Jailhouse Rock -- Against Harper

RCMP went into the workplace (Department of Environment) Wednesday and arrested and handcuffed 27 year old Jeff Monaghan, self described as "the lowest-ranking temp employee in the department and possibly the entire government." Monaghan is accused of leaking a copy of the Government’s Eco Action plan to the media and to environmentalists. According the the RCMP, "An employee who violates the terms of their workplace security clearance, including the release of secret documents, may be subjected to legal consequences, including criminal charges"
Mr. Monaghan, when not the lowest temp employee in the government, is the drummer in a punk band whose recent CD is titled "Rock Against Harper".

The government must indeed be happy today as it managed to ward off two Supreme Court of Canada appeals of a similar nature yesterday. In the case of Dr. Shiv Chopra, who had gained notoriety as one of Canada’s first whistleblowers in the bovine growth hormone issue, the SCC dismissed his application for leave to appeal a five day suspension resulting from his public comments that the government’s decision to stockpile the drug ciprofloxacin was a public relations gesture to look good in the wake of 9/11. The purpose of stockpiling the drug would be for use in the event of a bioterrorist attack using anthrax. Chopra also stated that the government’s decision was a danger to public health.

The other decision invovled an RCMP officer, Robert Read, who, concerned about a cover up regarding the Hong Kong Mission, released information to the media:

The core allegations are:

1. That certain people paid locally engaged staff of the Canadian
commission (now the consulate-general) to delete their backgrounds in the
computer system to hide their links with triads – the Chinese Mafia.
2. That the visa forms have been used by possibly hundreds of people, including
criminals, to enter Canada illegally.
For seven years, the RCMP, Immigration
Canada and the Department of External Affairs are alleged to have kept a lid on
the case, unwilling to reveal the extent of what several sources call a "breach
of national security."

As a result of this disclosure to the media, an internal Adjudication Board found Read guilty of disgraceful conduct and terminated his employment.