Peppergate:Chretien Must Resign Petition The APEC Files CBC National News Special Feature Site Includes 'secret" government and RCMP documents showing police riot against APEC protesters was ordered by the Prime Ministers Office. With Links to APEC Protest page, multi media, etc. APEC Documents Yahoo Coverage of APEC & Chretien Protestors Win Award - This week featuring working TV #120, RT 27:30; first broadcast September 25 1997 "Democracy Street", the group APEC protestors formed to press their case against the RCMP, was selected this week to receive the Carol Geller Human Rights Award, plus a cash prize which will be used for legal fees in the Public Inquiry on the actions of the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) during last November's APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation ) Summit in Vancouver. Pepper-spray fallout Special Feature Updated daily from the Edmonton Journal October 6, 1998 By the end of the first day of hearings into the treatment of protesters at last year's APEC summit, the solicitor general is being pressured to resign and Reform has vowed to shut down government unless Jean Chretien testifies. NEWS CHAT APEC Inquiry The inquiry into the security tactics at last year's APEC summit has taken many strange turns. From the PM's pepper jokes to Andy Scott's memory lapses to eavesdropping ethics, the whole episode takes on a circus/soap opera facade. How do you feel about the inquiry? Is it a matter of free speech, or RCMP bully tactics, or gutter politics? Is this a scandal in the making, or is everyone making too much of it? What's you opinion? Join the discussion. This chat group is meant specifically to deal with news events of current interest and will remain active for up to a week before changing topics. This group is not moderated. The rules: No profanity, no advocacy of violence or law-breaking, no libel or slander. Click here to alert us to offensive posts. December 8 Vancouver Protesters Web Site NEWS STORIES APEC hearings - costly with end a long way off APEC counsel attended Chretien fundraiser Reformers challenge apec counsel's integrity liberal do Commission lawyer attended Liberal fundraising dinner If you wonder why people in Ottawa seem to assume that the Prime Minister's Office must have had something to do with the security arrangements that went so badly awry at the APEC summit two years ago, the answer can be distilled into a name: Jean Carle. Sgt. Pepper takes the fall Pepper-spraying Mountie confident he did right thing PM's Testimony mulled Stewart denies knowing superiors talked to PMO Commons better forum than APEC inquiry, Chretien decides 'In front of God,' PM denies APEC role There's no smoking gun yet Canada Finally Hears From 'Sgt. Pepper' Sgt. Pepper defends spraying APEC protesters v Chretien denies role in APEC security Opposition intensifies APEC attack Who is telling the truth, Manning asks, Chr�tien or the RCMP at inquiry? 'Sgt Pepper' gets chance to explain his actions New tapes raise questions about PM, APEC Senior RCMP officers appeared to believe Chr�tien had direct say in security APEC inquiry may recall witness Gray Fog works magic in House -- and all is quiet Deputy PM an old hand at weathering storms Inquiry chairman marches to own tune Used fax tells tale of PCO monitoring A fax machine picked up at an auction of surplus federal government equipment in Ottawa last August provides insight into the federal government's sensitivity over the content of daily proceedings at the public inquiry into the APEC protest. When Spencer Bardell of Kingston, Ont., plugged in his newly acquired fax machine, it printed out briefing notes from the Privy Council Office (PCO), reporting on testimony at the APEC inquiry. Chretien must appear before commission The party's over and it is time for answers from nation's leader Mountie's blunt statements put heat on political leaders RCMP Supt. Wayne May CBC reporter says his network dropped the ball APEC haunts Chretien visit The long shadow of Prime Minister Jean Chretien's 1997 APEC troubles crept over his visit to a new high-tech centre Thursday. Chretien had a testy exchange with reporters over whether he would testify at an inquiry about his role in pepper-spraying and arresting demonstrators at the Asia-Pacific summit in Vancouver two years ago. "I've never been asked to testify," said Chretien. "I will see, but they are not asking, so I don't reply to hypothetical questions." APEC not forum for human rights: PM Cites Chinese opposition: Recent summits overshadowed by demonstrations Green Party leader wants CSIS to justify branding on APEC threat list Joan Russow became suspicious when press pass was revoked Former aide takes blame for Chr�tien's APEC woes APEC inquiry hears from another top Chretien aide Federal lawyer defends cabinet secrecy during APEC-related document quest The APEC inquiry has no business poking around for secrets of the federal Liberal cabinet because it is only a quasi-judicial body, a federal lawyer argued Tuesday. In a highly technical argument to a Federal Court judge, Ivan Whitehall sought to knock down an argument from a lawyer representing an anti-APEC activist who is seeking documents Ottawa is shielding from the probe into RCMP conduct at the 1997 summit. "We are not dealing with the administration of justice. What we are dealing with is an investigation set up by Parliament to advise the executive on the conduct of the RCMP," Whitehall told Justice William McKeown. Whitehall was referring the APEC investigation, enacted by the RCMP Public Complaints Commission - a watchdog agency on Mountie activities. APEC protesters 'simply unacceptable' - RCMP APEC protesters go to court to overturn Cabinet secrecy law The lawyer for one of the APEC protestors was in a Vancouver court Monday, trying to get his hands on some secret federal cabinet documents. Ottawa has conceded that the documents are relevant to the APEC inquiry by the RCMP's Public Complaints Commission into Mountie conduct at the 1997 Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit. But the cabinet has the power to withhold documents at its discretion. But according to Section 39 of the Canada Evidence Act, the Cabinet has the power to withhold documents at its discretion. The secrecy can be ordered if information is deemed harmful to international relations or national security, or has been discussed by cabinet. The protesters and their lawyers want to look at 170 Cabinet documents. Up until now the documents have been refused or heavily censored. APEC inquiry way into overtime, chair fears -The frustrated head of the APEC inquiry is suggesting the hearings might continue on Saturdays or run without breaks. Ted Hughes wondered last week whether the inquiry into police conduct at the 1997 summit might possibly hear its last witness by the end of November, as scheduled. "Nobody's betting on that," protester Jaggi Singh said, prompting chuckles from more than a dozen lawyers and staff at the inquiry. After three months of work, the investigation has only heard from nine witnesses. There are more than 130 to go. Charges stayed in ballot-shredding case Charges have been stayed in a case alleging that APEC protester Jonathan Oppenheim and Victoria Scott shredded their ballots in the May 1997 federal election. Oppenheim suspects the decision is linked to an Elections Canada official who is to appear as a witness at the APEC inquiry. But Elections Canada says the decision was made independently by Raymond Landry, Commissioner of Canada Elections. He apparently determined that due to some language interpretation in a recent appeal court decision in B.C., the chances of a successful prosecution were slim. Elections Canada spokesman Michel Hebert said the move had nothing to do with Patricia Hassard, a former official with the Privy Council who advised Prime Minister Jean Chretien on security and intelligence matters at the 1997 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference. Cabinet documents, police shredding issues at APEC inquiry Pre-APEC 'nabbing' of activist raises serious questions: lawyer Anti-APEC protester ordered to stop talking, start testifying The