Saturday, May 12, 2007

The Tale of Two Jeffreys

I've been neglecting federal politics lately - partly due to bewilderment as to what the heck is going on there in Ottawa. The plummeting polls for the Conservatives are not inspiring either.

However, Karen Redman waved a scarlet flag in my face yesterday with her opening salvo of diatribe in Question Period. Fridays are typically the domain of the "B-team", and yesterday was no exception on the part of the opposition.

Here's the transcript from Hansard (without the annoying sound of a whiny voice for your reading pleasure):

Hon. Karen Redman (Kitchener Centre, Lib.):

Mr. Speaker, what we have seen in the last two days is a government ruling by fear and intimidation. The Minister of the Environment admitted yesterday that the bogus arrest of Jeffrey Monaghan would send the right message to public servants.

However, what about the leaks by his own staff and the leaks by Jeffrey Kroeker, now the director of communications for the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs? Where were the handcuffs for him?

Why does the government want to send a chill through the public service?


Hon. Peter Van Loan (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform, CPC):

Mr. Speaker, I will not to comment on the specific investigation into the criminal matter to which the member for Kitchener Centre refers. However, I will quote her leader on the general subject of that investigation and he said:

—"I will never encourage this kind of behaviour...For the principle, I think civil servants must respect the secrecy of their role."

I would like to know why the member is asking that question when her own leader looks at that kind of behaviour and condemns it as inappropriate. Why can the Liberal Party and the Liberal leader not hold the same position on any issue for more than 24 hours?



Good question, Peter. I was wondering the same thing. Why would Karen Redman attempt to contradict her own leader with her innuendo that the government was out of line to come down hard on a government worker who defied laws of confidentiality?

I admit the handcuff spectacle was a bit much, but we can't allow public servants to take matters into their own hands and decide when government platforms should be released to the public.


How is that different from the situation of the 'other' Jeffrey? I think Stephen Taylor said it best in his response to Calgary Grit in the comments section of his excellent post, "Whistleblower Stomped by Unaccountable Senate":


"...we know that what Monaghan did was an arrestable offense. You don't know that what Kroeker did was "illegal". They are two different situations. Monaghan was a bureaucrat and Kroeker is a Senate staffer. Kroeker blew the whistle, Monaghan was serving his own agenda. And besides, any researcher could have picked up the phone and found out the cost of a hotel room in Dubai. I could have blown the whistle. You could have blown the whistle..."


Kroeker may have embarrassed his boss, Senator Breton, by contradicting her earlier statement, but the two incidents are just not comparable in terms of severity and breach of trust.

If civil servants were allowed to announce any government policy ahead of time, fueled by their own particular political view, we would have chaos! Wow, just what Mr. Monaghan seems to be so preoccupied with.

Sandy has also done a great job fisking the Globe's Bill Curry and Alex Dobrota for the same illogical comparison - MSM on the Anarchist and the Aide.

Perhaps if certain members of the Liberal party and the liberal media were a bit more truthful, the Canadian public would be better able to assess the antics in Ottawa (and maybe those polls would start going back up for the CPC).

At the very least, the Chief Whip of the LPC should listen to the wisdom of her leader and chill out.


* * * *

Update: Steve Janke shares some insight about Jeffrey Monaghan. It seems young Jeff might have it in for Harper.

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tango Juliette sez:

Looks like PMSH was somewhat right in his earlier assertions about some of the (less than)civil servants keeping his government in line.

Moneyhand (sic) is looking very much like a Kinsella wannabe. He looks like all he's really trying to do is promote his group's recordings.

The fact that he dresses it all up with amnarchy-cammo, enviro-cammo and seven other types of cammo, all presented as "issues," has little to do with anything, even remotely, resembling reality. Talk about the mangy cur biting the hand which feeds him. Yikes!

It is my hope, should he be found to be the one to have illegally released secret documentation, that he be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. With extreme prejuidice. In plain English: nail his usurping ass. HARD.

There are many other elements involved here: theft of time, theft of secret documents, breaking of secrecy oaths, undertaken as terms of employment. Or should have been, if memory serves correctly. As well, he's attempted to circumvent the political process, and by-pass any form of dialogue.

Then find out who the blue-blazed hired this air-head doofus, four years ago, anyway.

I must admit to somewhat admiring his declared reasoning behind an event he says he has nothing to do with. But he's double talking. " I did not do these things, but here are the many reasons why these things were done."

