[asia-apec 757] G&M: MP says Minister predicted that Mountie would take the fall

[Sharon R.A. Scharfe]

The Globe and Mail
October 6, 1998

                                                                            

                      An overheard remark fires up APEC furor

                      MP says minister predicted that Mountie would take the
fall

                      Tuesday, October 6, 1998
                      DANIEL LEBLANC
                      With a report from Brian Laghi 

                      Ottawa -- Solicitor-General Andy Scott was overheard
saying the RCMP
                      used "excessive force" in quashing protesters at the
APEC summit last
                      November and predicting that one officer would take
the fall for it.

                      New Democrat MP Dick Proctor was on Air Canada flight
8876 last
                      Thursday, and said in the House of Commons yesterday
that he clearly
                      heard Mr. Scott -- who was sitting two seats away in
the same row --
                      talking to an unidentified passenger about the
probable outcome of an
                      inquiry into the events.

                      Mr. Proctor said Mr. Scott should resign for
prejudging the results of the
                      RCMP's Public Complaints Commission, which started its
hearings
                      yesterday. If the conversation happened as Mr. Proctor
relates it, it went
                      totally against all Mr. Scott's public comments on the
matter.

                      The commission is looking into the treatment of
protesters at the Asia
                      Pacific Economic Co-operation summit.

                      Mr. Scott has said repeatedly over the past few weeks
that anyone
                      looking for answers about the events, including any to
questions about
                      Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's role, should let the
inquiry "do its work."

                      According to Mr. Proctor, who took two pages of notes
on the
                      conversation, Mr. Scott said, "Hughie may be the guy
who takes the fall
                      for this." Mr. Proctor believes this was a reference
to Staff Sergeant
                      Hugh Stewart of the RCMP, who ordered the use of
pepper spray to
                      disperse protesters around the summit site. 
                      Mr. Scott responded to these allegations by saying he
did not know Mr.
                      Stewart and that he would not have referred to him as
"Hughie."

                      "I have not drawn those conclusions," he told
reporters, saying his
                      conversation may have been "simply misunderstood or
misheard on a very
                      noisy aircraft."

                      Mr. Scott said he had been peppered all weekend long
with APEC
                      questions by constituents and could not remember any
individual
                      conversation.

                      He said he really believes in the commission, and has
no memory of
                      talking about its possible outcome. "I can't imagine
that I have drawn
                      conclusions that I haven't drawn," he told reporters.

                      Still, Mr. Scott was not as forceful in these denials
as he had been earlier
                      in the day in Question Period, when he was taken by
surprise by the
                      allegations. In answer to a question from Mr. Proctor,
he said: "I do not
                      know where the honourable member is getting his
information, but I never
                      said such a thing."

                      Outside the House, Mr. Scott said he would have to
consider quitting if
                      someone confirmed Mr. Proctor's story. "If I was so
reckless in
                      discussing this in a fashion in which people would
misunderstand, then I
                      think I'd have to think about [resigning]," he said.
"But the reality is I don't
                      think there's any room for misunderstanding."

                      According to Mr. Proctor, Mr. Scott said that "as far
as he was
                      concerned, it would come out [of the commission] that
there was
                      excessive force used by four or five Mounties over
five minutes."

                      Mr. Proctor added that he heard Mr. Scott saying with
disappointment
                      that he would not be able to attend the
major-league-baseball playoffs
                      because he had to "cover" for the Prime Minister. It
is not clear what he
                      meant by "cover," but it could be a reference to the
fact that Mr. Scott
                      has answered many questions directed to Mr. Chrétien
during Question
                      Period about the APEC inquiry.

                      THE DEBATE

                      "I think he has prejudged the commission. He has been
telling all of us to
                      let it all come out at the inquiry and then he says,
four days before the
                      inquiry doors open, this is what will be seen to be
the end result." 
                      -- MP Dick Proctor 


                      "If I was so reckless in discussing this in a fashion
in which people would
                      misunderstand, then I think I'd have to think about
[resigning]. But the
                      reality is I don't think there's any room for
misunderstanding." 
                      -- Solicitor-General Andy Scott

                          
                                       We welcome your comments. 
                                 Copyright © 1998, The Globe and Mail Company
                                          All rights reserved.


********************************************************************************
  For more information on Parliamentarians for East Timor, Please Contact:      
  Sharon Scharfe, International Secretariat                                     
  Parliamentarians for East Timor                                               
  Suite 116, 5929-L Jeanne D'Arc Blvd., Orleans, ON  K1C 7K2  CANADA            
  Fax: 1-613-834-2021                                                           
  E-Mail:  pet at web.net

********************************************************************************