exasperated head of the APEC inquiry ordered a key protester to the stand Tuesday, cutting off the activist's efforts to lecture lawyers and protesters. Ted Hughes' blunt order came only a day after Jaggi Singh boasted he wouldn't take the stand - despite an official order - unless the inquiry dealt with several of his concerns. The standoff pitted the 27-year-old protester against the retired judge and former B.C. legislative corruption watchdog who is leading the hearings into police conduct at the 1997 APEC summit. CBC reporter cleared but job in limbo CBC reporter Terry Milewski was accurate and fair in ground-breaking reports on the APEC security scandal and broke no journalistic codes of conduct during his research, a CBC ombudsman has found. Nonetheless, it was a hollow vindication for the veteran journalist, who sparked an unprecedented public war of words between the government-funded CBC and the Prime Minister's Office. "He will not be back on the APEC story," Bob Culbert, exective director of TV news at CBC, said Tuesday. Police feared bomb attack by APEC activist, inquiry told Police were so wary of a key anti-APEC activist that they ordered a bomb sweep after he visited the summit co-ordinating office, a lawyer told the APEC inquiry on Monday. No device was found during the search in November 1997 as leaders from 18 Pacific Rim nations prepared to visit Vancouver, where a trade meeting was eventually marred by clashes between RCMP and protesters. Marvin Storrow, the lawyer for an inquiry into RCMP conduct, mentioned the bomb sweep in passing Monday as he opened a hearing that is expected to hear from about 130 witnesses over seven months. 'Sgt. Pepper': Fans and detractors speak out On Monday the RCMP Public Complaints Commission hearings into alleged RCMP misconduct at the APEC summit resume. Today The Vancouver Sun profiles Staff-Sergeant Hugh Stewart, who was at the centre of the police action at the University of B.C. in November 1997. Chretien to be called to APEC inquiry depending on evidence Ruling expected Friday on summoning Jean Chretien to APEC inquiry Ottawa announces criteria for funding APEC legal costs Feds to pay legal tab for APEC protesters Vancouver protesters denounce police actions Riot squad used undue force, organizers say Protest organizers accused Vancouver police yesterday of using unnecessary force against demonstrators gathered outside a downtown city hotel to protest against the presence of Prime Minister Jean Chr�tien. In a short, violent incident Tuesday evening, city riot police moved into the crowd, swinging truncheons and leaving at least four demonstrators with head wounds requiring hospital treatment. "Not a hand was raised, not a weapon brought, not a fist clenched in anger by any protester against police," said Garth Mullins, a chief organizer of the protest, billed as a "Jean Chr�tien Welcoming Committee." "There was a real overreaction by police. Some of those who were hurt were just sitting passively on the ground when they were hit on the head by batons." No warning of police move, says Chretien protester Some protesters beaten by riot police outside a Liberal fund-raiser featuring Prime Minister Jean Chretien said Wednesday they did nothing to provoke the response. "There was no warning," said Traci Park. "They started hitting their shields and then they started striking people with the batons and the shields and pushing them over with their bikes." The case of CBC reporter Terry Milewski is cause for alarm on the part of all Canadian citizens. Milewski and the CBC are under tremendous pressure from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) for digging into the students' protest at the APEC summit last fall in Vancouver. Milewski was suspended without pay for 3 days and has been withdrawn from covering the story. The "National" web site has the details of the correspondence between the PMO and the CBC. The case is now in the hands of the CBC Ombudsman David Bazay. So, after pepper spraying the protesters, the PMO now wants to muzzle journalists. It is a very slippery slope. And how can Chr�tien talk of human rights in Malaysia when he violates them right here in Canada. So, please, visit the "National" site. and email the CBC Ombudsman You can also give Chr�tiena piece of your mind. Violence mars demonstration against Chretien There was no pepper spray Tuesday when demonstrators protested Prime Minister Jean Chretien�s first visit to Vancouver since the ill-starred APEC summit a year ago. This time it was riot-squad batons. Five people were hurt and 10 arrested after protesters tried to break through a police security cordon surrounding the downtown hotel where Chretien was speaking at a Liberal fund-raising dinner. Riot-equipped city police waded into the throng. Police spokeswoman Const. Anne Drennan said four were injured by the baton-swinging officers. Chretien won't fire chairwoman of RCMP commission. Prime Minister Jean Chretien says he has no intention of firing the chairwoman of the RCMP Public Complaints Commission, despite repeated demands for her dismissal. Shirley Heafey landed in the middle of the storm surrounding the APEC inquiry last week after the head of the hearings resigned and accused her of interfering in the proceedings. But Chretien said Tuesday he has confidence in Heafey. Government shifts blame for APEC controversy The government turned aside another torrent of calls Monday to kill the ill-starred public inquiry into the APEC affair, insisting it has no legal power to pull the plug on the investigation. Instead, Deputy Prime Minister Herb Gray shifted responsibility to Shirley Heafey, chairwoman of the RCMP Public Complaints Commission, to figure out the next step. APEC inquiry to continue somehow, chairman Hearings to probe RCMP clashes with protesters at last year�s APEC summit will proceed despite a messy resignation Friday, says the head of the Mountie watchdog agency. Shirley Heafey, chairwoman of the RCMP Public Complaints Commission, said she will need time to consider options to continue the highest-profile hearings in the body�s 10-year history. The future of the APEC inquiry, already in turmoil over allegations of bias, was clouded further Friday when Gerald Morin, chairman of the three-member panel, resigned. He accused Heafey of interference Mountie target of investigation The RCMP officer who alleges APEC inquiry chairman Gerald Morin is biased against the force is the target of an investigation apparently aimed at discrediting him, The Vancouver Sun has learned. Who is behind the investigation of RCMP Constable Russell Black is not known. But one participant in the investigation, Louis Mercredi, a Dene Indian who lives in Fond-du-lac, Sask., 700 kilometres north of Prince Albert, says he made statements to a private investigator in Saskatoon who arranged to fly him there twice for further interviews, on condition the information be passed along to Morin. Exasperated lawyer calls for end to APEC hearings Hearings on RCMP clashes with protesters at last year's APEC summit have dragged on so long they should be scrapped and replaced by a judicial inquiry, says a lawyer for 28 activists. Cameron Ward is urging the chairman of the RCMP Public Complaints Commission to end the hearings, which are now facing months of delays due to an RCMP court action. APEC protesters target 24 Sussex About 20 vocal APEC protesters milled at the gates of 24 Sussex Dr. on Sunday to demand an audience with the prime minister. They didn�t get it. The protesters, who included members of the Canadian Federation of Students and B.C.