I also realize that a few of those ancient Smallgerian proverbs my daddy taght me many years ago, are just as valid and applicable today as they were when he taught them to me sixty odd years age.

1.) The ten words which will inevitably lead to one's eventual fall from grace and/or power: "We have never done it that way around here before." Surprise Jeffie. New regime.

2.) "When one plays with the bulls, eventually one somtimes gets gored." Surprise Jeffie. Now, say: "El Toro grande, Ouchie, Ouchie"

3. ) Sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you. Hey Jeffie, I hear the bear's been aksing for a side of fava beans on this dish.


Jeffie:

if you, in fact, do get to be proven to be da big bad anarchist, take da rap on da chin like da man you pretends to be. Don't you be go hidin' yo'self behind any big preponderance of verbiage, and don't you be seeking shelter behind the faked up cammo-label of whistle-blower.

But working backwards over my notes above, I aguess most of what is written ain't da troof.

You ain't no whistle-blowin' martyr for da cause.

You ain't now smooth-talking dude. You ain'ta da man you think you can pretend to be.

Now, as a p.r. hack for your punk-ish group? Maybe not so bad. You certainly have most of the leftoid pol hacks and their toadying media dancin' to your jigs.

As for Karen Redman? Shoulda learned this lesson years ago on Sesame Street, Karen:

One of these things is not like the other!

ciao, kiddies.

Anonymous said...

TagoJuliette sez:

. . . and doesn't this guy "sound" an awful lot like one of those posters, of the truly annoying variety, who used to try to ambush people on your site, Joanne Treue Bleu? Thot I'd ask... tj

Swift said...

Seems that the Libs still haven't a clue about ethics. A commenter on one of the BT sites yesterday claimed that a Liberal MP admited to using the meal allowance to pay down a house mortgage, and couldn't see anything wrong with it. I can't either if you are eating your house.

Calgary Junkie said...

It's amusing to watch the Globe & Mail work mightily to create "The Tale of the Two Whistleblowers". Now if only the Globe had "come to the aid of their party" back in the gloomy Adscam days, then Paul Martin might have still be in power.

You never know, a story-line like "Yes the LPC has some unethical operatives like Chuck Guite. But what about that CPC staffer, Joe Blow, who stole pencils from the office ?"

Anonymous said...

"I admit the handcuff spectacle was a bit much ..."

I'd like to know who called in the RCMP & who decided that this "civil" servant should be brought out in handcuffs. I haven't seen any reports on that. Did I miss something?

Is it inconceivable that Mr. Monaghan actually wanted to dramatize the situation to make himself appear the "victim" and to embarrass the government?

Anonymous said...

Ooops! I'll own up to the Sat May 12, 11:35:00 AM comment. My mistake.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

I'd like to know who called in the RCMP & who decided that this "civil" servant should be brought out in handcuffs. I haven't seen any reports on that.

Me too, Gabby. Who was responsible for the handcuff idea - the RCMP or the government?

Joanne (True Blue) said...

BTW, what's an alleged anarchist doing working for the government anyway?

I mean they even do screening at places like Walmart for attitudes and personality traits.

paulsstuff said...

"The plummeting polls for the Conservatives are not inspiring either."

I have no worries about the polls Joanne. Regardless of what polls show Canadians will see the real Stephane Dion in the debates, and will also see what his actual record as with the Liberals on Kyoto.

Anonymous said...

I don't think that the Prime Minister or anyone in cabinet told the RCMP to use handcuffs, so I don't know why they are being held up as accountable for what people are calling the "spectacle", or "heavy-handed."

The waters are being muddied over this guy. I'm sure that he would have had a background security check done to work in the government, and probably had to sign a confidentiality agreement. I've had to do the same and my workplaces have not been in government.

So, he violated the terms of his employment, and in government, secrecy can be of the utmost importance. Thank God he wasn't working in a highly-sensitive security area, where a breach of confidence could have put the country in danger. Sounds like if he had worked there, he would have done the same thing....being the anarchist that he is.

He broke his word, or didn't mean it when he signed the terms of his employment. So, now his word is good when he speaks publicly? I think not.

raz

Anonymous said...

Oops...forgot to ask my question. I thought that the House didn't sit on Fridays??? I know it's not aired on CBC or CTV....

raz

Anonymous said...

"Who was responsible for the handcuff idea - the RCMP or the government?"

I would add a third possibility - Mr. Monaghan himself. Giving unnecessary lip or a scuffle ... who knows?

