Secret Chalk River files left at CTV. Will Lisa Raitt survive this?

After Natural Resources minister Lisa Raitt spent the day on a parliamentary committee hot seat over safety and production concerns at the Chalk River nuclear reactor, a situation that largely developed under the watch of her predecessor, Gary Lunn, news is breaking tonight that has to make one wonder how much longer Raitt will be spending at the cabinet table:

Sensitive government documents left behind at a CTV News bureau reveal Ottawa has poured far more money into the aging Chalk River nuclear reactor than the public has been told.

The binder of documents was left nearly a week ago at CTV's Ottawa bureau by either Minister of Natural Resources Lisa Raitt or one of her aides. Some of the papers are clearly marked "secret."

The last time a cabinet minister mishandled secret government documents it was Maxime Bernier leaving documents at his ex-girlfriend Julie Couillard's house. And we all know what happened with Bernier.

Raitt was already taking a beating in the Chalk River file. It's hard to see how she walks away from this. Whether it was her or her staffer that left the documents behind, the principle of ministerial responsibility applies, and this is clearly an unacceptable lapse.

What's in the documents is equally momentous:

In documents headlined "Background for discussion with chair of Atomic Energy Canada," the government lists funding for the Crown corporation at $351 million for 2009-2010. That figure was in the January budget.

However, it also lists $72 million to "maintain the option of isotope production." The public 2009 budget does not specifically mention funding for isotopes.

The documents also include a hand-written note that lists total funding for Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd. since 2006 at $1.7 billion, and then a talking-point memo to characterize the spending as "cleaning up a Liberal mess."

Other documents highlight cost increases for AECL that have not been made public. In one document headlined "Discussion with CEO Hugh MacDiarmid, CEO of Atomic Energy Canada," it lists $100 million in supplementary funding to keep it solvent.

The Conservatives have mishandled this file badly, and to try to blame this mess on the Liberals is a transparently pathetic attempt at spin. It was clear 18 months ago that there were serious problems at Chalk River. Linda Keen was fired for blowing the whistle. Today in question period Stephen Harper was all about safety first, oddly vindicating Keen's call 18 months ago to favour safety over isotope production.

The government has had 18 months to fix the problems at Chalk River. It has had 18 months to put alternate arrangements in place to ensure an adequate supply of medical isotopes in the event of another reactor shutdown. Instead it has failed on both counts: Chalk River is in worse shape then ever, and there are no back-ups in place. Because of Conservative mismanagement, ill Canadians are going without the medically necessary treatment they need.

It's an epic failure. Once for which, I suspect, Lisa Raitt will soon be walking the plank.

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(Video) Bruce Hallsor, Gary Lunn and Saanich-Gulf Islands

The Globe's Bill Curry writes this morning on a story that online media like The Tyee and Public Eye Online have been on for some time: the strange doings last election in Saanich-Gulf Islands:

Nudity, phantom phone calls, party switching: The 2008 federal election campaign in Saanich-Gulf Islands had it all.

Now Conservative MP and cabinet minister Gary Lunn, who won a hard-fought bid for re-election, is facing allegations his campaign had improper ties to third-party groups that bought pro-Lunn advertising.

New Democratic Party MP Bill Siksay sent a letter yesterday to the Commissioner of Elections Canada asking for an investigation into whether the advocacy groups broke the law.

"These previously unheard of organizations, with links to the minister and his political organization, ran ad campaigns endorsing the minister totalling over $12,000, a figure that if the minister's local campaign would have spent would have put him over the legal limit. Was this an attempt to do an end run around the spending limits?" Mr. Siksay asked in the House of Commons yesterday. He later produced Elections Canada filings for the groups.

Good on Bill Siksay for sending the letter to Elections Canada and raising the issue in the HoC. As Public Eye Online reported last week though, local Liberal riding association president Paul McKivett has already written to Elections Canada on the third-party funding issue, and Elections Canada is examining the allegations (as a precursor to a possible investigation):

In a March 2 letter soon to be made public by the Saanich-Gulf Islands federal Liberal constituency association, Elections Canada legal counsel John Dickson said the agency is reviewing the documentation filed by third party advertisers.

