Updated: Fri Jul. 10 2009 9:11:36 PM

CTV.ca News Staff

Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a blunt apology to his Liberal opponent on Friday after falsely accusing him of making comments that hurt Canada's standing on the international stage.

"During my press conference I attacked Mr. Ignatieff for some things he had allegedly said about Canada in the G8," Harper said in a statement to television cameras in L'Aquila, Italy where he is attending the G8 summit.

"I learned shortly after the press conference this was not a quotation of Mr. Ignatieff. I regret the error and I apologize to Mr. Ignatieff for this error."

Harper had slammed Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff for saying that Canada is at risk of losing its place in the G8 because powerful nations could form a new group and leave Canada out -- a claim Ignatieff never made.

Shortly after Harper made the controversial comments, his press secretary Dimitri Soudas admitted the mistake was his, saying he passed on the false information to his boss without substantiating it.

The comments about Canada's irrelevance in the G8 had actually been made by an academic, but Soudas incorrectly attributed them to Ignatieff.

Harper ran with them, launching the attack after a reporter asked about his expectation for next year's G8 summit, which Canada will host in Muskoka, Ont.

He went off of his message about aid in Africa and economic recovery, to attack Ignatieff over what he called "irresponsible" comments from someone who is "supposed to be a Canadian."

CTV parliamentary correspondent Roger Smith said he was surprised by the attack.

"It's a rather extraordinary mess up by the prime minister's staff here," Smith told CTV News Channel.

"We know there have been many before but I think this one is probably going to steal the kind of message the prime minister wanted to come out of this summit."

Economic recovery

During the news conference Harper also discuss the global economy, saying it would be premature for governments to begin withdrawing their stimulus funds before there are clear signs that the global economy is in recovery mode.

Earlier this week, Harper suggested that countries should focus on delivering the stimulus funds they have already committed, before pledging more stimulus spending.

"We are not suggesting...that any country begin to unwind its economic stimulus measures. That would clearly be way too premature," Harper told reporters Friday.

"I have suggested that those who are seeing the emergence of deep structural deficits...that those countries have to at least be thinking about how they are going to emerge out of a structural deficit position as the recovery takes hold."

Harper said the global economy has stabilized, but has not yet recovered from the downturn. He said he hopes those exit-strategy discussions can begin in earnest by the time Canada hosts next year's G8 meetings.

Harper also said the G8 remains a relevant body, but said it is not a global government and shouldn't be seen as such.

He said leaders attending the meeting have reached consensus on issues such as climate change and ongoing violence in Iran, saying such agreements are proof of the relevance of the group.

However, he suggested there is room for reform to make the G8 more relevant, and said adding new countries to the meetings is a step towards that goal.

He was responding to widespread criticism that the G8 is outdated and no longer accurately represents the global economy.

The focus of the meetings has been largely on the fragile global economy and climate change.

Aid to Africa

On Friday leaders were urged to keep the needs of African nations in their sights as they return home.

The third and final day of meetings saw African nations meet with the leaders in hopes of nailing down the finer points of a US$15 billion initiative to help farmers in poor countries produce more food.

According to a draft statement of the initiative, the money will be spread out over three years and will aim to increase the productivity of farmers. Not all of the money, however, is new, and anti-poverty groups said the funding was not good enough.

"There is an urgent need for decisive action to free humankind from hunger and poverty," the draft statement said. "We will aim at substantially increasing aid to agriculture and food security."

The initiative aims to provide support around harvest time and to help small farmers, families and women, as well as to increase private sector growth. It also intends to balance any agriculture improvements with measures to help farmers in these countries deal with any climate change issues caused by global warning.

Delegates said the U.S. is expected to provide roughly $3 billion of the funding, while France will chip in about $2 billion.

Comments are now closed for this story

Evan Miles in Winnipeg
If Mr. Iggy was saying this I am sure that we would hear all the liberal supporters crying out how great a man he is. As for Mr. Harper being an embarassment to our country, I respect him much more then any leader that has come from the east.

I think that is the main point of contention, he is a Westerner and you morons in the east can't stand him.

Mr. Harper call an election, lets see if the Three amigo's can oust you from your position.

As for me I know who I will vote for right now. Mr Harper keep up the good work

Jon in London ON
Whoops!

Tom, Quebec
Better first rebuild the Canadian economy before sharing its wealth to other nations.

