Gov't staffer arrested in alleged leak of green plan

[GAP]

Me thinks the government is setting the stage for future potential leaks....YOU WILL BE ARRESTED!!

Gov't staffer arrested in alleged leak of green plan
Updated Wed. May. 9 2007 4:00 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

An unidentified Environment Canada staffer has been arrested for allegedly leaking a draft copy of the Conservative government's climate change legislation.

The male employee was picked up early Wednesday morning and removed in handcuffs. He has been released and has not been charged, the Mounties said in a statement.

"(Officers) went into his place of work, (in a) marked car, in uniform, arrested him and took him down to the RCMP station," said an RCMP spokeswoman, Sgt. Monique Beauchamp.

In an initial statement, the Mounties say the employee was arrested on an allegation of breach of trust under the Criminal Code for leaking secret draft legislation.

The RCMP later clarified the statement, saying the leak involved a "regulatory framework," and not actual legislation.
More on link

 

[RangerRay]

As he should.  When this person became a public servant, he or she swore a number of oaths, including an oath of secrecy.  It's about time that government leaks were handled this way.

 

[Reccesoldier]

The thing that pisses me off about this is the media's reaction. I just finished watching Mike Duffy and all his pundits could say was things like "government overreaction", "heavy handed" and totalitarian.

WTF???

First of all, the government reported a crime, information security IS important as most here know only too well.  They did not demand the guys arrest, they left the police to do their jobs.  If anyone over-reacted (which they didn't) it was the RCMP.

I wonder how the pressitutes would react if an intern at the National Post "leaked" the draft of their next big scoop, not that that in any way compares to the breach of trust and blatant violation of contract and law that this former public servant engaged in. 

The other excuse for this mole's actions was his supposed age. Again, WTF?????  If he was so immature then he never should have signed the contract in the first place.

He also held a press conference, egged on from the shadows by environmental groups, many of which are funded through tax exempt donations by the public, a condition of that funding?  That they remain a-political...  The government should compile a list and start revoking their tax-exempt status... Over-react that.

I guess the reason this pisses me off so much is that it is another example of the degradation of the pluralist system in this country.  An independent, loyal (to whatever government is in power) and trustworthy civil service is a fundamental requirement of our democracy.  Another fundamental is that of an independent and objective media. 

Now I'm not claiming that the actions of this individual taint the entire civil service but letting him get away with it (which is the preferred option of the media and the NDP) certainly would not lead to less.

 

[Kirkhill]

Some more grist for the mill

The former temporary worker at Environment Canada....

Monaghan is a member of an anarchist collective that runs a bookstore in Ottawa

What, in the name of all that is holy, is a temporary worker doing in possession of a secret document?

What, in the name of all that is holy, is an anarchist doing working for the government?

Busted bureaucrat slams Tories

THE SUICIDE PILOTS/MYSPACE.COM
Jeff Monaghan, seen in a photo from his band's myspace.com site, was arrested Wednesday over an alleged leak of the Conservative climate change plan last month. He was later released without charges. 

Monaghan's Myspace page

Tories aim at 'secrecy, intimidation and centralization,' arrested civil servant charges

May 10, 2007 04:55 PM
Canadian Press

OTTAWA – A federal bureaucrat arrested for allegedly leaking the Conservative government's environmental plan says proposed charges against him "pose a profound threat to the public interest."

"They are without precedent in their disproportionality, they are vengeful, and they are an extension of a government-wide communications strategy pinned on secrecy, intimidation and centralization," Jeff Monaghan told a hastily organized news conference on Thursday.

The former temporary worker at Environment Canada was arrested Wednesday for allegedly divulging details of a draft version of the government's regulatory framework for climate change.

Monaghan, whose job was to monitor news reports about the government, was led away from his office in handcuffs as co-workers looked on in what he called a "politically engineered raid of my workplace."

Monaghan is a member of an anarchist collective that runs a bookstore in Ottawa. He has also been listed as a member of a punk band called the Suicide Pilots.

Environment Minister John Baird has said the arrest is a signal to other government employees that leaks of information won't be tolerated.

Police said they received a complaint on April 17 that a secret draft copy of the climate-change section of the government's Eco-Action Plan had been released publicly.

On April 17, reporter Dennis Bueckert of The Canadian Press wrote about the leaked climate-change plan, quoting from the federal draft, marked "Secret," and dated April 13.

Monaghan made no secret of his concern about climate change, but he did not directly admit to the leak. He accused the government of trying to fool the public into thinking it is still committed to the Kyoto agreement to reduce greenhouse gas reductions.

