“Access [to government] is one of the tools we have to do our job. If we’re supposed to be covering what’s going on with the government and government-related ministries and agencies and the opposition obviously if we don’t get access to what’s going on it makes it much more difficult to do our job,” said Radio Canada reporter Daniel Thibeault, who was acclaimed as president at the press gallery’s annual general meeting on March 8.
Postmedia News reporter Mark Kennedy, a veteran Hill journalist who is among a small contingent of journalists who have had the opportunity to interview Mr. Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) regularly, said the gallery needs to be “constantly diligent” when it comes to the level of access given to press gallery reporters.
“There’s always going to be a constant tension between the media and those in power and that’s understandable, but our job is to get information out in fair fashion, and a big part of that is access, and getting that information, and so anything I can do to help folks in the gallery in that regard is my priority,” said Mr. Kennedy, acclaimed as the gallery’s vice-president at the AGM.
Mr. Kennedy told The Hill Times the environment has changed dramatically since he first got to the Hill 25 years ago. Back then, reporters were allowed to walk into the government lobby of the House of Commons to signal to MPs that they wanted to talk. He also remembers when Cabinet ministers would willingly be scrummed in the House foyer after Question Period as a matter of routine, and until Mr. Harper took office, when reporters could rely on Cabinet “outs” to speak to ministers on any one of the day’s top news stories.
“I can remember the days when prime minister [Brian] Mulroney would walk out and start to walk up the stairs and then turn around and have a scrum with us on a regular basis, and, of course, none of that happens now. That doesn’t help, in a democracy, when journalists can’t ask questions of the elected officials,” Mr. Kennedy said.
Andrew MacDougall, director of communications to Mr. Harper, said the PMO has “no plans” to restore the practice of Cabinet ins and outs and said he hopes to “continue the professional relationship” he’s established with the press gallery in an email to The Hill Times.
“The Press Gallery will always want more access than they are granted! This has been a fact of life for every person in my post and for every gallery executive,” wrote Mr. MacDougall in the email.
Mr. MacDougall said the Conservative government has “brought more organizations under the ATI regime,” and said, “background briefings have been an increasingly regular event,” like the national shipbuilding procurement strategy technical briefing held on Feb. 27.
Other press gallery members acclaimed to the executive were iPolitics’ Elizabeth Thompson as secretary and Le Devoir’s Marie Vastel as the treasurer. CBC television producer Chris Rands, former press gallery president, will sit on the board as past-president. Five directors were also elected to the executive: CBC.ca reporter Laura Payton; Radio Canada TV reporter Yves Lévesque; CBC Radio reporter James Cudmore; Globe and Mail reporter Kim Mackrael; and La Presse reporter Fannie Olivier.
Canadian Press reporter Jennifer Ditchburn, a former gallery executive member, said the public “has a right to the information,” which is what holds the government to account, because it’s public money that pays for the government to exist. Ms. Ditchburn said over the years she has “definitely” submitted more access to information requests.
“It’s no secret that there was a huge sea change when the Conservatives came to power in 2006. We went from a situation where we could get briefings from bureaucrats on different policy issues. We could receive personal and timely information from departments, communications people would actually call you and give you answers,” she told The Hill Times. “The point we’ve gotten to now is that you actually very rarely talk to a human being. Everything is done through email. … The information that we’re getting seems to be so manipulated and abridged that one gets the sense that there must be some political considerations given to the dissemination of public information, which should not be the case when we’re dealing with public information.”
As a result of the lack of information, reporters are turning to access to information requests to answer their questions, Ms. Ditchburn said. “What I see on Parliament Hill is that there’s a lot of great investigation going on. You see that with access to information, a lot of use of access to information, a lot of dogged reporting because when you don’t have a lot of other sources of information this is the route that you take,” said Ms. Ditchburn in an interview with CBC’s The Current host Anna Maria Tremonti on March 4.