-based Democracy Street, wanted to present Jean Chretien with a mock subpoena calling on him to appear at an inquiry looking into complaints of RCMP abuse at last year�s Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation conference in Vancouver. APEC reporter gets second suspension CBC-TV News reporter Terry Milewski has been suspended without pay for a second time over the APEC pepper-spray story, The Canadian Press has learned. Milewski, the network's national correspondent in Vancouver, has received a 15-day suspension, apparently for an article he wrote for the Globe and Mail, sources say. Court ruling promised Thursday could delay APEC hearings Hearings on RCMP conduct at the APEC summit could be delayed well into 1999 depending on a Federal Court ruling expected Thursday. Justice Marc Nadon has scheduled his ruling for 9 a.m. - only 30 minutes before an RCMP Public Complaints Commission panel is to resume grappling with other legal issues. Nadon has been asked to rule on a motion by a lawyer for 39 Mounties who wants the hearings stopped until a court rules on allegations of bias against panel chair Gerald Morin. Nadon said if he accepts the motion by George Macintosh, the APEC hearings could be delayed for up to six months while the courts deal with the issue. No regrets from Chretien about affidavits that sank Scott Prime Minister Jean Chretien says he has no misgivings about a decision by federal lawyers to table legal affidavits with the APEC inquiry that ultimately forced Andy Scott from the solicitor general's job. "I was aware that there were to be affidavits," Chretien told the Commons on Wednesday. MacAulay off to rocky start over APEC controversy Lawrence MacAulay got off to a shaky start as solicitor general Tuesday, hinting that the final report of an inquiry into security arrangements at the 1997 APEC summit may not be made public. By the end of the day - after critics had berated him - MacAulay reversed himself and declared the findings will definitely be released once they�re ready. Court challenge threatens new start for APEC hearings Hearings into RCMP conduct during last year�s APEC summit have been postponed due to a court hearing Wednesday that could be a first step to quashing them. A lawyer for 39 Mounties is to argue in Federal Court Wednesday that the review by a panel of the RCMP Public Complaints Commission should be postponed until January. Scott consigned to history of APEC imbroglio Caught between a stone wall and a rock-throwing mob, Andy Scott threw up his hands and resigned as solicitor general on Monday, the first political casualty in the APEC security scandal. "I�ve been wrestling with the issue for several weeks," an almost relieved looking Scott said in Fredericton. Opposition MPs who had been calling for Scott�s resignation since Oct. 5 barely paused to stir his political ashes Monday in their rush to storm the government barricades. Chretien sorry to lose Scott, now must try to save APEC inquiry Even as Andy Scott walked out the cabinet door and headed home to Fredericton, Jean Chretien was sounding like a man who didn�t want to see him go. "I did not fire the solicitor general," the prime minister told the Commons on Monday. Describing Scott as a man of integrity and honour, Chretien went on to offer a partisan explanation of why the minister, after six weeks on the hot seat, finally called it quits. Truth gets clobbered in the APEC affair Of course the Prime Minister is right. Pepper spray is more civilized than baseball bats. There is a scandal coming out of last year's APEC conference in Vancouver, but the Prime Minister's gaffe -- otherwise known as telling the truth -- ain't it. No, the real shock out of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit was something else. The real shock was the uncalled-for, unconstitutional suppression of free speech that took place. The real scandal is evidence suggesting that when it was tearing down signs of dissent, the RCMP was merely following Ottawa's instructions. Scott battles for political life over APEC comments n politics as in war, it's tough to fight at all, but it's tougher to do it on two fronts at once. Solicitor General Andy Scott is learning that lesson as he wages a double campaign - legal and political - to save his cabinet job and shore up sagging confidence in the public inquiry into police conduct at last year's Asia-Pacific summit. The problem for Scott and Prime Minister Jean Chretien is that even if they win legally they can lose politically. Chretien defends Scott in APEC controversy Solicitor General Andy Scott went underground Thursday but the prime minister defended his beleaguered minister over whether he prejudged the outcome of an inquiry into RCMP actions during last year�s APEC summit. Chretien, during a scrum with reporters Friday in China, said he talked to Scott and Deputy Prime Minister Herb Gray and said the solicitor general did not hand in his resignation. They also talked about an affidavit from a lawyer that says the solicitor general discussed the APEC commission during a plane flight. Scott disappeared Thursday as a fresh storm rocked the Commons over sworn testimony that confirms he mused about an RCMP staff sergeant taking the "hit or fall" for pepper-spraying protesters last November at the APEC summit in Vancouver. RCMP officer at centre of APEC spray controversy breaks silence The RCMP officer at the centre of the APEC pepper-spray controversy is blaming Solicitor General Andy Scott for a gag order preventing the force from telling its side of the story. Staff Sgt. Hugh Stewart also said he�d like to know how Scott decided Stewart would take the blame for pepper-spraying protesters at the University of B.C. a year ago. Chretien defends Scott in APEC controversy Solicitor General Andy Scott went underground Thursday but the prime minister defended his beleaguered minister over whether he prejudged the outcome of an inquiry into RCMP actions during last year�s APEC summit. Chretien, during a scrum with reporters Friday in China, said he talked to Scott and Deputy Prime Minister Herb Gray and said the solicitor general did not hand in his resignation. They also talked about an affidavit from a lawyer that says the solicitor general discussed the APEC commission during a plane flight. Scott disappeared Thursday as a fresh storm rocked the Commons over sworn testimony that confirms he mused about an RCMP staff sergeant taking the "hit or fall" for pepper-spraying protesters last November at the APEC summit in Vancouver. RCMP officer at centre of APEC spray controversy breaks silence The RCMP officer at the centre of the APEC pepper-spray controversy is blaming Solicitor General Andy Scott for a gag order preventing the force from telling its side of the story. Staff Sgt. Hugh Stewart also said he�d like to know how Scott decided Stewart would take the blame for pepper-spraying protesters at the University of B.C. a year ago. Lawyer confirms solicitor general's airplane comment Lawyer Frederick Toole filed a sworn affidavit Wednesday stating that Solicitor General Andy Scott told him RCMP Staff-Sgt. Hugh Stewart might have to take "the hit or fall" for pepper-spraying APEC protesters. The sworn testimony was filed with the RCMP Public Complaints Commission in Vancouver, currently suspended while it sorts through two separate allegations of bias in the commission process. RCMP lawyers want court to dismiss APEC inquiry panel CBC reporter Milewski suspended Terry Milewski, the TV reporter at the heart of an APEC controversy, says the CBC has suspended him for three days without pay. Milewski, the National�s Vancouver reporter, has been accused by the Prime Minister�s Office of bias in his reporting on the APEC controversy. The was no comment from CBC management, the National reported Tuesday. The CBC ombudsman is looking into the network�s APEC coverage following the public release of e-mail correspondence between Milewski and one of the student complainants at the RCMP Public Complaints Commission. Milewski uproar grows at CBC Broadcaster and star reporter face off over 'Kafkaesque' discipline process Sharp divisions within the CBC have the broadcaster in an uproar as the Terry Milewski affair, which has pitted the network against the Prime Minister's Office, refuses to die. CBC sources said the initial reaction of senior managers to an article the reporter wrote in Tuesday's Globe and Mail was "fire him -- he's caused enough trouble." He is to appear before a disciplinary board today. Flawed process equals flawed reports, PMO tells CBC The Prime Minister�s Office took the country�s public broadcaster to task Monday in a continuing war of words over CBC TV reporter Terry Milewski and coverage of the APEC security inquiry. "Presumably, while (CBC) has �concerns� about and �cannot condone� methods employed by Mr. Milewski, the CBC does not see any link to his - or the network�s - reporting," wrote Peter Donolo, director of communications at the PMO. RCMP lawyer wants APEC panel removed A lawyer for RCMP officers under attack for their conduct during last year's APEC summit wants the panel hearing the allegations removed. Kevin Woodall plans to submit a motion to the Federal Court of Canada making the request because of charges that the panel's chairman is biased. Panel members had attempted to refer the matter to the court themselves, but legal technicalities prevented them from doing that. As a result, Woodall said Wednesday he plans to push the issue. He also plans to ask the court to prevent the panel from reconvening until the court has made a decision about whether it should. Bruce Cockburn Boosts APEC Protesters� Legal Fund APEC protester faces charge of destroying federal ballot A high-profile APEC protester will appear in provincial court on a charge of unlawfully destroying a ballot paper during the 1997 federal election. Jonathan Oppenheim will be in provincial court Nov. 16 - the day hearings on police conduct at APEC are scheduled to resume. RCMP backtracks on APEC charges An RCMP task force never suggested that officers should be charged for their conduct dealing with protesters at last year�s APEC summit, police said Wednesday. Instead, the team merely laid out the facts for the Crown, which has since decided not to lay charges, the RCMP said in a news release Wednesday afternoon. RCMP probe into APEC says officers went too far An internal RCMP investigation into the Mounties� behaviour at the APEC summit last year found that as many as 11 criminal charges could be laid against their officers, CBC-TV�s The National reported Tuesday. The investigation looked into whether the Mounties went too far when they cleared demonstrators from a road at the APEC summit last November in Vancouver. The report, completed last May but not released, looked into crowd control methods used by the RCMP, including the use of pepper spray, and whether police dogs were under proper control, the CBC said. The RCMP confirmed to the CBC that as many as 11 criminal charges could be laid against the officers. Lawyer starts bias process in Federal Court A lawyer for the RCMP Public Complaints Commission asked a court Monday for directions on how to present its case involving an allegation of bias against the federal Solicitor General that stemmed from last fall�s protests at the APEC summit. The request follows a motion filed by a lawyer for some of the protesters, who say the current commission is biased. APEC inquiry chairman is respected lawyer Gerald Morin is regarded by some as a legend in Saskatchewan, an outstanding and conscientious litigator whose role as head of an inquiry into RCMP conduct at the APEC summit now is clouded by an accusation of bias. Morin, a 45-year-old Cree from the Opawikoscikan Reserve near Prince Albert , Sask., is chairman of the triumvirate that was nearing the end of its third week of hearings when a bombshell was dropped Friday. Morin was accused of prejudging the outcome of the RCMP Public Complaints Commission inquiry. Some wonder whether Chretien's image is taking a blow Jean Chretien�s wise cracking ways have never been under so much scrutiny. He faces daily criticism in the House of Commons about the glib manner in which he quips his way through a crisis. He�s been the butt of jokes in newspaper cartoons that ridicule his cavalier comments about police dousing protesters with pepper spray at last year�s Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation conference in Vancouver. Hearing into RCMP conduct bogs down in mystery The lawyer representing students who complained about RCMP conduct at last year�s APEC summit says government and Mountie lawyers are once again withholding evidence from him. The APEC hearings in Vancouver adjourned without explanation Thursday. Meanwhile, opposition MPs in Ottawa accused the government of refusing to release tapes of RCMP radio conversations to lawyer Cameron Ward. PMO demands CBC ombudsman look into APEC coverage The Prime Ministers Office has demanded a formal investigation by the CBC ombudsman into the television network�s coverage of the APEC security inquiry. In a letter made public Thursday, PMO director of communications Peter Donolo accused the government-funded broadcaster of employing "a double standard" and of "broadcasting innuendo, unsubstantiated allegations and false statements." The unprecedented public war of words erupted last week over e-mail correspondence between a CBC reporter covering the APEC summit protests in Vancouver and one of the students who is alleging police brutality and suppression of dissent. APEC protesters and their lawyer rejoin hearings Student protesters and their lawyer returned Wednesday to a hearing into RCMP actions during last year�s APEC summit, saying they have received enough donations to allow them to proceed. But lawyer Cameron Ward gave no assurances that he and his clients would be in for the long haul. "(It�s) enough to allow us to get back in the game," said Ward, whose clients are members of a group called Democracy Street. "(It�s) not enough to last us for six months." Chretien avoids question of his role in APEC security Prime Minister Jean Chretien says he is eager to learn the truth about any alleged police wrongdoing during student protests at last year�s APEC summit in Vancouver. But he continued to avoid a direct answer Wednesday about whether he will voluntarily appear before the RCMP Public Complaints Commission to explain his own role in the controversial security arrangements. PM's water cannon comment sets tone for another bruising APEC day Prime Minister Jean Chretien�s glib reference to water cannons began another bruising day Tuesday as the APEC security scandal continued to wash over Parliament. Little warning from top Mountie before infamous pepper spraying: cameraman A top Mountie gave APEC protesters only nine seconds to move before dousing them in pepper spray, leaving them choking and gasping, a witness told hearings into RCMP conduct Tuesday. CBC TV cameraman Rob Douglas was in the area shooting footage when the order was issued. E-mail falls into grey area of privacy nternet users collectively cringed last week when they saw CBC-TV reporter Terry Milewski�s e-mail messages exposed in newspapers across the country. The personal nature of Milewski�s correspondence with a student protester from last November�s APEC conference has highlighted a general lack of understanding by Internet users of the degree of privacy accorded to e-mail. Are e-mails like phone calls or are they like letters? Do bosses and police officers have the right to tap into them? Governments and the private sector are only beginning to address these questions. Chretien under fire again for 'ridiculous' APEC remark Pepper spray more 'civilized' than baseball bats, he says; uproar ensues in Ottawa Prime Minister Jean Chr�tien is again under fire for his depiction of police behaviour at the APEC summit after saying yesterday it was preferable for the RCMP to use pepper spray on protesting students than baseball bats. The remarks, which opposition members called callous and insensitive, helped to keep alive the controversial issue after MPs had taken a week's break from the House of Commons to celebrate Thanksgiving. The matter is expected to bubble up again today when the NDP brings forward a motion asking that the government pay the legal costs of students testifying at the RCMP Public Complaints Commission inquiry into the matter. The move is an effort to put pressure on Liberal government backbenchers who have expressed public sympathy for the students arrested at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit last November. CBC news execs angry at surprise attack by PMO The unprecedented public spat between the CBC and the Prime Minister's Office, continued Monday when news executives at the public broadcaster fired back in a swift and aggressive defence of its news coverage. While tension between the CBC and