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Mystery Meeting:
Officials Won't Say What O'Connor Discussed On U.S. Visit
Wed Jan 24, 7:27 PM
By Martin O'Hanlon

OTTAWA (CP) - The government of accountability and transparency is looking decidedly opaque this week.

A day after Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor met with his American counterpart, the federal Conservative government was still refusing to say what the pair talked about. O'Connor visited Washington on Tuesday for his first meeting with new U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

But O'Connor refused to speak to reporters about the taxpayer-funded trip.

"Due to time constraints, there was no time for a media availability, however, I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities the next time he is in Washington," spokeswoman Isabelle Bouchard wrote in an e-mail.

When asked Tuesday and again Wednesday what was discussed, unusually tight-lipped officials said they had no information to provide.

Bouchard said only that it was a good meeting and that the minister "looks forward to working constructively with his American counterpart in the future."

Canadian officials didn't even announce that the meeting was happening until the day of the visit.

There was one clue to the secrecy: a source said staff were ordered by the Prime Minister's Office to keep quiet Tuesday so as not to take publicity away from Stephen Harper's speech on the one-year anniversary of his election win.

The visit was a chance for O'Connor to get to know Gates, who took over from Donald Rumsfeld after Republicans fared poorly in last fall's midterm elections.

While officials were keeping mum on the meeting, the mission in Afghanistan was likely to have been high on the agenda. Other topics may have included the situation in Iraq, NATO policy, Norad, missile defence, and Canada's new military equipment purchases.

Gates has been warning that the United States can't drop the ball in Afghanistan despite all the focus on Iraq.

Eight Canadian MPs are at the NATO base in Kandahar this week to review the progress in the war against the Taliban.

But O'Connor has barred them from leaving the base, citing security reasons - a decision that doesn't sit well with opposition MPs who note that other dignitaries have been escorted outside.

O'Connor relented a bit late Wednesday, announcing that the MPs will be allowed to visit Canadian Forces operations outside Kandahar - provided the military can ensure their safety