Oops! Another mistake for a Minster

hey Mr Haper is this another mistake for this guy maybe a new fellow who will not put his foot in his mouth.

For Immediate Release
May 23, 2008

Another Gaffe For Bernier, Another Reason He Should Step Down: Bob Rae

OTTAWA - Liberal Foreign Affairs Critic Bob Rae reiterated his call for the resignation of Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier in light of his most recent gaffe regarding the availability of Canada's new C-17s to help the people of Burma/Myanmar.

"This latest blunder is not just an embarrassment for Canada - it is irresponsible," said Mr. Rae. "These are people's lives we're talking about, and Mr. Bernier needs to have a better handle on precisely what it is Canada can and can not do to help them.
"It is just the latest in a string of examples that proves Mr. Bernier is incompetent, and the only action left for Prime Minister Stephen Harper is to fire him."

Officials with the Department of National Defence were forced to quickly rent a Russian plane yesterday to ship helicopters to Thailand to help the people of cyclone-ravaged Burma/Myanmar after Mr. Bernier publicly stated it would be carried out by Canada's new C-17 aircraft.

Contrary to Mr. Bernier's claim that there was a C-17 ready and available to do the job, the officials confirmed that as false, which is why the Russian plane had to be dispatched.

"As I've stated in the past, Mr. Bernier is clearly in over his head," said Mr. Rae. "He continues to be a liability to Canada and to the international community. He has got to go."

Mr. Rae pointed to Mr. Bernier's other missteps, including:

- suggesting to reporters that Kandahar Governor Asdullah Khalid be replaced. He was quickly forced to retract those comments and acknowledge that Afghanistan, as a sovereign country, must make its own decisions;

- his mishandling of the case of Brenda Martin, a Canadian left stranded in a in Mexican prison for two years;

- his failure to take a leadership role (or indeed any role) in the international effort to ban the production and use of cluster munitions;

- his abandonment of key foreign affairs files to other ministers - Afghan detainees (Peter MacKay), death row inmates abroad (Stockwell Day), the proposed sale of the Radarsat 2 satellite system (Jim Prentice), the Brenda Martin case (Helena Guergis), a summit of foreign affairs ministers of Arctic nations in Greenland (Gary Lunn); and,

- his failure to respond to any of the recent international crises in Pakistan, Kenya, Sri Lanka or Zimbabwe.

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Contact:

Office of the Hon. Bob Rae
613-992-5234