At the end of Stephen Harper's rally in Surrey, B.C., Tuesday night, reporters moved en masse toward Dona Cadman, one of the many local Conservative candidates who had been standing on stage with the Conservative leader, acting as a backdrop during his speech.

Paul Hunter

They wanted to ask her questions about the continuing controversy around her late husband Chuck, a former Conservative and Independent MP. There are allegations that shortly before his death, he'd been approached with a bribe to rejoin the Conservatives, at a time when doing so might have helped bring down the then-Liberal government.

But Cadman and the other candidates bee-lined for a side-door.

Then, as reporters closed in, some reporters say the RCMP officers assigned to protect Harper physically prevented the journalists from getting near any of the local candidates. And very quickly they were gone with nary a question posed.

Twenty minutes later, Harper's communications director Kory Teneycke agreed to take questions on the record about what happened.

Here are the first few questions from that scrum:

Teneycke: Go ahead, shoot.

Reporter: Why was the RCMP used to keep us from asking a question of a candidate today instead of just letting her answer the question?
Teneyke: Well I didn't see that happen so I'm not going to comment on that. In terms of local candidates, local candidates' priority is campaigning in their local ridings and not talking to the national media. Their priority is obviously getting elected in their riding.

Reporter: But the local media's here.
Teneyke: I didn't say talking to local media, I said their priority's getting elected in their local riding. That's what their priority is. We have a national campaign tour with national media with us and we have media availabilities every morning in which journalists can ask questions of the prime minister and we have events every day in our war room, generally with members of cabinet. So I think there are many opportunities to talk with the party and the campaign at the most senior levels throughout the campaign.

Reporter: But shouldn't the local candidates be free to decide what their priorities are?
Teneyke: Their priority is to campaign in their local riding and just because a candidate doesn't want to speak with you doesn't mean they have to.

Reporter: Is she allowed to speak with us?
Teneyke: Candidates, as I say, their priority is campaigning in their local riding. If the candidate had wanted to do a media availability they would have — did not — so they didn't.

Reporter: Did you actually ask them, did you say there were members of the national media here and they'd like to speak with you?
Teneyke: We did not ask them to do a scrum. As I say, national media can ask every morning of the prime minister questions, we have events every day in the war room.

Reporter: So does that mean when we're on the national tour we're not allowed to seek interviews with your local candidates because we get access to your prime minister?
Teneyke: Well, you can seek interviews with any number of people. I'm sure you can call any candidate's office and request an interview and it'll be up to those candidates as to whether or not they choose to take interviews. I think with campaigns from all parties, the priority is to communicate with national media from the national tour and we arrange many availabilities for you to do that.

—Paul Hunter