Harper's staff behind media ban, sources say

[tuvor]

The Harper government's controversial decision to ban the Canadian news media from ceremonies honouring repatriated war dead originated in the Prime Minister's Office and was made primarily for political reasons, multiple sources close to the government said yesterday.

"It was not Gordon O'Connor's idea," one said. "Exactly whose idea it was is somewhere in the Langevin Block."

Several sources close to the Prime Minister's Office said the strategy originated with Sandra Buckler, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's new communications director. She then sold it to Mr. Harper, arguing it would generate only "a week of bad publicity," after which it would be accepted as a fait accompli, sources said.

Asked whether it was her idea, Ms. Buckler replied in an e-mail: "Not true." She declined to say whose idea it was.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060428.wxmilitary28/BNStory/National/home

[glarius]

1. Harper being the dictatorial control freak he is, it is hard to believe it

was anyone else's idea but his!....

[ClusterFreak]

2. You know, it's funny what a hot potato this has become...

...for this bunch. They - whomever "they" are (I suspect the PMO/Buckler/Harper) - made this decision for reasons they claimed were out of respect for the victims' families. Yet, NO ONE is willing to stand up and defend it. Oh, it was O'Connor....it was someone else....we support it but we didn't actually make the decision ourselves.

Puhleese.

[Spazito]

3. The party of 'responsibility', lol, sure sounds familiar!

Everyone but everyone else must have done it.