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Thursday, September 11, 2008
Forget the Puffin--Liberal MP candidate Simon Bedard wanted the army to "take care of" the Oka crisis
And by "take care of," Simon Bedard, Liberal candidate in Quebec City, meant, "You go in there with the army, then you clean up all that. Fifty dead, 100 dead, 125 dead, that would put it out. We bury it and life goes on.”
That's what he said in 1990, during the Oka crisis. But it looks like he's standing firm--he recently said, talking to Le Soleil after being announced as a Liberal candidate: "They were scandalized because I said, ‘Send the army and we’ll clean
it up once and for all...
“But maybe we should have done it because 17 years (sic) later, it’s still the same.”
When these comments stirred up new anger, Bedard retracted his comments yesterday, and the Liberal Party said he would have a meeting with Mohawks and others to explain himself today.
When reporters arrived for the press conference, Bedard wasn't there to greet them. Instead:
"Jacques Boulay, Liberal party spokesman for the Quebec City region, explained that Bedard was reflecting on his future.
Informed
that Philippe Couillard, the last Quebec politician who said he was
“reflecting,” resigned soon afterwards, Boulay said, “I will let you
make your deductions.”
Will he resign? Robert Jago, a blogger who is also native, had the following harsh commentary:
"This blood thirsty racist has NO place in Canadian politics. Dion should dump him as a candidate, throw him out of the party, and condemn him in the harshest terms possible. That type of language is absolutely inexcusable in the public sphere. That borders on incitement to commit murder. Will Dion do the right thing?"
UPDATE: Fact Check, in the comment section, has alerted me to the Liberal Party's website for Bedard's riding. There, it says: "Your riding does not currently have an official Liberal candidate." So that's that. Bedard is out.
UPDATE2: Yup, it's official: He's out:
Statement from Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion
Today I announce that I have asked for and received the resignation of Simon Bédard as the Liberal Party of Canada’s candidate in the riding of Québec.
Clearly, Mr. Bédard agrees that the statements he has made regarding First Nations people are not compatible with the beliefs and values of the Liberal Party of Canada.
While Mr. Bédard has clearly indicated that he no longer holds those views, the Liberal Party of Canada’s proud tradition of support for our Aboriginal communities must not be overshadowed by these comments.
*Photo courtesy of Robert Jago
Posted by P.M. Jaworski on September 11, 2008 in Canadian Politics | Permalink
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UPDATE: From the official Liberal Party website for the Quebec Riding -
"Your riding does not currently have an official Liberal candidate...."
http://www.liberal.ca/candidate_e.aspx?riding=24052
Posted by: Fact Check | 2008-09-11 3:33:11 PM
UPDATE 2: From the now-out-of-date Google cache for the same webpage -
"A great communicator, Simon Bédard has 40 years of experience in radio and television, having worked for stations based in Quebec City, Chicoutimi and Montreal. As vice president and general director of the magazine L’Actualité during the 1970s, he got the magazine back on its feet and prevented it from going under.
"As a man of action, Mr. Bédard was the host of the program Action Réaction on CJRP Québec for 15 years, where he proved himself as an ardent defender of social justice. He was a key player in liberating wrongly convicted prisoners, helped a young man with a terminal illness fulfill his dream of meeting the Pope and brought to light the important issue of the children of Duplessis.
"Social justice and the fight against poverty are important issues that have driven Mr. Bédard to run as a candidate on the federal scene.
"Among Mr. Bédard’s greatest achievements is his involvement in establishing signatures for organ donors to be put on medical insurance card – an issue which he strongly pressed with the Minister of Health at the time.
"On many occasions Mr. Bédard has acted as an honourary chairperson for several fundraisers to help people dealing with substance abuse, children with Cystic Fibrosis, and the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
"In 1985, he was awarded a gold ribbon by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters for his unrivalled commitment to his community."
Posted by: Fact Check | 2008-09-11 3:35:35 PM
Great work, Fact Check. I'm updating now.
Posted by: P.M. Jaworski | 2008-09-11 3:38:38 PM
Trouble is, Mr. Bedard had a very good point. I would bet there were a lot of people who agreed with him. Why should we let swine like those guys who precipitated the OKA crisis, who, by the way, murdered a QQP officer, get away with it? The army indeed should have gone in and cleaned that up. It wouldn't have taken them long. Their political masters however were chicken.
Posted by: DCM | 2008-09-11 4:30:08 PM
Not as chicken as McGuinty, DCM. Now there's a spineless jellyfish.
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2008-09-11 6:09:49 PM
Bedard was right. His biggest mistake is speaking his mind without reading the political correctness manual.
Posted by: peterj | 2008-09-11 11:20:15 PM
The natives who occupied private land (not theirs) were just as guilty as the "blacks" who bullied Cornell university professors in the 1960's. In both cases the authorities knuckled under and kowtowed. Yes, they should have been arrested and cleared out.
Posted by: DML | 2008-09-11 11:42:16 PM
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