CBC still investigating allegations reporter fed questions to Grit MP

THE HILL TIMES, Monday, January 7, 2008
Politics section, page 5

"CBC still investigating allegations reporter fed questions to Grit MP"
The CBC is still investigating an allegation that one of its national reporters on Parliament Hill fed questions to Quebec Liberal MP Pablo Rodriguez last month when he questioned former prime minister Brian Mulroney at the House Ethics Committee.

Jeff Keay, head of media relations for the CBC, declined to discuss any time limits on the investigation or any decisions reached thus far, in an interview last week with The Hill Times. Mr. Keay declined to release the name of the reporter who allegedly wrote the questions, saying he isn't sure when CBC would be willing to do so. "That's going to depend on the results of the investigation," he said.

Mr. Keay said he was unable to characterize what type of discipline the reporter could face, if any. But, he added, anything that happens would be consistent with the terms of the CBC's collective agreement, as set out by the Canadian Media Guild.

The story broke last month when former Liberal MP and current TVA personality Jean Lapierre declared to Mike Duffy on his show CTV's Mike Duffy Live, that an "influential Member of Parliament" told him that the CBC wrote the questions that Mr. Rodriguez asked Mr. Mulroney.

Although Liberal researcher Jay Ephard later told Mr. Duffy the questions were suggested--not written--by the CBC, the Conservatives filed a formal complaint to CBC ombudsman Vince Carlin. "Regardless of who wrote the questions the fact that our national public broadcaster was actively cooperating with a political party in an attempt to embarrass the government raises serious questions about the impartiality of Canada's publicly funded national broadcaster," wrote Doug Finley, director of political operations for the Conservative Party.

The public broadcaster told The Canadian Press that it may take disciplinary action against the reporter for using methods that were "inconsistent" with the CBC's "journalistic policies and practices."

The investigation centres on a list of questions regarding Mr. Mulroney's involvement with the current government's decision to open up the wireless spectrum for auction to new players. Mr. Rodriguez uncharacteristically asked Mr. Mulroney the questions in English instead of in French. He denies getting the questions from the CBC reporter, however, saying he wrote them himself with the help of the Liberal research bureau. "[I was] inspired by the questions in the House of Commons, inspired by the fact that [former Industry Minister Maxime] Bernier never wants to answer questions on this," he told The Hill Times before the House recessed in December.

Reports from The Canadian Press said the Liberals have argued the reporter did nothing wrong and that MPs are regularly "bombarded" with suggestions for questions without investigations taking place. Mr. Keay said that in this case, the CBC "thought that the technique or the methodology was inappropriate under the circumstances," even though they also "thought that the reporter was in pursuit of a journalistically legitimate story."

Following media reports announcing the investigation, Mr. Finley, also the Conservative Party campaign director, sent out a fundraising letter to supporters in which he reiterated the recent allegations of collusion between the Liberals and the CBC prove the Conservatives are at a financial disadvantage, pointing out that the CBC received $1.1-billion in public funding last year. The Canadian Press reported on Dec. 24 that Mr. Finley asked for $100 or $200 to help fight an election. "The Liberals have long benefited from the support of the country's most powerful vested interests," he wrote. "And the NDP has always been backed by the country's loudest vocal interests."

In response to Mr. Finley's letter, CBC producer John Cruickshank posted an open letter to Mr. Finley on the CBC News editors' blog on Dec. 28. Mr. Cruickshank accused Mr. Finley of "inaccuracy, innuendo, exaggeration and expressed malice," and lamented the fact that he continued to denigrate the integrity of the CBC even after the disciplinary investigation was put into action. "We accept that you are not the only, or even the first, Canadian political party to use CBC News as a whipping boy for fundraising purposes. The Liberal party accused us of bias on several occasions when it fit their agenda," he wrote, also pointing out that it was the Progressive Conservative government of R.B. Bennett in the 1930s that created the CBC.

Mr. Cruickshank also stated that while the CBC is not infallible, it is accountable for its actions. "When there are errors of judgment, or misunderstandings or improper interpretation of the journalistic standards and practices, we investigate," he wrote. "When we discover shortcomings, we change our standards and practices."