And, according to Mr. Dickson, Elections Canada's commissioner William Corbett could order an investigation if he believes the Saanich-Gulf Island advertiser filings deserve further review.

Back to the Globe though, and some of the specific allegations:

Recently released Elections Canada records show four of the groups - Citizens Against Higher Taxes, Economic Advisory Council of Saanich, Dean Park Advocacy Association and Saanich Peninsula Citizens Council - all used the same financial agent and provided the same postal address.

That address also belongs to Bruce Hallsor, a Victoria lawyer listed as an executive member of Mr. Lunn's Electoral District Association responsible for "election readiness." The Canada Elections Act states that third parties cannot spend more than $3,000, plus an adjustment for inflation, on advertising in support of a specific candidate and cannot splinter into separate groups to avoid breaching that limit.

Mr. Hallsor said yesterday there was nothing improper with the fact that he filed the groups' reports. He said he played a small role in Mr. Lunn's campaign and the groups had no direct involvement with the Lunn campaign, nor any knowledge of Mr. Lunn's campaign finances. He also said the groups conveyed different messages in their ads.

Very amusing to see Hallsor trying to distance himself from Lunn and minimize their relationship as much as possible, despite the fact he's a long-time member of his riding executive and even has responsibility, as Curry notes, for election readiness.

And when Lunn was one of the dissident MPs suspended from the Canadian Alliance caucus in 2001 by Stockwell Day, guess who was sent-up to CBC Newsworld to defend him? Yes, that's right, it was his good buddy Bruce Hallsor:

No one is buying your attempt to distance yourself from Lunn here Bruce, sorry. It just doesn't pass the laugh test.

More from CanPolitico.

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Elections Canada and Saanich-Gulf Islands

Public Eye Online's Sean Holman reports on the latest from Elections Canada on the fallout from the last election in Saanich-Gulf Islands, where NDP supporters got phantom phone calls and a bevy of third-party advertising appeared, much of it with possible connections to a prominent Gary Lunn supporter:

Elections Canada has closed an investigation into mysterious phone calls encouraging Saanich-Gulf Island residents to vote for a candidate who dropped out of the campaign. But there's still a chance the agency could look into the controversy surrounding third party advertisers in that riding, Public Eye has learned.
(read more)

It's really ridiculous they weren't able to trace those phone calls. We'll see what, if anything, happens on the advertising front.
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Strange doings in Saanich-Gulf Islands

Strange doings this weekend in Saaninch-Gulf Islands tonight. The 11 pm Global Vancouver news reports that people in Saanich-Gulf Islands have been getting automated phone calls urging them to vote for NDP candidate Julian West.

The thing is, West isn't running. His name is still on the ballot, but he dropped out of the race after news re-emerged about him exposing himself to a group of teenage girls 12 years ago. The NDP isn't campaigning in the riding. Both West, and the NDP, say they're not responsible for the calls.

According to Global, Caller ID and *69 indicates the calls are coming from a number belonging to the local NDP riding president. But the NDP riding president says he has nothing to do with the calls.

In this riding, the progressive vote has been uniting behind Liberal candidate Briony Penn, who has been picking-up NDP votes (with West out of the race) and is poised to defeat Conservative cabinet minister Gary Lunn. Both Lunn and Penn claim to have to knowledge of the calls.

Local police are said to be investigating the calls. I can only wonder who would benefit from ensuring the NDP vote doesn't go Liberal in this riding?

UPDATE: The Times Colonist now has a piece online:

A number of residents in the Saanich-Gulf Islands riding received recorded telephone messages Monday, urging them to vote for NDP candidate Julian West - who left the race after controversy over a public-nudity incident 12 years ago.

Irene Wright, executive member of the NDP's federal riding association for Saanich-Gulf Islands, said Monday night night people started phoning her around 5 p.m. to say they had received an automated call encouraging them to vote for West in Tuesday's election.

A woman's voice in the recording said the call was endorsed by Bill Graham, president of the NDP Saanich-Gulf Islands riding association, and from the "Progressive Voters Association of Saanich-Gulf Islands."

By using caller identification information, the call's origin appeared to be the fax number at Graham's address.

