And my colleague Liz Thompson has the pic to prove it.

Here's the first: Jayson Myers, the president of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME), had a meeting on July 3, two days after the new reporting requirement kicked in, with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, his Public Works Minister Christian Paradis, and International Trade Minister Michael Fortier.... Individual companies pay a fee to belong to his organization -- they have more than a few thousand members who, collectively, account for 90 per cent of Canada's exports and 75 per cent of Canada's manufacturing capacity --- and at annual or regional conferences, Jay will spend a lot of time making sure that members understand the value they're getting by staying signed up with his organization.... Note to self: Next time you talk to Buzz, ask him why, with the auto industry crumbling about us, he chose to talk to the prime minister about aboriginal affairs rather than those dastardly foreign imports that are ruining it for Ford, Chrysler and GM.

David writes how it took five months for DND to respond to one of his questions and the response essentially consisted of pointing him to a web link on DND's site.... The new director of communication (no 's' on that) is Kory Teneycke and, in the four weeks or so he's been on the job, he's demonstrated that he's taking a significantly different path in terms of control of the information disseminated by communications shops other than his own.... Still, if some associated with the military want to blame the media [John Scott Cowan, who holds a doctorate in something or other and is the current president of a defence lobby group funded by Department of National Defence, comes to mind for one of the most ignorant and vitriolic attacks on my profession, many of whom are, in fact, risking life and limb in the world's hot spots precisely to gain a better understanding of what our military men and women are facing every day....