MEP Tool

[Shakeyhands]

I've said on this forum that nothing gets sent out to the media or spoken to at announcments without prior approval from the PMO.... Harper must muzzle his MP's and staff so that Canadians don't see their true colours. Looks as though I was exactly correct.

When did staying on message become so important that it infringes upon a Public Servant or MP's ability to take up an issue or comment on a question?

The MEPs have blurred the time-honoured separation of non-partisan public servants and political staffers and sidelined seasoned government communicators, sapping morale across the civil service.

They have become the political tool for literally putting words in the mouths of cabinet ministers, federal bureaucrats, low-profile MPs on the barbecue circuit, and seasoned diplomats abroad.

and I suppose it's intended to increase openess and accountability.. er.....

While all governments try to control the message, the ambitious sweep of MEPs is unprecedented in federal politics. Critics say it contradicts the core campaign promise that brought Prime Minister Stephen Harper to power — introducing a new era of transparency and accountability in government.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/819779--documents-expose-harper-s-obsession-with-control?bn=1

(and yes... I suppose it is just a CP/Star hackjob... )

[waldo]

in keeping with Harper's disdain for Parliament... for the Conservatives unprecedented concentration of power within the PMO... message control reflects Harper's absolute need to manage "the message", whether it's stifling his own cabinet/caucus, dictating what government agencies/bureaucrats can state, or... reaching right down into the minutia of day-to-day operations within foreign embassies:

'MEPs' ensure diplomats speak Harper's language

The long arm of Tory message control has reached around the world in an attempt to orchestrate virtually every public utterance by seasoned diplomats, from Britain to Bangladesh, an investigation by The Canadian Press concludes.

The secret to this unprecedented attempt to stage-manage Canada's most experienced high commissioners, ambassadors and diplomats is the Message Event Proposal — a finely developed information tool aimed at giving the Prime Minister's Office total control over communication.

MEPs obtained under the Access to Information Act reveal how Stephen Harper's office has employed the device to micromanage Canadian diplomacy in the United States, the United Kingdom, continental Europe, Asia and Africa.

Even the most able and trusted of Canada's foreign service officers have been subjected to strict controls — not by their bosses at the Foreign Affairs Department — but by the PMO through its public service arm, the Privy Council Office.

[Moonbox]

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/819779--documents-expose-harper-s-obsession-with-control?bn=1

(and yes... I suppose it is just a CP/Star hackjob... )

Yeah aside from it being a joke Toronto Star hack job there's the simple fact that the media has done this to themselves. The media has made it pretty clear it's not interested in so much what politicians have to say, but rather with what story they can make out of it.

When you know the people you're talking to are going to make every effort to distort and blow what you say out of proportion then you're going to make damn sure that your people know better and keep their mouths shut.

On top of that Shakey, yeah, you're right, Harper does have to keep a lid on some of the bigger idiots in his caucus. That being said, every party does.

[waldo]

Yeah aside from it being a joke Toronto Star hack job there's the simple fact that the media has done this to themselves. The media has made it pretty clear it's not interested in so much what politicians have to say, but rather with what story they can make out of it.

there certainly are the intellectually dishonest and agenda driven, posing as journalists... but yours is an easy-out that would presume to justify the measures taken by Harper Conservatives. There's managing - and then there's controlling... for example, the recent leaked document that showed the information restrictions brought in by Harper Conservatives have severely restricted the media's access to government climate change scientists:

the Harper Conservatives dumbing down of Environment Canada

A dramatic reduction in Canadian media coverage of climate change science issues is the result of the Harper government introducing new rules in 2007 to control interviews by Environment Canada scientists with journalists, says a newly released federal document.

“Scientists have noticed a major reduction in the number of requests, particularly from high-profile media, who often have same-day deadlines,” said the Environment Canada document. “Media coverage of climate change science, our most high-profile issue, has been reduced by over 80%.”

The analysis reviewed the impact of a new federal communications policy at Environment Canada, which required senior federal scientists to seek permission from the government prior to giving interviews.

In many cases, the policy also required them to get approval from supervisors of written responses to the questions submitted by journalists before any interview, said the document, obtained in an investigation into the government’s views and policies on global-warming science that was conducted by Climate Action Network Canada, a coalition of environmental groups.

The document suggests the new communications policy has practically eliminated senior federal scientists from media coverage of climate-change science issues, leaving them frustrated that the government was trying to “muzzle” them.

“Many [federal climate change] scientists are recognized experts in their field, have received media training, and have successfully carried out media interviews for many years,” said the document, leaked by an Environment Canada employee who asked not to be named.

[wyly]

there certainly are the intellectually dishonest and agenda driven, posing as journalists... but yours is an easy-out that would presume to justify the measures taken by Harper Conservatives. There's managing - and then there's controlling... for example, the recent leaked document that showed the information restrictions brought in by Harper Conservatives have severely restricted the media's access to government climate change scientists:

the Harper Conservatives dumbing down of Environment Canada

typical behaviour found in totalitarian states...control the media tell the plebs only what you think they should know, the truth as you say it is, Kim Jong Il would be proud...

[bloodyminded]

Yeah aside from it being a joke Toronto Star hack job there's the simple fact that the media has done this to themselves. The media has made it pretty clear it's not interested in so much what politicians have to say, but rather with what story they can make out of it.

When you know the people you're talking to are going to make every effort to distort and blow what you say out of proportion then you're going to make damn sure that your people know better and keep their mouths shut.

On top of that Shakey, yeah, you're right, Harper does have to keep a lid on some of the bigger idiots in his caucus. That being said, every party does.

Actually, with a few exceptions, the news media can be (and in fact are) counted on to behave as stenographers for Power.

The idea that the major news media are super-combative towards the most powerful men in the world is laughable. Sure, journalists themselves love this myth, but it doesn't hold up to scrutiny.

Politicians and their spokespeople--just like spokespeople for Big Business--are among journalists' primary sources. They depend on them. "This-much-contrariness-and-no-more"...enough to provide an illusion of "truth to power," but not enough to knock them out of favour. That's the way they behave.

[ToadBrother]

typical behaviour found in totalitarian states...control the media tell the plebs only what you think they should know, the truth as you say it is, Kim Jong Il would be proud...

Okay, that's taking it twenty steps too far. All governments attempt to manage the message. Whether right or wrong, it hardly started with totalitarian regimes. And if you want to see a government lose control of the message, come here to BC and which the BC Liberals sink as an anti-HST campaign begins to take on the mantle of a genuine political movement.

The chief problem I have with all of this is that it only furthers the dominance of the PMO over other members of the cabinet. But that has its down side, which I can clearly see here in BC as Cabinet ministers, some of which had leadership aspirations, follow the Premier over the edge.

[eyeball]

When you know the people you're talking to are going to make every effort to distort and blow what you say out of proportion then you're going to make damn sure that your people know better and keep their mouths shut.

And in so doing you prove that you think the public is incapable of telling shit from Shinola on it's own. That's even more insulting really.