Two nights ago, Ottawa-based APTN reporter (and former colleague) Jorge Barrera tweeted:
Chiefs have been told PM will make statement and leave bulk of work to ministers during Friday’s meeting.
— Jorge Barrera (@JorgeBarrera) January 9, 2013
That got a lot of Twitter pickup, with nearly 30 re-tweets etc.
A few minutes later, after being contacted by a spokesman for Harper, Barrera tweeted:
PMO says no. Details coming
— Jorge Barrera (@JorgeBarrera) January 9, 2013
That one didn’t get so much pickup. Only 4 retweets.
Today, (another former colleague) Gloria Galloway reports in The Globe and Mail that:
” At the same time, the Prime Minister signalled that he would attend only part of the Friday meeting … Many [chiefs] said they were also unhappy to learn that Mr. Harper might be present for just half an hour at the beginning of the talks and half an hour at the end. When asked if that was Mr. Harper’s plan, spokesman Carl Valée replied: “Things are still being worked out at the moment.”
Galloway did not, however, report how this idea — that Harper will spend only an hour with the chiefs Friday — surfaced. Who “signalled”? How did it happen?
I asked the Assembly of First Nations yesterday if anyone had told that organization that Harper would be present only briefly for the meeting and whether, for that matter, the AFN had any other details about the meeting such as where it will be and when it will start. Here’s the answer from an organizational spokesperson:
“Meeting details – location, timing, etc – still being confirmed… I understand it will be a full day meeting with PM and members of Cabinet.”
Again, that’s from the AFN at mid-afternoon Wednesday. Presumably, National Chief Shawn Atleo and other AFN chiefs would have had that same information as they were meeting at the same time at an Ottawa hotel. Where did this “signal” come from?
I also asked the same question of the PMO yesterday — What is the level of PM’s involvement in the meeting? Where will it be? Will it start in the morning? Mid-morning? Late afternoon? — and was also told, “Details will be forthcoming.”
The only thing the PMO would tell me was that Barrera’s initial assertion — that the PM would simply show up,make a statement, and leave after 30 minutes — was wrong. And that’s what Barrera’s second tweet was all about.
Still: I’m not sure why the PMO is being so coy about details about a meeting that is happening tomorrow. Surely when the PM proposed the meeting last week he himself would have had an idea how much engagement he personally wanted to bring to the file. In the meantime, the silence from the PMO on the meeting details makes it easy for those who already dislike the Harper Conservatives to continue telling everyone he’s hardly going to be there.
He may yet hardly be there. But he may not, as well.
And the media’s problem is?
Chief Spence kicked out a reporter from Global News refusing to answer her questions and the other media reporters are very quiet on the matter except Ezra Levant.
“In the meantime, the silence from the PMO on the meeting details makes it easy for those who already dislike the Harper Conservatives to continue telling everyone he’s hardly going to be there.’
You are exactly right. I often find fault with the PM’s and/or his staff’s communications strategy. I agree that by not explaining clearly who, what, where, when, how long, etc. they allow the anti-Harper side to fill in the blanks with rumours and even falsehoods.
But your blog post also points to something conservatives like me have concluded because of so much evidence: that many journalists are selective in the “information” they transmit to the general public. Why did the first unconfirmed tweet get 30 retweets versus 4 retweets for the second one? Why did Gloria Galloway go with an unconfirmed report, if it can even be called a “report”?
Mind you, with all the changing demands various chiefs and factions have been making it’s understandable in this instance that things are in a state of flux.
Good post Gabby; however, I would like to add, that the Prime Minister never tried to set the agenda for this meeting, he left ito Grand Chief Shawn Atleo leader of the AFN to determine who would be at the meeting and what was to be discussed; it is purely speculative on the part of Gloria Galloway to suggest that the Prime Minister is negligent on this file.
Is Shawn Atleo not the elected representative of all Aboriginal’s, so should he not determine the priorities. Any outside personalities like Pam Palmeter and Grand chief of Manitoba who name escapes and Chief Spence is truly counter productive to meaningful dialogue. I am not a a blogger, but just a Canadian writing about concerns.
Harper very much tried to set the agenda and the delegates. His was an invitation to accept or not. It was not an invitation to maintain the current status quo.