Steve in Manotick
Who will this poor excuse for a statesman blame this time..

Come now you should have check for the truth First.. but no you just can't wait to take another cheap below the belt shot one more time.. Shame on You

Marg Bedore
Can't this man act like a Prime Minister - at least when he is on the international stage.

Jay B
Although this attack was in error this isn't the first time the PM has taken partisan political swipes at the opposition while attending international events. If Harper were to realize he is representing Canada when he attends these events and not the conservative party he wouldn't be makng these type of comments whether they are based in fact or fiction.

TVic
Notice how Harper just seems to love taking shots at his opposition - even at an international forum where it is totally inappropriate to do so. I hope he has now learned his lesson and will focus on dealing with real issues and start acting like the Prime Minister he is supposed to be. As for the relevence of G8, it seems to be a great way to see the world at taxpayer expense.

Canada Goose Whistler
Harper still looking for bad things to say about Michael Ignatieff.
He hasn't found anything so far so I guess he will be spending all his time looking for something.

RPK-Kitchener
G-8 is a very viable group of the top nations of the world.

These world leaders continue to support and hold up the poor nations and have nots of the world.

Better these top world leaders should meet and have photo shots than to not & throw stones at each other.

A perfect group they are not, a functional group they are, results orientated are questionable but "THEY MEET".

Our Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Stephen Harper is a "World Leader" - (even the rest of the world waited till he got in the picture, they didn't wait for Muberek).

Take the politics outta half the emails sent into this forum & "Comment on FACT" then you to will agree with me.

Canada is a world player ~ a world leader ~ well respected & a great country to call home.

God Bless Canada !

Joe Calgary
Harper is a disgrace. He is incapable of appearing for photo ops on time and he embarrasses himself and the country every time he opens his mouth. Yes Harper call an election and the three amigos will oust you out!

bob
the blind leading the blind

Joe C
This is what happens when you spout attack ads left right and centre. You're bound to mess up on one of them.

Can we have some parliamentary cooperation, please?

Get these Clownservatives out of the way.
Canada can't afford more incompetence, more lying, more denying . . .

Rick in NB
What do you think the World leaders think about us airing our dirty laundry at the G8 World Summit. Are we really that redneck.
Please remove this insult to our international image before he starts a fist fight.

The Other Lowell in BC
How embarassing. Making up false accusations and slandering the opposition on the world stage. Please let us have another election so we can get rid of this yahoo. Also a bit of schizophrenic g8. Some want more stimulus and others want to give back stimulus. Well boys and girls which is it?

Alex (Toronto)
That's Harper, embarrassing Canada on the world stage again. Never puts the country's interest ahead of his party, never lets facts get in the way of his politics.

If Harper's claims were true, it would not have been appropriate to talk about it at the summit; even discussing the possibility of excluding Canada puts the idea into listener's heads, and the listeners here included media from other countries. It shows an extreme lack of judgement for Harper to raise the issue at all here, never mind that the story was just fabricated to give Harper a chance for a negative sound byte. Harper can try to blame his staff for fabricating the story, but he can't blame anyone else for his decision to use that podium and that moment to talk about other countries not taking Canada seriously. The only reason Canada would not be taken seriously is because of our inept and self-contradicting leadership.

And of course we can expect the Tory apologists to somehow blame the Liberals for the words coming out of Harper's mouth, as if the media or some Liberal cabal made up the story. Harper will never own up to his own mistakes.

Pat in Ottawa
Just like I said in the photo shoot thingy yesterday. The guy is fun to be with

I believe he trusts his staff as much as he trusts himself. Which is why he went public very fast on this one. Anyways nice save...apalogies less than 24 hours after the incident, Ignatieff probably didn't have time to react

Keep it up...(wait 25 hours maybe?) LOL

Tori
I want a Prime Minister who is above all others honest and true to himself and the country.

We do not have a candidate that fits that bill at present.

This back stabbing, mud slinging, playground BS has to stop!!

Mr Harper, Mr Ignetieff, grow up. I am sick of you both

Bill from Welland
Here we go again, he just can't help himself when he sees an opportunity, no matter how slim it is. Be a statesman first , Mr. Harper, you are at a major international meeting, check your facts as it's obvious your staff doesn't do it for you! What a clown you have turned out to be! Late for pictures? Taking communion in a church where you are not a member? Please resign now and go back to Alberta where, apparently, this type of behaviour is not only accepted but it is expected as well.

kris pittman
Evan Miles in Winnipeg

What is wrong with you? Honestly? Harper was born in Toronto... so what you really mean is a leader who supports the West damn the consequences.

