PM replies to criticism from soldier's father

[CHIMO]

The stinging words of a dead soldier’s grieving father have moved Prime Minister Stephen Harper to take another look at one of his controversial new media policies.

Dr. Tim Goddard, the father of Nichola Goddard, the first Canadian female fighting soldier to die in combat, delivered a stirring eulogy Friday that criticized the Conservative government for its refusal to allow the media to be present at CFB Trenton when the body of his daughter was returned home.

“I would like to think that Nichola died to protect our freedoms, not to restrict them,” Goddard said at the Calgary service.

“I’m troubled to hear that,” Harper said Friday in Victoria. ``I had given fairly clear instructions that when bodies were to come home, that families should be consulted and if all families agreed on making that particular ceremony public, then I thought our government should have no difficulty with that.”

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What an arrogant...

Seems that he wants to draw blood with every statement and have an excuse for the next election.

[Spazito]

1. Arrogant is right. It seems, though, he is backtracking a little on

his no press coverage dictate. My guess is his party is getting a fair amount of heat about it from their own constituents.

[CHIMO]

2. Perhaps

But an individual life seems not to matter to him. It requires all to approve that the public may share in the grief that we have sent these people into.

[Spazito]

3. I very much agree, if he does make any changes, it will be for

political expediency as was his original dictate.

[glarius]

4. Harper is LYING about what his orders were!

He says, "I had given fairly clear instructions that when bodies were to come home, that families should be consulted and if all families agreed on making that particular ceremony public, then I thought our government should have no difficulty with that."
As I remember it, when this happened last time, Harper announced that from now on all coffins returning home would be returned to the Canadian military base without the presense of the media and from then on it was up to the families to decide if they wanted media present at their funerals!
He's now trying to pretend that he was allowing the arrival home to be covered by the media if the families agreed. THIS IS A LIE!

[daleo]

5. Harper is a control freak

He knows what rules he issued. Even John Ibbitson in today's Globe said this sort of thing would catch up to him, if he wasn't careful.