Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Tom Clark CTV: Documents Were Kept Protected, Robert Fife CTV: Video Proves Otherwise..

So now that CTV has also found itself in the hot seat for keeping government documents for a week, reading said documents, and allegedly photocopying some of the documents, Tom Clark, host of CTV's Power Play assures viewers that the documents were kept "protected".

Now when I hear that documents are being protected, I envision being in a safe, a locked filing cabinet, a room no one has access to. Makes sense right? And would make CTV appear to be less sleazy, if that's possible.

So what does CTV run as soon as Clark is done talking? Robert Fife handing the documents to a government aide to return to the proper place. Does Fife open a safe? Nope. Filing cabinet? Uh Uh. Maybe a briefcase? Wrooong. A locked drawer in his desk? No way.

Where were these "protected documents", as Tom Clark called them? Well, ole Bobby Fife, bends over and picks up a plastic shopping back off the floor beside his desk, and pulls out said protected documents. And it wasn't even a new shopping bag. It looked like one Fife had been using to carry his lunch in for the past six months.

Protected Tom Clark? C'mon. Give your head a shake. Those documents would have been safer with Fife's wife holding an Innuit carving. UN-FREAKIN-BELIEVABLE!

Update; Fife stated on CTV that he made two copies of the documents, one was returned with the original and CTV kept the second copy, given to their lawyers. Fife stated they will claim client-solicitor privilege if the government demands the copies be returned. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but stating these documents are of national interest and secret 24/7 on TV, and then stating you kept a copy for yourself doesn't sound too bright to me.

And Bruce has posted this information on Joanne's blog. Did Fife implicate himself in a felony?

"Security of Information Act;
Miscellaneous Offences
Wrongful communication, etc., of information
4. (1) Every person is guilty of an offence under this Act who, having in his possession or control any secret official code word, password, sketch, plan, model, article, note, document or information that relates to or is used in a prohibited place or anything in a prohibited place, or that has been made or obtained in contravention of this Act, or that has been entrusted in confidence to him by any person holding office under Her Majesty, or that he has obtained or to which he has had access while subject to the Code of Service Discipline within the meaning of the National Defence Act or owing to his position as a person who holds or has held office under Her Majesty, or as a person who holds or has held a contract made on behalf of Her Majesty, or a contract the performance of which in whole or in part is carried out in a prohibited place, or as a person who is or has been employed under a person who holds or has held such an office or contract,
(a) communicates the code word, password, sketch, plan, model, article, note, document or information to any person, other than a person to whom he is authorized to communicate with, or a person to whom it is in the interest of the State his duty to communicate it;
(b) uses the information in his possession for the benefit of any foreign power or in any other manner prejudicial to the safety or interests of the State;
(c) retains the sketch, plan, model, article, note, or document in his possession or control when he has no right to retain it or when it is contrary to his duty to retain it or fails to comply with all directions issued by lawful authority with regard to the return or disposal thereof; or
(d) fails to take reasonable care of, or so conducts himself as to endanger the safety of, the secret official code word, password, sketch, plan, model, article, note, document or information.
Punishment
27. Unless this Act provides otherwise, a person who commits an offence under this Act is guilty of
(a) an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 14 years; or
(b) an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 12 months or to a fine of not more than $2,000, or to both.
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/O-5/

23 comments:

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Great catch! You are very observant!!

Calgary Junkie said...

Good catch, Paul ! There's certainly something fishy about this whole story. The CTV folks are all too gleeful over their "scoop".

Bec said...

I have been following this story today via radio as I have been on 'Grama duty' with my gorgeous 17 correction, 18 month old (TODAY) GD and the first thing that entered my mind was, "Where is the integrity of the CTV"?

When I worked in securities for a bank, I was constantly in a position, where someone left something behind. Some of it pretty sensitive and what did I do?

First, I talked to my superior, behind closed doors and I TOLD that individual that I was calling the client.
WE would together, document that an item was left behind and then place it in a SECURE place.

This is pure politics and I can absolutely count on the fact, when we know that certain people enjoy reporting on the "toilets" of ANY Conservative comings and goings, this will be another.

CTV, wake up, please. I have e-mailed you that I am sick and tired of hearing EXACTLY the same story, from my local channel when they do their National segment.

Bob Fife, needs to go and he IS the FIRST, of many!

Now I anxiously await, catching up!

Ardvark said...

Something to clarify here. Bob Fife does not do news; according to CTV he is a commentator. At least that is the excuse CTV used when Fife made his famous "knuckle-dragger" comment.

Anonymous said...

This is my 2 cents worth:

I've worked in ministers offices in the past (under the Liberal watch through the '90s but in all seriousness it doesn't really matter who's in power) and there's a whole long protocol about what is to be done with 'Secret' documents. As you can imagine, they're all over the place in the M.O's.

Unfortunately, too often the folks that work there get kind of blasé about security classifications over time. Truth is, stuff that is barely 'Confidential' (i.e. not yet released to the public) by any realistic measure of potential injury to the nation gets classified as 'Secret' mostly so that it is not subject to inconvenient Access to Information requests.

Overwork and too much paper all over the place means that MO staffers occasionally leave things lying around that should really be locked up.

A 'Secret' document of any sort should never have been taken to a newsroom of any kind, let alone left there. In fact, when they're being sent from one office to another they're supposed to be carried by hand by someone with a clearance in a double envelope, taped shut. They're not even supposed to be faxed except through a scrambler.

These rules get broken all the time for one reason or another, mostly sloppiness and serious overwork/fatigue. Previous governments were lucky in that they never really got caught out doing it but I assure you it did happen.

