This news release was just issued by the Conservative Party of Canada:

LIBERALS MUST COME CLEAN ON CBC COLLUSION ALLEGATIONS
December 17, 2007

CBC must also explain disturbing pattern of anti-Conservative bias

OTTAWA – The Liberal Party of Canada must reveal the scope of the party’s alleged collusion with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) on House of Commons committee business, and explain the party’s denials of collusion given contradictory statements from senior members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery and the CBC itself.

“The Liberal Party must reveal the full extent of its cooperation with the taxpayer-financed CBC,” said Conservative M.P. Dean Del Mastro.  “And Liberals must explain why they’re the only organization denying the collusion allegations.” 

According to former Liberal Cabinet Minister Jean Lapierre, now a political reporter with the TVA network questions asked by Liberal members of the House ethics committee on December 13th were “written by the CBC” (CTV Newsnet, December 13, 2007).  CTV’s Mike Duffy later added that Liberal researcher Jay Ephard admitted that the CBC and Liberals worked together on the Liberals’ committee questions (Mike Duffy Live, December 13, 2007).  And now, according to Canadian Press, the CBC has launched its own internal investigation into what it described as “inappropriate” practices (Canadian Press, December 14, 2007).

Yet the Liberal Party’s has denied that there was collusion between his party and the CBC and called the allegations a “total fabrication” (National Post, December 15, 2007).

“Are the Liberals saying that Jean Lapierre, Mike Duffy and the CBC itself are fabricating their stories?” asked Del Mastro.  “More importantly do Liberals believe that it is appropriate for their party to actively collude with the country’s public broadcaster?”

While Conservatives welcomed the launch of an internal CBC investigation into the alleged Liberal-CBC collusion, the party remains concerned about a disturbing pattern of anti-Conservative bias from the public broadcaster.  During the 2004 election, the network was caught soliciting anti-Conservative participants for a town hall-style meeting.  And the network admitted “regret” in 2006 after airing a report that negatively portrayed Stephen Harper by using out-of-context footage.

“The CBC receives over a billion dollars a year from taxpayers and is there to serve all Canadians,” said Del Mastro.  “Canadians who want fair and balanced reporting are going to be asking some tough questions about why the CBC was working with the Liberal Party on parliamentary business.”

Should reporters and politicians talk?  Sure, of course.  But there is something creepy about a reporter framing questions for a politician about to question someone at a committee hearing.

Clearly the Liberals are feeling uncomfortable, given the confused and contradictory responses being delivered by various Liberals when confronted with this issue.  Some say it didn't happen.  Some say it was no big deal.  Some say everyone does it.

Canadians ought to be concerned too.  In this case, the questions that were asked of Brian Mulroney by Liberal MP Pablo Rodriguez, the questions that were allegedly written by a CBC reporter and fed to Rodriguez, did not seem to be relevant to the question of Karlheinz Schreiber's payments to Brian Mulroney.  The question had to do with Brian Mulroney's involvement, if any, in the wireless spectrum auction.

It is almost as if a reporter working on entirely different story wanted to use the power of a parliamentary committee hearing to compel answers to questions that he would not be able to get answers for otherwise.

It is almost as if the Liberals were all too happy to help out, hoping to contrive a headache for the government, and knowing that by helping, the story would be written in a way that made the Liberals looked good.

And the selection of Pablo Rodriguez is the most interesting.  His appearance at the committee hearing was the first for him.  He was not present for any of the appearances by Karlheinz Schreiber.  Could not one of the other Liberals on the committee handled the CBC's questions?  Or would they be unwilling to take the committee hearing off in an entirely different direction after all the work they had put in on the Schreiber question?  Did the CBC need a Liberal MP with little invested in the effort already expended?  Did the CBC need an MP who would not be accused of switching cars mid-race, having not actually been involved until that point?

It all seems so...manipulative.  Politicians and reporters manipulating each other, and all us getting manipulated by both.  What comes next?  A reporters registration system like we have for lobbyists? 

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