The legacy of Prime Minister Paul Martin lives on in ivory towered Ottawa. Sadly, the Martin legacy lives on perhaps because of--and not in spite of--the fledgling minority Conservative government that replaced the Liberal one.
Canada's newly minted Foreign affairs Minister Peter MacKay's first statement in his new portfolio: "The government of Canada will continue to promote a better understanding of Islam internationally, in partnership with Muslim communities."
Politically correct Martin couldn't have said it better himself.
Worse, MacKay issued his statement in reference to the ongoing violent Muslim rage over the Danish editorial cartoons that depicted the Prophet Mohammad--a Muslim rage that seems to have cost a Catholic priest his life in Turkey, on Tuesday.
as Toronto Sun scribe Licia Corbella suggests, "Promoting a better understanding internationally of any religion--Islam included--is not MacKay's role or any other federal official's role."
But try to lay that, Ms. Corbella, on a policy wonk come to power.
For all of those with the luxury of being able to ignore Canadian politics, MacKay is the cuckolded and coddled Conservative MP who could easily star in a remake of Sleeping with the Enemy, Canada style.
Dopey MacKay was dating MP Belinda Stronach when she jumped ship to return to the Liberal Party.
Warning signs pointing to romantic Pierre's priorities were there all along, but lost on Mr. Harper.
Incredulously, when blonde billionaires Belinda dumped MacKay at the same time she abandoned the Conservative Party for what she thought was the election-proof Liberals, conservative colleagues gave their cuckolded colleague a standing ovation in Parliament.
First came forlorn pictures of the dumpee and a sad-eyed dog, staring contemplatively at the landscape on his father's farm.
Then just last Christmas, "one of Ottawa's most eligible bachelors" was under the spell of yet another blonde billionairess.
"This time it's Sophie Desmarais of the wealthy Power Corp. family." (National Post, Nov. 26).
Power Corp. is also the power behind Canadian prime minister's office.
"While his party was preparing for today's expected non-confidence vote against the ruling Liberal Government, Harper's right hand man has been bitten by the love bug---again!" wrote Canada Free Press on Nov. 28, 2005. "We don't know what this does for the Conservative deputy leader's political career, but now that he's shown a marked preference for heiresses, he's almost John Kerry, Canuck version."
and now MacKay has proven to be Kerry-like in the politically correct department too.
That's today's unsettling news from Canada's new Conservative minority government that not even a defending right-wing blog lineup can explain away.
Yesterday, Stephen Harper in his first interview since becoming Prime Minister, said he had anticipated the "superficial" criticism of his decision to coax former Liberal Cabinet minister David Emerson to cross the floor to join the Tory cabinet.
Neither Harper nor any of his MPs showed even a smidgeon of regard for the betrayal of grassroots voters who thought they were voting for a Liberal when they just weeks ago marked ballots for Emerson.
Meanwhile, if hopeless Harper wants to see a definition of "superficial", he can find a picture of MacKay alongside the word in any dictionary.
Note: a Tory organizer and friend says it is possible that MacKay may have been the victim of a bureaucratic foul up on his better understanding of Islam comments. If that's the case, where's the retraction?
Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com
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