The application for the search warrant served on the Conservatives this week was released this afternoon by the party itself but not to Canwest News Service, CBC, Maclean's and The Canadian Press. CTV, La Presse and The Toronto Star got their own private briefings with party brass but when I and those organizations showed up at the hotel where the briefings were taking place, hotel staff asked us to leave. Here's an excerpt from the story I just filed:
Doug Finley, the party's political operations director, Ryan Sparrow, its spokesman, and some party lawyers gave the warrant and supporting affidavits to selected media outlets along with a briefing on the matter.
Canwest News Service, The Canadian Press, Maclean's magazine and the English and French language news services of CBC were among those news organizations that were not invited to those briefings.
Indeed, reporters from those organizations were asked to leave the downtown Ottawa hotel where representatives from The Toronto Star, La Presse, and CTV were being briefed by Finley, Sparrow and others. Other media organizations may also have received a private briefing.
From your story:
“As this file unfolds, I think some people will increasingly question the legitimacy of the result,” said Ralph Goodale, the Liberal House leader. “If you had taken 50,000 votes out of some of the three or four million that were cast and reconfigured them in a different way, you would have a minority Liberal government.”
This is a bit far-fetched, isn't it? To suggest that the alleged overspending is the reason for the Conservatives' victory is pitiful overreaching on Goodale's part.
It is time that the Liberals accept the fact they were defeated, not because of the disclosure of the RCMP investigation into the income trusts leak, nor because of this alleged flouting of electoral lawws.
The Liberals were defeated because enough Canadians realized it was time to rid Parliament of the musty smell emanating from there. So, Mr. Goodale, time to sit down, have a good ale, and work out some sound policies that may make Canadians want you and your colleagues back in power.
Once again Goodale and the Liberals are over the top in their rhetoric. This is part of the problem with the Liberals these days. Instead of focusing on policies and issues that affect the lives of everyday Canadians they are looking at the short term potential gain that would see them possibly get back into power. The only thing that counts for Liberals is power.
Gooddale while appearing on TV looks like he is becoming more unhinged, twitching, looking like he is about to jump off of the chair and cutting others off who are trying to make a point. I think Goodale has finally grasped what the rest of the country instinctively knows that the Liberal party, no matter the travails of the Conservative party, will never be elected with its current leader. Hence his overly partisan, twitching and rude appearances on TV in an effort to divert attention from the problems of the Liberal party.
Mr. A.–
Was CanWest initially invited and then later uninvited?
I ask because this was suggested by Ms. O'Malley in her post from Sunday…..
.
I suppose you should ask the consistently awesome K. O'M.
OK, I will ask the other consistently awesome one (and would have already if only she too had comments!).
But that 'consistently awesome' qualifier thing that I've read somewhere else……
It smells like, what …..
Tag teaming?
.
To go back to your original question — you may also wish to review what National Post's Politics Editor, Kelly McParland, had to say about all this at his blog.
Ahhhh….thanks.
By the way – Ms. O'Malley's not talking – at least not in concrete terms she can be absolutely sure of.
She is, however, apparently vasodilating mildly, from a respectful distance of course, given the now mutual bestowing of identical qualifiers.
Or some such thing.
(and she may or may not need some help deciphering the lyrics of the ol' Baretta TV show theme song).
.