Les Miserables

This makes one wonder what would have happened if Canada's Parliamentary Press Gallery had decided, together, not to take any nonsense about limiting our access to politicians.

For those who can't click on the link, or understand French, it is a story about how the political reporters in Paris rebelled when the French government erected a simple rope cordon around meetings of the Conseil des ministres. Here in Canada, we've been banned from the entire floor where cabinet meetings are held and we are not told when they're happening. Vive les journalistes libre.

Cops 'n' politics

Another day, another RCMP foray into the political realm. What a week this has been.

Here's what's just moved on the Canadian Press wire:

MONTREAL — The RCMP has charged a former top Liberal organizer in Quebec with fraud in connection with the sponsorship scandal.

Benoit Corbeil, the former director of the federal Liberals’ Quebec wing, was arrested this morning and charged with influence peddling, fraud and conspiracy against the party and the federal government between 1997 and 2000.

Corbeil testified during the sponsorship inquiry that he distributed cash-stuffed envelopes to party volunteers in advance of the 2000 election.

Former ad man Jean Brault told the inquiry he worked with party officials, including Corbeil, to divert $1.1 million in cash to the party in exchange for sponsorship contracts.

Corbeil is to appear in court this afternoon.

There's lots of talk out there today about the timing of this announcement, coming so soon after the raid at Conservative headquarters. But maybe, given this coincidence, it was simply a two-for-one expedition at 130 Albert St., and while the cops were in the neighbourhood, they found some old sponsorship stuff too.

Cadman redux

TORONTO STAR PHOTO

Young Liberals were driving this van around downtown Ottawa, blaring audio excerpts of Stephen Harper's interview with the author of a book on the late MP Chuck Cadman. The small sign on the door claims the vehicle is "carbon neutral."

It's the first proper patio day in Ottawa and hordes of politicos are out for lunch.

Somewhat jarring, though, is the background noise — the voice of Stephen Harper on loudspeakers, sort of like you'd hear on election day in a Third World country.

The young Liberals got a van, plastered it with a photo of Harper and the slogan — "explain the tape" — and have the PM on a continuous tape loop, over the megaphone. It's his interview with the journalist who wrote the book on Chuck Cadman, in which he discusses "financial considerations" offered in exchange for the independent MP's vote in 2005.

Check here for the background of the stunt.

Is there a trend here?

Look at things over the long term, and you start to see a pattern:

* Former Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney is accused of an improper relationship with German-Canadian businessman Karl-Heinz Schreiber in the 1990s and immediately alleges that it's a plot by the Liberals and the CBC, in part, to do him in. It takes about a decade to get past the blame-the-messenger business and have a public inquiry called into the whole affair.

* During a Commons committee hearing last fall into this controversy, a Liberal MP asks Mulroney if he has held meetings with then-Industry Minister Maxime Bernier to discuss the auction of wireless-telephone airwaves.  This line of questioning gets totally sidetracked when a CBC reporter is accused of planting those questions with the Liberals. The CBC reporter is reassigned, the Conservatives cry victory and it isn't until months later we get past the blame-the-messenger business to learn there was some substance to the questioning (Globe and Mail article, requires subscription).

* This week, the RCMP raids the Conservative party headquarters and the government alleges a Liberal-CBC plot once again.  Conservatives  ask: how did the CBC get tipped to the presence of RCMP officers at the Albert St. building? They want to know: how did the Liberals get there with video cameras so quickly? (Dion and Liberal aides say they got the tip through sources close to their office televisions. They saw Susan Bonner's report and ran over, as we at the Star did too.)

Presumably, if the pattern holds, we'll get past this blame-the-messenger noise as well,  to focus on the substance of the Conservative dispute with Elections Canada.