Why is it that you can't even prevent yourself from writing such a foolish comment? Are you so desperate to feel your conservative fingers typing out Harper's name that you fail to realize that this was a mistake? a legitimate mistake by Conservatives that your leader apologized for. I'm no fan of Ignatief since he formed the Liberal Conservative coalition that propped up Harper, but honestly, you comment is totally ineffectual.

DP
Extraordinary?

I'd say it becomes a habit for Harper's inner circle to make a mess every so often.

Maybe he needs to change the way he selects people for that inner circle...

MAL of TO
Was it school or Mom who said, if you throw mud you both get dirty... this event will be a good thing since Harper will get spanked and the other parties will back right off knowing the entire Conservative party is looking for their booboo's. Perhaps we may get a few hours of civility just out of fear...

Cam
way to embarrass Canada on the world stage... it may have been the staffer who gave wrong information but it was Harper who chose to use it... his behaviour once again brings him down. Shameful.

Caroline
It's an understandable mistake by Mr. Soudas since that's the kind of thing Iggy would say and he probably got the information from some undercover Liberal agent trying to embarass Mr. Harper.

Stu from London
OOPS Even if the information was correct, why would Harper take a swipe at the leader of the opposition at an International Forum? And man oh man, when are the conservatives gonna learn to hire competant individuals? Bring on the next gaffe, Harper!

ZAPHOD
I'm starting to think H-Dawg should just tuck tail and skip out on these meetings...

He's starting to get really embarrassing on the international scene.

Scot
Slow day media Continues,ZZZZ

Leo Simfiona in Antigonish
Am I the only person out east who likes the Conservatives? We should have an election to give them a majority in the house.

Sue
I agree with what Bob Rae has said in regards to this whole issue. Why is it that Harper's minions end up taking the blame for what Harper says or does? Is he not man enough to admit he made a mistake and apologize instead of having his Press Secretary do it?

This just shows that Harper is not fit to run this wonderful country of ours.

Sue McCaskill, Victoria, BC

Darron in the UK
Evan, I always find it amazing how people from Winnipeg consider themselves Westerners. Winnipeg is closer to Quebec City as it is to Vancouver!

The problem with Harper has nothing to do with an east west rivalry. It has more to do with basic human principals and decency. Harper wants to align Canada with the same principals that the Bush's embraced that alienated the US to the world. He also tends to make these "rookie" mistakes, like showing up late for photos, which makes him the butt of jokes from the other leaders.

What do you think the president of a country thinks when he/she reads that while the other leaders are trying to give good press on the global issues, Canadas leader is blasting his opposition based on false information.

Harper is supposed to be the leader of Canada. Past Canadian leaders had the respect of all the other leaders.

Michelle
Once again, the Prime Minister has chosen to take the low road on the international stage. He took a conversation about something that should be a positive for Canada and turned it into an (unjustified) attack on his political opponents.

And now, we once again see a Conservative staffer being blamed for a blunder. When will the Prime Minister and his Cabinet start accepting responsibility for their actions?

V.Martel, Calgary West
Evan Miles in Winnipeg... Harper is from Toronto... he is NOT a Westerner. And, yes, he is an embarrassment to the country and to my Calgary West constituency. He remains a bully who is only interested in self-promotion. He is not capable of leading a country as great and diverse as Canada.

JP in North Saanich , BC
Well done Mr Harper.
Like Evan in Winnipeg said Call an election.
You have screw up AGAIN, you have buried the country in debt , your government has screw up the Clark River Reactor- you embarass us at every International meeting- Leaders laughing.
Your Minister of Finance- a let over from Ontario politics- has screwed the fiances of the country.
you have made you mess and left your mark- similar to your friend Geroge BUSH-
SO Please before we go further into the hole - Call that election
BUT dont forget to make those appointmnet to the Senate before.

5th Generation Canadian
Another "oops" on the international stage. We've lost count domestically! Stephen Harper,"Just wrong."

Renee
Stick to representing Canada and the purpose behind the G8. That's what you are there for. Attacking other political parties from home on the world stage has about as much class as two children squabbling about looking out each other's windows in the car.

