Two nights ago, Ottawa-based APTN reporter (and former colleague) Jorge Barrera tweeted:
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:
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.