And a  couple of other, related updates:

* We now know that the announcement of Gen. Rick Hillier's resignation was pushed up a day - it was supposed to come Wednesday, the general told CanWest columnist Don Martin, but it was evidently rushed out on Tuesday to push the raid to the sidelines of the news agenda. See Martin's interview with CBC Newsworld's Don Newman (video available for seven days after Tuesday's broadcast) for a bit of insight into how he ended up talking to Hillier in advance of the announcement. Kudos to the Conservatives if that was the plan  - many newspapers, including the Star, played up the Hillier story  at the expense of the story on the raid.

* Also on  Tuesday night,  as the wild news day wound down, CTV held a large, swanky party in Ottawa to mark 50 years of local broadcasting. It was a wildly successful party, with an open bar and A-list guests. The Prime Minister and a large group of Conservatives attended.  It seems doubtful that a similar, CBC gathering would have the same kind of draw in Ottawa these days. Of course, it would also be inappropriate for the taxpayer-financed  broadcaster to host a similarly lavish gathering.   

Tories still whipping Ontario

Further to polls showing the Conservatives taking a hit for their repeated slams against Ontario, particularly those by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, the Liberals have produced some pro-Ontario swag to capitalize on the sentiment (at right -- click for larger image).

The Conservatives, by the way, seem undeterred by the poll results, using one of their questions in the Commons yesterday to take another poke at Premier McGuinty and his stand on China/Tibet. Here's the Hansard excerpt.

Mr. David Sweet (Ancaster — Dundas — Flamborough — Westdale, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, last week Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and his trade minister stated that human rights were a federal matter and it was not the province's role to get involved. This week, after a trip to China, trade minister Pupatello suggested that Canada should nurture a dialogue with China regarding human rights in Tibet.

Could the justice minister please tell the House the government's view on who should be advancing the issue of human rights?

Hon. Rob Nicholson (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, it was only a few days ago that the Ontario government was trying to pass off human rights as solely a federal responsibility. Now it is suggesting that there should be dialogue between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama and that Canada may be able to help. I am glad it finally figured out that human rights are the responsibility of all levels of government.

This government is interested in promoting human rights. We continue to encourage dialogue between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama and the full respect of all human rights.

 

Uncomfortable question for Mexico's president

The North American Leaders' Summit will be held next week in New Orleans — bringing together President George W. Bush, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

In terms of actual news, these events can be a little light. The "three amigos," as they're called, usually issue a press release at the end of day-long meetings, restating their commitment to work together for the good of North America, and so on, and then everyone goes home.

The final press conference usually consists of VERY long statements by each leader and then six questions from the journalists — two from the Americans, two from the Mexicans, two from the Canadians. It's interesting to watch each country's scribes huddle before the event, putting aside competition, ego, etc., to come up with the two most pressing questions for their own nations. The Canadians, as a rule, usually use these occasions to get a rare chance to put a question directly to the U.S. President — and to the Mexican leader too, if there's an obvious Canada-Mexico issue on the horizon.

Picture this, then: Next week, with Bush and Harper standing beside him, and all the U.S. and Mexican networks airing the press conference live, Calderon will probably be asked about the case of Brenda Martin, the Canadian woman who's spent two years in a Guadalajara jail.

That probably explains why we're seeing some action on this issue this week. The judge hearing Martin's case today has promised a verdict by Friday. Just in time to prevent what could be some awkward questions next week.

 

 

Harper loosens the leash

There is a link, of sorts, between various political news events this week -- ministerial discretion.

Industry Minister Jim Prentice is being applauded for using his discretion to block the sale of Radarsat-2 to an American firm.

But Immigration Minister Diane Finley is under fire for an attempt to gain more powers of discretion over who gets to stay in Canada.

And there was a star-studded event on Parliament Hill today, in which celebrities denounced plans to give the Heritage Minister more discretion over financing of Canadian films.

What do the three stories have in common? They're all about ministers using their power -- for good or ill, depending on your point of view.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has never been accused of leaving his ministers on a long leash. So this is an interesting, even ironic trend. And it corresponds with what seems to be a slight increase in cabinet ministers making public appearances.

