OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised Thursday that an internal investigation would probe all facets of how information was leaked that may have influenced the U.S. Democratic presidential primaries, including the alleged comments by his own chief of staff, Ian Brodie, and the subsequent leak of a sensitive memorandum.
Opposition politicians yesterday demanded Mr. Brodie's dismissal amid reports that he leaked information that set off a chain of events that some say resulted in Senator Barack Obama's loss in Tuesday's Ohio primaries.
"New reports indicate very clearly that it was Ian Brodie, the chief of staff," New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton said yesterday in the Commons.
"My question to the Prime Minister is very simple. Will he now apologize to this House, the American people and Senator Obama, and will he fire his chief of staff?"
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief of staff Ian Brodie watches from the back of the room during a photo op before the government caucus meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa Wednesday. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)
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Mr. Layton was joined in his demands for Mr. Brodie's firing by the Liberals.
Mr. Harper responded that he plans to investigate the entire matter, suggesting that Mr. Brodie's role and that of a leaked memo will be looked into. He acknowledged that the matter is a serious one and that it was damaging "in a way that was completely unfair."
"… I have also said that it is completely contrary to the interests of the Government of Canada."
The controversy began after Mr. Brodie allegedly told a group of journalists from CTV News that candidate Hillary Clinton was not serious about earlier suggestions that she would reopen NAFTA if she became president. The network later reported that it was Mr. Obama's campaign that had informed Canadian diplomats not to be overly concerned that he would fundamentally change the deal. The network also reported that Ms. Clinton's officials indirectly tried to deliver the same message, a report the campaign denied the next evening.
Later, a memo from a Canadian diplomat in Chicago emerged in which Mr. Obama's chief economic adviser, Austan Goolsbee, was quoted as saying that Mr. Obama's NAFTA stand was about "political positioning," rather than an articulation of policy.
The Clinton campaign has used the issue against Mr. Obama, saying he is insincere in his opposition to NAFTA. Ms. Clinton went on to win the primary in the state of Ohio, where NAFTA is blamed by some for the loss of manufacturing jobs.
Meanwhile, yesterday, U.S. ambassador David Wilkins, who called the NAFTA leak "interference" when he spoke to the CBC yesterday, said he overstated the case.
"It's a regrettable instance, it should not have happened. But certainly… regret has been expressed very strongly by the Canadian government," Mr. Wilkins told The Globe and Mail.
"I do think the term 'interference' is a little strong. It implies some intentional act. And I've got no way of knowing whether it was unintentional or intentional, or anything of that nature. But my statement of interference was not meant to mean intentional interference by the Canadian government, and unfortunately that's the way it got played."
He said he accepts the expressions of regret from Mr. Harper and the Canadian embassy in Washington, and now thinks "it's important we all get this behind us."
It's unclear, however, whether Mr. Obama's campaign will be as quick to forgive as Mr. Wilkins — a Republican appointed by George W. Bush.
Ms. Clinton's chief strategist, Mark Penn, said Wednesday in a conference call with reporters that the so-called "NAFTA-gate" leaks "had a significant impact" on the key race in Ohio, where Ms. Clinton won handily.
The Tories have said that Mr. Brodie does not recall having a conversation in which he discussed the NAFTA issue.
Mr. Layton continued his attack on Mr. Harper last night on CNN, when he was interviewed by Conservative U.S. commentator Lou Dobbs, who opposes NAFTA.
"It's not right, he hasn't yet apologized and he hasn't yet fired the source of the leak so we'll keep working on that on our end," Mr. Layton said.
The NAFTA matter, combined with the controversy surrounding the late Chuck Cadman, put the government on the defensive for much of yesterday.
"It is the only defence of the Prime Minister that we do not know how to choose among all the scandals he has," Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion said.
Mr. Dion was referring to allegations from Mr. Cadman's widow, Dona, that the Tories had offered a $1-million life insurance package if Mr. Cadman would support the Tories three years ago in their efforts to defeat the then-government of Paul Martin.
"The problem with the Leader of the Liberal Party is he is so busy chasing appointments that never happened, favours that were never given, lawsuits that were never cancelled," Mr. Harper said.
With a report from Canadian Press
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