Dylan, Ontario
Coincidentally, Dimitri Soudas is also the aide who asininely described Harper's consumption of the communion wafer as "immediate" despite video evidence to the contrary. Someone who speaks before thinking is a liability.

I'm working on my M.A. in political science. Perhaps I should send Harper my resume once I'm finished.

mahanna ali
maybe he(ignatieff) did say something to that effect...maybe he didn't i'm sure the media will put their biased tilt on this (non)story...miss dhalla didn't mistreat the nannies...they never stole our tax dollars...i am a believer where there's smoke there's fire.

i am tickled pink by other non news items sush as our pm not eating a cookie at communion service and his being late for a photo session(1 minute and forty seconds)-whoa hold the press!!

how about something a little more news worthy like how the conservatives have regained the lead in the polls...i had to find this through the internet(as have countless others)...when the libs have so much as a 1 point lead we hear all about it like it was the second coming of christ.the canadian media's negative or non coverage of our current conservative government will only help secure their inevitable election victory...

GP
Live by the sword, die by the sword.

Hope this is a lesson to the Cons… stop always being in campaign mode, stick to the issues, and solve the nation’s problems… they are big right now.

In these times the country needs a statesman to lead us …not politicians who are only interested in staying in power.

What a concept, a leader in charge instead of a self serving politician.

adam in Toronto
boys....GROW UP !!!!!

Tom, Winnipeg
kris pittman..
Harper may have been born in Toronto, but he is pretty much a Westerner. Lived in the West most of his life, and identifies with the West. Come on now, former Prime Minister John Turner is considered a Canadian, even though he was born in England.

RC from Guelph
Leo your the only one that still beleives his lies and can't see his true colours.

Smarten up!

david sawkiw[sasakatchewan farmer]
Actually, as a farmer, I am opposed to my government using my tax dollars to teach people in other countries to put ME out of business.

How would you guys in central canada like it if your government were to send aid over to a Chinese car maker??

Mexico Ex-Pat
Wow...2 "media worthy gaffes" in 2 days...

Stevie...you have earned the rank of "Buffoon of the Free World". Stop making yourself look like a moron. Toss in the towel or get rid of your cronies that should really be engaged in schoolyard politics.

CLASSIC FAIL~!

Harper is desperate to avoid an election.
He knows he'll lose.

He'd hide behind the Governor-General again if that would save him.

Ontarian who loves the Conservatives
Well done Mr. Harper. If elections were held, the Conservatives would be the majority, then we can see how three amigos will do! What may have been a Oops, is of course, the typical drama that the media in Canada are waiting to glorify. Typical! And the Liberals have a way of fending for that...and seeking attention as always.

THE Fatman
Fantastic! New chum on the water boys! With a bit of luck the sharks will now refocus their attacks on our PM and leave "The Great Canadian Wafer Caper" and "How Dare Stevie Be Late at the G8" to drift off and wash up on some remote island beach.

bunny
I still remember what Iggy said to Obama when he came here, he was putting down our PM.I do not beleive he said sorry for doing that.Kudo's to the PM for being the bigger man.He is liked, and I don't think the left like that.

Steve From Alberta
Alright Tom From Quebec, the reason the world is in this recession in the first place is because we didn't share the wealth, and we aloud everything to crash because everyone was so greedy, and the people in Quebec the most you get half of Canada's Money and who knows what you do with it, stop complaining harper is doing a fantastic job, and People make mistakes and he has not screwed up nearly as much or as badly as the Liberals and if they get in power it is just going to be a repeat of the previous problems

Evan Miles in Winnipeg
Kris Pittman

Why is is so wrong to have leader that respects what the west has to offer the country??

I remember stories of a certain Liberal leader in the 70's basically giving the west the finger as he rode off into the sunset.

I am tired of seeing the money that is made in the west given to all the whiners in the east. It makes me sick. Ontario car makers get billions of aid in Ontario to keep jobs, yet the people responsible for putting food on YOUR table get nothing. Don't believe it, check Stats Canada to see whome many farms have been lost in the last 20 years. And yes I believe the liberals were in power for most of it.

Mr. Harper has and will always have my vote, and if you don't like that then that is your opinion.

Greg - Signs and Wonders
Add Soudas to the 7,500 other jobs lost ...

7501

Robin
And yet more buffoonery on the international stage courtesy of the Harperbot govt. Please put the horse with the gimp mouth out of its misery. Check your facts Stevie before you open your gob.

