have his spokesman come out all over tv and speak to the story then? The same spokesman is known for "off the record" briefings with favored journalists in Ottawa, so he probably leaked the story in the first place.

[Frank Docherty]

In my tool box, the wonder tool is the vise grips. At the PMO, it is the "6,000-mile screwdriver"... and engraved on the handle is "Stephen Harper". ( http://fairwhistleblower.ca/content/pmo-issued-instructions-denying-abuse-07 ) With respect to standing up for the troops, all Harper had to do was explain that our troops did not torture detainees, that they simply followed HIS orders to hand them over to be tortured. I suppose it is hard to tell the truth when you are seeking re-election. Perhaps throwing Pat Stogran under the bus on Rememberance Day was what he will soon realise to be just a little too distracting, and, what will become known as "his least favourite mistake" ???

[Frank Docherty]

The Fonz can only build bird houses for so long before he "snapps" !!! ( http://fairwhistleblower.ca/content/whistleblower-advocates-call-reforms-ag-launches-probe ) When our wounded warriors come home, with physical and mental injuries that we will never be able to comprehend, lifelong injuries that make our democractic and free life possible, the least that we can do for them is to acknowledge and respect the sacrifice that they made for our children. If we don't, their sacrifices would be for nothing, and our children will suffer the same in silence.

[Frank Docherty]

Prosecuting the Canadian mother who allowed her 10-year-old son to be trained as a child soldier and kill allied troops just might support our troops. "He was 10 when his father enrolled him in weapons training - the same age many of the Sierra Leonean kids were drawn into battle." ( http://www.thestar.com/news/globalvoices/article/886757--global-voices-adults-still-failing-omar-khadr )

[Frank Docherty]

National Security Criminal Investigations ( http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/nsci-ecsn/index-eng.htm ) could help to support our troops. "The adults in Khadr's life used fear and intimidation to enlist him, much like the boys in Freetown. However, those children were transferred to positive enviroments teaching trust. ( http://www.thestar.com/news/globalvoices/article/886757--global-voices-adults-still-failing-omar-khadr#article ) Canada is failing our troops by not prosecuting those who teach their children to be child soldiers.

[Frank Docherty]

Standing up for the troops means standing up for the principals and values of our Canadian society for which they are willing to fight and die for. ( http://fairwhistleblower.ca/content/follow-letter-prime-minister-harper-and-opposition-leaders ) If the PM is not willing to stand up for them, then he should stand down.

[Cam]

It blows me away to see the Conservatives on this post say 'it's just rumors.' There are no rumors, no leaks in Ottawa without the express permission and knowledge of PMO. They leak it, then put Dimitri out to comment on it, and the media dance to what they're piping.