The Globe and Mail's Jane Taber writes a popular “Hot and Not” column for her paper on Saturdays but she's made a serious and, to be honest, surprising error in this week's edition. While writing up a few paragraphs on women in politics, Taber says:
“Meanwhile, there are rumblings among some grass-root Liberal women that Mr. Ignatieff doesn't quite share that view. Mr. Ignatieff has few female caucus members in key critics' roles and has one senior woman in his entourage: communications director Jill Fairbrother . (Stephen Harper doesn't have a single senior woman.) The rumblings are that if more women were in high places, seeking consensus, we might not have come to the brink of another federal election this month.
The bolded part is my emphais and it's a sentence I'm sure Taber knows is incorrect.
As anyone who covers the PMO and the Conservatives know: The third most powerful person in the PMO — after Harper and Chief of Staff Guy Giorno — is a woman: Jenni Byrne, Harper's Director of Issues Management. If you ask most Conservative staffers if they'd rather be on the wrong side of Giorno or Byrne, I bet most would say Giorno. No one wants Byrne gunning for them.
And Byrne, unlike Giorno, has been there since day one of Harper assuming office. Byrne's unheralded influence for three years is largely a result, if you ask me, of the fact that she has never curried the kind of “inside-the-queensway” status that some other staffers are often interested in. I've asked some of the leading lights of the Parliamentary Press Gallery if they could pick Byrne out of a crowd and, even when she's walking down the stairs from PM's office right in front of them, they shrug in ignorance. For what it's worth: There are about four people in the PMO whose rolodex info I covet and she's one of them. Tough luck for me: I am told by many staffers that she is no fan of the Ottawa press corps and keeps them at arm's length.
Every Conservative staffer who matters in Ottawa hears from Byrne every day beginning at 7 a.m. when she holds her daily conference call to review what's in the morning papers, last night's newscasts, and what's the gossip on today's blogs and talk radio. She'll give marching orders or ask you to account for your activities the day before, particularly if there's a headline somewhere that she never saw coming. Byrne, I am told, can be a tough taskmaster and some staffers (women mostly, I'm told but I have no way of confirming) have quit because they felt Byrne was too tough. But other staffers, even those who have come in for a dressing-down by Byrne on those conference calls, says she has to be that tough because the meeting after her daily 7:15 a.m. call with staffers is with the prime minister and it's her job to make sure he is not surprised by anything a reporter or opposition politician might say that day.
When Sandra Buckler (another woman) was Harper''s director of communications, I'm told that she and Byrne often tussled over what the message of the day ought to be and then Buckler would decide how that message would be delivered. Buckler's successor, Kory Teneycke, I'm told, doesn't have the same kind of conflicts with Byrne. Teneycke, who is the director of communication (no 's' on that), seems to concede that it is Byrne's job to sort out the message of the day and Byrne seems to concede that it is Teneycke who knows best how to execute the communications strategy with that message. In other words: Byrne figures out what the message is; Teneycke does the messaging.
I would agree with Jane' s general thesis that a gender imbalance continues to exist among elected politicians and staffers but there are plenty of influential women behind the scenes in the Harper government:
- Carolyn Stewart-Olsen: I don't know how Stewart-Olsen could slip from Taber's mind when she says Harper doesn't have a single senior woman advising him. Stewart-Olsen, a former nurse, has been on the plane next to Harper for every federal election he's been in. She is Harper's longest-serving staffer (Tom Flanagan, in his book Harper's Team, said he hired her in 2001 when Harper was trying to beat Stockwell Day for leadership of teh Canadian Alliance.) exceeding the tenure of Ray Novak and Dimitri Soudas. She is tremendously loyal and protective of Harper. And, like the other women in Harper's inner circle, she (it seems to me) has no interest in building cozy relationships with the Ottawa press corps, even though she's now been in Ottawa longer than many members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. Stewart-Olsen is now a senior advisor and director of Strategic Communications for Harper. I'd say she outranks Ignatieff's Jill Fairbrother in terms of title, salary, and influence.
- Jasmine Igneski. I've never met Igneski and I know no reporter who has. And yet, her current title is Director of Priorities and Planning – a very important job in any PMO. Before her current assignment, she was one of Harper's senior advisors. Check out her meeting record with lobbyists: If there was an economic or business issue you needed the PMO involved with, you went to see Jasmine. As far as I can tell, Andrew Wallace is the new Jasmine Igneski. My lobbyist sources tell me Igneski was someone you needed to deal with if you wanted to get anywhere in the PMO.
- Isabelle Bouchard was once a separatist, then a member of the ADQ and finally a Conservative. She's not 30 (I think — cuz we all know it's not polite to ask a woman her age) and was Gordon O'Connor's director of communications when he was defence minister. Now she's working with Byrne in issues management with an eye towards Quebec.
There are many other women with senior administrative, communications, or policy advisor roles in the Conservative government. I say this not to be an apologist for the Conservatives. The Conservative record when it comes to nominating and electing female MPs continues to lag other parties. The Conservatives have come under fire by their political opponents for gutting some government programs that support women. And Conservative have all but ignored the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women. There is plenty of evidence that the Conservatives do not believe “the status of women” is an issue that ought to taken seriously.
But it is inaccurate and unfair to say, as Taber does in a widely-read newspaper, that “Harper doesn't have a single senior women” in his office. There are, in fact, several women who play an influential and important role in the most senior office in the land.
Thanks, David. Too often this kind of thing just slides by. I'm sure it's not easy publicly criticizing a fellow journalist, particularly one as well-known as Taber, but she is someone who too often takes the easy way out for a slick line, rather than accuracy. The media generally seems to be losing what little respect they have amongst their readers, and one of the ways you can regain it is to start policing yourselves.
