Beyond The Commons

 Beyond The Commons

Aaron Wherry covers all the goings-on in and around Parliament Hill. Follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaronwherry

Categories: Beyond The Commons, Capital Read

Geography lesson

by Aaron Wherry on Thursday, January 27, 2011 12:11pm - 35 Comments

As per Scott’s appeal, here is there was video of Defence Minister Peter MacKay denying the existence of the great states of Washington and Oregon. (The video seems, suddenly, to have been disappeared from the Internet. Here is the Star’s account of the flub.)

And here is the inevitable Liberal mockery.

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  • Mike T.

    And this is the best they have for the number 2 guy, slightly ahead of Tony Clement!

    • Richard_S_Argent

      Not to mention the fact that at one point he was considered the best man to lead the Progressive Conservatives.

      • Richard_S_Argent

        Interesting comment to be thumbed down on…is someone actually disagreeing with my assertion that he once was the leader of the Progressive Conservatives?

        'Cause he like totally was. :)

  • Emily

    Our very own Sarah Palin!

    No wonder he thinks the Soviets are attacking. He can probably see Putin from his house!

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/Ottawa_Centrist Ottawa_Centrist

    I assumed the Feds bought Oregon and Washington and gave them to British Columbia. Lots of seats in play in BC.

    • McC_

      two liberal cities and a ton of conservative hinterland, the two'd almost fit right in to our political culture, except for all those referendums they insist on having…

  • Mike T.

    He mentioned the border shared by BC and California. It's even worse than Stock Day not knowing which way river's flow!

  • danby

    OK. He's not the best at geography.
    But denial? The man is a superstar.

    • Mike T.

      "Am not!"

      -P. MacKay

  • Crit_Reasoning

    Clearly, MacKay needs to spend more time in Western Canada…

    • Tceh

      BC doesn't want him. Send him back to NS and throw snow on him.

      • McC_

        Like! Can I nominate "Send X back to Y and throw snow on him/her." as a Canadian alternative to suggesting someone be tarred and feathered?

        • Mike T.

          Don't do it! He'll cry. Then he'll go get the family dog and have another press conference.

          "I…I…*blubber blubber*…wish [the snow throwers] the best…*blubber*…I really really do"

      • briguyhfx

        We prefer that he stay in Ottawa. Every time he comes crying back to his daddy's farm, the average intelligence of NS goes down a point or two.

  • gottabesaid

    This kinda reminds me of that joke about Quebec separating… which would be a good thing since it would be a shorter drive from Toronto to Halifax.

    I'll be here all week… try the fish.

  • bennji1977

    Well, we can at least be thankful that he knows where Afghanistan is.

    Can you imagine the embarrassment had he rolled us into either Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan or Tajikistan?

  • Jenn_

    It would seem the clip is no longer available on YouTube, because you can't get there from The Star article, either. Which is such a shame, because I'm sure I'd have enjoyed it.

    According to The Star, the sentence was complete and made sense (except for being factually incorrect) which means the general benefit of the doubt I'd give for a simple tongue-twist doesn't apply. Anybody see it who can confirm?

  • gottabesaid

    This criticism has gone way too far. Mr. Mackay doesn't need to apologize for a damned thing. He doesn't have time to memorize maps and borders when he's spending all his time (like the rest of the Conservative caucus) STANDING UP OR CANADA. Perhaps the pinkos on this board could put down their "maps" and "books" and "facts" long enough to join him in the fight.

  • sourstud

    Not to rain on this parade, but has anybody considered that when he said "we have a shared border", he was referring to the Pacific Ocean? It's the only explanation that makes any damned sense to me.

    • Mike T.

      Nobody has considered it SERIOUSLY, no. And with good reason.

  • ZestyMordant

    What's the big deal? He's not the Foreign Minister anymore.

    • CAPS

      Yeah, what's Defence have to do with knowledge of borders?

  • E_B_

    Aww, C'mon. Did you guys all miss the announcement that BC had annexed Washington and Oregon? It's our Manifest Destiny to take over the United States; apparently two states at a time. Go, Team Canada!

    Next year is the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. Perhaps Mr. MacKay is just getting a head start…

  • Stewart_Smith

    Personally I like Peter's out of his mind out of the box thinking. Myself, I like Buffalo's fabulous wings just fine… but it would be better if it was Tampa across from Fort Erie.

  • Realistic

    That flub is the last straw, I am so not going to vote for him instead after visiting the liberal mock site, I am going to donate a kabillion dollars so they can defeat that guy who flubbed a question. The mockers deserve my vote now after noticing this flub and bringing it to our attention so lives could be saved from geography mishaps.

    • Mike T.

      "Beer and popcorn"

  • YYZ

    I wonder if the line-ups to cross the border into California from BC are as long crossing the Nova Scotia-Florida border? I find that border crossing unbearable!

  • tangerine_juice
  • hollinm

    Of course I am waiting for the Ignatieff gaffe where he said the Secretary of Defence for the United States is Bille Gates. Will it happen? I doubt it.

  • jonatwitan

    It is extremely….well, enlightening to go back and read through these comments in light of the revelation that Ignatieff believes that the founder of Microsoft is the US secretary of defence.

    And don't even try to say he just misspoke. That's where looking back through these comments on Mackay comes in. Turns out, we don't tend to believe that politicians misspeak. If he said it, he must believe it.

  • bennji1977

    May be next time Tony and Pete down in Texas playing with the F35 simulator, they could try an educational flight over the pacific coast rather than dinking around the Brooklyn Bridge
    http://twitter.com/TonyClement_MP/status/12651310…

  • MandV

    He meant "shared boarder" as in Michael Ignatieff who is "just visiting."

  • Canuck237503

    Actually, it was playing to the surf culture of California and BC, and the boarders who go between.

  • briguyhfx

    Strangely, this gaffe doesn't lower my opinion of Peter MacKay in the least. Just like Tory Cement's many ridiculous fact-devoid census tweets didn't lower my opinion of him. And Stockwell Day's admission that he believes in creationism didn't lower my opinion of him.

    They've always been empty suits, and empty suits they will always be.

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