"It's not coming from our fax machine," said Graham. "Somebody is fraudulently using our name and our fax number to send out a misleading message."

Graham said he has checked with the federal and provincial NDP campaign offices, who told him that they have not contracted any automated calls to be put out in the Saanich-Gulf Islands riding.

A vote for West would be considered a spoiled ballot.

It is possible to "spoof" phone networks into displaying false caller ID numbers using a number of methods, including computers and other external hardware.

Complaints have been filed with Saanich police, the RCMP and Elections Canada.

A Telus spokesperson did not return calls for comment last night.

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Boo, headline writers, boo!

Since I’m sure there's lots of serious analysis of the Conservative sacking of Canada’s nuclear watchdog, Linda Keen, out there in blogland (to read why it's evil, click here or here...to read why its brilliant, click here) I thought I’d take a more lighthearted approach and look at how the nation’s headline writers are handling the big news.

After all, as a journalist let me assure you, this is a story sure to warm a headline writer’s cold, tiny heart. There are so many ways you could go, such as:

Cons go nuclear

Harper nukes watchdog

A Conservative meltdown

Nuclear scandal goes critical

Keen plots counterstrike

Analysis: Mutually assured destruction

And many more. I think you get the idea. A good headline writer might even work in a reference to Matthew Broderick’s War Games…Stephen, what is the primary goal? The excellent made for TV movie The Day After would also work for inspiration, although probably not until Thursday, so there's still time...how about The Chalk River Syndrome?

But that’s why I was disappointed, as I took a look around the various news sites, at the lack of creativity exhibited by the nation’s headline writers. Take, for example, the major dailies:

Globe and Mail: Head of nuclear watchdog fired
National Post: Ottawa fires nuclear watchdog

The broadcasters:

CBC: Nuclear safety watchdog head fired for 'lack of leadership': minister
CTV: Government fires head of nuclear safety commission (since changed)

The wire services:

CP: Government fires head of Nuclear Safety Commission over Chalk River shutdown
Bloomberg: Canada Fires Nuclear Safety Chief Amid Dispute With Minister
Reuters: Canada sacks nuclear watchdog over reactor closure

And just for fun, the Iranian press, no strangers to issues nuclear:

Press TV: Canada sacks nuclear watchdog head

Well, that was pretty boring, wasn’t it?

I’ll give partial credit to the good folks at Sun Media, who I was counting on to really nail this one. At the Sun it’s all about the headlines, after all. They gave it a crack, and came pretty close, I just think it reads a tad awkwardly:

CNews: Tories fire nuke watchdog boss

Hopefully they’ll get it write for the print edition tomorrow morning; I’m counting on you Toronto Sun.

Anyway, I think the CRTC needs to take stronger action against the concentration of media ownership in this country than they did the other day, otherwise this lame headline trend will only worsen.

I decided to award two honourable mentions for these headlines as, while they did show creativity, they were written before the Keen firing.

Toronto Star: Political behaviour goes nuclear
Edmonton Sun: Commons committee eyes nuclear exchange

See, you can do better nation's media outlets. Let's pick it up!

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You're doing a heckuva job, Lunny

From the ticker, as the kids like to call it, comes this today from the (for the time being) Prime Minister:

Mr. Harper, in New Brunswick for a funding announcement, says Mr. Lunn “acted beyond the call of duty” when he took action to deal with the shutdown of a 50-year-old research reactor that led to a critical, worldwide shortage of isotopes used in medical imaging.

Seems like mighty praise, but remember the context. All Harper expects is from his ministers is to shut-up and do as the PMO says, so he sets the duty bar pretty low.

Still, I think Stephen should have gone with his second choice for an expression of defiant defense for his embattled subordinate: “You’re doing a heckuva job, Lunny.”

Of course, that would have required bringing Lunn out of the Embarrassing Conservative Minister Relocation Program, where he’s currently engaged in a spirited euchre tournament with Gordon O’Connor, Tony Clement and Rona Ambrose, for an in person appearance with the PM.

And on a totally unrelated note, here’s a link to Briony Penn’s Web site.

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Another unelected Harper minister?!

