Steven Taylor of the Blogging Tories was kicked out of the main Parliament building during budget coverage.

As he sees it, security kicked him out because of a complaint by The Montreal Gazette’s Elizabeth Thompson, a member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery (she lost the job as President to Richard Brennan)

He says he was staying in areas he was credentialed to be in. It appears his crime was carrying a digital camera.

An official from the Press Gallery walked over and informed me that he had received “complaints” about me. “Thompson?” I inquired. “Complaints”, he seemed to acknowledge. I pointed out that we were currently in the Rotunda of Parliament and that my pass allowed me to be there. “But you have a camera” he informed me. He called over a security guard to escort me from Parliament.

Unbelievable!

Taylor goes on to ask why Elizabeth May of the Green Party is allowed access when he isn’t. Not quite the same thing, she is head of a recognized party in Canada, but that having been said, the Speaker is the one who hands out the credentials, not the Press Gallery.

I have a problem with him being kicked out. Decisions are being made about the role of bloggers in the news and information gathering service, most aren’t paid, it’s a labour of love. I have a problem with the Press Gallery sticking their nose into his presence, if he was breaking rules or behaving inappropriately, fine. He gets the proverbial slap on the wrist from the Speaker’s office. As for officials of the Press Gallery - lighten up.

He also makes the point he is partisan, and while he has been invited to join the Gallery, should he have to? Here is the policy:

Parliamentary Press Gallery president Richard Brennan maps out his rigid blogger strategy: “They will be ejected and if they continue, they’ll be prohibited from coming into the main block, particularly here, I should say, the Foyer of the House. You’re not to use anything collected in the Foyer of the House, be it video or voice that could be used in some kind of a nefarious way. That’s what these guys want to do. They want to collect tape, video, voice, people making mistakes or saying something that’s not exactly correct, they want to use it for some kind of an attack ad. That’s what we’re afraid of. They’re not supposed to be here anyway. They’re not members of the Press Gallery. This area is for the members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery or visiting media only.”

So, was Taylor in the Foyer or Rotunda? :^)
One of the responsibilities of The Press Gallery Association is to assist and oversee journalists in their work on the Hill.
Brennan is with The Toronto Star and was President of Queen’s Park Press Gallery for eight years.

Update: Scott Tribe got in touch with The Parliamentary Press Gallery regarding protocal for bloggers.

I got in touch with someone who has good contacts with the media.. and I asked them whether the reporter in question was justified in asking for Stephen’s removal.

“Yes, because she had good reason, he isn’t a reporter.. he’s not bound by a code of ethics”

So, I asked, if I were to go up there with a pass like what Stephen possessed, or if any Liberal blogger/NDP Blogger/Progressive Blogger/Green Blogger did, but had a camera in my possession (which seems to be the issue the reporter had) we’d all have been kicked out too?

Correct, I was told. It has nothing to do with political affiliation. It has everything to do with not being a reporter and not being bound to their code of ethics.