Larry in BC
At best the Prime Minister has made a major blunder. As a Conservative supporter, I am truly disappointed that Mr. Harper wouldn't have the sense to double check the accuracy of the information before making a statement about it. However, even if the information had been true it wasn't the time or the place to deal with it.

Jay, Ottawa
We may not get good government out of these people but we sure are getting our dollar's worth of entertainment. It's like "WKRP in Cincinnati" - but government.

Let's compare Harper's job as PM with the episode where they assumed turkeys can fly.

Get over the bashing
RE:Evan Miles in Winnipeg

Seriously its called a FEDERAL position for a reason...Enough of the East West crap..The FEDERAL government is not suppossed to play favorite with the provinces and should not be wasting our time (or the rest of the worlds) bashing opposition parties. Dont you think that we have more important things to deal with? Im seeing the "wests" unemployment rising along with us "eastern" provinces....

Evan from CP
Notice how the P.M. never takes responsibility for his own errors? His mistake should have been followed by his apology not one from the PMO. This is typical of our current government - a lack of ethics paired up with a lack of accountability.

Fred
mistakes can happen. When you are the PM you are so busy that you are at the mercy of your staff. If they screw up, you look bad.

What is important here is how quickly the PM moved to correct the error. Not something you would have seen from Chretien or Trudeau.

Tim McDermott
I sometimes wonder if people realize just how dependent a politician is on his/her staff. Prime Minister Harper is not the person controlling his schedule. He counts upon handlers to ensure that he is in the right place at the right time. They brief him on protocol. They brief him on political strategy, and write his speeches. While a Prime Minister provides direction and guidance to his staff on what his objectives are, he has little direct input into the execution of his orders. Hence, it's not Mr Harper's fault that he almost missed a photo op, it's the fault of the person who was supposed to make sure Mr Harper was supposed to be at the photo op on time. It's not Mr Harper's fault that the information about Mr ignatieff was incorrect, it's the fault of the person who is responsible for gathering the information and writing the speech.

Having said all that, Mr Harper is responsible, and accountable for the actions of his staff. When mistakes are made, he must accept responsibility on behalf of his staff. That's what leadership is about. That accountability extends downard to each ad every member of the Prime minister's Staff. They are responsible for ensuring that they execute their functions to the best of their ability, and they must accept responsibility when they are at fault.
I can respect a man who says, I was wrong. I have no respect for those who blame others.

observer Natty,ON
Is G8 meeting or anywhere abroad appropriate for airing Domestic Laundry anyway.

Kenny indulged in similar by "Stalking" Paul Martin Internationally, embarrassing Canada.

Conservatives seem unable to shed their Reform creedo of Whine & Blame, since hitting the political scene Cdn Parliament has descended into the pits.
Harper is so desperate for anything to one-up a Superior Intellectual, he will say or do anything however outrageous.

hollinm
It must be pretty slow at the G8 for Roger Smith to be treating this as the end of civilization. CTV must think they have a scoop. No such thing. Like everything the media does these days is try to find the smallest thing that the Harper government does and then magnify it. Well I have news for you. This is like the wafer incident...a non event. The PMO has apologized but because they are Conservatives that's not good enough. I am sure Harper will ask penance from the Pope when he visits him. Five hail marys and Harper will be absolved of all sins. Right.

tricky
If Canadian politicians want to "air our dirty laundry", they should do it when they are at home and not at and international event such as the G8. Whether the PM was given incorrect information or not becomes irrelevant.

Didn't this PM's parents ever tell him to behave himself when at someone else's house?

CAC_Steve (Ottawa)
Therein lies the problem

If leaders of all parties would stop trying to seek opportunities to attack each other and focus on dealing with substantive issues and explaining their positions, we would all be better off.

Personally, I am getting tired of all theses barbs being thrown around and people telling me what others think. I feel we would all be better off if we everyone focused on clearly putting their position on any given issue, and letting the Canadian people judge the merits of each position for themselves.

If the party leaders and their followers had the courage to do this we wouldn't be subject to fiascoes like this internationally or nationally, we could direct our energies towards truely addressing the significant economic and social issues that face us and who knows, the resulting civility might actually set an example for the population as opposed to just shaking our head at the childish antics that take place in question period.

.......and our politicians wonder why they garner so little respect from the Canadian Public!

