Plus ça change…
Much will be made this week of the Elizabeth May Express. But lest the Greens get all the glory for hurtlin' coast to coast on an iron horse, one of Stephen Harper's senior advisors lays claim to plenty of first-hand experience herself at that game.
Paul Hunter
Conservative Senator Marjorey LeBreton, Harper's 2008 campaign co-chair, was just a wee lass back in 1965, helping out on John Diefenbaker's campaign, which — as steel rail enthusiasts will know — was conducted at least in part via train.
His tour came complete with straight-outta-Hollywood whistle stop rallies at rural train stations and reporters jumping off madly in search of phone booths from which to (gasp!) dictate their stories back to the newsroom.
Apparently, journalists back then drank alcohol. So quite naturally, a lot of Diefenbaker's staffers would spend their evenings in the train's press car.
But, says LeBreton, if the boss found out, there'd be hell to pay. Anyone caught carousing with the journos was guaranteed to get a crack-of-dawn assignment from the former PM the next morning. No matter the hangover.
Seems Dief wasn't a big fan of reporters.
— Paul Hunter
About the Authors
- Rosemary Barton started her television career reporting from Quebec City where she covered the ins and outs of Quebec politics. She moved to the CBC Parliamentary Bureau in 2007. She also stood on the side of road awaiting U.S. President Barack Obama's motorcade for hours in the cold. When she finally spotted him, all of Canada heard her shriek, "I saw him!"
- Alison Crawford worked in Fredericton, Calgary and Winnipeg before returning to her hometown to work in the CBC parliamentary bureau. Her beats include the RCMP, justice, public safety and the Liberals. Alison credits her investigative skills as well as a national etiquette column and coverage of a ferret Christmas party, with having prepared her for covering national politics.
- Andrew Davidson is a producer for the CBC politics page in Toronto. He joined CBCNews.ca's national desk in 2006 and was the lead news writer for the website's 2008 federal election coverage.
- Chris Hall is the National Affairs Editor for CBC News. He's been a member of the CBC Parliamentary Bureau since 1998. That adds up to 11 budgets, four elections, three prime ministers and too many confidence votes to count. Chris started his career in print before moving to the CBC in 1992. Since then, he's worked in Toronto, Halifax and St. John's, as well as Ottawa.
- Leslie MacKinnon Leslie's been working in news and current affairs since newsrooms used teletype, televison was shot on film and radio tape was edited with a razor blade. She saw through The Journal's long run on CBC-TV, and since then has worked in Halifax, Toronto and Ottawa in the CBC's various permutations. Right now, she's a TV news reporter in the political bureau, and likes certain parts of Ottawa - the canal, the Hill - a lot.
- Janyce McGregor has been a television producer in the CBC's Parliamentary Bureau since 2001. She started her career working for Studio 2 on TVOntario. In 2005 her then-doctoral student husband persuaded her to follow him to the U.K., where she worked for BBC World Service Radio in London. Janyce is originally a farm girl from southwestern Ontario. Her most important job title is "Norah's Mom."
- Chris Rands has been a member of the Parliamentary bureau since 2001. He started at Toronto's AM Radio giant CFRB before moving to CBC's National Radio News in 1996. Chris has worked in Toronto, Moncton, Sudbury, Regina, Washington and St John's. Every time Chris walks up to the Peace Tower, he wants to throw his hat in the air like Mary Tyler Moore.
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