The intrepid Sean Holman at Public Eye reports an intriguing rumour that Mary McNeil, the Conservative (*nomination, see update) candidate in the as yet uncalled Vancouver-Quadra by-election, may be elevated into cabinet as an unelected minister in the upcoming Harper cabinet shuffle:

Meanwhile, we're hearing suggestions Vancouver-Quadra nomination candidate and former BC Cancer Foundation president Mary McNeil should be given a seat at the big table.

This is rather interesting actually. It would address Harper’s problem of weak female bench strength, discussed in the Globe this morning. And it would give McNeil a boost (should she become the candidate) in a tough by-election battle against former B.C. cabinet minister Joyce Murray in a riding won handily last election by outgoing Liberal MP Stephen Owen. Campaigning as a minister is a plus for sure.

And it’s not entirely without precedent to have someone in cabinet before being elected to the HoC: Stephane Dion provides a handy example. And Harper broke even that convention (that the minister runs immediately in a by-election to win a seat) with the Michael Fortier Senate/Cabinet appointment, so don’t put it past him.

Of course, there are downsides. For one, Harper would fly flat in the face of past statements like this:

…you need to be elected to the Parliament of Canada to become a minister.

Not that Harper has been adverse to flip-flopping and completely reversing once deeply held principles in the past, mind you.

But such an appointment would also smack of desperation. Dion came into cabinet after a near referendum loss to fight for Canadian unity; I’m not sure low Conservative polling numbers equate to a national crisis. It would also be a smack in the face to the women in Harper’s caucus passed over for cabinet spots.

And then there’s the risk if she loses the by-election (which he’ll delay calling as long as possible) and is forced to resign in embarrassment. Even as a minister McNeil faces an uphill battle against Murray.

Anyway, a fun rumour for a slow summer day. Other B.C.-flavoured cabinet speculation from Holman:

Well, some party members are wondering whether Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Chuck Strahl will be shuffled out of his portfolio or lose his post as the province's political minister in favour of Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn. Not surprisingly, perennial rumours of a promotion for Port Moody-Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam parliamentarian James Moore are also blossoming. And some say Abbotsford parliamentarian Ed Fast could also be named to cabinet.

Since when did Lunn become a star, did I miss a memo? I've always felt it was rather the opposite. And the wheatboard shenanigans aside I’ve always liked Strahl, he’s just carrying the bag for Harper there anyway. Ed who? And I agree with Kady, let’s not get Moore’s hopes up. Every time I read this quote from James, back when Harper was about to announce his first cabinet, it breaks the heart a little. Poor kid:

A few words seared into my brain that I've been saying for about 2 weeks now: "Mr. Harper will announce his cabinet on Monday. I have nothing more to say." Where is Superman when you need him to spin the globe a little faster so Monday arrives sooner?

UPDATE: I'm reminded that McNeill hasn't even won the Conservative nomination for Quadra yet, but is running against business professor Deborah Meredith. One presumes Harper would give her an appointment or force/encourage Meredith to drop out before the cabinet appointment. Would be weird to put her into cabinet and still have a nomination race, wouldn't it?

But what adds another layer to this story is the dynamics of the nomination race, which is shaping-up as a battle of Harper insiders (i.e. John Reynolds) behind McNeill versus old Tories (Senators Pat Carney and Gerry St. Germain) behind Meredith.

Reynolds et. al. would certainly have the juice to pull off an appointment/cabinet slot for McNeil, but at what price to party unity?

While anything is possible, and I've learned to put nothing past Harper, one wonders if these McNeil cabinet rumours have a lot more to do with nomination race spin and positioning then anything else.

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On spin doctoring and odd journalism

Last week a story involving Natural Resources minister Gary Lunn went largely unnoticed. The NDP is alleging Lunn, also the MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands (where he’s being challenged by former Green Party activist Briony Penn for the Liberals) spent some $25,000 of taxpayer dollars on spin doctoring work that could have been done by his staff.

First, the odd journalism. I thought this passage was weird:

New Democratic strategist Brad Lavigne rejected suggestions that the party was picking on the Natural Resources Minister.