If only that critical media lens could be pointed at something important, but lies about deficits, lack of transparency and corruption are boring.
Look, a rabbit!
Dave
I don't think many people take Jane Taber seriously as a journalist.
She is more of a gossip, or behind the scenes commentator on peoples feelings or unusual quirks.
Her recent headline: “Harpers wife saves turtle” says all we need to know
P.S. brace yourself for a few weeks of isolation….its not nice to say anything positive about Harper…..your colleagues will not be amused.
Although I often try to post comments to show the hypocrisy/ bias of journalists as journalists focus on doing so to politicians, I find you to be one of the better “journalists” in the business.
Dave, have a great summer break and look forward to reading your comments as we close in on the next election
bob ward
Ms. Taber is a political activist, commentator who advances her personal agenda; she is not a journalist with ethics or responsibilities to truth and facts. Like those who produce the National Enquirer and like papers, she is all about gossip and sensationalism. She probably knows about all the women you mentioned, but since it doesn't fit her theme of good-Liberals, bad-Conservatives so left it out.
First of all it would not be difficult for Taber to make this kind of mistake because she really is a gossip columnist who I suspect knows little nor understands policy issues so she resorts to the kind of inane columns that she writes.
The other thing that is telling is that she did not take the time to find out whether there are senior woman in Harper's inner circle. No time to investigate or is it because she has little ability to know because the PMO dismisses her and her silly columns and therefore she has little contact with them on an ongoing basis.
Thank you for this David. That was a rather collossal smack down for someone who really has no excuse to get such a fact wrong. It's rare to see the media take on one of their own…good on you for doing so.
It is nice to see David Akin try to uphold the integrity of the media by daring to challenge the outright inaccuracy and partisanship of a fellow member of the media Jane Taber.
Akin is doing the job that Globe and Mail's editor has failed to do for years in reigning in Jane Taber and insisting that truth from a journalist should still be number one consideration and not selling papers. Let's see if I am wrong and the editor insists that Taber admits her guilt and issues an apology for her inexcusable slight of women in Harper's administration not only in the Globe and Mail but in a letter to the PMO.
Yawn. People like this make politics more about partisanship than truth. It is such a shame that we can't have a mature and honest debate anymore.
Great article David. It is refreshing to see someone hold a colleague to account.
Thanks for the info & insights, David. As others have already said, I don't know of many (if any) that actually consider Ms. Taber to be a “journalist” as her agenda seems to be all about promoting the Liberal party.
Re: CPC pushing for female candidates (or any party, for that matter) – I've been to a couple of different riding elections and there were female candidates on the slate. They just weren't the best organized so didn't win their riding.
Ignatieff has more senior women, such as Leslie Church, as well
Thank you for setting the record straight.
I'm sick of journalists spitting out half truths, opinions, and bald faced misrepresentations.
When one journalist errs, it's up to the rest of you to call them out on it. Thank you for this.
Jane Taber is an apologist for the Liberals who has unfortunately garnered the nick-name of 'giggles' amongst the conservative blogosphere for her vacuous comments and unabashed Liberal worship.
I'm surprised the comment didn't come from Gloria Galloway, as she is cut from the same cloth and has nearly the same CV as Taber.
Respect is earned, so are reputations of partisanship. You just earned a bit of my respect – and gratitude – today, D.A. and you're a little less vulnerable to accusations of partisanship. Reap, sow, etc. Nice job.
I'm sure Jane will be publishing a correction just as soon as she can…cue the crickets.
Ever since Iggy came to town, Taber has been writting puff-pieces for the Liberals. Her latest was the one sided Ruby excuse article. Taber has been outright, in your face gushing and blushing over everything Iggy. It does not surprise me one single bit that she would actually start lying for the liberal-Iggy cause. If I were Mrs. Iggy wife number two, I'd be looking over my shoulder! Shame.
Nice to see a member of the PPG tell it like it is for a change. Rather than what they wish it to be. Your comment on Status of Women is a little misleading. This government has dealt with women in a realisitc manner. They have not kow-towed to political organizations such as SOW.
It helped me win my wife's vote over to the Dark Side.
When was the last time Ms. Taber said or did anything that promoted intelligent discussion?
Thanks David, you have me feel that not all the press has a constant Liberal bias.
You don't need more seals of approval … but here's another one. Good job.
Jane also has a Laureen issue… she straps on the knee pads whenever there's a Laureen Harper tidbit that she can schmooze onto the page. The fawning coverage of all things Laureen has soured her credibility.
Well done David, and it's certainly appreciated. I'm also surprised that Ms. Taber forgot all about Sen. Marjorie LeBretton. While she may not be part of the PM's political staff, make no mistake: the Senator carries a lot of weight as a not only a senator, but also House Leader in the Senate, and also another woman who stays right with Mr. Harper throughout every election campaign he's run in.
I've never heard of any of these unelected courtiers currently working on my dime. I hope Mr. Aikin's attempt is to name 'em and shame 'em, and not to give Canadians the impression that a influential woman's place is behind the men.
Copps is just envious that there are many, many very influential women in power, that – unlike her, are quietly, confidently, going about their jobs improving Canada. People like Copps thinks that unless you are like her – obnoxious; loud; in-your-face; constantly trying to incite division; and constantly craving for media attention; then you're not an influential woman. Nothing could be further from the truth of course. If Canadians are lucky (or smart), we will encourage more people like those Copps criticizes (or doesn't know about), and keep the likes of Copps out of anything close to government or power.