Public Humiliation: Harper's Punishment for Ministers Who Speak to Media

[Crotchety Old Man]

Public humiliation sounds like par for the course for a punishment meted out by our petty Prime Minister. I'm sure we can all expect to be humiliated over the course of this government's reign.

Here's the link to the story (http://www.cfrb.com/news/14/national-news/338024/in-harpers-tightly-scripted-government-loose-lips-sink-careers) about the list of punishments for ministers who make the mistake of speaking openly to Canadians through the media.


"Stick to the party line, or you'll go out there and tell the whole world that you're a dumb (jerk) who screwed up."

[TenzoR]

i dun see the problem, if you can't even follow your party you deserve to be punish

[Paksis]

Public humiliation sounds like par for the course for a punishment meted out by our petty Prime Minister. I'm sure we can all expect to be humiliated over the course of this government's reign.

Here's the link to the story (http://www.cfrb.com/news/14/national-news/338024/in-harpers-tightly-scripted-government-loose-lips-sink-careers) about the list of punishments for ministers who make the mistake of speaking openly to Canadians through the media.


I like the comment at the bottom of the article. The Press was used to being spoonfed by the Liberals and told what to do and what to print. Now the Tories aren't speaking ro the Ottawa Press Gallery and they aren't used to that. They can't get any Gotcha comments and actually have to work for a living. Press gallery is very upset at that.

"This job is not a game. It has to be done properly and professionally," said one government official.

"Canadians expect nothing less."

[Crotchety Old Man]

"Canadians expect nothing less."
Actually, I expect quite a bit more.

(e.g.: Ministers with expertise who can think for themselves, rather than trained seals afraid of a beating.)

[JimG]

Minister's should be able to express the opinions of their ridings, whether or not those opinions are consistant with the party platform.

[FastFokker]

Minister's should be able to express the opinions of their ridings, whether or not those opinions are consistant with the party platform.
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/166/untitled13id.jpg

This government is not FOR the people, it's FOR our supreme leader!

JimG, if you continue spewing such propoganda, you'll be the first to be taken away!

[fakishan]

Minister's should be able to express the opinions of their ridings, whether or not those opinions are consistant with the party platform.
You and your neighbours are off to Guantanamo Bay.

http://www.damninteresting.com/wp-content/RCMP3.jpg

[fakishan]

i dun see the problem, if you can't even follow your party you deserve to be punish

then ministers should be disqualified if they say anything else during election time than what their party line dictates?

most ministers would be gone. have you forgotten that ministers only get elected based on their promises?

ask a few canadian on the streets about the conservative/liberal party line, and they'll look dumbfounded.

[Crotchety Old Man]

You and your neighbours are off to Guantanamo Bay.

Actually, in Canada dissidents like FastFokker are sent to Goose Bay.

[FastFokker]

Actually, in Canada dissidents like FastFokker are sent to Goose Bay.Doesn't sound to bad to me... Happy Valley - Goose Bay!! (http://www.happyvalley-goosebay.com), I'll hang out with the newfies any day.

Heck all the travellers who were stuck there on 9/11 when the planes were grounded seem to have loved the place, and have since been travelling there on vacation.

[Happy13178]

I like the comment at the bottom of the article. The Press was used to being spoonfed by the Liberals and told what to do and what to print. Now the Tories aren't speaking ro the Ottawa Press Gallery and they aren't used to that. They can't get any Gotcha comments and actually have to work for a living. Press gallery is very upset at that.

"This job is not a game. It has to be done properly and professionally," said one government official.

"Canadians expect nothing less."

The press isn't being told anything at ALL....so working for a living has nothing to do with it, and frankly, you couldn't do the jobs that a lot of them do, so I'd think twice before belittling their positions.

And what does it say about our government when one of the first things the new pm does is take away transparency into public operations and censor elected officials? That's not Conservative, it's Communist.

[Crotchety Old Man]

Doesn't sound to bad to me... Happy Valley - Goose Bay!! (http://www.happyvalley-goosebay.com), I'll hang out with the newfies any day.

Heck all the travellers who were stuck there on 9/11 when the planes were grounded seem to have loved the place, and have since been travelling there on vacation.
You musn't have been to the Stephen Harper Memorial Detention & Torture Centre, yet.

http://www.strategic-air-command.com/bases/images/goose_bay_housing.jpg

(If you look closely, you can just make out the new Public Humiliation Facility in the left foreground of the picture - I hear it's state of the art!)

[FastFokker]

http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/7342/flag3fv.gif

[Happy13178]

http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/7342/flag3fv.gif

QFT. What's funniest here is all the Conservatives who fought for Harper, not realizing they were voting Communist. We might as well have voted in Stockwell Day. And you thought the Liberals could mount good fear campaigns before....just wait until the next election. Harper's already done more for the Liberals than they could have ever done for themselves.

The cool thing for the Cons here is, now if there's another adscam, they can avoid the public scandal because nobody will be allowed to talk about it. :p

[FastFokker]

Harper is making a more transparent government, unforunately the transparency is blocked by a thick wall. :lol:

Woops, didn't mention that in the campaign.

[d_jedi]

I think MPs or Cabinet ministers should be allowed to speak their mind.. but they should also make it clear that their views do not represent the views of the government.

[FastFokker]

I think MPs or Cabinet ministers should be allowed to speak their mind.. but they should also make it clear that their views do not represent the views of the government.MP's and Cabinet Ministers *ARE* the government. :lol:

[devious9191]

I'm not sure if you guys are reading the same article as the rest of us.. or if you're just misinterpreting it on purpose.