So which leader is prepared to step up to the plate and truely be prepared to change politics to focus on the people......anybody?

I also be interested to hear if others feel this way, or am I the only one?

Vingoe
Karma is a B****! Attacking opposition leaders is unprofessional and is bound to come back and bite you. People may say that it's not Mr. Harpers fualt, as he was given incorrect information, however, the words came out of his mouth. We all have the ability to think before we speak. My mother use to say, "If you don't have any anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."

Robin
Anyone with the moniker 'bunny' should not be taken seriously with your typical non-sensical blather. Please add something that actually makes sense.

Larry NL
I wouldn't be surprised to learn, that this misinformation came directly from the liberal party aiming to discredit the Prime Minister and the Conservative party.

Mich-Vancouver
I am not a conservative but I do have a great deal of respect for PM Harper bc he is our leader, however having said that I find that continually his cabinet ministers act like a bunch of kindergarten rookies with their actions and decisions that turn around and reflect badly on him as PM.

bob C, Trenton
It's not the fact that Mr. Harper is a westerner, educated in Ontario by the way, that he is not liked. The fact is he is an embarrassment to Canada on the world stage and airs dirty national laundry on the international scene.

I'm sick and tired of westerners using the west versus east argument. Diefenbaker was a true westerner who own majority governments across the country.

Winnie from Halifax N.S.
Oops. Prime Minister Harper is NOT perfect GEE! Unlike everyone else in the world of Politics.

I didn't hear the comment but don't believe what I read till I hear it from the horses mouth and I haven't yet.

Believe me I've listened to Question Period in House of Commons and its not The Conservatives that are crude and rude, tell it like it is.

I know who I will vote for in the next election and it will be MR. Harper as I've watched and heard all the GOOD his party has done. Plese put some of that on the front page and the news.

MHB
This type of mistake happened at least one time before with Mr. Harper. We all recall how he reacted to the FALSE stroy published by the NP about forcing Iranian Jews to put yellow David Stars on their clothes. At that time, and without any information checking, our PM rushed into attacking a foreign country to score some points with some local lobbies. Of course, for Iran no one will hold our PM accountable but it is a competely diferent thing to attack the leader of the opposition based on false information.

Fred
What a tempest in a teapot!

Who cares what Bob Rae has to say, he has no credibility.

As for Harper being an embarassment. Just harken back to Martin, Chretien, and Turner. Who could possibibly be more embarassing than those three stooges?

CTV.ca, you are showing your Liberal bias.

Jason, NB
It's shameful. Harper had the chance to make a difference. To be a man of the people. Instead he has lost the confidence of the those who elected him.

I am one of those, how was it put, "Morons" from the east;,and I was open to Harper regardless of the fact that he was a (pardon the pun) "reform-ed" Alliance memeber. People's problem with Harper isn't that he's a westerner, it's with his actions and behaviors.

The west has had some great leaders and if "Ralph Klien" jumped from provincial politics to the federal Conservaties I would vote for him in a heartbeat.

I don't care if your Liberal, Conservative, or NDP; an elected leader not only represents the government of the country but the people as well. To use a G8 summit as means of executing some partisan mud slinging is shameful. I am ashamed of our Government and our Leaders (all of them), how childish. Well, at least this explains the low voter turn out.

give it up!
more mud slinging!!!
if the politicians as much time on helping the people of this country as they do on trying to bash eachother, we would't have unemployment, poverty etc.

keep your energies on important matters, and stop wasting them on bashing eachother!

Evan Miles in Winnipeg
RE: Get over the bashing

I do know it is a FEDREAL position. And yes it does come down to and east/west issues as well.

I see money going to the battered workers of the automotive sector (ontario) the whiners (quebec).
What does the the farming sector, mining sector, timber sector, fishing sector, and the business sector of the prairies get??? I even feel for the maritime provinces, they are neglected as much as the prairies. I was suppose to be a 5th generation farmer, but because the FEDERAL Liberals cut spending to the bone, there was no way for me to do it. As such my family owned farm was split up and sold, leaving me with no heritage and no legacy to pass on to my children.

I want a prime minister like Mr harper, he has tried to help us but the liberal minorty has stopped it. I know Harper is from Toronto, but once you are in the prairies you are a prairie boy for life, no better place on earth to live.