"Our society knows the threat presented by the changing climate, global warming, and the rapidly increasing growth of industrial emissions," said Monaghan. "We deserve real action, not cynically calculated PR campaigns and witchhunts on public servants."

Monaghan was arrested on an allegation of breach of trust under the Criminal Code for leaking secret draft legislation. The RCMP later clarified the statement, saying the leak involved a ``regulatory framework," and not actual legislation.

The complaint about the leak came from Michael Horgan, the department's deputy minister, said Environment Canada spokeswoman Lynn Brunette. But critics say the government must have pressured Horgan to call in the police.

The draft plan revealed that the Conservatives would undertake to cut greenhouse gas emissions 45 to 65 per cent from 2006 levels by 2050. The plan has been roundly criticized by environmentalists for not going far enough.

http://www.thestar.com/News/article/212641





And who IS hiring our bureaucrats these days?

 

[George Wallace]

SECRET

Obviously this guy should have known that leaking documents marked SECRET, he would face the full prosecution of the Law.  To leak a SECRET document, meant that he had no loyalty to the Nation.  It doesn't matter what Department it may have originated in, it is still a Secret Government document. 

A few questions do arise, and one is what Security Clearance Level did this self professed anarchist hold, and how did he get it?  If he didn't have a Secret Clearance, then how did he come into possession of this document?

It is time to enforce the Law.

 

[FredDaHead]

Was the document actually classified as secret, or is the MSM using "secret" as a way to say it wasn't public yet? I haven't heard any report of the file actually being classified, so although the leak is a breach of trust, it's not a breach of classification or anything of the sort.

 

[George Wallace]

Was the document actually classified as secret, or is the MSM using "secret" as a way to say it wasn't public yet? I haven't heard any report of the file actually being classified, so although the leak is a breach of trust, it's not a breach of classification or anything of the sort.

The documents shown are clearly marked "SECRET".

 

[Kirkhill]

Freddy - I can't remember where I saw it in today's media but I did see a picture of the Cover Page (I think) with SECRET printed on the bottom.

Remember that early release of this information could have resulted in some interesting money being made on the markets.  It wasn't (necessarily) just an issue of ensuring the correct spin.

Edit: George beat me to it.

 

[vonGarvin]

From the Criminal Code of Canada:

"Breach of trust by public officer

122. Every official who, in connection with the duties of his office, commits fraud or a breach of trust is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, whether or not the fraud or breach of trust would be an offence if it were committed in relation to a private person."

 

[The Bread Guy]

Two things:

1) According to the Government Electronic Directory Services (GEDS),

http://tinyurl.com/yttq7w

someone with the same name as the dude in question was doing media monitoring in the Comms Branch (bureaucratic, not political side) of Environment Canada.  My question:  how does someone who's main job seems to be scanning media for issue management purposes (even at what appears to be HQ levels) doing with "secret" material?  Or am I naive about how much stuff circulates in the rarefied heights, even to people who don't need it?

2)  MAXIM 1:  ALL ARE TO BE CONSIDERED INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY
    MAXIM 2:  GIVE AWAY SECRET STUFF, FACE THE CONSEQUENCES

All that said, I think the big source of frustration might be this:  how many documents get handed to reporters, some of them internal, some with advice to Ministers, perhaps not by bureaucrats, without them  getting arrested/charged?  What happens to those folks?  For example, how about this guy?

- edit to add example -

 

[MikeM]

Hope they throw the book at him, sets the standard for those who abuse trust and positions which deal with important documents, i.e. things marked "SECRET"..etc.

 

[Edward Campbell]

I will be much happier when a real hard line is taken with all leaks, and with all those who do the leaking, including civil servants, military personnel, political staffers and working politicians.  We need to see two or three people a week led away in handcuffs ... not just one hapless anarchist.

Leaking = cowardice.

The people doing the leaking must, we assume, feel strongly about some issue but they lack the courage to put their money, careers, reputations etc where their big, dishonest mouths are.

 

[George Wallace]

I'd like to point out that there are two different things going one here and that there are a lot of misconceptions being put forward by many people who have little in the way of knowledge or respect for Security Concerns.  This guy is trying to take the High Road as a concerned citizen and "Whistle Blower".  No matter that an 'anarchist' managed to get through a Security Clearance for the Public Civil Service, indeed a very serious matter, one has to realize that there are major differences between being a "Whistle Blower" and a person who "Leaks State Secrets". 

A "Whistle Blower" is trying to correct a perceived flaw in the system that doesn't usually impact on Security Concerns to the level of releasing Classified Documents relating to State Secrets.  Leaking State Secrets is a whole different ball of wax, and now takes one into the realms of TREASON, and spying for outside interests.  I highly doubt anyone could call a "Whistle Blower" a spy, but what this guy did, does fall into that realm.  He has committed a major "Breach of Trust". 

