OTTAWA (CP) - Ministers in the new Conservative government have been warned they could be banned from travelling, publicly humiliated or even fired for verbal gaffes.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is determined not to have his agenda derailed and his ministers have been made aware they will face punishment for loose-lipped indiscretions.
Harper's chief of staff, Ian Brodie, has given colleagues in ministers' offices stark warnings about varying sanctions for cabinet members who either embarrass or contradict the government in public, sources say.
The worst of those penalties - being dumped from cabinet, shuffled to another portfolio, or barred from official trips - have not been imposed yet.
But the lesser punishment of public embarrassment has been swiftly levelled on at least two cabinet ministers and one B.C. MP.
All have been forced to publicly swallow their words in pride-pummeling mea culpas within hours of causing unwanted headlines.
"It's constant," one government official said of the pressure on ministers.
"The message comes from the top: if you (mess) up you will publicly and embarrassingly retract - no 'ifs,' 'ands' or 'buts.'
"So stick to the party line, or you'll go out there and tell the whole world that you're a dumb (jerk) who screwed up."
Industry Minister Maxime Bernier became the latest victim this week. Bernier told a radio interviewer that Canada could lose its legal battle against the U.S., and that taxpayers shouldn't be left covering loan guarantees for the softwood industry.
At the urging of the Prime Minister's Office, he issued a press release to declare that his remarks on lumber did not reflect the views of either his government or even his own department.
"Mr. Bernier clarified his position," was all Harper said about his minister's comments.
Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay has been on the job for just two months but has already been compelled to hold a news conference and issue a press release to clarify a pair of statements - one about hostages in Iraq and another about aid for the Hamas-led Palestinian government.
http://start.shaw.ca/start/enCA/News/NationalNewsArticle.htm?src=n041411A.xml
Can anyone say dictatorship.
I can.
Also, if Harper let his ministers loose, just think how quickly they would fall.
And finally, has everyone heard of Humdy Dumdy, I think Humdy Dumdy is setting himself up for a fall.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is determined not to have his agenda derailed and his ministers have been made aware they will face punishment for loose-lipped indiscretions.
Harper's chief of staff, Ian Brodie, has given colleagues in ministers' offices stark warnings about varying sanctions for cabinet members who either embarrass or contradict the government in public, sources say.
The worst of those penalties - being dumped from cabinet, shuffled to another portfolio, or barred from official trips - have not been imposed yet.
But the lesser punishment of public embarrassment has been swiftly levelled on at least two cabinet ministers and one B.C. MP.
All have been forced to publicly swallow their words in pride-pummeling mea culpas within hours of causing unwanted headlines.
"It's constant," one government official said of the pressure on ministers.
"The message comes from the top: if you (mess) up you will publicly and embarrassingly retract - no 'ifs,' 'ands' or 'buts.'
"So stick to the party line, or you'll go out there and tell the whole world that you're a dumb (jerk) who screwed up."
Industry Minister Maxime Bernier became the latest victim this week. Bernier told a radio interviewer that Canada could lose its legal battle against the U.S., and that taxpayers shouldn't be left covering loan guarantees for the softwood industry.
At the urging of the Prime Minister's Office, he issued a press release to declare that his remarks on lumber did not reflect the views of either his government or even his own department.
"Mr. Bernier clarified his position," was all Harper said about his minister's comments.
Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay has been on the job for just two months but has already been compelled to hold a news conference and issue a press release to clarify a pair of statements - one about hostages in Iraq and another about aid for the Hamas-led Palestinian government.
http://start.shaw.ca/start/enCA/News/NationalNewsArticle.htm?src=n041411A.xml
Can anyone say dictatorship.
I can.
Also, if Harper let his ministers loose, just think how quickly they would fall.
And finally, has everyone heard of Humdy Dumdy, I think Humdy Dumdy is setting himself up for a fall.