The PMO wanted to prevent a CTV camera from boarding Harper's plane to Malaysia because he had the temerity to ask Stephen Harper a question last week.

The Star's Tim Harper writes: Until someone in Stephen Harper’s office found a hidden stash of maturity Wednesday afternoon, Dave Ellis was going to be prevented from doing his job. Ellis is a CTV photo journalist with 28 years’ experience. His crime? He asked the prime minister a question in New York last week. He was asking a question on a breaking news story for the benefit of his viewers. For that grave offence, Harper’s office was prepared to prevent him from boarding the prime minister’s plane Thursday morning bound for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where Ellis was to provide the television pictures to all Canadian networks during Harper’s week-long trip, which includes an APEC summit. In the face of opposition from the press gallery Wednesday, the PMO backed down and Ellis will be allowed to do his job, said Harper’s communications director, Jason MacDonald. “I’m not going to get into the issue . . . all that matters is he will be on the trip,’’ he said. Battles between media and the prime minister should, as a rule, be left in-house because readers are not particularly interested in our problems doing our jobs. More