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Kenney’s ‘jaunt’ to Auschwitz criticized by MP |
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Written by Atara Beck
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Wednesday, 03 February 2010 |
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OTTAWA-TORONTO – Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj’s criticism of Cabinet Minister Jason Kenney last week for travelling to Poland created an uproar that resulted in the Liberal politician’s expression of regret for his statement, although it was not accepted by Kenney’s office as a sincere apology.
Wrzesnewskyj had called Kenney’s visit a “jaunt” and suggested he should have been visiting Haiti instead, which is still in crisis following a devastating earthquake.
In fact, Kenney had gone to Poland to represent Canada at the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the trip had been on the itinerary for some time. “Had I been fully informed, I would not have made these comments,” said Wrzesnewskyj, MP for Etobicoke. “I would never trivialize a minister's visit to Auschwitz and especially on the 65th anniversary of its liberation.”
Alykhan Velshi, Kenney’s spokesperson, had called Wrzesnewskyj’s attack against the minister “disgusting” and said he did not view the retraction as an apology.
“Attending a memorial service at Auschwitz is not the equivalent to vacationing in the south of France,” he said.
B’nai Brith Canada had also demanded that Wrzesnewskyj apologize.
“We appreciate that he responded to a call for an apology, but we’re upset that a Canadian MP would have made the kind of statement he did in the first place,” said Frank Dimant, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada. He appealed to Ignatieff to publicly distance himself from Wrzesnewskyj’s remarks.
Jean-Francois Del Torchil, Ignatieff’s press secretary, told the Jewish Tribune that since Wrzesnewskyj “has posted a full apology on his web site and said he was not fully informed of the details of the trip,” he would offer no further comment.
Dimitri Soudas, press secretary for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said Wrzesnewskyj’s comments on Kenney’s visit were “shocking” and “disgraceful,” adding that Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff should demand an apology from his MP.
Thornhill MP Peter Kent, minister of state for foreign affairs (Americas) – taking a few minutes to respond to the Jewish Tribune while “working all week 24/7 on the Haiti crisis” – said, “Wrzesnewskyj’s statement was “offensive and unacceptable.” He referred to the “shocking silence of the Liberal leadership in response to Wrzesnewskyj’s outrageous remarks.
“This is evidence again of the incoherence and inconsistency of the party on issues that are important to Israel and the Jewish people – hiding behind honourable individuals like [MP] Irwin Cotler while harbouring people like Borys Wrzesnewskyj,” he said.
Wrzesnewskyj’s statement was reminiscent of a political gaffe he made in 2006, during Israel’s war with Lebanon, against the interests of the Jewish state, after which he was forced to resign as deputy foreign affairs critic. Following his suggestion, which was quoted in the media, that Canada should remove Hezbollah from Canada’s list of terrorist organizations, the Liberal politician claimed he had never made such a remark and had meant only that Canada should negotiate with Hezbollah notwithstanding its status as a sponsor of terror. He also described Israel’s actions in Lebanon as “state terrorism” and “absolutely criminal.”
In August 2009 he was part of a pro-Palestinian delegation to Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza, which included MPs Libby Davies (NDP) and Richard Nadeau (Bloc Quebecois) and three members of the anti-Israel Code Pink organization.
Karen Mock, federal Liberal candidate for the Thornhill riding, which has a significant Jewish population, sent out an email to a media list shortly after the Wrzesnewskyj story broke.
“It is important that these kinds of events and trips not be used for political partisan purposes,” she stated. “Canada should be represented at such an important worldwide commemoration of the Holocaust and continue to be a leader in providing international humanitarian aide (sic) to the best of our ability wherever it is needed.”
Indeed, “the people and government of Canada have led the world in terms of their generosity in providing relief for the victims” of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Dimant said. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 10 February 2010 )
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