[DIV class=headline]Emerson frustrated, ex-aide says
[DIV class=subheadline]Said to complain Tories `too partisan'
Minister's office denies remarks made
[DIV class=pubdate]Apr. 20, 2006. 05:21 AM
[DIV class=byline]LES WHITTINGTON
[DIV class=byline]OTTAWA BUREAU[/DIV]
[DIV class=articlebody][!-- icx_story_begin --]OTTAWA—Trade Minister David Emerson is telling former associates privately that he is frustrated being a member of the Conservative government, according to an ex-aide.
His main complaints are that the government is too partisan and too tightly controlled under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the ex-aide says.
Emerson, the former Liberal industry minister, set off an uproar when he switched parties and joined Harper's government on Feb. 6, the day it was sworn in, two weeks after the Jan. 23 election.
Jay Epworth, Emerson's legislative assistant when he was industry minister in the Paul Martin government, said Emerson recently told him he has been shocked by the Harper government's fierce adversarial approach.
"Behind closed doors, the Conservatives are worse partisans than the Liberals ever were," Emerson said, according to notes Epworth wrote after his conversation with the minister.
"They hate the f---ing Liberals and they're doing everything they can to screw them," he quoted Emerson as saying.
Emerson had been explaining that the partisan nature of politics is "just something he was not able to really wrap his head around," recalled Epworth, who is now the legislative assistant to Opposition Leader Bill Graham.
"He was telling me what Harper was like in cabinet," Epworth told the Star. "His words were that Harper's a hard-ass, that he is incredibly focused but has no people skills and that, if in the cabinet meeting he disagrees with the opinions of one of his ministers, he makes it perfectly clear that he believes the minister is wrong and that his way should prevail.
"And I said, it seems to me that he is running the whole show over there," Epworth recalled. "And Emerson said to me, `He's definitely got a tight grip on things.'"
Another source said Emerson has told other former associates that he is chaffing at the tight rein Harper is exerting over his cabinet ministers, whose public utterances are being carefully controlled by the Prime Minister's Office. As a high-profile Liberal minister in the Martin government, Emerson had considerable leeway in his activities.
Repeated attempts to reach Emerson were unsuccessful.
But Bob Klager, his communications director, denied categorically that the minister had ever made such comments to Epworth or any other source.
"I think they're desperately misinformed," Klager commented, adding he was speaking on behalf of Emerson. "The minister views his role and his colleagues with the highest respect. He's regarded by them as an invaluable asset. And he's making active and meaningful contributions to this government daily."
The conversation with Epworth took place while Emerson, as he often does, ate lunch at his desk in his office on the third floor of the Confederation Building down the street from Parliament.
During the initial public outcry over his defection to the Liberals in February, Emerson explained he decided to switch parties because he is not a partisan politician.
By being in cabinet, he felt he could best serve his riding and B.C., Emerson said.
Last weekend, he said his current situation is feeling "normal," according to a report by Canadian Press.
"Every once in a while, the locusts descend on me and it creates situations that are a little abnormal, but I carry on with my work," said Emerson, adding that he respects his critics.
Epworth, asked to evaluate Emerson's remarks to him, said, "I don't think he was feeding me a line or anything. He was saying what he felt."
Emerson also said he is not content being in the Conservative cabinet and would like to get out of politics if he could, according to Epworth.
"He said he would have quit by now but his wife wouldn't let him."
Epworth added: "You know what else he said to me? He felt that his influence in this cabinet would obviously be much less than in the last cabinet.
"And I said, `Well, duh, minister, they don't really trust you. They're glad to have you on side, but they're not going to trust you.'"
Emerson, a former British Columbia public servant and corporate executive, has told confidantes he is deeply wounded by the adverse public reaction to his abrupt decision to abandon the Liberals and join the Tory government right after the election, a source said.
Since joining the Harper cabinet, Emerson has been dogged by protests from voters in his Vancouver-Kingsway riding who say they feel cheated by their MP's decision to jump to the Tories.
In Vancouver this week, Harper dismissed the demonstrations.
Asked if he was willing to accept the protests as the price of having Emerson in the Conservative party, the Prime Minister said, "Absolutely. The same 10 people every time. You know, it's kind of getting old hat, isn't it?"
Revelations about Emerson's discontent come at a time when Harper's management style is attracting increasing attention.
The Prime Minister's efforts to discredit Ethics Commissioner Bernard Shapiro — who investigated Harper in connect with Emerson's defection but found no wrongdoing — have raised eyebrows.
Also, the Prime Minister has been accused of muzzling his ministers and engaging in heavy handed information control.
Harper is also under fire for deciding, contrary to his previous arguments, to handpick the MPs who will chair the influential House of Commons committees.
