It's unusual for political leaders to visit factories and not allow the media to come along for the ride. After all, TV cameras love the rhythmic hum of slicing machines and automated perforators.

But Gilles Duceppe is playing it a little differently this morning. He's touring a potato processing plant south of Montreal, and the media are not allowed inside.

Duceppe's team denies the blackout is because the Bloc leader has to wear a hairnet for sanitary purposes. Duceppe was famously captured on film in the 1997 campaign wearing a bonnet in a cheese factory, jokes about which continue to persist 11 years on. Observers say the incident helped torpedo what is generally seen as a poorly-run campaign.

Instead officials at the processing plant today say the media may not enter to protect industrial secrets.

Vive le high tech spud.

— Tim Duboyce