U.S. diplomats offered withering assessments of the Conservative government's failure to pass most of its tough-on-crime bills and its abandonment of plans to pass copyright legislation after bending to public pressure, according to confidential cables leaked this week.
In other cables the website WikiLeaks released, U.S. officials described Prime Minister Stephen Harper's flip-flop in appointing partisan senators as a "major about-face."
On Dec. 22, 2008, officials at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa told the U.S. State Department Harper had appointed 18 new senators that day — and noted it was the largest one-time appointment of senators in Canada's history.
The appointments came weeks after Harper prorogued Parliament and avoided a confidence vote that could have defeated his government.
"The appointments are a major about-face for the prime minister and the Conservatives, who had long pledged to transform the Senate into an elected body instead of appointing new members as vacancies occurred," the official wrote, adding that the holiday season would "ensure that the unexpected move receives only modest public attention (or criticism)."
In a February 2008 cable, another diplomat in Ottawa told the State Department that the embassy continued to be "frustrated by the government of Canada's continuing failure to introduce — let alone pass — major copyright reform."
The U.S. officials said the frustration was exacerbated by several factors, including the fact that the prime minister had told the U.S. president — George W. Bush at the time — that Canada would pass legislation, that the issue had been included in the speech from the throne, and that then-industry minister Jim Prentice "repeatedly assured" officials the bill would be introduced "soon."
The bill has yet to pass, more than three years after this cable was prepared.
The copyright bill has been kicking around for years and aims to make it legal for people to use personal video recorders on their televisions or to transfer legitimately purchased CDs to their MP3 players, among other targets.
The U.S. officials speculate that "increasingly vocal" public opposition to copyright reform led the Conservatives to believe that the issue was becoming politicized, and so viewed it as a potential threat to the party's support during the next federal election.
In a January 2010 cable, U.S. officials also commented on the Conservatives' use of its crime agenda to create for themselves a political "brand" — without actually passing the majority of their proposed crime and security bills.
With files from Jordan Press and Carolynne Burkholder, Postmedia News
aminsky(at)postmedia.com
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Some other documents released by Wikileaks this week:
'MOST VALUABLE POLITICAL ASSET'
- Laureen Harper is her prime minister husband's "most valuable political asset," according to a cable released by WikiLeaks entitled "Prime Minister Harper's popular wife."
In the "sensitive" document, Laureen is described as "extroverted and friendly . . . passionate about politics . . . personable, free-spirited, and with considerable personal charm.
"She is also the self-confessed 'mouthy one,' with strong opinions on a wide variety of issues," the leaked document said.
It also details her numerous hobbies, which include fostering homeless cats, riding motorcycles, jewelry-making, gardening and art.
OPERATION THUNDERING POUTINE
- One of the lighter documents released Thursday was a cable between the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa and the U.S. State Department about an "informal election observation mission" during the 2006 election. Titled "Operation Thundering Poutine," it involved embassy workers canvassing local ridings to find out whether Canadians voted for personality or platform and whether anti-American issues permeated the campaign, and evaluating how the parties engaged voters.
The embassy's political section took "one Embassy Ford Taurus, one tank of gas, unlimited supply of Tim Horton's (sic) coffee and doughnuts" around Ottawa and southern Quebec. They found "little interest in the U.S. as an issue, and the emergence of law and order as a topic of unexpected prominence."
THINKING BEHIND G8 LOCATION
- The U.S. Embassy in Ottawa speculated that an "unstated" factor in Harper's decision to host the G8 in a small Ontario town was to "make it easier for security to keep the inevitable demonstrators at bay from the resort and minimize disruptions to a lightly populated area."
HARPER GETS A PASSING GRADE
- A U.S. official passed on a report card assessing Harper's first 2 1/2 years as prime minister, giving him a "Solid B+, but no Gold Star." The official said that the Conservatives were doing a good job of implementing their policy agenda and delivering on core pledges, in spite of running a minority government. There were two defining aspects to Harper's first term, the official said: "The extension of Canada's combat mission in Afghanistan to 2011 and the weakness of the Liberal official Opposition."
SANTA CLAUS IS COMING
- In December 2008, the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa contemplated what Prime Minister Harper may have written on his Christmas wish list. Included on that list: For comedian Jon Stewart to stop making fun of Canada and its politics; for Quebec voters to "come to their senses and vote en masse for the Conservatives in the next election," creating a stable Conservative majority; for scientists to discover that Canada's oilsands have a positive effect on climate.
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