As for screening of prospective employees: I agree there should be tighter controls, but in our Charter of Rights era, how close a scrutiny can be carried out?

Anonymous said...

" I thought that the House didn't sit on Fridays??? I know it's not aired on CBC or CTV...."

QP airs on CPAC from 11:00-12:00 on Fridays.
For more info., here's the QP web link for CPAC:
http://tinyurl.com/youwfm

Mac said...

Why everyone is so concerned and outraged about handcuffs? They're passive restraints; nothing more.

RCMP policy and the Canada Labour Code say peace officers must use the safety equipment provided to them. If the officers had chosen to disregard those policies, they do so at their hazard.

Suppose, for a moment, if the anarchist decided to attack the RCMP or do something ridiculous like throw himself out the window. The question being asked would be: "Why DIDN'T the RCMP have him handcuffed?"

As far as the shock or embarrassment factors, in most cases when someone is handcuffed and lead away by plain clothes officers, the only people who know about it are the police and the arrestee. It's not like someone was waving a red flag. If the anarchist didn't want to be embarrassed, perhaps he should have considered obeying the terms of his employment?

What this comes down to is the anarchist and his backers are trying to make the best out of a bad situation (from their perspective) by lashing out at the Conservatives. Consider what just happened: they lost a deeply embedded mole who has likely been feeding them insider information for months, if not years. For that loss, they're trying to count coup by giving the government a black eye.

This is just another case of the MSM manufacturing outrage for someone who doesn't deserve your empathy.

Now... does anyone want to talk about why Rona Ambrose got shuffled out of the Environment portfolio? Does anyone else wonder how many other moles are quietly undercutting the Conservatives in other ministries?

Anonymous said...

Monaghan objects to being called "an anarchist."

Read his letter to the Editor in the National Post here:
http://tinyurl.com/yqpq3b

"Now... Does anyone else wonder how many other moles are quietly undercutting the Conservatives in other ministries?"

I wonder too ... but it cannot be said too loud lest it raise the hackles of some in the civil service.

Anonymous said...

Who did this guy leak the document to? Any specific names? Were any liberals involved, or just the ones in the MSM? :-)

Thanks for the info Gabby on Question Period on Fridays.

raz

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Read his letter to the Editor in the National Post here:
http://tinyurl.com/yqpq3b


Wow. Letter of the Day. This guy is getting way more than his 15 minutes of fame.

BTW, SDA had a letter in today's Post too, at the end.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

This looks like fun! The Globies.


I vote for the CTV submission.

Anonymous said...

Joanne, who's the psycho "Tango Juliette" and I wonder if an intervention shouldn't be scheduled? All that crack she's smoking can't be good for her.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

who's the psycho "Tango Juliette" and I wonder if an intervention shouldn't be scheduled?

lol! Tango is a he. If you study his comments long enough, they make perfect sense. And he is loyal to True Blue, which is good enough for me.

;)

Joanne (True Blue) said...

I can't either if you are eating your house.

Swift, I missed that earlier. Hilarious!

Mac, thanks for the background info regarding the handcuffs. And you're right - the RCMP had no idea what kind of person they were dealing with, and going by the pics before he got cleaned up for the press conference, perhaps they were just being cautious.

Kristin Beaumont-Politics and Other Things said...

Raz..cpac has question period every day...friday is at noon my time and I guess 11am eastern time.
---
A Deputy Minister alerted the rcmp of the breach..a bit ago...or an ADM would have no control over what the RCMP did after that..I, too cannot see why the government is being blamed...but this is a regular occurence.
---
Joanne..dont be discouraged by polls...stand tall...fight harder when the going gets rough...never retreat---that is why I am blogging harder the only way I know how...by...asking all the wagons to form a circle and stand together...

Joanne (True Blue) said...

or an ADM would have no control over what the RCMP did after that


ADM? A deputy minister? So you're saying that the ministry had no control over the handcuffs?

Anonymous said...

The RCMP makes the decision on handcuffs. A ministry can't tell the RCMP to handcuff someone or not. That would definitely be a no-no.

They usually handcuff suspects or people who are being questioned, or charged. This isn't out of the ordinary.

The deal isn't the handcuffs though, and that's a diversionary tactic from the issue that this guy committed a crime.

I remember working for a bank, and when an employee was let go, they weren't handcuffed, but security personnel came up to their floor, stood by while they cleaned out their desk to make sure that no documents were taken with them, and then escorted them out of the building. Now some could say...how embarrassing, but really it's normal protocol for banks to do this.