prime ministers has been commonplace over the years, such angry public feuds between the two are unheard of. Prime Minister Jean Chretien's press secretary Peter Donolo wrote to the CBC ombudsman on Friday attacking CBC News for biased coverage of the security surrounding last year's APEC summit and of the RCMP Public Complaints Commission hearing now being held in Vancouver. He distributed his letter to hundreds of Ottawa-based journalists. Better to be pepper-sprayed than beaten, says APEC witness RCMP had no option but to pepper-spray a crowd of protesters who were tearing down a security fence at last year's APEC summit, a witness told hearings into Mountie conduct Monday. "It seemed there was no other alternative," said Chris Gallagher, a film professor at the University of British Columbia. "From my perspective, it appeared that pepper spray was used where it had to be," said Gallagher, who described the Mounties as "calm, sane, rational." Why they need a lawyer If Ottawa wants a real inquiry, it has to pay APEC protesters' legal fees On the question of the students' right to lawyers at this inquiry, the stubbornness of Mr. Chr�tien and his talkative Solicitor-General, Andy Scott, is stunning -- almost inexplicable. One would almost think that the government didn't want the students there. If this inquiry is to be a serious, legitimate look into events surrounding the protests at last year's APEC summit, the students' presence is crucial. They are the chief complainants. They are the ones who were pepper-sprayed. They are the ones whose signs were removed or taken down. Secret Service didn't trust RCMP to protect Clinton, book says Beefy American agents packed guns during U.S. President Bill Clinton's 1995 visit to Ottawa because they feared "clumsy" RCMP officers would bungle security, former American ambassador James Blanchard says in a book to be released next month. The Clinton visit was in February of 1995, nine months before the RCMP adopted a policy allowing foreign agents to come armed to Canada and RCMP officers to take weapons abroad. It was because of that decision that Indonesian bodyguards brought guns to protect then-president Suharto at the 1997 APEC summit in Vancouver. APEC hearings likely to be costliest in history Hearings into RCMP clashes with protesters during last year�s APEC summit will be the most expensive in the history of the RCMP watchdog conducting them. "It is certainly the biggest cost hearing we have held," says Horst Intscher, executive director of the RCMP Public Complaints Commission. The commission budgeted $950,000 for the APEC hearings, which enter their third week Monday The mysteries of the RCMP-Files By ALLAN FOTHERINGHAM Buried deep in the Ottawa documents uncovered over this APEC farce/inquiry going on in Vancouver, there has been found evidence that the RCMP - frightened to death, apparently - had fingerpointed the Ragin' Grannies as one of the threats to be watched at that summit conference last year. The documents show that the Ragin' Grannies - an amateurish blue-rinse group that plays at charities - are listed by the RCMP as "anti-Canada." No cash for APEC protesters, but Ottawa finds money for own lawyers Solicitor General Andy Scott, after a week of soul-searching, left his many critics and even some allies perplexed Friday by deciding there�s no need to change his mind and help student protesters from last year�s APEC summit with their legal bills. The decision came just as the Liberal government admitted it�s spending public funds to hire its own outside counsel for hearings before the RCMP Public Complaints Commission. Feds should fund APEC protesters: Law Society The Law Society of British Columbia says Ottawa�s decision not to pay the legal bills of student protesters has jeopardized the inquiry into police actions at the APEC summit last year. Society treasurer Trudy Brown said the issues at stake are of fundamental importance to the public interest. Lawyers, students walk out of APEC hearings Students whose complaints launched an inquiry into police conduct at last year's APEC summit walked out of the hearings Wednesday, prompting the lawyer for the RCMP to ask whether that means the process is over. The students - about 28 of them - left the hearings to protest Ottawa's continuing refusal to cover the costs of two lawyers who have been acting on their behalf. Lawyer Cameron Ward said without the funding, the true story of what happened during the clashes last November will not come out. "Do not let this hearing be a whitewash," Ward told the RCMP Public Complaints Commission. Scott says he'll hang in, but stays mum on legal fees Andy Scott, Canada's beleaguered solicitor general, made it clear Wednesday he won't resign, but he's still stalling on the question of whether he'll rescue the crumbling APEC inquiry. Scott was pressured during public appearances in New Brunswick to reveal his plans on requests for financial help from student protesters who have complained about RCMP tactics at last year's APEC summit in Vancouver. Ottawa not responsible for RCMP conduct during APEC protest: lawyer Prime Minister Jean Chretien's office had nothing to do with police tactics in quelling student protests during last year's APEC summit because all policing issues were left to the RCMP, a federal government lawyer said. The Mounties took suggestions from the officials, but Ivan Whitehall told an inquiry into clashes between police and protesters Wednesday that policing was left to the police. Lawyers for APEC protesters threaten to quit hearings Two lawyers representing 28 protesters at last year�s APEC summit say they will pack their bags and leave ongoing hearings into police conduct unless the federal government agrees to cover some of their costs. The threats by Cameron Ward and Joe Arvay could upend the hearings before a three-member panel of the RCMP Public Complaints Commission. Government pressured to cut funds for this year's alternative APEC summit, says CTV The Malaysian government, which is playing host to the APEC conference next month, doesn't want a repeat of the demonstrations that rocked last year's summit in Vancouver so they have turned to Ottawa to cut funds for the alternative People's Summit, CTV News reported Tuesday. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has faced rioting throughout the country after his former finance minister Anwar Ibrahim was arrested last month and Malaysian officials want to keep a lid on any further demonstrations during the summit in Kuala Lumpur in mid-November, diplomatic officials told CTV. Scott not worth firing, says MacKay olicitor General Andy Scott may have said some "fatuous and silly" things on a plane ride home from Ottawa, says one of his verbal targets, but that isn't necessarily a firing offence. "As far as I am personally concerned, it's a tempest in a teapot," former Conservative cabinet minister Elmer MacKay said in an interview Tuesday. Pepper-spraying Mountie is "teddy bear" guy, RCMP Stormy week in Parliament raises profile of APEC controversy The debates covered everything from the lofty ideals of freedom of speech to the earthly realities of crowd control and the gutter politics of eavesdropping, partisan alibis and character assassination. After a tempestuous week in the Commons, members of Parliament have repaired to their ridings to sound out the electorate on the many threads of the spreading APEC summit controversy. Frothing political rhetoric aside, are the issues at stake in last November�s suppression of political protesters in Vancouver resonating with Canadians? The day the PM was host to a despot Canada treated Suharto like a star. Now the unofficial spotlight at an RCMP hearing is on Jean Chretien. Scott told friend of APEC 'confusion' olicitor General Andy Scott spoke with a political associate about "confusion" over evidence that could link Prime Minister Jean Chretien to the suppression of protesters at last November�s APEC summit, a report published Saturday says. Jack MacDougall, executive director of the New Brunswick Liberal party, told the Ottawa Citizen that Scott told him the initials "PM" on some government memos tabled at an inquiry into