Did Michael Ignatieff call a 26 yr old hill staffer who worked for Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt a liar? Here is a bit of what he said on the subject.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff called the minister's allowance of a staffer to take the blame "despicable". "It's presumably the same staffer responsible for the isotope shortage and it's presumably this 26-year-old who is responsible for the whole darned department" "How are we supposed to believe such a fiction?"
The staffer in question has taken responsibility and resigned over the incident.
I am just a knuckle-dragger so tell me dear Liberal friends if I have got this wrong. If Michael Ignatieff thinks that this is all a "fiction", does that not mean that he thinks the staffer is lying? Because that is what I am getting out of it.
Related: Michael Ignatieff: "I don't like people blaming 26 year olds."
Yes Michael, blaming 26 year olds, even if they take responsibility, is not the Liberal way. This is more the Liberal way*.
Any comments on the staffer incident from Judy Sgro yet? Just askin'.
*This works as long as the brother is not 26 because Iggy doesn't like that and what Iggy doesn't like could never be the Liberal way.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
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18 comments:
The staffer's father fundraises for Ignatieff, so he's definitely not going to say anything negative about the daughter. He is saying the responsibility lies with Raitt and the staffer should not have had to resign. This is consistent with Harper's accountability document.
I've never understood the insane idea that a minister quit because someone else made a mistake. Regardless if that minister is Liberal or Conservative, it makes no sense. What business would survive if the CEO had to resign because someone in shipping screwed up? And dont kid yourselves, if the Liberals were in power the Cons would be the ones screaming just as loud. But in the end, a resignation right now does not serve the best interests of Canada, it only serves the interest of the other party's, and, both Cons and Libs are equally guilty. MI missed a great opportunity to show Canadians how different he was, but, like Mr Harper he is now part of the political side show. Its really very sad. billg
You obviously missed the point. Why is the little guy in HArper's regime blamed and then fired? Where is ministerial accountability? Raitt and Bernier are incmpetent and can't be trusted with state secrets.
Ministers do not handle files.
They are handled by staffers.
The way in which they are marked, removed and replaced are all done by staffers. A Minister, Con or Lib, cannot be asked to put in 12 hour days AND also do staffers tasks. What point did you miss nonny. Your political bias aside, what purpose does it serve, and remember, this will happen to a Lib Minister sometime in the future, and, my opinion will stay the same...will yours? billg
Hey Anony "You obviously missed the point. Why is the little guy in HArper's regime blamed and then fired? Where is ministerial accountability? Raitt and Bernier are incmpetent and can't be trusted with state secrets."
Here is my question - why are you all turning to point fingers at the CPC when you should be pointing fingers at CTV for breaching any kind of ethics. How come they get off while a young staffer - who obviously made a mistake - pays with her job. Don't you think something is screwed up here, Anony.....CTV shoulders the entire blame for her job loss.
CTV didn't leave important and secret documents lying around Alberta Girl. Conservatives didnt blame CTV for running the Dion miscue's. You cannot have it both ways. There are bright and responsible people in all party's, to think otherwise if rather foolish. My point is, why throw away a good Minister because someone in their staff made a mistake, and, how MI could have proven he was different then the rest but didnt. billg
Anon, go look at the picture on the top of my blog. It's a picture of the aide, carrying the binder. She was the one in charge of it, and apparently the one who misplaced it.
Canadians are not stupid.
-Raitt's assistant left behind docs.
-CTV chose to 'make a story' rather than do the decent thing, and call Raitt's office to pick up the docs.
Fife or any other media could have gotten the same info in the files,
thru Acess to Info.
The real question is
'is Fife wrong when he said the docs were categorized as 'secret?
If not, why didn't the tracking system catch the lost docs?'
I'm still not convinced that someone at CTV saw some binders in a 'secure area' unattended and took one just to embarrass the government. It is plausible that the aide left the binder behind. It is equally plausible the aide put the binders down for a moment while she went to the bathroom and didn't realize that in her absence one of the binders was taken by someone at CTV. Of course it could also be possible that the aide was out to embarrass the government by intentionally leaving a binder behind. After all her father is a liberal fund raiser.
Billg summarizes it nicely 4 me. Why resign for someone else's mistake ?!
By this rule sooner or later every minister - or for that matter anybody in authority would be turfed because some rooky made a mistake.
Years ago starting out in the workforce, a grizzled, near retirement guy said to me "..don't be afaid to make mistakes - just don't make the same mistake twice"
Too bad this staffer won't get a 2nd chance a la CTV's dirty trick.
CTV could have quietly said (but with a severely arched brow..); "..oh hey, u forgot something.." No doubt the staffer would have been very embarrased - but she would have learned.
10 comments and no one has explained to me how Ignatieff, who doesn't like people blaming 26 yr olds, can basically call her a liar and that is OK.
Billg, I agree that if it was a Liberal Minister most of us would be screaming. That is the game, but when a staffer admits the error and resigns I would hope that I had the good sense to believe them and stop the screaming.
Crying is WHAT THEY DO!!! They like SCREAMING too. Nothing will ever change that unfortunately.
Aradvark...you don't get it. No one is calling the staffer a lair. She is not even on the record as saying anything. Igg doesn't like it that this young woman took the blame for a problem that rests with the minister.
Other posters make the point that the satffer was "in charge of the binder". That is Iggy's point. What else is being blamed on the staffers? They seem to be in charge and the ministers are not.
The staffer took responsibility and resigned. There are only 2 choices here, he either believes her that she left the documents or he doesn't and believes it to be a "fiction".
Which one is it?
Yes, ctv did leave those so called secret documents lying around in an unsecure place, after the took them in the first place.
Watch the video of them being returned to a young man.
I did not see anyone ask him for ID, to see if he was who he said he was. I did not see any letter etc to show he had a right to take said papers. I did see a young man go into an empty office and I did see Fife (while on a split screen saying one should not leave these papers in an unsecured place) walk into his office, reach down to the floor by his desk and take said unsecured papers out of a grocery bag and hand them over. No letter or receipt given to say they had been returned.
This grocery bag was left unattended, in an unlocked and empty office belonging to Fife.
Faux outrage on ctv's part.
I bet the war room has spies out watching every opposition member for some gaffe.
Maybe PMSH should have just said, mistakes happen, like the obama administration said yesterday after a real security breach. Every nuclear site in the US was published on the internet, oh gee, mistakes happen, no problem.
As a blogger it is nice to know that I can now look at, copy and distribute any document that comes into my hands in the future by citing the 'CTV defense' as my excuse.
I wonder how well that would work.
As a conservative you must know many cabinet ministers. Why don't you invite one to dinner and put their secret papers on the internet after they leave. I'm curious what will happen.
My guess is jail. Perhaps I could get a cell next to Bob Fife.
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