Tories end event gag order
The Conservative party has backtracked from a gag order it placed on voters who attend Stephen Harper’s campaign events, but it is sticking to a controversial practice that requires them to obtain advance clearance if they want to show up for many of those events.
The practice, in which Canadians who want to see Harper must be vetted by the party and receive a bar- coded ticket bearing their name, has drawn criticism.
Questions only intensified when ipolitics. ca revealed over the weekend that ticket holders also were required to promise they would not transmit or aid in the transmission of “any description, account, picture or reproduction of the event.”
On Monday, Conservative party spokesman Kory Teneycke told the Citizen that the requirement was “legal boilerplate” that a lawyer “cribbed” for the ticket’s disclaimer — but that ultimately meant nothing.
“We’ve removed it,” he said of the disclaimer. “It was never intended. It was never enforced. We encourage people to take pictures and use social media at our events.”
Still, the Conservatives remain under fire for their policy of deciding which Canadians attend many events involving Harper.
“It sends a message that the leader is trying to avoid questions and challenges to the Conservative party’s platform and ideas,” said Duff Conacher, co- founder of Democracy Watch.
“To not be open to debating the public during an election campaign is definitely anti- democratic. That’s what the election is supposed to be all about.”
But Teneycke said Monday there is nothing wrong with the practice, insisting that while the Conservatives do restrict public attendance at some events, that doesn’t tell the whole story.
He said Harper does meet average Canadians on the trail every day at places such as a bakery or shopping mall, such as the one he visited in Scarborough, Ont., Monday.
He cited an instance where Harper went to a grocery store to buy sandwiches, ordered his lunch, and “sat around taking pictures and chatting with people at the store.
“This notion that people can’t come up to the prime minister is nonsense.”
Teneycke said the national media contingent travelling with Harper are not all brought to this daily photo op because reporters, who have already had their daily news conference, are not permitted to pose additional questions. However, he said, a limited “pool” from the media is on hand.
Teneycke also strongly defended how Conservatives deal with the two other events that comprise Harper’s daily campaign schedule.
When Harper makes a daily policy announcement at a place such as a factory, for instance, it’s mostly only employees of that facility who are permitted on- site, along with journalists.
Similarly, when he visits a candidate’s office or attends a rally — where he often delivers a speech — only Conservatives who have pre- obtained their bar- coded ticket are permitted to attend with the media.
Teneycke said it’s only logical that such events be restricted to Conservatives, adding that this is how it’s been done in elections dating back to at least 2008.
Teneycke offered his “best advice” for voters who would like to attend the event but are denied. “The best way to see and hear any one of these candidates, including the prime minister, is to turn on your television.”
Tom Flanagan, who ran the Conservatives’ 2004 election campaign and is now a fellow at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, said the practice is new. “Message events have always been constructed this way, but not rallies.”
Flanagan said the new policy may have a “security aspect,” noting last October’s attack by a gunman on Parliament Hill. “Or maybe it’s more about message control. If there is even one vocal protester at an event, the cameras will pan on him and the message will be lost.”