CTV's Lisa LaFlamme almost trampled in Guelph!

Wow. Talk about the turning of the tide. Last election, it was Harper with protesters in Guelph. This time, it was Martin. No links to media stories here, this was a firsthand experience, for both Lisa and myself. (if this isn't reported on CTV, we KNOW they're biased!)

Went down to Molly Bloom's pub in downtown Guelph; I'd heard on CBC that Martin was going to be in town. Door was secured, access to known people only. That's fine, I just hung out outside to see if anything would happen. Some kids were filming their own pro-pot video, interviewing people and hoping to get some footage of Martin.

So here come the buses. Takes a while for all the media to get off and into position. About 2 dozen supporters with signs outside. Glad I stuck around, because off the first bus comes Lisa and Robert Fife... got to say hello and shake their hands. (last election, it was Kevin Newman from Global) Meanwhile, a bunch of kids start arriving with video cameras and small signs...

Finally Paul Martin's bus arrives. They sit there for 3-4 minutes while the area is secured, and then they open the doors. 5th person out is Mrs. Sheila Martin, and number 6 is the Right Hon. Prime Minister of Canada, Paul Martin.

Then the bedlam began. About a dozen of these kids start chanting something, and holding up their homemade signs. Something like "Liberal Attack, da da BC -ack!" I couldn't make out what they were saying, I asked a few people, but they weren't sure either. Liberal supporters are trying to cheer, trying to keep their signs between the protesters and the cameras. Police (local and RCMP) are there in uniform and suits, and start grabbing the kids as they start trying to press in. THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO POLICE BRUTALITY, I'll be the first to vouch for that, just careful, determined force. (a nicely done job) One officer has this kid by both arms, and spins him around to get him away from the PM. That's where Lisa comes in... the officer almost spun the kid right into her! She's ducked into an entry way, and I don't think she got hit. A couple of the kids start shouting at the police saying "LET HIM GO!", I think they were talking about another kid being held by another officer (or two). I'm so glad I didn't get any closer than I was. (about 20 feet, tops) Anyway, the PM is into the pub by now (popcorn anyone?) and the officers have let go of the kids... and they're checking to see that everyone is okay, and then everyone starts smiling. The cops got their jobs done, and the kids have no hard feelings towards them, meanwhile they got their message out. Almost a mutual respect or something...

Things then started to break up. I saw a whole bunch of disappointed looking Liberals there. Some sort of media scrum with a Liberal took place across the road, not sure what happened over there. Off home I went, glad I stuck around to watch the news happen.

Talk about a turning of the tide. Harper was heckled by pro-SSM folks when he was in Guelph in 2004, that's when one supporter threw a punch at a pro-SSM person. This time, it was the kids on the far left taking Martin to task, on what, I'm not sure. I was talking to a media person earlier in the day, and they said that things had not been good that day... apparently, Martin is doing the same thing that Harper did in the dying days of the last election... he's cutting of and restricting media access to himself. (other than the CBC, for whom he did a special tonight in Guelph... surprise, surprise...) Martin's people are running tightly scripted, small events, meanwhile, Harper had 2000+ people at a rally just down the road in New Hamburg just last weekend.

Any Liberal want to try and tell me that they still have their sights on 24 Sussex? Wow. What a difference a couple of weeks can make...