Hello? Minister Raitt? Anyone?

(Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

If you have a conference call with a minister, and no one calls in, will anyone hear it?

Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt is in New York today to meet with business leaders, and discuss in particular the oil sands.

At least that's what the media release says.

When I tried to call in, the conference i.d. number didn't work.

The operator had no record of Minister Raitt, the call, or her press secretary.

I'm not alone.

No one else called in either. The Department is now arranging one-on-one interviews later in the day.

Raitt, of course, had a previous Director of Communications who forgot briefing books at a private television studio, and left a digital tape recorder with a reporter for months.

I wonder if anyone remembered to actually book this conference call?

UPDATE:  The Natural Resources Minister was ready to do the conference call. The journalists who made it through were trying to press star one, to ask a question. But somewhere in telephone cyberspace the two sides did not connect. The Department called to say they are asking the Government Teleconference Service for an explanation for the technical difficulties.