Lucky, you are right, there is no question about it but my response was just a basic report on my impressions after talking to Merle and what he told me about his background.
I also know that Merle is a long way from Ontario and not privy to moment to moment issues that arise but he is in contact with Scott almost daily. He definitely reports only what Scott will allow him to report. Everything has to be approved by Scott before it goes out which is normal for any company that has a contract IR person.
I have worked with a lot of PR people during my career in the business world and understand what they can and cannot say. The bottomline is that Scott controls what goes out and the ball is in his court. Those attacking Merle really don't understand the relationship between a Contract IR person and a company employee.
Lucky, you are one of the people I respect here and I value your posts very much but we are NEVER going to get a lot of communication from Merle. I wish it weren't true but that is reality. I don't like it but accept it.