Angry in the Great White North

Liberal Party leadership candidates Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae are exchanging some harsh words:

Accusing rival leadership candidate Michael Ignatieff of blocking media coverage of a Liberal leadership forum in Toronto Sunday, Bob Rae planned to boycott the largest gathering of Liberals since the Oct. 14th election.

Mr. Rae had issued a statement near midnight Saturday after Ignatieff declined to agree to get the forum, a town hall-styled question-and-answer session, opened to the media.

"It sends an awful signal to have a debate that is closed to the media, closed to Canadians," Mr. Rae said, noting that the Conservatives have made closed no-media sessions a hallmark of their conventions under Stephen Harper.

Mr. Ignatieff said the executive of the LPCO -- Liberal Party of Canada Ontario -- set the rules for the forum two weeks ago and he wanted to honour them.

Mr. Ignatieff's spokeswoman Jill Fairbrother said the plan was for "an open and frank discussion" with grassroots Liberals. "Our hope is that the other candidates will continue to honour the terms for today's meeting, which were set by the LPCO Executive more than two weeks ago," she said.

LPCO president Mike Crawley said in an interview that all three campaigns had agreed that the session would be private. The executive would have opened it up if all three candidates called for that. "That didn't happen," he said.

So was this forum meant to be open to the public?  Michael Ignatieff and Mike Crawley are saying that Bob Rae knew the forum was private.

I found this email published in a Liberal blog two days ahead of the meeting this weekend:

What's Next? Leadership Forum This Sunday

The next great Liberal adventure is upon us: the leadership race.

As Liberals in Toronto-Danforth and across the country make important decisions about where to place their support in the leadership contest, the Liberal Party is offering Toronto-area residents the opportunity to hear from the declared candidates this coming Sunday, November 16 at a Leadership Town Hall.

Time: 1:30 to 3:30
Location: Delta Meadowvale, Mississauga

There will be opening remarks, questions taken from the floor and in writing and then closing statements. Tickets to this event are available at the door at a cost of $20 ($10 for Victory Fund members).

Now this is interesting.  The email says that "Toronto-area residents" can attend this Leadership Town Hall.  Nothing here about the media being excluded.

So is Bob Rae right?  Was he led to believe that the media would be attending?  Was this a mistake?  Or is this some sort of dirty tricks campaign designed to put Bob Rae on the defensive?