Envoy faces calls to resign in NAFTA leak probe
March 11, 2008 Globe and Mail
Michael Wilson should step down as Canada's ambassador to Washington while the leaks that damaged Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign are investigated, opposition parties said Tuesday, as scrutiny moved from one of Stephen Harper's top aides to one of his high-profile political appointees.
Liberals are furious with Michael Wilson and are calling for his head on a platter.
More after the jump...
The opposition party continues...
The Liberals say it now appears that Mr. Wilson, who was finance minister under former Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney, took part in political leaks that damaged a Democratic contender – and he cannot continue as Canada's chief representative in the United States until his role has been investigated.
Mr. Obama's adviser, Austan Goolsbee has stated many times his comments were misrepresented by a Canadian diplomat.
The report also states that this hurt Mr. Obama in last week's Ohio primary. And of course Hillary is still touting the story of Naftagate as of March 10 in her speeches.
His opponent, Hillary Clinton, returned to the so-called NAFTA-gate incident yesterday as she bashed Mr. Obama for policies that are "just words."
How did the leaks start??
The Canadian leaks began as a remark that Mr. Harper's chief of staff, Ian Brodie, made to CTV reporters during the Feb. 26 budget lock-up. Mr. Brodie told the reporters that Ms. Clinton's campaign contacted Canadian diplomats to say her calls for renegotiating NAFTA were not serious. When CTV's Washington reporter, Tom Clark, went to air with a story the next day, he reported it was Mr. Obama's campaign that had contacted diplomats.
Mr Wilson admits that he spoke to Mr. Clark..
Mr. Wilson has now publicly acknowledged that he spoke to Mr. Clark before the report aired, although he said what they discussed is private. "We have three leaks with a desired result to interfere and influence the Democratic primary," Liberal MP Navdeep Bains said in the Commons Tuesday. "Will the Prime Minister confirm that Ian Brodie and Michael Wilson are under investigation and that they have stepped aside? If not, why not?"
But of course Mr Harper's government is stonewalling on an investagation. Sound familiar??
Mr. Bains said later that Mr. Wilson should "resign" at least until the leaks have been investigated. But he charged that the government is just stonewalling in the hope the controversy will blow over. "He should step aside until the investigation is complete. Unfortunately this government is not responding," Mr. Bains said. Mr. Harper has said that the Privy Council Office, the central government department that reports to the Prime Minister, will carry out an internal investigation of the leaks.
Now the NDP is calling for the RCMP to do an external probe into all this because as sure as hell an internal one won't.
In the Commons, NDP justice critic Joe Comartin called for the RCMP to be asked to investigate Mr. Wilson and others. "Mr. Wilson is now hiding behind a so-called private conversation to deny any wrong. That is not good enough," Mr. Comartin said. "An internal probe by the Prime Minister's staff will not get to the bottom of this scandal. When will the RCMP be called in to investigate the actions of Ian Brodie, Michael Wilson and all the other actors in the NAFTA leak?"
The Harper government is just hoping it will blow over. Not on his life it will!!
GOBAMA!!