Why would the reporter suggest the NDP was picking on Lunn? I mean, what is this, grade school. They’re raising concerns about government spending. That’s not picking on him, that’s doing their job. Hopefully they didn’t hurt Gary’s feelings.

Anyway, on to more spin doctoring. Here’s some from the NDP’s Dr. Lavigne:

He did note, however, that the NDP came a close second in Mr. Lunn's riding, one of the tightest races in a province with many competitive federal seats.

OK, so the NDP was a close second and it was a tight race. Hmm, what were the results then?

The NDP ran second in Saanich-Gulf Islands in the 2006 federal election, winning 26.5 per cent of the vote, compared with 37.2 per cent for Mr. Lunn.

Put that into raw numbers and Lunn beat the NDP’s Jennifer Burgis by nearly 7000 votes. Calling that a close second and one of the tightest races in the province* is a bit of a stretch for Brad, I’d have to say. He ploughs forward undaunted, however:

"We are the alternative to the Conservatives in that riding as in many other ridings in [British Columbia]," Mr. Lavigne said from Ottawa.

Alrighty then, let’s see how the Liberals did in that riding:

The Liberals came third with 26 per cent in the riding north of Victoria that Mr. Lunn has held since 1997 under Reform, Alliance and Conservative colours.

Actually, the Liberal candidate, Sheila Orr, had 26.09 per cent compared to the NDP’s 26.54 per cent. Again, in votes that’s a 301 vote gap.

The alternative would seem to not be as clear as Brad was spinning. Perhaps the race for second was the tight race he was thinking of? With Penn in the race this riding is very competitive.

*I don't have time a the moment to check the results for each riding in the province, but a quick check shows S/GI wasn't even close to the tightest race on Vancouver Island. Indeed, it was the second highest margin of victory. That honour of closest goes to my old stomping grounds of Vancouver Island North, where the NDP's Catherine Bell won a squeaker over the incumbent, Con John Duncan, whom she'll face again next election.

Here's the margins of victory for the Island ridings:

1. Vancouver Island North: NDP, by 616 votes over CON
2. Esquimalt Juan De Fuca: LIB, by 2,166 votes over NDP
3. Nanaimo-Alberni: CON, by 5,767 over NDP
4. Victoria: NDP, by 6,783 over LIB
5. Saanich-Gulf Islands: CON, by 6,971 over NDP
6. Nanaimo-Cowichan: NDP, by 8,943 over CON

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What's the green game plan?

Steve writes approvingly of an apparent “unite the left” movement underway in the B.C. riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands. Apparently some local Green Party activists would like to see the party not run a candidate there, bur rather unite behind the NDP or Liberal candidate to defeat a particularly useless Conservative, Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn.

First of all, let me say I’d be pleased as punch to see Lunn out of a job. And the Liberals do have a great candidate for the left to unite behind in the riding in the form of a prominent former Green Party activist, Briony Penn. And the arguments made around vote splitting are certainly quite compelling.

But putting aside my partisanship for a moment and speaking more broadly, I have to wonder what the Green Party’s long term game plan is here. The initial May/Dion alliance, which I supported, was about two ridings. It was about getting Elizabeth May into the HoC.

It seems to have sparked discussion about vote splitting across the country though, and while as a Liberal I’m pleased when the discussion benefits my party, it has to be troubling for the Greens.

I don’t have the riding by riding vote totals, but Saanich-Gulf Islands has generally been considered one of the strongest Green ridings in the country, and in past elections has often been mentioned as a riding to watch for a possible Green breakthrough.

Given that, you have to wonder if they might not run a candidate in what may be one of their most winnable ridings, just where are they going to run candidates? And why even run anyone anywhere at all?

In a multi-party, first past the post electoral system votes are going to be split, it’s just the nature of the system. It happened for years with two parties on the right, Reform and Conservative. It will potentially be happening now on the Left with the NDP, Greens and Libs. It sucks, but without a merger or folding that's the way it is.

It may be realpolitik to step aside in contestable ridings like Saanich-Gulf Islands, but I’d wager it would also seem to neuter the effectiveness of the party. A catch-22 perhaps, but there you ago.

Whatever happens in this riding or others, it becomes increasingly obvious what the long term answer is: electoral reform.

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