Mr. Thibeault said while he couldn’t speak for all bureaus, both Radio-Canada TV and the CBC have increased their ATIP requests. He said, however, he can’t be sure whether it’s “directly related to the lack of information coming from the government.” Mr. Thibeault said access is “always” an issue for gallery members.
According to the Information Commissioner’s Office, in 2000, a total of 20,789 access requests were filed; in 2006, the year the Conservative government first came to power, there were a total of 29,182 access requests, representing a 40.37 per cent increase. Since then, access requests have grown to 43,194 as of 2011, the latest year for which data is available—a 48 per cent increase.
Ms. Thompson said she agrees that reporters have had to turn more often to access to information requests. In an email to The Hill Times she said a lack of access to the government has resulted in “more digging and a lot less reliance on government communications officials.”
Ms. Thompson said access is an “ongoing dossier” that has been a “big challenge” for the press gallery executive for years, and said she thinks a “new function” of the gallery, that has, in part, developed because of decreased access, is providing professional training to gallery members. The press gallery has previously already held one training session where journalists were briefed on the services available to them from the Library of Parliament, an event Ms. Thompson said was well-attended.
Ms. Ditchburn told The Hill Times that she thinks the government has violated the spirit of the Treasury Board government communications policy, which, among other things, states that the government should provide timely, objective and complete information. She said the “first thought” of media relations and government communications staff shouldn’t be on giving as little information as possible or on figuring out how to “best sell the government,” it should be on providing information.
Meanwhile, Mr. Thibeault said “ongoing issues” with access to the Senate have also recently come to the gallery’s attention.
“I think access is always an issue,” he said. “More access to the Senate would be something I’d like to push for, personally.”
Mr. Thibeault noted an incident a few weeks ago about gallery members getting access to the Senate chambers to cover a bill signing.
“Because of the way the system has been set up, consent wasn’t given and we didn’t get in. There are ongoing issues about setting up in the foyer to wait for scrums or to do live hits or to conduct interviews. … There is an established procedure with the House of Commons that doesn’t seem to be as easy to set up with the Senate, and that’s something that needs to be discussed at some point.”
Ms. Vastel told The Hill Times she ran for the treasurer position because she think it’s important to defend gallery members’ rights. “There is a lot of necessity to voice our concerns and make sure that the need for access to the members is heard,” she said.
Mr. Thibeault said he thinks it’s important for Hill reporters to be actively involved in the press gallery because “it’s about protecting our rights, protecting our access.”
Mr. Thibeault said while the new executive committee will have to meet to discuss their priorities as a group, he said he personally hopes to “continue rebuilding bridges” with the government, and more specifically with the PMO when it comes to access, by building Mr. Rands’ work. He noted for example, that the Parliamentary precinct renovations are a concern and there’s an issue of access that needs to be dealt with when Centre Block closes down in 2019 and services are moved to the West Block. “There is a preoccupation to making sure that access and services that we have right now in Centre Block follows when everything moves to the West Block and then follows back into the Centre Block when we go back,” he said, acknowledging it’s still at least six years away but it’s important to start the discussions now.
The Hot Room, situated on the third floor of Centre Block, is home to 25 reporters and several press gallery clerks. When Centre Block services, including the House of Commons and MPs’ offices are moved to the West Block, it’s unclear whether the Hot Room will also be moved there.
Mr. Rands presented his past president’s report at the AGM. He said he believes the gallery has “ironed out” most concerns with Senate security over where journalists are allowed to scrum and wait for Senators to leave the Red Chamber, after issues came to light with the Senate under increased media scrutiny.
Mr. Rands said sidewalk access to the National Press Theatre is expected to be restored in the spring 2014 and said it seems the main issue keeping the entrance closed is the lifting of new windows into the adjacent Sir John A. Macdonald building. Mr. Rands said construction surrounding the National Press Theatre likely impacted use of the building for the first three months, but now people have adjusted.
Mr. Rands also urged print reporters to have a discussion to consider the establishment of a print digital pool being set up on the Hill, separate from the television pools.
Original Article
Source: hilltimes.com
Author: Laura Ryckewaert
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