I agree that CTV's seeming howls of glee aren't very professional and I suspect that if something like this had occurred a few years it probably would have been quietly returned (once it had been carefully read over for any interesting tidbits for use in upcoming stories, of course!) but that doesn't excuse the initial error in leaving it there in the first place.

The understood penalty for mistakes like this for staff in the M.O. is to be fired and I understand this has occurred. Just about the worst thing you can do as a staffer is to really embarass the Minister.

As far as Bob Fife is concerned (and no, I'm not much of a fan of his) the person to whom the document was directly assigned is the person who is reponsible for its security, that's why he/she has to get a security clearance before beginning work. Reporters don't have security clearances.

One certain outcome of all this: there won't be any more classified stuff lying around in any of the MOs for a long time and people are going to start to be much more careful. I doubt very much if anything like this will happen again for a long time.

paulsstuff said...

Wow. Thanks for that. Very informative. Lot's of stuff I never knew.

It's great to hear from someone who has hands-on experience in this type of workplace.

Anonymous said...

Why should anyone believe anything the CTV has to say about anything at all these days?

I heard Graham Richardson gushing on CFRB this morning. The usually conservative talk show host never even asked why it took so long to return the documents or notify the gov't of them being left behind.

They did it for ratings folks...and anyone who continues to tune in helps the CTV's cause.

Nope. no more CTV for me!

Joanne (True Blue) said...

I've worked in ministers offices in the past (under the Liberal watch through the '90s but in all seriousness it doesn't really matter who's in power) and there's a whole long protocol about what is to be done with 'Secret' documents...

That whole comment was totally fascinating. Thanks so much for the info.

Anonymous said...

Paulstuff, check out my post at BLY, Sorry Iggy #26

Bruce

Anonymous said...

I personally like the idea that these arrived sepaate of the interview... like a rat supplying a diversion to what should be the bigger news of the day in the charging of the former leader of the Quebec wing of the Liberal party for his part in the sponsorship scandal and the fact he's going to now name names...

Where's the CTV, CBC, and Global coverage on that guy'sand why isn't that front and center???

paulsstuff said...

Just added the info. Thanks Bruce.

maryT said...

Paul, can you stop that video at spots, and check the dates and the word draft on some of the pages shown. I caught 2007 on the first page shown, and draft embossed on the page. So, anychance these were draft copies from 2007, and if so, why would they be relevant now.
Or do those go from 2007 to ?. Wonder who highlighted the pages.

Anonymous said...

The binder was left behind in the CTV Green Room.

I have worked in media relations.
The Green Room is an area that is secure. This is where you get ready for your interview and you can leave your purse, briefcase, coat, documents, etc. without fear of anything getting stolen.

Until now. According to Bob Fife if ANYTHING is left at CTV it is their RIGHT as Journalists to snoop.

And, don't expect a courtesy call if you have left anything behind.
Great ethical precedent CTV. NOT!

Bec said...

Anony, because the concerted effort, is synchronized.

Having heard the head of CTV be interviewed recently, we are in big 'ca-ca' in this country re: professional journalism.

Dead and buried, via television.

The Prime Minister, has astutely read the taro cards when it applies to the sleazy bias of our national media. Vomit!

paulsstuff said...

I tried pausing the pvr MaryT but I couldn't make out anything, other than the 2007 you saw as well.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

This is where you get ready for your interview and you can leave your purse, briefcase, coat, documents, etc. without fear of anything getting stolen.

Until now. According to Bob Fife if ANYTHING is left at CTV it is their RIGHT as Journalists to snoop.


Wow. Guests to CTV better bring their valuables with them.

maryT said...

The video seems to have disappeard from the top story. I am sure it is still there somewhere but I can't find it.
Maybe they read some of the comments and really looked at those pages and saw 2007 and DRAFT in big blue letters going diagonally from bottom to top.

Anonymous said...

Personally I would use it as an opportunity to set up a sting... if this is what CTV calls responsible journalism and investigative reporting they deserve nothing less...

I would draft false information that could be self incriminating if it were real, claim you are writing a fictional story after the fact... and then file a lawsuit should they decide to publish it without verification of facts...

Really though, The Secrecy Act should shut these idiots down though and launch a full investigation including RCMP taking CTV computers away ... I'm sure a film crew could catch that on tape...

Bec said...

Anony @ 5:14pm

Hee hee, I agree, BRING IT On!

Joanne (True Blue) said...

The video seems to have disappeard from the top story. I am sure it is still there somewhere but I can't find it.

That's right. I just checked it out. I left a message at my own blog about this on the post where you mentioned it Mary T.

The cut the whole introduction from tonight's Power Play on the net, and that's where the video of the documents was.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

The original clip from last night gives this message:

Sorry, there was an error
We are experiencing temporary difficulties downloading your lineup. Please wait another few seconds and try again if you're still having problems.

Thanks for your patience.

Anonymous said...

In the Canadian Forces it is automatic that an inquiry must be called to look into the circumstances of lost classified documents. It is appalling that soldiers face an inquiry and cabinet ministers walk. DISGUSTING.

Anonymous said...

"I heard Graham Richardson gushing on CFRB this morning. The usually conservative talk show host never even asked why it took so long to return the documents or notify the gov't of them being left behind."

Likely because that talk show host knows that if the documents had been left at his radio station, the result would have been the same. If you're concerned about the security of this document then you should be concerned that they were missing for a week and nobody seemed to notice.

If you want documents to remain secure, don't lose them...and especially don't leave them behind at a broadcast facility.

And I hardly believe Bob Fife rifles through the personal possessions of those who leave stuff behind on the green room. If you find a purse or wallet, you go through it and find out who it belongs to. If a package has been sitting there for a few hours/days...a week, eventually you look at it and see what it is and who it belongs to.