[R-G] Phony grassroots groups peddle Conservative propaganda

[Anthony Fenton]

  Phony grassroots groups peddle Conservative propaganda  	
http://www.spinwatch.org/content/view/4705/9/

NUPGE, 28/2/2008

Canadians for Afghanistan and Friends of Science have connections to  
Harper's political agenda


Before he became prime minister, Stephen Harper headed the National  
Citizens Coalition (NCC), a pioneering wolf-in-sheep's-clothing  
outfit that championed conservative causes while posing as a  
grassroots organization.

The NCC was founded more than 40 years ago by the late Colin Brown, a  
cranky insurance millionaire who sensed populism could be faked and  
milked for political impact. He'd approve of the tactics Harper is  
using in Ottawa today.

Over its many years, the NCC has poured  millions of murky dollars  
into billboard campaigns, national newspaper ads and Supreme Court  
challenges on behalf of right-wing causes, never once identifying the  
"citizens" it speaks for or allowing anyone to view its list of  
donors. The suspicion has always been that corporations fund the  
lion's share of its activities.

The NCC is a model that right-wing groups have used repeatedly and,  
with a federal election again looming, the concept is being put to  
use once again by the Harperites.

Two suspect groups

Two recent examples of groups sporting a phony independence while  
pushing causes in line with the Harper re-election campaign are  
Canadians for Afghanistan (CFA) and Friends of Science (FOS).

CFA is supporting the Conservative plan to extend Canada's mission in  
Afghanistan to 2011 while FOS is dedicated to debunking global  
warming and thus shoring up weak Conservative environmental policies.

While claiming independence, both groups include, or are influenced  
by, partisan associates or former operatives of the Harper  
Conservatives.

Canadians for Afghanistan describes itself as a coalition of students  
and young people. However, the Ottawa Citizen reports that one of the  
key operatives behind the recently-unveiled group is Josh McJannet.

While others did the talking, as the group introduced itself to  
parliamentary media, McJannet sat out of sight, a few metres away in  
a briefing room. He later admitted to being on the group's "steering  
committee" but declined to answer questions about his role.

Until last September, McJannet was a Conservative staff member in the  
office of Conservative Whip Jay Hill. Before that he worked for  
Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer. When he left the hill, he became a  
lobbyist with Summa Strategies, a firm that counts defence  
contractors such as the Boeing aerospace giant among its clients.

Swiss cheese law

McJannet was able to move with ease into the lobbying world because  
of a Swiss cheese loophole inserted by the Conservatives into their  
much touted Federal Accountability Act.

Instead of preventing Parliament Hill staffers from cashing in on  
political connections, as its name suggests, and as Harper promised,  
the law exempts "parliamentary" aides from any cooling off period at  
all, allowing them to move directly to the lobbying jobs.

Meanwhile, CanWest News reports that Morten Paulsen, a volunteer  
member of the Conservative's 2006 election team, was on the payroll  
as a communications consultant to FOS, an Alberta-based lobby group  
formed several years to oppose Canada's participation in the Kyoto  
agreement.

Paulsen is a long-time conservative organizer with roots in the  
Reform and Canadian Alliance parties, the political predecessors of  
the current Conservative party. He served as a volunteer spokesman  
for the Conservatives at the same time he was being paid by the lobby  
group.

As a result, a complaint has been filed with Elections Canada because  
the group bought ads in five key Ontario markets during the 2006  
federal election campaign without registering as a third party. The  
party and group deny any official connection between them but it is a  
claim that critics call absurd.

In 2006, Paulsen was registered as a lobbyist for the group and for  
two oil and gas companies. He is now a senior vice-president with  
Fleishman-Hillard Canada, a company that on its website makes yet  
another Conservative connection involving Paulsen. He co-chaired the  
2006 Alberta provincial Conservative convention.

Accountability

Saying one thing and doing another has always been a part of  
politics. But the Harper Conservatives have taken it to new levels.  
In Harper's Ottawa, accountability is for his opponents. For  
Conservatives it's mostly a talking point.

NUPGE

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of  
Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our  
mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a  
stronger Canada by ensuring that our common wealth is used for the  
common good. NUPGE