All that they're saying is that if a minister makes a statement that isn't true, that they're going to be forced to retract it. I'm not exactly sure what the problem is. Some of the Conservative MP's are nutjobs, and the leash needs to be kept tight, or you're going to have guys like Day out there saying that all abortion doctors are murderers, which isn't the view of the party.. and won't do any good for the party.

Seems like a smart move from Harper's camp.

[evman150]

It's almost as if this policy was designed specifically for Rob Anders.

[FastFokker]

Some of the Conservative MP's are nutjobsYou do have a valid point! :lol:

[asim99]

You do have a valid point! :lol:
though i'd argue with the use of 'some'....'most' is more like it

[FastFokker]

though i'd argue with the use of 'some'....'most' is more like itNo.. no.. see you could get away with 'some', but if you use 'most' Poedua will drill you for proof/links! :lol:

I'm sticking with some.. as some could qualify as almost none to most. :lol:

[blackhawk]

I'm not sure if you guys are reading the same article as the rest of us.. or if you're just misinterpreting it on purpose.

All that they're saying is that if a minister makes a statement that isn't true, that they're going to be forced to retract it. I'm not exactly sure what the problem is. Some of the Conservative MP's are nutjobs, and the leash needs to be kept tight, or you're going to have guys like Day out there saying that all abortion doctors are murderers, which isn't the view of the party.. and won't do any good for the party.

Seems like a smart move from Harper's camp.

exactly!, its "mis speaking to the press", not speaking to them that will be the public humiliation of being corrected by the minister or prime minister

the press hates harper because they're being weaned off the ever talkative liberals who unfortunately could only talk, not do

the loss of the culture of entitlement and coziness is affecting the press and others as well as the last governing party, its a transition

[ethansmith]

Actually, I expect quite a bit more.

(e.g.: Ministers with expertise who can think for themselves, rather than trained seals afraid of a beating.)Agree.

Each human being is different. You should be able to join a party because you like, say, 70% of their ideas. It shouldn't be 100% or nothing. If it was, there'd be 30 million different political parties in Canada.

Our government is suspose to be made up of individuals that represent the people of their particiular riding, not represent the political party they are part of. The political party should simply be an easy way of telling you which way a candidate leans to help you make your decision on voting day.

We should be voting for leaders, not followers.

With all the talk of trasparency, I wasn't expecting this when the Cons were elected:

http://www.deskpicture.com/DPs/Miscellaneous/PittedBrickWall_g.jpg
Shame on me.

--Ethan

[gordholio]

I think that ministers should have some leeway to publicly state some of their opinions. The problem is that some of the Conservative members in the past have said things that were totally embarrassing to their leader and party.
It's healthy to allow differing opinions.
Harper is just trying to ensure that his loose cannons don't embarass him or his party and screw up his chances in the next election.
I think discretion is needed, not a total clampdown.

[UrbanPoet]

MP's and Cabinet Ministers *ARE* the government. :lol:

but if one mp or cm has a different opinion it doesnt reflect the entire ideals of the party.

[devious9191]

No.. no.. see you could get away with 'some', but if you use 'most' Poedua will drill you for proof/links! :lol:

I'm sticking with some.. as some could qualify as almost none to most. :lol:

'Some' is true.. 'most' obviously isn't. The only area that would vote for a right wing party regardless of who was running, is Alberta, and probably a couple of other ridings in Western provinces.. so it makes sense that if any of the rest of them were too 'extreme', that they wouldn't be elected, no? Particularly since all of those areas were voting liberal, a dozen years ago at the outside.

I can't think of anywhere outside of Alberta where a guy like Day would get elected.. but then again, I can't think of anywhere outside of Toronto where a woman like Parrish would get elected..

[Happy13178]

exactly!, its "mis speaking to the press", not speaking to them that will be the public humiliation of being corrected by the minister or prime minister

the press hates harper because they're being weaned off the ever talkative liberals who unfortunately could only talk, not do

the loss of the culture of entitlement and coziness is
affecting the press and others as well as the last governing party, its a transition

Comments like these show that you have absolutely no idea of how the Canadian media works, and very little of how government is supposed to work.

The press doesn't hate Harper because he won't talk to them, and they don't hate the Conservatives either. You're always going to have particular media outlets that lean one way or the other, which is a reflection of Canadian society today. You'll find that most media are broken up into the same political views as the rest of the country, but rarely as extreme. There are liberals (small l), conservatives (small c), etc. We have the advantage of being able to delve much deeper into the working of government, and see all sides of the issues. The tricky part is conveying it all to the people with as little bias as possible, in stories that will fit on a print page or into a 45 second story slot. The press represents the people just as much as government does, and the government locking out the press is effectively locking out public knowledge of the government. This is an ominous approach, and the implications of what that could mean down the road is what the press doesn't like.

Having the Liberals comment on everything didn't necessarily make anything easier, because they're only comments, not facts. The press has to dig for those the same way with the Conservatives as they did with the Liberals. Now, Harper says he's clamping down to keep other members of the party from making comments to embarass him. The fact is, the ministers are commenting on things like health care and abortion rights and how they'd like to see them revisited. So, if a Conservative member of the government says that, is it not fair to say that he/she is commenting on what the party also believes, up to a point? And what his/her constituents believe as well? Harper doesn't want people to know that revisiting those issues is an option, both because that's what has largely kept the party out of power in the past, and just because its possible to revisit the issues doesn't mean they're actually going to do it. THAT'S a big contributing factor as to why he's clamping down on media relations.