ANDREA HALL
NEWS REPORTER

BRAMPTON, Ont. – When I was asked to wait for a press officer to sanction my presence at a Harper campaign stop while other media personnel strolled right on in, I was slightly offended.

Since my stint with the Conservative leader on Wed. March 30, media reports have come out about people being turned away from Harper rallies due to Facebook photos or records of past activism.

So I’m a little surprised and thankful I was let in at all.

Upon arrival, I signed in as media and watched the face of the older British woman volunteering for the campaign, as she looked nervously at her co-worker.

“You’re from a student paper?” she asked, before telling me I’d have to wait.

So I did, for half an hour in the lobby of Hydroform Solutions, a metal fabrication plant.

I was finally greeted by a young woman who told me that normally student papers aren’t allowed in to these events – only professional media outlets.

Considering this level of scrutiny, I was kind of surprised she didn’t check my media pass before saying she would allow me admission this time, but kindly asked me to stay out of the way and ask no questions.

The “ask no questions” phrase was repeated throughout the morning.

A nice young man named Nigel led me over to the photo op but made sure to remind everyone there that it was strictly for photos – not questions.

The questions did come eventually, all five of them, but it seemed in some cases that getting an answer was just as tough as getting a question in.

The second question requested a response in both official languages. Apparently the Conservative leader didn’t pick up on that.

Even after he finished his French response and shouts of “en Anglais!” could be heard, Harper steadfastly maintained he had already answered.

Earlier, I joined the other media personnel in the lunchroom waiting for Harper to arrive, Maclean’s writer Paul Wells introduced himself to me.

We chatted for a minute, and before leaving he said “well, you won’t get a question, but don’t worry – neither will I.”

So I guess in the end the professional journalists didn’t have much of an advantage over me. They just didn’t have to wait in the lobby.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Two final-year students were given an exclusive interview with Harper on April 8th.