the police crackdown could be a reference to RCMP Commissioner Philip Murray rather than to Chretien Chinese demanded removal of Calgary protesters, paper reports Armed Chinese security officers demanded that the RCMP move 100 people demonstrating outside a downtown hotel during President Jiang Zemin�s state visit to Alberta last November. But RCMP refused, the Calgary Herald reported Saturday. "We told them politely that we would not move them. That this is Canada and they have a right to be there," a Canadian security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the newspaper. The incident came just 24 hours after the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Vancouver, in which protesters were pepper-sprayed by RCMP. The demonstrators suspect the crackdown was at the behest of the Prime Minister�s Office to prevent any embarassment to former Indonesian dictator Suharto. Jiang stopped in Calgary for two days after the Vancouver summit was over. Stick to what you know, lawyer suggests to APEC protester The embattled RCMP took their first public shot Friday at a protester whose account of last year�s clashes with police at the APEC summit has left the force�s reputation bruised. RCMP lawyer George Macintosh said protester Craig Jones should stick to what he knows and that doesn�t include the complexities of protecting world leaders, especially when they are all in the same place at the same time. "The experience you brought to APEC was 100 per cent on the free speech side of the debate and zero per cent on the security side," Macintosh said in an aggressive cross-examination of Jones during hearings into the incidents. Panel independent enough to ignore solicitor general - MP A panel examining RCMP handling of protesters at the APEC summit is independent enough to withstand Solicitor General Andy Scott�s reported suggestions its outcome is fixed, a Liberal MP says. "They are entitled to say to anybody who tries to influence them, �Go away,� " Ted McWhinney said Friday. McWhinney made his point Friday after watching three members of a panel of the RCMP Public Complaints Commission struggle to keep order during a chaotic day of hearings. Home town crowd willing to forgive Scott When Andy Scott was named Canada's solicitor general, former New Brunswick premier Frank McKenna remarked he was a good choice because he's a great listener. It's ironic Scott, who represents this city, is now being judged for talking too much. Even his friends in Fredericton admit Scott is a talker. Loose lips, they say, has been one of his shortcomings. PM dodges protesters An angry crowd waved flags, chanted obscenities, threw pepper and broke windows outside the Winnipeg Convention Centre Thursday night where Prime Minister Jean Chretien was speaking. Much of their ire was directed at the way another group of protesters was pepper-sprayed and arrested by police at the APEC summit in Vancouver last November. Perhaps the largest contingent was made up of members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, who want the government to settle a 14-year-old pay equity dispute. The Liberals have appealed a Human Rights tribunal decision that could cost the treasury between $3 billion and $5 billion. The union has turned down a counter offer that would see it's members receive $1.3 billion. Scott wants APEC inquiry to work but drags feet on funding Solicitor-General Andy Scott admonished opposition MPs to let an RCMP Public Complaints Commission do its job Thursday even as he stalled on a renewed request to help APEC protesters with their legal fees. 'Liar, liar' still the refrain in Commons debate over APEC Another raucous round of debate hit the Commons on Thursday, as MPs set new records for name-calling but failed to resolve the question of who's telling the truth in a dispute between Solicitor General Andy Scott and his critics. Scott set the tone as he rejected yet another batch of opposition calls for his resignation over remarks allegedly made on a plane last week about police handling of demonstrators at the 1997 Asia-Pacific summit in Vancouver. Eavesdropping MP eyed as ally to end RCMP inquiry, says lawyer Eavesdropping MP Dick Proctor is being eyed as the key to derailing an ongoing inquiry into RCMP conduct dealing with protesters at last year's APEC summit. Lawyer Cameron Ward, who represents about 27 protesters, said Thursday he wants Proctor to tell a panel of the RCMP Public Complaints Commission about a conversation between Solicitor General Andy Scott and a friend. The NDP member, who could testify as early as Tuesday, has sparked a political firestorm by suggesting he overheard Scott tell a friend that four or five Mounties would have to be disciplined for their clashes with protesters at the summit. Motion to examine political influence over RCMP nixed The Liberal majority on the human rights and justice committee rejected a motion Wednesday to look into the political relationship between the Prime Minister�s Office and the RCMP. Conservative MP Peter MacKay argued the RCMP Public Complaints Commission in Vancouver has no mandate to examine anything beyond the actions of officers during the APEC summit last November. Political interference in the RCMP is beyond the commission�s scope, he said. Top Mountie won't be APEC fall guy, lawyer says The Mountie in the middle of the controversy surrounding police conduct at last year�s APEC summit won�t sacrifice his 30-year career as the patsy for the confrontation, the officer�s lawyer said. Staff Sgt. Hugh Stewart "doesn�t intend to take the fall in any way at all," James Williams told reporters Wednesday at hearings into police conduct during the summit. RCMP officer tried to lower temperature at APEC protest The Mountie caught on television aggressively pepper-spraying protesters at last year�s APEC summit had earlier tried to quell the situation by getting police to back off, documents show. The footage of Staff Sgt. Hugh Stewart blasting a stream of pepper spray has become a symbol of how protesters at the Asia-Pacific leaders� meeting last November were handled. UBC concerned about ramifications of opposition to Prime Minister's Office University of British Columbia officials worried they would lose Prime Minister Jean Chretien's participation at a signing event during last year's APEC summit because of the school's opposition to restrictions on protesters, documents show. An official in Chretien's office sent a letter to UBC president Martha Piper saying the Prime Minister's Office had approved a smaller protest area at the university, despite an earlier agreement with the university. PM's aides talked to police just before APEC incident Files show PMO deeply involved in security planning at Vancouver summit The Prime Minister's Office was in contact with RCMP officers just moments before police dispersed a group of protesters with pepper spray at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit last fall, according to RCMP documents released yesterday. That is revealed in a transcript of what appears to be a radio conversation between two RCMP officers assigned to control demonstrators at the APEC leaders meeting at the University of British Columbia on Nov. 25, 1997. Battle begins to force Chretien to testify at APEC hearings Prime Minister Jean Chretien's battle to stay away from hearings that have already mired one of his cabinet ministers and some of his staff in controversy have begun in earnest. Lawyers representing protesters at last year's APEC summit are arguing at an inquiry that only the man at the top can provide answers about why police pepper-sprayed demonstrators and whether there was political interference in security preparations for the summit. Two of Chretien's aides during the summit are scheduled to testify, but lawyers for the protesters have said there is no substitute for the prime minister's appearance. Liberals slam ethics of NDP tattle in APEC controversy Federal Liberals spent almost as much effort maligning the messenger as they did refuting the message Tuesday as eavesdropped comments by Solicitor General Andy Scott turned into a full-blown Parliamentary battle. [Whine whine whine...Ed] Lawyers for