... McGuinty apologized Wednesday and resigned his post as the party’s natural resources critic after he said Alberta MPs need to take a nationwide view of energy policies or go home.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper argued ... that the comments reflect a long-held anti-Alberta attitude within the Liberal party ... “I find it shameful, I guess not surprising, but shameful, that 30 years after the National Energy Program, these anti-Alberta attitudes are so close to the surface in the Liberal party,” Harper said.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney ... said Alberta Conservative MPs and likely the vast majority of Albertans find McGuinty’s comments “deeply offensive.” ... Kenney said it’s “totally inappropriate” and “arrogant” for a parliamentarian to tell elected colleagues they don’t belong in Ottawa and that they shouldn’t be representing their constituents ... I don’t think he ever said that Bloc Quebecois MPs should go back to Quebec because they were elected to represent the interests of their Quebec constituents, but he seems to apply a double standard to Albertans ...
"One should doubtless keep an open mind...though open at both ends, like the food pipe, and have a capacity for excretion as well as intake." -- Northrop Frye, 'The Great Code'
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
David McGuinty to Alberta MP's "[agree with me] or go home"
Liberal MP David McGuinty apologized and quit his critic position after sticking his foot in it:
And it wasn't much of an apology - more of an "I'm sorry if you were offended" statement than real contrition.
ReplyDeleteIt's a temporary 'stop bashing the West' order until the Calgary by election is over and Trudeau is out of the province!!.
ReplyDeleteThis anti-Alberta sentiment is deeply engrained in the Liberal/NDP dna, and will surface again.
I agree. That wasn't just a slip of the tongue on McGuinty's part. It was a fairly comprehensive revelation of how he thinks. And given his relatively senior standing in the party it's a position he's likely talked over with other senior Libs. So there's little doubt the thinking runs deep.
ReplyDelete