…and he likely dropped trou to “empower” “the victim” to do just that, because he’s a compassionate, tolerant Liberal and not angry or scary at all.
OTTAWA—A longtime, loyal Liberal is demanding an apology from Public Works Minister Scott Brison, claiming the Nova Scotia MP told her to “kiss my ass” during a dispute in a public restaurant.
Sandra McGrath, who has given three decades as a Grit campaign volunteer, has written to Prime Minister Paul Martin urging him to rein in the rude language and inappropriate behaviour.
After serving two terms on the Human Resources Development Canada Board of Referees, she was upset that Brison had led her to believe she was a shoo-in for the reappointment she ultimately did not get.
During a chance encounter at Acton’s Restaurant in Wolfville, N.S., McGrath aired her frustration and advised Brison she would not support him in the next campaign.
“He got very upset. He looked at me and said, ‘Well I’ve got something to tell you. I’m going to be the MP for a very, very long time, and you can kiss my ass,’ ” she recalled. “We were shocked and dumbfounded. This is a cabinet minister and there’s supposed to be ethics in government. If he can’t take some heat from the people of Canada, he shouldn’t be in cabinet.”
Her husband, Daniel McGrath, a lawyer who has also worked for the Liberals for 50 years, was the only witness to the exchange, she said.
Brison’s spokesman, Susan Murray, would not comment to confirm or deny McGrath’s claims or say if the minister intends to say sorry.
And another thing:
But Brison did make one formal apology yesterday – to Conservative Leader Stephen Harper and the National Citizens Coalition.
In a written letter read into the record of the House of Commons, Brison said it was not true that Harper broke federal lobbying laws when he was president of the NCC and admitted it wasn’t true that the organization was charged six times under the Elections Act for “various malfeasances.”
Brison had made the allegations in public comments and a news release Nov. 4.
“We accept his apology and hope that this makes all politicians more aware that false and baseless accusations have no place in the politics of Canada,” Harper said in a statement after Brison’s apology.
The NCC had threatened to sue Brison, but wouldn’t discuss details of the legal settlement beyond the letter.
Vice-president Gerry Nicholls said the apology doesn’t make up for the fact he “smeared” the organization on national television, but said it puts Brison and other politicians on notice that the NCC will fight to defend its reputation.
See my previous blog entries about this matter here and here and here and here.
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
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