APEC protesters alter tack As the hearings of the RCMP Public Complaints Commission resume this week, lawyers for the demonstrators who were pepper-sprayed and arrested at the APEC summit tell me they are changing tack. In the beginning, they urged the young activists to proceed methodically through the evidence before considering whether to ask that the Prime Minister be subpoenaed. These were lonely times for the demonstrators and their lawyers. Canadians seemed not to be paying attention, or to care, about what had happened at the University of British Columbia in November, 1997. Nor did anyone object when the Public Complaints Commission declined to fund the demonstrators to hire lawyers. Prime Minister Jean Chr�tien had yet to acknowledge that his famous pepper quip was not funny. And the demonstrators were still viewed as a group of wacky British Columbians -- and radicals to boot. CLUB IDC INVITES YOU TO A Dialogue on student rights to protest Based on events atAPEC summit at UBC, Vancouver 1997 A video clip will be followed by presentation and discussion with: Eugene Plawiuk Labour Organizer DATE: Tuesday, October 6, 3:00 PM ROOM: 5-180 Education North Everyone welcome Inquiry cautioned to keep open mind until the end The RCMP and Canadian government followed routine security arrangements for an international meeting when they embarked on now-controversial measures to protect leaders at last year's APEC summit, a government lawyer said Monday. "It was simply the way major international events are run," Ivan Whitehall said in remarks at the opening day of the long-awaited hearings on police conduct during the summit. Solicitor general blames RCMP, absolves Chretien for APEC, says NDP Solicitor General Andy Scott has already prejudged the public inquiry into the 1997 Asia-Pacific summit and concluded the RCMP - not Prime Minister Jean Chretien - will take the blame for any mistakes, says New Democrat MP Dick Proctor. Proctor delivered the verdict Monday after overhearing Scott, on an airline flight from Ottawa to New Brunswick, discussing the APEC inquiry with a seatmate. The solicitor general offered the observation that "this inquiry will reveal that four or five Mounties used excessive force and overreacted," Proctor told the Commons. He went on to quote Scott as saying that Chretien wouldn't be testifying at the inquiry "because he would only become the focus of it." And he said Scott noted that he'd like to get away from Ottawa for the World Series, but he couldn't because he had to act as "the cover" for Chretien. Four unlikely allies at centre of APEC criticism As Craig Jones whips through breakfast at a downtown diner, he�s in his self-described "APEC guy" role. Catch him in 90 minutes, and the role changes. Jones will be high in a skyscraper deep in his files as an articling student at a law firm. Legal experts say PM may have to resign over APEC The APEC summit, which ended last November with international applause and lingering clouds of pepper spray, has gone from a personal triumph to a political nightmare for Jean Chretien. The day that shook the campus On the wild APEC morning of November 25, law student Craig Jones was shaken, hurt and crashing from an adrenalin high that came with his unexpected clash with the RCMP. He was in a bare cell in the RCMP detachment in Richmond, sharing the experience of his first arrest with Jaggi Singh, an anarchist and activist known, as the saying goes, to police. Elizabeth Aird: APEC protesters' postings reflect a loss of innocence The Vancouver Sun 'Never before have I felt so helpless and broken-hearted." Those despairing words were written by a University of B.C. student the morning after APEC protesters found themselves pepper-sprayed and pummelled by RCMP officers and police dogs. The account is one of several on a Web site set up by APEC Alert, the protest group that organized demonstrations against last year's Vancouver APEC meeting. Liberals kill Reform motion to call PM as APEC witness"> The Liberal majority on the Commons foreign affairs committee killed a Reform motion Thursday that would have called Prime Minister Jean Chretien to testify at the committee about his involvement in the APEC pepper spray incident. Liberal MPs said it would be unfair to hold a Commons hearing simultaneously with RCMP public complaints commission hearings that resume Monday in Vancouver. Opposition MPs said the Liberals were protecting Chretien by voting against the motion that would have called Chretien, Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy and Chretien's chief of staff, Jean Pelletier, to testify. APEC document leaks prompt complaints, concerns before hearings A tidal wave of leaked documents has given critics of the RCMP and government the upper hand in winning public support before hearings into police action at last year's APEC summit even begin, observers say. To political critics of Prime Minister Jean Chretien, the material that suggests Chretien had a heavy hand in RCMP security policies at last November's summit has been terrific news. "For sure, (the leaked documents) have contributed to the intensity of interest in Ottawa and among the public," Rick Anderson, an adviser to Reform Party Leader Preston Manning, said Wednesday from Ottawa. Anderson conceded the attacks on Chretien would not have been as sharp without the wave of e-mail messages, memos and other police and government documents that have been leaked. RCMP taking an image beating before APEC hearings, lawyer A key protester at last year�s Asia-Pacific economic summit has launched a class-action lawsuit against Prime Minister Jean Chretien. Craig Jones�s new lawsuit is aimed at uniting the forces of other protesters, who have launched similar legal actions over their detention at last year�s APEC summit that brought 18 world leaders to Vancouver. Jones�s suit Tuesday came on the same day as the release of yet another document outlining Ottawa concerns that protesters might embarrass leaders. The document suggested that Chretien�s office was more worried about political embarrassment to the leaders than about security concerns. Green Party leader claims she was barred from APEC The leader of the Green Party of Canada claims she was labelled a security threat and denied access to last fall�s Asia-Pacific summit in Vancouver because she was considered "overly sympathetic" to anti-APEC protesters. Joan Russow, whose fledgling party has never come close to electing an MP, said Tuesday she had planned to cover the summit as a journalist on assignment from the Oak Bay News, a small community newspaper in Victoria. Upon arrival her press accreditation was challenged, first by a media officer and then by an RCMP constable, ostensibly because she couldn�t produce proper credentials. But Russow believes - on the basis of internal security documents she has since obtained - that she was wrongly barred as a perceived threat. All eyes on Vancouver ... please! The backroom boys in the Prime Minister's Office are working furiously to get their boss off the hook in the APEC scandal. The strategy is to keep the news focus on Vancouver, to make it appear that the issue is whether the Mounties were justified or not in going after the demonstrators, not whether the prime minister acted improperly in the whole sordid affair. The PMO strategy is keep it out of Ottawa, and keep the focus on the Mounties. Chretien, RCMP ties 'strained' Row over pistol-packing Nancy Reagan mirrors conflicts between PMO, Mounties Controversy rages over the treatment of protesters at last year's APEC conference but, says Mr. Kaplan, strained relations between the Prime Minister's Office and the RCMP are nothing new -- especially where security matters are involved. Key APEC player claims to have no records of his role A key player in last fall's Asia-Pacific summit says he has no written records of his activities to hand over to a commission investigating an acrimonious clash between demonstrators and police. Jean Carle, the former operations director in Prime Minister Jean Chretien's office, maintains he "did not normally keep documents in the normal course of business," says Chris Considine, counsel for