One of the most notable was Defence Minister Peter MacKay,  doing a lengthy appearance on CBC TV's The National this week, taking and answering questions from the public.

Given how much this government has tried to give CBC the back of its hand, making clear its favouritism for CTV, this was definitely a break in the normal protocol. Does it all point to Harper trusting his cabinet more these days?

Update: Chantal Hébert sees ministers on the loose too, and calls it the "Bob Rae" effect - a bid to match the Liberals' team talk with a Conservative A-squad.

Greens see red over RCMP - are the other parties just yellow?

Does anyone else find it odd that of all the political parties, it's only the Greens who are crying foul over whether the RCMP meddled in the last election campaign?

Prime Minister Stephen Harper used to be quite vocal about his suspicions of political interference in the RCMP. For instance, here's what he said in November, 2005, weeks before the election, about how the RCMP had handled the investigation into the Liberal sponsorship affair.

"The police and the authorities have to do their job but I have a sneaking suspicion that this job would be done much more effectively and much more quickly if the Liberal party were not in power...  I'm perplexed, I'm disturbed and I think most Canadians are, that quite frankly the prosecutions have not proceeded farther along and have not been more successful."

These days, however, neither the Conservatives, Liberals, New Democrats or Bloc Quebecois seem very interested in pursuing the fact that Guiliano Zaccardelli refused to assist in the probe into what happened in the 2005-06 election campaign - when he apparently specifically instructed staff to mention the name of Ralph Goodale in the bombshell news release.

Another day at the office

The accidental theme of the day over at Question Period today was Quebec humiliation.

First it was Conservative MP Scott Reid, trying to ask a friendly question to his own government about human rights in Tibet. Whoops, though. It came out as human rights in Quebec. The House roared –  even Conservatives were laughing.

Then Liberal leader Stephane Dion strode into the foyer to tell reporters of another Conservative slam against his home province. Apparently, in the sports pages of La Presse today, the government’s own political minister for Quebec, Michael Fortier, threw cold water on hopes for the Montreal Canadiens to make it to the Stanley Cup. As one of the "personalities" asked for his prediction, Fortier says the Habs will make it through the first round, but lose to the New York Rangers in the second round.

Dion, with much consternation, denounced Fortier as "defeatist" when he came to talk to reporters this afternoon.

Time for some damage control.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told reporters he likes the way Montreal has rebounded from last year. "This is a hockey team that didn’t make the playoffs last year."

Flaherty, who grew up in Quebec, said today’s Habs reminded him of the Montreal teams when he was a boy – lots of speed, lots of goal-scoring."

Asked if he would have cheered for the Toronto Maple Leafs had they been in the playoffs, Flaherty, the Conservative GTA minister, laughed: "I don’t answer hypothetical questions."

McGuinty in the crosshairs again

Uh oh. Ottawa and Ontario are at odds again — this time over China. We just received a press release from the federal Conservatives, slamming Premier McGuinty because Trade Minister Sandra Pupatello is planning a trade trip to China. "McGuinty should Stand Up for Human Rights," says the release.

But there's an interesting chronology to this, according to our Queen's Park people.

This morning, the provincial Tories were denouncing the trip because it was an economic waste of time.

"She should be home here where the real heat is on and the real pressure is, and that’s trying to salvage this economy under this government’s tax and spend policies," Conservative MPP John Yakabuski said.

Then Canadian Press sent out a story, saying that the provincial Conservatives were basing their objections on the economy, not rights.

Presto, Conservative leader John Tory emerged at a press conference to play up the human-rights angle. And then, a few hours later, the federal Conservatives got in on the act with their own news release.

We here in Ottawa look forward to what names McGuinty will be called this week in Ottawa — the small man of the planet, perhaps? Today in the Commons, Speaker Peter Milliken issued a rare rebuke when Government House Leader Peter Van Loan, a fan of name-calling and author of the "small man" remarks, kept describing Liberal leader Stéphane Dion as "the pouting professor."