Posted on 03/10/2005 6:24:12 PM PST by Pikamax
MP Apologizes for Anti-US Comment
Thu March 10, 2005 5:19 PM GMT-05:00 OTTAWA (Reuters) - A Canadian member of Parliament charged with improving ties with the United States apologized on Thursday for saying "let's embarrass the hell out of the Americans in front of other countries".
The gaffe by Marlene Jennings came exactly two weeks after Canada's Liberal government irritated Washington by refusing to join the U.S. missile defense system.
Jennings -- the parliamentary secretary for Canada-U.S. relations -- reports directly to Prime Minister Paul Martin, who came to power in December 2003 saying he wanted better relations with Washington.
"I would apologize to the members in this House that my comments were a little bit exaggerated. I apologize," she told the House of Commons elected chamber of Parliament.
Jennings, who is herself half-American, accused the United States on Tuesday of refusing to adhere to trade treaties it had signed with Canada. One way to strike back, she suggested, was to shame Washington internationally.
"Let's embarrass the hell out of the Americans in front of other countries that they are attempting to negotiate with on new binational trade agreements ... let's just do it on the public scene," she told a parliamentary committee.
The opposition Conservative party, which says the Liberals have a history of needlessly antagonizing Washington, demanded that Martin fire Jennings for making her remarks at a time when the United States is blocking imports of live Canadian cattle.
"The Liberals have once again shown their anti-American bias ... This strategy is like poking someone in the eye and then asking them for a favor," Conservative legislator Diane Finley told Parliament.
Last November Martin kicked MP Carolyn Parrish out of the Liberal caucus after she stomped on a George Bush doll on a satirical TV show.
Ms Finley, don't worry about, we have our Liberals too, they do the same thing.
and lie like thieves when their jobs are on the line.
Until such time as Canada elects responsible folks, we need to tell them to "Bugger OFF"!
Looks like any nation on our borders with a "C" in their name is absolutely worthless...
Makes it sounds like improving ties with the US is a crime.
Keep it up, Canadians. How about just leaving us alone, and we'll continue to leave you alone.
I'm fed up.
Canadian officials have a nasty habit of putting thier foots in their mouths...
well that should keep us from importing any more cattle for a few more decades. What else can we ban from canada? You know, we could organize a boycott and bankrupt that country for all of their attacks on us.
Does anybody know what is a really big import from canada? Other than oil? I know that they sell most of their crap to us. If it were obvious to the majority of Americans that we import something really important from Canada, then we could just boycott that product. Remember, what happens on FR is carried to the rest of the US.
I drive a lot on US 81 from Upstate NY to Philadelphia. An amazingly large fraction (like 75%) of heavy trucks taking that route are Canadian, hauling merchandise from Canada into the north-east US.
(steely)
It is unbelievable what has happened to Canada, Great Britain and Europe
Socialism surely does screw up the human condition
Let this Quebec piece of crap know how you feel about her:
Marlene Jennings (Liberal) Notre-Dame de Grace: Riding: 514-489-8703, Ottawa: 613-995-2254, Fax: 613-996-1481, Email: Jennings.M@parl.gc.ca
Canada is a pathetic and embarrassing nation. Their entire military is smaller than the New York police force.
I agree.
These little pissants know not with whom they are messing.
Canada is a pathetic and embarrassing nation. Their entire military is smaller than the New York police force. They neglect their military because they know they have the U.S. to defend them.
Electricity (hydro) from Quebec, natural gas, maple syrup, hockey players (Oops! Never mind, they boycotted themselves)
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