Canadian PM: Secrecy a good thing!

[ohmygoodness]

Harper defends right to secret cabinet meetings as 'a constitutional thing'

BRUCE CHEADLE

OTTAWA (CP) - Prime Minister Stephen Harper says Canadians have no right to know when the federal cabinet is meeting.

In an ongoing battle with the parliamentary press gallery over media access, the Conservatives held the first unannounced meeting of the full cabinet in recent memory Tuesday. "Meetings of cabinet are private. It's a constitutional thing," the prime minister argued at a mid-day availability.

The brewing dispute is really about image control and resetting the parameters within which the national media is permitted to do its job.

Traditionally, cabinet meetings have been announced in advance, which the House of Commons interprets as an implied invitation to the media to attend. Reporters then gathered outside the cabinet room to buttonhole ministers as they entered or departed.

By holding the meetings in secret, Harper has now effectively banned journalists from the floor where cabinet convenes - allowing ministers to come and go unobserved.

A heavier than usual contingent of Commons security staff patrolled the halls Tuesday morning, barring reporters from areas they had routinely frequented under past governments.

"We're going to need hard hats pretty soon," said one guard, rolling his eyes.

The prime minister blew off the media outrage with barely concealed disdain.

"I'm available regularly to answer your questions," Harper said. "If there are questions of substance, I am ready to answer them."

Two ministers, Rob Nicholson and Monte Solberg, followed Harper to the microphone in the Commons foyer, and a handful of others exited through the foyer where a couple agreed to be scrummed.

Solberg, the Immigration minister known in opposition for his garrulous nature with reporters, said he now has an obligation to accurately represent the government and the cabinet.

"The public respects a government that has its act together before it comes down and stands in front of a microphone," said Solberg.

Critics argue the issue isn't about forcing ministers to speak out of turn, but simply about permitting reporters to ask questions on issues not necessarily of the government's choosing.

"As representatives of the public, which is what we are, we should not abdicate the freedom to cover the issues that we think are important," said Emmanuelle Latraverse, president of the parliamentary press gallery.

The opposing view was expressed in a number of Internet blogs Tuesday, where readers claimed the controversy is representative of a biased media.

"I think that the government should announce to the media any topics of concern to Canadians when they come up," was one typical entry on the conservative blog smalldeadanimals.com.

[pacific breeze]

What happened to the accountable govt. platform they campaigned on? Oh, I forgot. They got elected.

If voting could change anything, it would be illegal.

[Grimmlok]

"I'll answer your silly questions if i deem them worthy of my time, otherwise you can suck on my disdain."

What happened to that campaign all about 'transparency' and 'accountibility' ?

Gee, where's Dracko now so I can rub her face in all the things I said would happen with a neocon government? The secrecy, the disdain for informing the public, the elitism...

"I think that the government should announce to the media any topics of concern to Canadians when they come up,"

Wtf is that, you want a gestapo propaganda center telling us what they think we should know!? I'll decide what I want to know and my government better fucking answer when I put the question to them. What the hell is this fascist crap? Why do these people exist, and why haven't they been quarantined?

Boot them out NOW. Before they get entrenched too deep, or we're going to have another Bush in north america. I can feel it coming, and it's the same feeling I had with Bush.

They need to go.

[Sojiita]

*hears the faint sound of goosestepping carrying over across Lake Erie*
*hears faint sound of increasing auditing chatter carrying over from Australia*
*hears loud knock of FBI at own door*

WTF is happening to the world????

[Grimmlok]

this is just spam.

[AliceInWonderland]

i'll spam you

[Grimmlok]

I gotcher spam...

IN MAH PANTS!!!!!

[AliceInWonderland]

ooo baby I can see that is that a pack of Hanes her way socks or are you just happy to see me ... again.