Martin Off To Sun Valley To "Meet" Business Leaders

The Globe and Mail Martin off to Sun Valley to meet business leaders By CAMPBELL CLARK Wednesday, July 7, 2004 - Page A1 OTTAWA -- Paul Martin left suddenly yesterday on his first foreign trip as the newly elected prime minister, heading for a closed-door confab with international business executives. The announcement of the trip to the Sun Valley conference in Idaho, which has no official media access, sparked blasts from opposition leaders, who said Mr. Martin is acting more like a CEO than the head of a minority government. When prime ministers attend international events, a contingent of Canadian reporters normally follows. And even when they attend private meetings -- usually sessions with other heads of governments -- aides provide briefings or the PM answers questions about it. But yesterday, the Prime Minister's Office suddenly issued a terse notice that Mr. Martin would leave in the afternoon for the conference. The announcement said that no media coverage was allowed, although a copy of the speech he will deliver today will be released in Ottawa. The trip brought sharp criticism from opposition politicians, on whom Mr. Martin's Liberals must rely for support in a minority Parliament..........here's the link for the rest of the article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040707/MARTIN07/TPFront/TopStories