Mississauga MP calls U.S. 'bastards'
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Sheldon
Alberts, Deputy Ottawa Bureau Chief |
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National
Post |
Thursday, February 27, 2003
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CREDIT: Fred
Chartrand, The Canadian Press |
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Liberal
MP Carolyn Parrish quickly apologized after she was caught muttering
that she hated those 'damn Americans.' She had just told reporters
the U.S. was unlikely to resist attacking Iraq. |
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OTTAWA - The Liberal
government faced new accusations of anti-Americanism yesterday after an MP
who is an outspoken critic of George W. Bush said she hated Americans and
called them "bastards" intent on going to war with Iraq.
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Carolyn Parrish, the Liberal MP for Mississauga Centre, later
issued a statement apologizing for the comments, which came on a day when
Jean Chrétien spoke to the U.S. President in an effort to reach a United
Nations compromise in the Iraqi crisis.
"Damn Americans.
Hate those bastards," Parrish said after the weekly Liberal caucus
meeting in Ottawa.
Parrish made the
remark at the end of a media scrum in which she told a group of
journalists there was no hope Canada could negotiate a deal to avoid war
because the Bush administration has no interest in peace.
"Canada has a
long tradition of coming up with compromises and I think if it flies, that
is excellent. But I have no hopes for it," the Toronto-area MP said.
"I watched Bush [yesterday] morning on television. That man is ready
to go. He doesn't care. He is gunning for a fight. I think Bush is. I
think he has got 150,000 troops over there, and I think he has got to do
something with them."
Senior government MPs
immediately distanced themselves from Parrish's statement, and Parrish
sent out a news release late yesterday attempting to clarify her remarks.
"I deeply regret
the comments that I made today in the heat of the moment in a private
conversation," her statement said.
"My comments do
not reflect my personal opinion of the American people and they certainly
do not reflect the views of the government of Canada."
Parrish insisted her
remarks were made in a "private conversation," even though she
was speaking to a reporter in a Parliament Hill corridor where journalists
normally conduct interviews with Liberal MPs.
The Liberal
government and caucus have been deeply split on the question of Iraq and
mired in controversy over the U.S.'s determination to disarm Saddam
Hussein, by force if necessary.
During a debate on
Iraq last year, Bonnie Brown, the Liberal MP for the Toronto-area riding
of Oakville, said a U.S. military attack against Iraq would be comparable
to the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor and the Nazi aggression in Europe
during the Second World War.
Chrétien's director
of communications, Françoise Ducros, resigned last November after
referring to Bush as "a moron" for his handling of the Iraq
showdown. Since then, both Chrétien and John Manley, the Deputy Prime
Minister, have warned Liberal MPs to put an end to their anti-American
rhetoric.
Stephen Harper, the
Canadian Alliance leader, yesterday called Parrish's comments
"unacceptable" and said he fears the ongoing anti-U.S. remarks
will damage Canada-U.S. relations over the long term.
"We know that
kind of sentiment exists in the Liberal party. It is extremely
unhelpful," Harper said.
© Copyright 2003 National
Post
