Historical Revisionism

One of my favourite pet peeves is when journalists take the liberty to reconstruct historical facts. Today, the Mike De Souza of CanWest recalled an incident involving a staffer of Rahim Jaffer.

For those who can't recall what happened: A staffer of Mr. Jaffer booked the MP for a radio interview, but could not reach him in time for the show. Instead of canceling the interview, the staffer took it upon himself to impersonate his boss on the radio show. The "scandal" was Jaffer trying to cover for his staffer by saying it was him in the interview.

Somehow the facts involving this incident has evolved over time. In De Souza's story, he states:

"Jaffer, who was singled out because of an incident several years ago when he allowed an aide to impersonate him on a radio interview, said most of his colleagues in caucus have been very active in the House of Commons and their ridings. "

Mr. Jaffer never allowed his staffer to impersonate him. The reporter could have easily looked it up in Hansard.

Then again, we all have memory lapses. Remember that fascist dictator Jean Chretien?