Oddly enough for a man who served more than 30 years in the army before entering politics, he was never considered a shoo-in to run the Department of National Defence.
Now, with the opposition scenting its first whiff of blood around a senior minister, Gordon O'Connor is taking shrapnel almost daily — not all of it enemy fire.
“I think [Prime Minister Stephen] Harper has clearly undermined him,” Liberal defence critic Ujjal Dosanjh said yesterday. “Whether or not it was intentional, only Mr. Harper would know.”
The past week has been particularly rocky for the former brigadier general and defence industry lobbyist, who turned 67 two weeks ago.
First came Mr. Harper's climbdown Friday over a controversial ban on media coverage of repatriation ceremonies for Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
Mr. O'Connor was caught off guard not only by the reversal, sources say, but also by the manner in which Mr. Harper announced it — saying he had left “fairly clear” instructions to leave decisions on media access up to soldiers' families.
For weeks, and with the Prime Minister's apparent backing, Mr. O'Connor had been saying the exact opposite.
Then came a parliamentary committee hearing Tuesday, during which Mr. O'Connor was peppered with questions about Canada's military mission in Afghanistan.
On several important subjects — the recent anti-American riots in Kabul, the bombing of civilians by coalition forces in Azizi, and the status of the fight for “hearts and minds” across Afghanistan — the minister struggled in his answers, referring his questioners to television reports.
Queried about the media ban, Mr. O'Connor said that the Prime Minister had indeed instructed him to consult military families, but then declined to explain further, saying, “I have to watch what I say.”
Most recently, in Question Period on Wednesday, Mr. O'Connor appeared to contradict a senior Canadian military commander's assertion that Taliban and al-Qaeda combatants are not accorded prisoner-of-war status under the Geneva Conventions.
“He's obviously not clear on what part of the Geneva Conventions applies to these prisoners that we take,” Mr. Dosanjh said.
Mr. O'Connor's missteps are undermining his leadership of the Canadian military, which for the first time in decades is conducting combat operations and taking significant battlefield casualties, Mr. Dosanjh said.
Whether captives have full Geneva status “is not the first issue where he is not clear,” Mr. Dosanjh said. “He has been less than clear on many things on the lowering of the flag, on whether or not the families [of those killed in combat] were consulted with respect to the media ban.”
It also remains unclear whether Mr. O'Connor's focus on Arctic sovereignty is shared by the Defence Department. The purchase of three armed icebreakers has been put off to the fall and perhaps longer, sources say, in favour of strategic airlift capability — Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier's first priority.
The first in a series of multibillion-dollar DND announcements on airlift is imminent, sources say.
Even Mr. O'Connor's allies concede that he is not a polished politician. “He's trained as an armoured corps officer,” said one former colleague. “He hasn't been in [politics] long enough to transition to political mode. So his presentation skills do little to warm people up, whether he's right or wrong.”
That said, the former colleague added, Mr. O'Connor is a military expert. “I've probably never met a more straightforward and ethical individual in my life. And that's almost an oxymoron for a minister.”
Privately, Liberals concede this. “As far as anyone can tell he's a very decent, honest man,” one said.
Unfortunately for Mr. O'Connor, the Liberals say, that's not enough to get him out of their sights.
His background as a defence industry lobbyist, and his position at the head of a department poised to dole out billions in public contracts to some of his former clients, make him a choice political target.
In his eight years as a lobbyist for Hill & Knowlton, Mr. O'Connor worked for a who's who of defence firms, including Airbus Military, BAE Systems, Raytheon Canada, General Dynamics Canada and Stewart & Stevenson. All five companies are now vying for billions in government contracts.
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Now, with the opposition scenting its first whiff of blood around a senior minister, Gordon O'Connor is taking shrapnel almost daily — not all of it enemy fire.
“I think [Prime Minister Stephen] Harper has clearly undermined him,” Liberal defence critic Ujjal Dosanjh said yesterday. “Whether or not it was intentional, only Mr. Harper would know.”
The past week has been particularly rocky for the former brigadier general and defence industry lobbyist, who turned 67 two weeks ago.
First came Mr. Harper's climbdown Friday over a controversial ban on media coverage of repatriation ceremonies for Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
Mr. O'Connor was caught off guard not only by the reversal, sources say, but also by the manner in which Mr. Harper announced it — saying he had left “fairly clear” instructions to leave decisions on media access up to soldiers' families.
For weeks, and with the Prime Minister's apparent backing, Mr. O'Connor had been saying the exact opposite.
Then came a parliamentary committee hearing Tuesday, during which Mr. O'Connor was peppered with questions about Canada's military mission in Afghanistan.
On several important subjects — the recent anti-American riots in Kabul, the bombing of civilians by coalition forces in Azizi, and the status of the fight for “hearts and minds” across Afghanistan — the minister struggled in his answers, referring his questioners to television reports.
Queried about the media ban, Mr. O'Connor said that the Prime Minister had indeed instructed him to consult military families, but then declined to explain further, saying, “I have to watch what I say.”
Most recently, in Question Period on Wednesday, Mr. O'Connor appeared to contradict a senior Canadian military commander's assertion that Taliban and al-Qaeda combatants are not accorded prisoner-of-war status under the Geneva Conventions.
“He's obviously not clear on what part of the Geneva Conventions applies to these prisoners that we take,” Mr. Dosanjh said.
Mr. O'Connor's missteps are undermining his leadership of the Canadian military, which for the first time in decades is conducting combat operations and taking significant battlefield casualties, Mr. Dosanjh said.
Whether captives have full Geneva status “is not the first issue where he is not clear,” Mr. Dosanjh said. “He has been less than clear on many things on the lowering of the flag, on whether or not the families [of those killed in combat] were consulted with respect to the media ban.”
It also remains unclear whether Mr. O'Connor's focus on Arctic sovereignty is shared by the Defence Department. The purchase of three armed icebreakers has been put off to the fall and perhaps longer, sources say, in favour of strategic airlift capability — Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier's first priority.
The first in a series of multibillion-dollar DND announcements on airlift is imminent, sources say.
Even Mr. O'Connor's allies concede that he is not a polished politician. “He's trained as an armoured corps officer,” said one former colleague. “He hasn't been in [politics] long enough to transition to political mode. So his presentation skills do little to warm people up, whether he's right or wrong.”
That said, the former colleague added, Mr. O'Connor is a military expert. “I've probably never met a more straightforward and ethical individual in my life. And that's almost an oxymoron for a minister.”
Privately, Liberals concede this. “As far as anyone can tell he's a very decent, honest man,” one said.
Unfortunately for Mr. O'Connor, the Liberals say, that's not enough to get him out of their sights.
His background as a defence industry lobbyist, and his position at the head of a department poised to dole out billions in public contracts to some of his former clients, make him a choice political target.
In his eight years as a lobbyist for Hill & Knowlton, Mr. O'Connor worked for a who's who of defence firms, including Airbus Military, BAE Systems, Raytheon Canada, General Dynamics Canada and Stewart & Stevenson. All five companies are now vying for billions in government contracts.
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