I agree.  It is time for the Government to clamp down and take these breaches seriously and proceed with Criminal Prosecution of anyone committing similar acts against the State.

 

[The Bread Guy]

I will be much happier when a real hard line is taken with all leaks, and with all those who do the leaking, including civil servants, military personnel, political staffers and working politicians.  We need to see two or three people a week led away in handcuffs ... not just one hapless anarchist.

Leaking = cowardice.

The people doing the leaking must, we assume, feel strongly about some issue but they lack the courage to put their money, careers, reputations etc where their big, dishonest mouths are.

+100 ERC

Other side of the coin:  Leaking=wanting to make the boss look good no matter what

 

[Kirkhill]

"In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law......That would lead to anarchy.  One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty."

Martin Luther King per Ike Awgu, Globe and Mail, October 14, 2004

So MLK's advice is to support the rule of law. Make your protest. Go to jail. Work through the system to change the law after you have publicised the problem.
This would be the advice to a Whistle Blower.  If you feel strongly enough about the issue then you must be ready to accept the legal consequences and trust that your sentencing judge will accept your rationale for breaking the law.  You did break the law, but in a good cause, seems to me to be justification for a light sentence, not a finding of not guilty.

On the other hand this Civil Servant is a self-professed anarchist who doesn't recognize the validity of the rule of law and appears actively engaged in trying to bring the rule of law into disrepute.  In that event he should be punished to the full extent of the law. 

How can an Anarchist ( "an·ar·chy (ăn'ər-kē) n., pl. -chies: Absence of any form of political authority; Political disorder and confusion; Absence of any cohesive principle, such as a common standard or purpose )
be allowed to serve the Civitas ("Civitas Lat: in the Roman Law, any body of people living under the same laws; citizenship, state, commonwealth, community." www.answers.com)?  This would not be the same as religious discrimination.  Nor is it even the same as maintaining a "Separatist" in the Civil Service.  While I might not like the latter and would consider him a potentially treacherous threat to the State at least he believes in the State and has a vested interest in maintaining the State in some form.  The Anarchist works to compel disorder.

So when this chap allegedly leaked this document did he do it to save the planet by compelling the government to act in support of what is arguably the most internationally centralizing bit of legislation to come down the pike in a long while (Kyoto).  Or did he do it to destroy the credibility of the Conservative government so that it can be replaced by another government more favourable to Kyoto? Or did he do it to destroy the credibility of all governments in which case Kyoto and similar legislation could never be implemented?  I don't understand the concept of a Kyoto-crusading Anarchist.

With respect to the other incident of the Tory staffer leaking the Senator's information: he should be dealt with in like manner to the anarchist.  And if it was an "authorized" leak then the authority should be held responsible and punished as appropriate.

 

[Flip]

I think what "anarchist" means in this context is "rules don't apply to me".

I hope he pays for his stupid indiscretion.

His disrespect for authority has now become a public issue.

I hope his parents are proud >

 

[The Bread Guy]

With respect to the other incident of the Tory staffer leaking the Senator's information: he should be dealt with in like manner to the anarchist.  And if it was an "authorized" leak then the authority should be held responsible and punished as appropriate.

Interesting that he hasn't, though, isn't it?

 

[GAP]

On Mike Duffy last night the reporters were falling all over themselves defending this guy....apparently, an awful lot of fax machines have gone silent...

 

[The Bread Guy]

My favourite from this morning's National Post is this tidbit:

Mr. Monaghan is also a member of a "collective" that operates Exile, Ottawa's first anarchist bookstore.

Opened just 10 days ago and located 15 minutes from Parliament Hill, the store sits on the second floor of a retail strip, right beside "Aren't We Naughty," a shop selling marital aids, and across the hallway from a Chinese herbalist. The books lining Exile's shelves feature such titles as No Nonsense Guide to Animal Rights, Direct Action Memoirs of an Urban Guerrilla and Vegan Freak.

Meanwhile, its Web site describes the shop as "a collectively run, volunteer worker-owned and -operated project organized around the anarchist principles of anti-oppression, equality, community-building and worker control."

Emblazoned at the top of the Web site is the shop's motto: "There's no government like no government."

A volunteer who answered the phone at the shop yesterday refused to discuss Mr. Monaghan's actions. "We're not authorized to talk to you," she said.

C'mon, how anarchist are these guys REALLY?  Or is this a new emphasis on the "worker control" part of the collective equation? 

 

[Kirkhill]

Interesting that he hasn't, though, isn't it?

It is.....

And GAP, if that is the case, "Mission Accomplished"