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Conservative MP Calls for Jailing Journalists
liberal.ca/news_e.aspx?id=11539
March 31, 2006

In a recent column sent to local newspapers, B.C. Conservative MP Colin Mayes suggested that the public might get more “accurate and true information” if reporters faced the threat of incarceration.

Mr. Mayes later retracted his comments amid considerable public outcry.

Be that as it may, Mr. Mayes’ comments reveal a deep-seated lack of respect for role the media plays in a democratic society. His comments are particularly disturbing considering the number of journalists worldwide who are currently incarcerated for criticizing the actions of their governments. Reporters without Borders cites countries like North Korea, Eritrea, Myanmar, and Iran, as places where journalists simply relay government propaganda without criticism. Surely Mr. Mayes doesn’t espouse that Canada should follow a similar path!

It is ironic that Mr. Mayes is so concerned about journalists distorting the truth, when he himself is being sued for libel for allegedly making disparaging comments about fellow mayoral candidate Greg Husband during the last municipal election in Salmon Arm, B.C.

Although Colin Mayes’ comments are certainly over the top, unfortunately they do not fall far out of step with current Conservative attitudes towards the press corps.

Despite running an election campaign on open and accountable government, Stephen Harper’s Conservatives can barely disguise their contempt for the national media. They have banned journalists from standing outside the cabinet room so that Ministers can easily skulk out of meetings without answering questions, and they have tripled the contingent of RCMP officers on duty to bar reporters from attending photo opportunities.

Canadians have a right to know what its duly-elected government is doing, and the media should be able to report on the government’s actions without fear of reprisal. Freedom of speech is, after all, a fundamental Charter right.

This blatant animosity towards the press leaves Canadians wondering: just what does Stephen Harper have to hide?