Taxpayers shelled out to pay a private image consultant to coach Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn for his televised appearance before a Commons committee in Ottawa yesterday.
"I think that it is a little pathetic that a minister of the Crown needs to turn to an image consultant before going before a committee hearing," said John Williamson, director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
"This is the kind of spending that not only was the Reform party opposed to in opposition but it's also the kind of business taxpayers were told would end under a Stephen Harper government," he said.
The consultant used was the Ottawa firm McLoughlin Media, the same company the Mounties paid $25,000 to help former RCMP commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli prepare for his appearance before parliamentary hearings.
Quite telling, that the government went the same route with Zaccardelli, who's every changing testimony suggested complete deception. In hiring this firm for Lunn, it demonstrates that the government was well aware of the need to protect Lunn from incriminating himself.
This debate has been reduced to public relations exercise. Lunn's need for a image consultant tells us that he needed help, the simple facts his adversary. What a damning revelation, that speaks to competence, knowledge of the issues, the need to spin and a concerted effort to mitigate damage to the government. Based on Lunn's appearance, and Zaccardelli before him, I recommend the government ask for a refund and find a new puppeteer.
11 comments:
It's not as though Lunn is some hardware merchant from the backwoods. He practised law in Victoria. With that education and training he ought to be perfectly able to appear before any tribunal - unless it's not truth but spin he has to work on.
mound
Exactly, something to hide Mr. Lunn?
Taxpayers pay for EVERYTHING that EVERY party at EVERY level of government does!
The ONLY exception is non-receipted donations.
Is this news to Liberals?
Who do you think paid for Dion's trip to Afghanistan, and his image consultant (get your money back on that one)?
Dion has an image consultant, paid for by Canadian taxpayers? Wilson, great find, can you provide the link.
Check your facts. This is a MEDIA consultant. Because there are privacy issues when it comes to personnel matters that Lunn cannot divulge some a media consultant is often used to help ascertain what can and cannot be said and how to clearly and plainly communicate it when preparing the statement.
Given the media's bias and attempts to play gotcha on pretty well anything a conservative says this is the logical and good management way to address this issue to make sure that the communications are clear and consice.
EVERY major corporation in this country uses media consultants for exaclty that purpose. It is FOR the BENEFIT of the audience so they get the facts clearly.
Would you rather he adlibbed like Dion and then had to spend days and days and days trying to say what he said was not what he meant. Like attacking Pakistan?
"Given the media's bias and attempts to play gotcha on pretty well anything a conservative says this is the logical and good management way to address this issue to make sure that the communications are clear and consice."
Playing that lame "everybody is out to get us" game I see. Quite a defence.
I agree with you on one point, this government very much resembles a corporation.
Packaging conservatives is another borrowed Repug thing, to go hand in hand with the Chaney-borrowed secrecy thing. Both are now signature Harper.
The real question (and watch the answer to this one geth the media consultant white wash) is why the lady was fired at 10 PM the evening before she was to testify?
Sure does seem like the act of a desperate Prime Minister.
Image consultant...media consultant, whatever. Harper is salivating for a majority, and is such a control freak that he has to manipulate everything to conform to his plan. One has to (almost) feel sorry for Lunn, having to be in the line of fire, and being manipulated like a chess piece by the grand master himself.
When I read about this today, my first thought was "I hope that they asked for a refund".
From Anonymoose:
"EVERY major corporation in this country uses media consultants for exaclty that purpose. It is FOR the BENEFIT of the audience so they get the facts clearly."
The comparison to Enron starts here...
And doesn't anyone find it telling that at no point has this gov't laid any of the blame on AECL for the initial 'risk to health' decision to ignore regulations and warnings from the watchdog?
That they have backed the semi-private (well, we have a major share in it) seems to indicate a rather Bushian 'let business regulate itself' mantlepiece. But certainly few in the media has framed this scary proposition quite prominently.
Lunn doesn't need an image consultant. He needs an image.
Canadian taxpayers are not a corporation. If Lunn understood and knew his files and had a clean shirt handy - there is no need for a consultant.
Harper having one is one thing (overuse to the highest level with primper) but a cabinet minister? Please, this is absolutely obscene.
Added Taxpayer Expenses:
- $31 million for polling
- over $31 million for NEW gas guzzling SUV's (twice as many as previous governments - why twice as many vehicles?)
- $650,000 for the kiddie time show and tell for the 1% GST reduction announcement that everyone knew was coming.
- Primper cost - NDP unable to find out yet.
- Cost for image person for Lunn - not available yet.
- How much has Harper and his campaigning bobbleheads spent on advertising since he took office - no one seems to have tried to find that one out.
- rather than make a decision on his own, Harper has set up committees for nearly every issue that has come up - how much has this cost taxpayers (i.e. Manley, $1400. per day - for Manley alone).
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