Conservative Campaign Director Resigns After Tree-Planting Allegations

Conservative leader Stephen Harper with (now) former 2015 campaign director Jenni Byrne

Ottawa

With only three days remaining leading up to Canada's 42nd general election, one would think that the major party leaders would solely be focused on criss-crossing the country, fighting tooth and nail to either retain or increase support for their cause. However, for the second time in only two days, a party leader has been forced to part ways with one of their campaign directors.

Word quickly spread - as it does in Ottawa - on Friday afternoon, that Jenni Byrne, national director for Stephen Harper's Conservative election campaign, has abruptly stepped down after video was submitted to several news outlets, including the Sentinel Dispatch, that clearly shows the former Reform party staffer taking part in a tree-planting ceremony near her hometown of Fenelon Falls, Ontario. The event, according to several sources who also participated and spoke to media on condition of anonymity, took place three weeks ago in conjunction with the opening of a new elementary school in Ms. Byrne's riding.

It is clearly stated in Conservative party policy that "no candidate, staffer, or advisor to the leader will engage in any activity which is contrary to Conservative values - such as mishandling of public funds, electoral fraud, or appearing to show concern for Canada's environment."

The Conservative party under Stephen Harper has a long and proud history of standing by its principles of aggression towards the environment. Soon after taking power in 2006, Harper started to clamp down on research into global warming. He ousted his own science adviser and effectively killed the climate-change section of the Department of Foreign Affairs. He shut down the official website on climate change and tried to cut funding for the Polar Environment Atmosphere Research Laboratory, which had been at the forefront of monitoring deterioration in the ozone layer as well as climate change. In addition, an environmentally-friendly group out of British Columbia called Dogwood Initiative, reported that it had been under “illegal surveillance” by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), and other groups and individuals had been muzzled. Also, though Harper has promised action on climate change, particularly in relation to the carbon that is released from Canada’s huge reserve of tar sands, now the third-biggest reservoir of oil on the planet, no such action has taken place; there are no emissions rules for its oil and gas sector. In 2011, the Harper government backed out of the Kyoto protocol, and to top it off, when the Centre for Global Development, in 2013, ranked 27 developed nations according to their handling of the environment, it placed Canada at number 27.

This is not the first time during the current election campaign that Ms. Byrne has been under scrutiny. On Day 38 of the current campaign, she was effectively taken off of the election tour bus and sent back to Ottawa due to the party's flagging fortunes before being given a second chance to right the ship.

Ms. Byrne becomes the second major party campaign director to step down amidst controversy in the last two days. On Wednesday, Liberal party co-campaign chair Dan Gagnier fell on his sword after it was revealed that he had sent a highly detailed letter to executives in big oil, advising them how to best lobby a minority government to achieve their goals toward the Energy East oil pipeline. Gagnier also has ties to Conservative lobbyist Bruce Carson, who was charged with fraud and influence peddling, as well as much-maligned former Liberal-turned-Conservative minister David Emerson.

When contacted by the Sentinel Dispatch, Conservative spokesman Kory Teneycke said that "while Jenni Byrne's service to her party and to our country has up til now been commendable, her reckless regard for nature can not and will not go unnoticed by this government."

Late Friday afternoon, Ms. Byrne was seen hastily placing cardboard boxes into the back of her hybrid Toyota Prius.

From Our Ottawa Bureau