Three minutes late and locked out of a news conference with NDP's John Horgan and Tom Mulcair

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      After John Horgan became leader of the B.C. NDP, I sent a request to his press secretary, Shamus Reid, asking if his boss might like to sit down for an interview on the economy.

      Nearly a month later, there's no sign that Horgan wants to do this.

      The former leader, Adrian Dix, used to routinely visit the Georgia Straight office for interviews like this.

      It would invariably result in an original story for the paper's hundreds of thousands of readers.

      However, I did receive a call late yesterday telling me that Horgan and federal NDP leader Tom Mulcair would hold a news conference this weekend.

      I was surprised that I didn't receive the media advisory because I get all the news releases from the federal NDP and from the B.C. NDP's media-relations person, Michael Roy.

      Shamus assured me by email that the advisory had been sent to me. But when I looked at my in-box, it wasn't there, even though I was receiving all other emails during that period.

      Call me paranoid, but I started to wonder if someone in the NDP hierarchy didn't want me at the news conference.

      I felt mollified when Shamus assured me that I was welcome to attend, and he emailed me the notification.

      Little did I realize that this still wasn't going to be sufficient.

      I made the mistake of showing up at the NDP's downtown office three minutes late. It's in the Guinness Tower in the heart of Vancouver's financial district.

      The doors were locked. A security guard came to the entrance and gave me an odd look when I said I wanted to attend the news conference.

      It wasn't a welcoming sight at the front door of the Guinness Tower.
      Charlie Smith

      He demanded identification, but then let me into the lobby after I told him I was editor of the Georgia Straight. He also allowed another reporter into the lobby.

      But we couldn't get into the elevator because it had been blocked off.

      The security guard tried contacting the NDP office, but ended up in voice mail.

      So I left the lobby, missed the news conference, and wrote this blog instead.

      Shamus informed me later that the other reporter hung around and was eventually taken up to the event.

      If anyone knows a good reason why the federal NDP, which is in third place in the polls, would hold news conferences in a locked building on a weekend, feel free to fill in the comment form below.

      The logic of this escapes me.

      Charlie Smith

      Comments

      2 Comments

      Where is Thomo?

      May 24, 2014 at 3:18pm

      Mulcair is just hiding from the disaster in Ontario and trying to suck up the "positive" light the new NDP Leader has been shining.

      When the NDP in Ontario falls and ushers in a regressive conservative government, based on another weird "Orange Wave" Campaign orchestrated by the likes of Topp and Lavigne maybe then people will start waking up.

      But probably not, it will take another NDP disaster under Muclair picking up just enough votes to ensure Harper stays in Ottawa.

      Idiots. History will not be kind to these people, but I am sure it pays well, not matter how oily the dollars.

      AAAAA

      May 25, 2014 at 12:28pm

      Could you be a grumpier old man?