the RCMP Public Complaints Commission. Suharto's guards went out of control, files show RCMP papers describe arrest of Indonesians after bizarre chase during APEC summit Vancouver -- Bands of out-of-control Indonesian security guards, some dressed in commando fatigues, others resembling professional wrestlers, played cat-and-mouse with exasperated RCMP officers throughout the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit, RCMP documents show. RMCP arrested at least five Indonesian officers -- three at gunpoint -- during the November summit, mainly for breaching Canadian security arrangements. Protesters say police targeted them before APEC conference VANCOUVER (CP) - Anti-APEC demonstrators arrested by the RCMP during last fall�s Asia-Pacific economic conference were targeted before the conference even began, one of the protesters said Tuesday. Jonathan Oppenheim, a member of the anti-APEC group known then as APEC Alert, said RCMP had a book that contained several pictures of protesters. Chretien sorry - sort of - for APEC confrontation Prime Minister Jean Chretien expressed regret Tuesday for a police confrontation that saw protesting students pepper-sprayed on the final day of last fall�s Asia-Pacific summit in Vancouver. But he dismissed suggestions that personal responsibility for the incident can be laid at his door. THE PRIME MINISTER'S APOLOGY Chretien under fire in Commons over APEC security Jean Chretien was welcomed back to Parliament on Monday with demands to come clean, apologize and even resign over his alleged role in security arrangements for last fall�s Asia-Pacific summit in Vancouver. The prime minister was unmoved by the clamour, insisting that Ottawa had a duty to provide security for visiting foreign leaders and shrugging off charges that his real goal was to protect former Indonesian President Suharto from political embarrassment at the hands of demonstrators. "We were receiving 19 leaders from all the countries of the world," Chretien told the Commons on its first day back from summer recess. "It was the duty of the government to make sure that their security was to be assured in Canada." PM can't duck APEC subpoena, minister says Commission can make Chretien testify about treatment of protesters at Vancouver summit.Prime Minister Jean Chr�tien cannot duck a subpoena if the RCMP Public Complaints Commission wants him to testify about the treatment of demonstrators at last year's Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Vancouver, Solicitor-General Andy Scott said yesterday. PM's hand in APEC security---Documents show how Canada wooed Suharto before pepper-spray summit A handwritten note by an official in the Privy Council Office said Prime Minister Jean Chr�tien would "want to be personally involved" in security arrangements for the 1997 Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation conference, during which dozens of protesters were pepper-sprayed and arrested. Chretien's dark side Lana Payne Column RCMP worried about trigger-happy Indonesian guards Protesters at last year�s Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit faced more than pepper spray, according to an internal RCMP statement. It appears that Indonesian security guards protecting then-president Suharto may have violated rules regarding the number of guns allowed, CBC�s The National reported Friday. "We already had the threat that they would shoot people if they embarrassed Suharto," reads an internal statement from RCMP Staff Sgt. Peter Montague, a liaison officer with the Indonesians. I Am What I Am The prime minister speaks Prime Minister Jean Chretien took some time out of his schedule to sit down and discuss everything from the arrest of APEC protesters to Alberta's senate elections to his own retirement from politics. Edmonton Journal Special Hearing into RCMP handling of APEC protest delayed VANCOUVER (CP) - An inquiry into how the RCMP dealt with protesters at last fall's APEC summit is being delayed for three weeks. Lawyers for the protesters requested the delay Monday to give them more time to prepare and allow the protesters to raise money for lawyers' fees. CLC TO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO APEC PROTESTORS The CLC donated $2,000.00 and urged its affiliates to support protestors whose rights were violated by the RCMP at last November's APEC Summit in Vancouver. Labour group to help APEC protesters The B.C. Federation of Labour is helping APEC protesters by committing $10,000 to a campaign raising money for their legal fees. The students are to take part in an inquiry by the RCMP Public Complaints Commission into the police handling of demonstrations at last fall�s Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit. Door still open for Chretien testimony at APEC inquiry Jean Chretien could yet be called to testify - whether he wants to or not - at an inquiry into the RCMP clampdown on demonstrators at the Asia-Pacific economic summit in Vancouver last fall. But whether he appears at the hearings depends on whether it looks like he played a personal role in the affair, says Chris Considine, legal counsel to the RCMP Public Complaints Commission. Treatment of demonstrators a disgrace Government and police reaction to the legal demonstrations of dissent at last fall's APEC summit in Vancouver was harsh and overblown. More importantly, it was probably also illegal and a clear violation of the Charter rights of Canadians to peaceful dissent, no matter how exuberant. It ought to prompt Canadians to tell their government that if such overreaction is the price we pay for foreign leaders to enjoy a "retreat" on our soil, then let them stay home or "retreat" elsewhere. Indonesians considered shooting Canadians-Documents reveal talks with RCMP during Suharto protests Indonesian authorities went so far as to ask the RCMP what would happen if bodyguards accompanying former president Suharto shot anti-Suharto demonstrators during a Pacific Rim summit meeting in Vancouver last year, internal police documents say. The Mounties told the Indonesians that Suharto's bodyguards would be allowed to carry concealed weapons during the summit, but shooting demonstrators "would not be tolerated," say the documents obtained yesterday by The Globe and Mail. (Right allow the RCMP all the fun of beating and pepper spraying .EP) Chretien denies political interference in police action at summit Documents obtained by CBC-TV state that Prime Minister Jean Chretien's office ordered the RCMP to crack down on protesters at last year's APEC summit in Vancouver. CBC reported Tuesday night that the move was taken because Chretien had assured Indonesian President Suharto he would not be embarrassed during the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation conference last November. (Chretien will regret his flippant remark about liking a little 'pepper sprayed' on his food .EP) Victims of pepper spraying vow to boycott APEC probe The protesters plan to subpoena Prime Minister Jean Chretien to attend the inquiry. Most of the people who claim they were pepper-sprayed by police during a controversial protest last year say they will not attend an inquiry into alleged police wrongdoing -- even though they've been summoned to attend, according to other protesters who held a news conference Wednesday. The protesters also said they plan to subpoena Prime Minister Jean Chretien so he can be questioned about what, if any, involvement the prime minister's office had in directing police to break up the protest at the University of B.C., held during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, in Vancouver last November. Federal Court dismisses bid to quash RCMP inquiry The Federal Court of Canada dismissed an application Thursday to delay an inquiry into the Mounties' treatment of protesters during the Asia-Pacific leaders' summit here last fall. Justice James Hugessen, who heard the application by conference call from Ottawa, ruled it would not be in the public interest to postpone the inquiry by the RCMP Public Complaints Commission, an independent civilian commission. It will go ahead Monday as scheduled.

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