Ontario Press Council dismisses complaint against Hamilton Mountain News

A column that suggested the Taliban was rooting for a New Democratic Party victory in the 2008 federal election was an exercise in hyperbole that would be seen by readers as the author's fanciful opinion, the Ontario Press Council says in dismissing a complaint against the Hamilton Mountain News. The column, published Oct. 10, 2008, under the headline Taliban rooting for a Layton victory, was based on a Canadian Press article from Afghanistan. It said that while a Taliban spokesman didn't know which party was most likely to withdraw Canadian troops, such a platform would be "good for that party and for their nation and the Canadian people." Ken Stone of Hamilton complained that the column was simply inaccurate since there was no mention of Layton or the NDP in The Canadian Press article.