It’s very interesting to compare the coverage of yesterday’s Commons ethics committee inquisition of former Liberal staffer Adam Carroll in the Toronto Star today with the coverage the CBC aired last night in the video above. The Star article was quite efficient at relaying the Conservative and NDP talking points that were out forth but rather light on what was said in response by either Carroll or the Liberals.
So in the interest of balance here are some memorable quotes from Adam Carroll which can be found in the coverage of other Canadian newspapers:
“The irony is not lost on that the Speaker of the House used his powers to trace my personal IP address and my personal online activity. This is precisely what the online spying bill will do to everyone.”
“I think that any information that is available to the public should be public. That’s my personal opinion. I’m a big believer in access to full information and people can make their judgments themselves.”
“I disagree with everything Mr. Del Mastro said. To use his words, they are baseless smears or in the acronym BS.”
“Are you suggesting the Conservative Party of Canada’s opposition research files are just perfectly clean with encyclopedia-level information about every (MP) in opposition? Would you be willing to invite the media over to take a quick look?”
Here are some comments from Bob Rae that were omitted from the Star’s coverage:
Rae says he knows a Conservative candidate who was given two files on him and his past.
“The information is there. That’s not a question. The question is whether it was appropriate to use information that should be more private than public, even if the divorce affidavits are technically not private.”
“The fact is everybody’s got records on everybody. If you don’t understand that… they might even have records on you,” Rae said to reporters after question period.
Rae said all parties have that kind of information on each other. The question is whether it is appropriate to use it, even if it is in the public domain.
“That’s why Mr. Carroll is no longer with us,” he said.
There is one quote by Adam Carroll from the Star that I think is worth repeating:
“The level of debate has decreased consistently over many years, to the point now where it truly feels like we’re in the gutter most of the time. I believe that is where Conservatives like to have the fight and frankly, that’s where they’re winning the fight.”