The issue of leaking government documents is far more serious. If this happened in other departments, we could really be in jeopardy as a nation.

raz
This issue of someone

John said...

Regarding the polls, don't look at the numbers, look at the question.

For those parties you would consider voting for federally, could you please rank your top two current local preferences?

Seeing as people who vote Conservative first would probably vote Liberal second (one would assume) but people who vote Liberal first would probably not vote Conservative second, it's amazing that the Conservatives were so close to the Liberals in terms of numbers.

John said...

Sorry, forgot to provide a reference.
http://www.sesresearch.com/library/polls/POLNAT-S07-T229.pdf

Kristin Beaumont-Politics and Other Things said...

Yes Joanne I stand by my comment ... by the way ADM is assistant deputy minister... at the time of writing I could not remember if it was the DM or the ADM who filed a complaint.

Kristin Beaumont-Politics and Other Things said...

Yes..why give this M guy any more publicity...he had his 15 minutes of fame....

Calgary Junkie said...

I hope the MSM keeps this guy in the news as long as possible. It's time to hammer away at a new theme (running in parallel with the theme that "Dion is not a leader")

There's lots of material developing for the theme that I would call "The lunatics have taken over the (LPC) asylum". Latest helpful example is Iggy's comment that the LPC not allow itself to be taken over by environmental lobbyists. Get Lizzie May in front of a microphone, let her ramble on, and this theme gets reinforced some more.

And in Quebec, with the help of Justin, we can keep working on the theme that "Dion is a cenralizer".

BTW, my recollection from the early reports was that it was the Deputy Minister that asked the RCMP to investigate how the leak occured. After all those years of Chretien working so closely with the RCMP, the media just can't imagine that Harper would actually respect the separation of powers between govt and police.

Greg Weston lets his guard down here

Last year, when Baird was still in charge of Treasury Board, we gave our readers an advance preview of a federal report to parliament that he was scheduled to release a few days later. It's what we do.

The report had next to nothing to do with Baird or his department, but he went ballistic about the apparent leak anyway.


This is also about payback time from the MSM to Baird.

Anonymous said...

nbTory lady, the complaint came from security in the department:


"The RCMP Commercial Crime Section received a complaint from Environment Canada's security department on April 17 that a secret draft copy of "Climate Change Section of the Eco-Action Plan" had been released publicly.

The complaint came from the department's deputy minister Michael Horgan, Brunette said.

"We take information security really seriously and he wanted to make sure that we would investigate the leak,'' she said.

The Canadian Press filed a story on April 17 about the leaked climate change plan. The story quoted from the federal draft, marked secret and dated April 13.

"The investigation was given to us based on newspaper articles that were identified by the security department of Environment Canada," added Beauchamp.

"As a result of seeing that information out in the public, knowing that it shouldn't have been out there, they referred the case to the RCMP."

The draft showed the Conservatives planned to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 45 to 65 per cent from 2006 levels by 2050.

The leaker was clearly unsatisfied with the plan, and wrote to environmentalists: "Your source objects strongly to the secrecy of the Harper government, its continuous PR campaign and the abandonment of international standards for (greenhouse gas) reductions."

As for Greg Weston, there was nothing served by leaking this document. It was released to the public a few days later, so maybe if he and his colleagues in the MSM or parliamentary press gallery quit trying to "get" the PM, they might gain some respect from the general public.

raz

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Thanks for all this, guys. Yes, it does seem to be everyone trying to discredit Harper's government, that's for sure.

Weston's piece today wasn't even fit to wrap garbage in.

Kristin Beaumont-Politics and Other Things said...

thanks anonymous...appreciate your clarification... yes now I do recall also hearing something about security...

Mac said...

I think we can all more-or-less agree that what Monaghan did was wrong despite the best efforts of the MSM to spin the story.

Here's something for you to chew on... who initiated the request for an investigation: Baird, acting through his Deputy Minister or the Deputy Minister on his own prerogative?

The MSM is ready to point the finger at Baird but it's not the first time they've jumped to conclusions, it is?

The more I read about Monaghan, the more I have to wonder just what kind of human resources fool hired him!

Joanne (True Blue) said...

The more I read about Monaghan, the more I have to wonder just what kind of human resources fool hired him!

I just wonder how many more Jeffrey Monaghans are lurking in various government departments...