My appearance on TVO's The Agenda last night is viewable here. It's an hour-long show, with host Steve Paikin and fellow guests Harvey Cashore, Jim Travers and Heather McIvor -- a good introduction to the whole business, for those just joining us.
December 7, 2007
My appearance on TVO's The Agenda last night is viewable here. It's an hour-long show, with host Steve Paikin and fellow guests Harvey Cashore, Jim Travers and Heather McIvor -- a good introduction to the whole business, for those just joining us.
12/07/2007
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7 Comments
AC,
You reiterate your point that the fact that nothing happened over the past four years since the revelations of the payments to Mulroney became public, is the story.
Norman Spector wrote an op-ed a few weeks ago when the story reappeared in its latest version. Here's what he wrote at that time:
With the National Post's having killed what would have been an extraordinary scoop, Mr. Kaplan's book ended up being ignored by most CanWest newspapers. In Quebec, Mr. Mulroney has always enjoyed the benefit of the doubt, as well as the support of influential friends in command of major chunks of the media. In Ottawa, many reporters were looking for reasons not to write about the book, having been embarrassed that Mr. Kaplan, a lawyer, had broken a story that, by inference, made them out to have been duped when the Chrétien government forked over $2.1-million to settle Mr. Mulroney's libel suit.
Here, it appears, he is alleging a conspiracy of silence or inaction.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071110.wcospector10/BNStory/specialComment/
Now, much has been made post KHS's Thursday testimony by some journalists (maybe the same who didn't follow up on the four year old story) and politicians that his claims of conspiracy put his credibility into question.
Might they have some motivation in discrediting KHS if what Spector claims has a ring of truth to it?
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Could I ask people to be a little more careful in their comments not to libel people? I've had to remove a couple on that grounds. Speculative questions are one thing, but flat statements that so and so did such and such for which there is no evidence or even any previous allegation are quite another.
It's interesting that Norman Spector, a Globe columnist, is claiming that the National Post and Canwest "killed" the story four years ago. Spector's theory is either that:
1) Canwest executives silenced their journalists in a conspiracy to cover up the story, or
2) As the true national paper, The Post by itself could have changed Canadian public opinion to the extent that we would have had an inquiry/investigation four years ago.
Neither is credible.
In matters unrelated to Norman Spector, I thought the Agenda broadcast was excellent. AC was in fine form, as was Jim Travers and Heather McIvor. It's funny that the whole Mulroney-Schreiber story tends to get divided into black and white when in reality its varying shades of grey.
As I said on my blog, Andrew makes an honest and credible case for a public inquiry -- the public's right to know what their politicians have been up to. I only critized AC when he twice summarized the Schreiber testimony without mentioning the exchanges where Schreiber suggested that Mulroney had nothing to do with Airbus. I figured that deserved some attention.
In my opinion, a public inquiry is necessary. The myth that an expensive inquiry is not worth the money is hogwash: $30 million is a rounding error. The inquiry should be focussed not on finding Mulroney guilty or innocent but more broadly based on the integrity of the office of the Prime Minister.
AC,
You acquitted yourself admirably, as always, although I'm a little disturbed by the wardrobe conflict with you sporting a tie while the CBC went sans neckcloth.
To the manor born.
Anyway, would it be possible to set up another poll to ask your readers about whether an inquiry will, in the end, solve anything? I fail to see what change inquiries ever achieve in this country. Gomery did not bring down Ottawa's culture of sleaze and I doubt this one would.
But, I'd be curious what other thinking Canadians on your blog think, I think.
Mr. Coyne,
The tie looked fine, in my opinion. I'd advise your readers - and even your non-readers - to avoid making style decisions based on what CBC reporters might be wearing this season.