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A new GG; abusive minor sports coaches; and so long to Chris Bosh: Listen to my four-minute audio roundup of what's on the front pages of the country's newspapers plus highlights from Thursday's political daybook by clicking on the link below.

You can also get these audio summaries automatically every day via podcast from iTunes or via an RSS feed by subscribing to my AudioBoo stream. Both the iTunes link and the RSS link are at my profile at AudioBoo.fm. Lookin the top right corner of the “Boos” box.

Just in from Rideau Hall:

STATEMENT BY HIS EXCELLENCY JEAN-DANIEL LAFOND

When reading certain newspapers this morning, I learned that I allegedly expressed a desire that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh not stay at Rideau Hall during their visit to Ottawa. I do not know where this unfounded information came from, and truly insulting to me and my wife, the Governor General.

There is no justification for such an allegation. I have profound respect for the institutional ties that Canada maintains with the British monarchy and the Royal Family, and I recognize how strong are these symbolic, historic and constitutional ties.

On a personal level, I have the deepest respect for Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, with whom we established an unforgettable connection in September 2005, when we were invited to stay with them at Balmoral Castle, in Scotland. Since then, we have welcomed, on several occasions, members of the Royal Family to Rideau Hall, most recently His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and his wife, The Duchess of Cornwall, with whom we got along really well.

The current allegations are completely unfounded, given that we warmly welcomed Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh right before we left Canada for our visit to China, and wished them not only a wonderful visit to the country, but also a lovely stay at Rideau Hall. And it was in that same spirit that we bid them farewell in Toronto upon our return from China, and that, with great appreciation, we received their tokens of friendship.

I therefore vehemently deny the insulting and ill-intentioned remarks that have been attributed to me

His Excellency Jean-Daniel Lafond

July 7, 2010

Re: This.

“Since her appointment as Governor General of Canada, my wife, Michaëlle Jean, and I have had the pleasure of welcoming several members of the Royal Family to Rideau Hall, notably His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and his wife, The Duchess of Cornwall, with whom we got along quite well. The current allegations are completely unfounded, given that we warmly welcomed Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh right before we left Canada for our visit to China, and wished them not only a wonderful visit to the country, but also a lovely stay at Rideau Hall. And it was in that same spirit that we bid them farewell in Toronto upon our return from China, and that, with great appreciation, we received their tokens of friendship. I therefore vehemently deny the insulting and ill-intentioned remarks that have been attributed to me.”

Many of my tweeps this morning had questions (here's one from Kady O'Malley) about the story that is leading A1 in many of our newspapers. As I'm all about transparency — as much as I'm able — I'll try to provide some context:

This is a story we've been working on for more than a week, trying to pin it down from several sources, who declined to be identified for a variety of reasons that we believe to be legitimate requests for anonymity. It's my experience, after working in three newsrooms on Parliament Hill, that these reasons are broadly accepted reasons for granting anonymity by most Parliament Hill journalists.

Late yesterday, an early incomplete draft of the story was accidentally posted online at some our online properties. The complete version is the one that is now online and is in many of our papers. Chalk the mixup to me — the new guy in the chain who had an incomplete understanding of our copy flows to dozens and dozens of our papers and all of their related online properties. (Betcha didn't know that the combined circulation of our papers is more than 6 million. It's a big complicated outfit here!)

So: The difference between the incomplete draft that made it online and the final version? There are precisely two:

– A quote was removed that, upon subsequent double-checks with all our sources, seemed to be more spin than fact.

– We added a line to note that Mme Jean had nothing to do with Lafond's request. We felt that was an important point that, again, was made by several sources.

The bottom line to the story — that Lafond asked that the Queen not stay at Rideau Hall — was unchanged.

Journalists will recognize these kinds of changes as routine tweeks that often happen as a story develops and works its way through several editors.

So that's the how this sausage was made on this one.

Lafond's royal suggestion; heatwaves; and a big stink: Listen to my four-minute audio roundup of what's on the front pages of the country's newspapers plus highlights from Wednesday's political daybook by clicking on the link below.

You can also get these audio summaries automatically every day via podcast from iTunes or via an RSS feed by subscribing to my AudioBoo stream. Both the iTunes link and the RSS link are at my profile at AudioBoo.fm. Lookin the top right corner of the “Boos” box.

G20's a bust; heatwaves and blackouts; and the death of an NHL tough guy: Listen to my four-minute audio roundup of what's on the front pages of the country's newspapers plus highlights from Tuesday's political daybook by clicking on the link below.

You can also get these audio summaries automatically every day via podcast from iTunes or via an RSS feed by subscribing to my AudioBoo stream. Both the iTunes link and the RSS link are at my profile at AudioBoo.fm. Lookin the top right corner of the “Boos” box.

Hard rock miners may go back to work, the Queen, tornadoes and touchdowns: Listen to my four-minute audio roundup of what's on the front pages of the country's newspapers plus highlights from Monday's political daybook by clicking on the link below.

You can also get these audio summaries automatically every day via podcast from iTunes or via an RSS feed by subscribing to my AudioBoo stream. Both the iTunes link and the RSS link are at my profile at AudioBoo.fm. Lookin the top right corner of the “Boos” box.

A Queen's compliment; Elin's big payday; and a letter from Ed Stelmach: Listen to my four-minute audio roundup of what's on the front pages of the country's newspapers plus highlights from Wednesday's political daybook by clicking on the link below.

You can also get these audio summaries automatically every day via podcast from iTunes or via an RSS feed by subscribing to my AudioBoo stream. Both the iTunes link and the RSS link are at my profile at AudioBoo.fm. Lookin the top right corner of the “Boos” box.

Cops under fire; Albertans dying on the job; billions for a breeze: Listen to my four-minute audio roundup of what's on the front pages of the country's newspapers plus highlights from Wednesday's political daybook by clicking on the link below.

You can also get these audio summaries automatically every day via podcast from iTunes or via an RSS feed by subscribing to my AudioBoo stream. Both the iTunes link and the RSS link are at my profile at AudioBoo.fm. Lookin the top right corner of the “Boos” box.

The Queen; the protests; the Bluenose II: Listen to my four-minute audio roundup of what's on the front pages of the country's newspapers plus highlights from Tuesday's political daybook by clicking on the link below.

You can also get these audio summaries automatically every day via podcast from iTunes or via an RSS feed by subscribing to my AudioBoo stream. Both the iTunes link and the RSS link are at my profile at AudioBoo.fm. Lookin the top right corner of the “Boos” box.