Is that new Conservative Media HQ really THAT expensive?

UPDATE @ 4:36pm: Elizabeth Thompson of the Montreal Gazette has posted a further clarification in the comments section. Obviously if you’ve read Taylor’s site, she’s the reporter who complained about his presence there. She gives her version of events

So there was a post by Stephen Taylor yesterday at his site where he alleged the Parliamentary Press Gallery (and 1 reporter in particular) were wrong in their getting Commons security and escorting Stephen from Parliament, Hill Pass notwithstanding. Stephen also made mention of an earlier incident when “two female staffers from the Conservative Resource Group were similarly removed from the Hill by security when the Liberals complained to the Gallery”. He said further that the “Prime Ministers office called the sergeant-at-arms (who works on behalf of the Speaker on Hill security) and was told that the Gallery and Liberals were wrong to ask for the ouster of the CRG staff from Dion scrums (and scrums in general).”

The Conservative Resource Group in case you’re wondering, are paid hacks by the Conservative Party designed to find footage to run in campaign ads (such as attack ads). I don’t doubt the PMO is claiming the Gallery or the Liberals are wrong - they wouldn’t want to lose their free footage they would get by sitting in on scrums - but I wondered about the circumstances, and thought I’d do some poking around myself. I got in touch with someone who has good contacts with the media.. and I asked them whether the reporter in question was justified in asking for Stephen’s removal.

“Yes, because she had good reason, he isn’t a reporter.. he’s not bound by a code of ethics”

So, I asked, if I were to go up there with a pass like what Stephen possessed, or if any Liberal blogger/NDP Blogger/Progressive Blogger/Green Blogger did, but had a camera in my possession (which seems to be the issue the reporter had) we’d all have been kicked out too?

Correct, I was told. It has nothing to do with political affiliation. It has everything to do with not being a reporter and not being bound to their code of ethics.

I asked that person to elaborate further - particularly on the Conservative Resource Group people - why were they kicked out of there? I was told that the rules are only the Parliamentary Press Gallery (PPG) and CPAC are allowed to film scrums - CPAC inside the House + 1 Canadian Press photo, and the rest of the media outside the House in the Foyer. The concern is, according to this contact, that the Tories through their resource group or through partisan bloggers like Taylor may want to use scrum footage for their attack ads, and don’t want to pay the networks for the use of that footage. Further to that, if Stephen was allowed in there, the fear is they will have hacks of all political affiliations filming all day, and filming everything. (”Its not like hacks are in short supply around there”, my source sarcastically added).

So, the view from that source is its less to do with PPG bias against bloggers then it is to prevent hackery. My source rhetorically asked me if the Conservatives were so cheap nowadays - perhaps from building their multi-million dollar media bunker designed to get around the media - that they need to send hacks to go film the scrums.

Now, I’m not saying here that Stephen Taylor is actively looking to do that, but I am saying that’s what is at play here, and my source said they (as in the PPG) will continue to shoo away partisan bloggers and paid Conservative propagandists (and anyone else who they consider a partisan hack) from using the scrums for partisan advantage.