It was leaked on 18 December 1998 by Peter Donolo, press secretary to the prime minister, that staff in the Prime Minister's Office and other Liberal Party members were working on a plan to abolish the monarchy by the turn of the millennium, though this was denied by Chrétien himself, and disapproved of by the majority of incumbent provincial premiers. Save for some journalists, such as Lawrence Martin, who broke the story, the idea was also roundly denounced in the media.