Prime Minister Harper thumbs nose at Canadian media

Harper says he'll take his message to local news outlets after Ottawa press gallery refuses to play by his rules

COPYRIGHT THE TORONTO STAR

OTTAWA — Stephen Harper says journalists on Parliament Hill are biased against his government so he'll be avoiding them.

The prime minister says the parliamentary press gallery seems to have decided to become the opposition to his Conservative administration.

He told a London, Ont., TV station on Wednesday that he is having problems with reporters in the capital that a Liberal prime minister would never face.
So Harper says he will take his message out on the road and deal with the less hostile local media.

"Unfortunately, the press gallery has taken the view they are going to be the opposition to the government," Harper told London's A-Channel.

"They don't ask questions at my press conferences now.

"We'll just get the message out on the road. There's lots of media in the country who do want to ask me questions and hear what the government is doing."

The comments were sparked by an incident Tuesday when two dozen Ottawa reporters walked out on a Harper event when he refused to take their questions.
The prime minister does not want to hold press conferences unless his staff choose which journalists ask questions from a list they compile. The Ottawa press gallery has refused to play by those rules.

Harper has groused publicly about an anti-Conservative bias in the media before — but not since becoming prime minister.

"I have trouble believing that a Liberal prime minister would have this problem," he said Wednesday.

MICHAEL McCAFFERTY COMMENTS:

While I have nothing but great admiration and deep respect for Prime Minister Stephen Harper I am concerned this 'war' with the national media could esculate and hurt the Conservative Government. I can only hope that the Prime Minister's advisers are giving him the right advice.



"But the press gallery at the leadership level has taken an anti-Conservative view."