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PTBC J-Log

A conservative OPINION blog --with bite. OPINION by Joel Johannesen.

Monday, May 01, 2006

Harper Conservatives “relent”. Liberal media fail to “make sense”

Written by Joel Johannesen on Monday May 01 2006 at 12:21 PM

Just last week the Toronto Star breathlessly reported on the upcoming renewal of the NORAD treaty with the U.S.—as if it were a sort of sneaky secretive conservative hidden agenda government version of the Toronto Star’s favorite Girls Gone Wild video. The ominous headline was this: “Tories quietly expand NORAD”. Then there was a sub-head which ominously stated this: “Signing ceremony kept under wraps”. (Hat tip: conservativegal)

They went on at length about the “secrets” and the “under wraps”, and the “calls… were not returned” and the secret sources revealed that… -type blather.

Apr. 29, 2006. 01:00 AM
BRUCE CAMPION-SMITH
OTTAWA BUREAU

OTTAWA—Stephen Harper’s government has quietly committed Canada to “indefinite” participation in NORAD and agreed to give the military alliance new responsibilities to watch for a terror attack by sea.

Fresh off his softwood lumber truce, Harper’s government yesterday gave another boost to Canada-U.S. relations when it signed off on the renewal of the landmark North American Aerospace Defence Command treaty.

Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor and David Wilkins, the U.S. ambassador in Canada, signed the new pact at a “ceremony in Ottawa,” according to Janelle Hironimus, a spokesperson with the U.S. State Department.

Yet in Ottawa, officials with the Harper government tried to keep word of the renewal under wraps.

There was no notification of any signing ceremony.

Officials at both the foreign affairs department and defence department initially refused to confirm that a deal had been signed.

But after persistent questioning, defence officials finally acknowledged that the two nations had brokered a new defence agreement.

Then they admit this in paragraph 6,855 of the story, as if it’s the Conservatives who are trumpeting anything:

While the Conservatives are sure to trumpet the deal as yet further proof of improving relations with the U.S., negotiations for the renewal were “largely completed” before they took office in February, Hironimus [Janelle Hironimus, a spokesperson with the U.S. State Department] said.

The months since then have been taken up with legal reviews and the internal approval process, she said.

Ah. So the Liberals actually did this “secret” deal “under wraps” for the most part. Why, then, was the headline an implication that the Conservative government had secretly negotiated a deal? Again, the ominous headline was this: “Tories quietly expand NORAD”. Then the sub-head which ominously stated this: “Signing ceremony kept under wraps”

And it seems to me it was the Toronto Star reporter who was the only one trumpeting the Conservatives’ U.S. relationship-building abilities, as he wrote near the start of his story:

Fresh off his softwood lumber truce, Harper’s government yesterday gave another boost to Canada-U.S. relations when it signed off on the renewal of the landmark North American Aerospace Defence Command treaty.



Later in the story, notwithstanding a quote from the Minister in which they reported he’d said this in an email to them:

“As per our campaign promise, the new agreement will be tabled in Parliament for debate,” [Defence Minister O’Connor] said…

...and notwithstanding this quote:

[...] In Canada, opposition politicians will get their own briefing on Monday in advance of a debate on the new pact on Wednesday.

...they see fit to report this:

And the Conservative government has relented and will allow a vote on the agreement on Thursday, Parliament Hill sources say.

“Relented”? My my. They relented to their own campaign promise and Throne Speech commitments and on-the-record statements… to do what they said they would do and never said they wouldn’t?

No matter, they follow that sentence up with this one-sentence paragraph (gives it prominence!)

Calls to Harper’s office were not returned.

I always wonder what phone call they’re referring to.  The one asking for a date?  And why they even remotely expect a return phone call. I also wonder what the message was. And what time they called and how long they gave the person to call back. But hey—it’s ominous-sounding! Secret-ish! “Under wraps”! “No indication…”! Gosh it’s positively hidden agenda-like!  Eureka! 

This makes news more fun for liberals I guess.

In more calm and honest fashion, the top secret hidden agenda Harper-led Conservative Government of Canada relented and allowed this secret news release to be “unwrapped” by “sources” such that all Canadians will find out and know about it even without waiting for a phone call to be returned:

Renewal of NORAD Agreement to be voted on by House of Commons

May 1, 2006
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced that there will be a debate and vote in the House of Commons in support of the renewal of the North American Aerospace Defence (NORAD) Agreement.

“The Speech from the Throne committed this government to submitting significant international treaties for vote in Parliament,” said the Prime Minister. “For nearly five decades, the NORAD Agreement has represented one of the most fundamental elements of the Canada-U.S. defence relationship. The renewal of the agreement is an important undertaking that should be considered by the House of Commons, and I thank the leaders of the Opposition for agreeing to bring this before the House in a timely way.”

NORAD is a binational military command first established to monitor and defend North American airspace. NORAD now also monitors and tracks man made objects in space and detects, validates and warns of attack against North America by aircraft, missiles or space vehicles, while it continues to provide surveillance and control of Canadian and U.S. airspace. Under the new agreement, NORAD would also provide warning of maritime threats.

The NORAD Agreement was first signed by the governments of Canada and the United States on May 12, 1958, and has been renewed for varying periods since that time.

So you see, thanks to persistent questioning from the liberal media and a crack squad of intrepid reporters from Toronto, the Conservative government has relented and will allow a vote on the agreement on Thursday. Just like they always said they would and never said they wouldn’t.


Posted by Joel Johannesen on Monday, May 01, 2006 at 12:21 PM
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