Scott/Hfx
I don't care what the e-mail stated, as it was true anyway. The Liberals when in power made Canada always look like a joke. They absolutely never respected the Americans, and were always never taken serious, and given absolutely no consideration in any matter. The disgrace of the way they treated Bush, President of the USA was astonshing. Trudeau's best bud was Fidel Castro! Iggy, I have no doubt, wishes the worst for Canada right now, so he can tell everyone, he is the Canadian Obama. Give me a break. As for Bob Rae, since when does this guy not spew crap from his mouth on a daily basis? Not one of them could hold a candle to Harper on the world stage, nor will ever have garnered the respect from the other world leaders that Harper has worked hard to obtain. Harper is a team player with the rest of the world, where the Liberals ran a one man, chest thumping show that was most embarrassing to watch.

lisa
remember......when you point your finger at someone there are 3 more pointed back at you!

be careful what you are doing Mr. Harper, it will come back a bite you some day!!

Graeme
It's kind of funny because Iggy never said it, but true or not is kind of beside the point here.

Why is Harper taking political swipes during an INTERNATIONAL event? He is supposed to be representing Canada, not the Conservative Party of Canada. Do you really think people in Europe care about Liberals vs Conservatives?

KMC (Markham, ON)
Perhaps the Government should find out who the "academic" is who sent Soudas the e-mail with the "false" information.

CTV doesn't identify this individual.

Maybe it will turn out to be a little like Minister Lisa Raitt's staffer, who "acidentally" left a sensitive file in CTV.s newsroom and "accidentally" left a taped conversation, with Raitt, in the washroom. She turned out to be the daughter of one of Ignatieff's major fundraisers and a Liberal Party "activist".

Or, maybe the individual, whose son was killed in Afghanistan, who raised a howl when the Prime Minister indicated that Canadian troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan, in 2011. He turned out to be a member of the Liberal Party too.

Surely, CTV's band of "investigative Reporters" :)
should, at least, express some curiosity in this regard.

Brian in Halifax
Well ppl, I hope this opens your eyes to this real idiot. Obviously he has no regard for others or the truth. Who's his aide...the one fired from the health minister? At least he wasn't late for this meeting. Maybe he should have stayed in the toilet. Next time someone hold his head under and flush.

Tom from Oshawa
Harper has been badly served by some on his staff over the years. But it's his responsiblity to deal with it. Some firings might be in order to get their attention.

Prof. Pye Chartt
PLACE RESIGNATION HERE

Dimitri Soudas, your time is up. Take your fond memories of being a prime ministerial press secretary and leave quietly.

--------------

As for PM Harper's attempt to poke his Liberal arch nemesis in the eye on the international stage, while criticizing a self-important royal clown like "Iggy" is virtually irresistible, restraint was in order while abroad.

P.S. Staffers are a highly integral part of any "executive" position, be it governmental or corporate. They can be an asset or a liability.

Corey
Typical Harper - more interested in flinging mud in the sandbox than doing his job.

Niagara George
Can you imagine the outcry if Ignatief said something untrue against Harper, on an international stage!? What are some of you Conservative supporters thinking? This was horrendous, and you all know it.

Our prime minister was summing up the work of a meeting with the leaders of the 8 strongest nations on earth. Perhaps he should have spent the 2 minutes he was late for the picture, preparing something positive for this occasion.

The man must have a problem with truth, but he always has an excuse. It was the camera that lied about the wafer and now it was the assistant who lied about Iggy.

Kim in Calgary
Should anyone be surprised. Someone got caught here with his pants down.

Evan/Kingston
Well, this is the third story in three days on CTV that has attacked Harper for something trivial (did he pocket the communion wafer?, 1min 40secs late for a photo shoot, and now saying something about Iggy and then apologizing for it). Come on, if you have nothing else to write about, then do a story on puppies or something...mix it up a bit. Please.

Brianne
I would love to have members of Parliament that focus on real issues, that work together to solve problems in the best interest of Canadians, members who are honest, do what's right and accept responsibility for their mistakes.

Sadly, I’ll keep dreaming.

conductor274
I remember when a liberal MP called George Bush a moron. Now we have our own moron and his name is Stephen Harper. He's an embarrassment to Canada just as Bush was for the USA.

Allan Eizinas
The problem with releasing attack dogs is that often you lose control of them. This guy Harper is one piece of cake!

p. r
Did you forget that the PM is from Ontario. Looks as if you really don't know anything about this PM you think is so caring,and special

Andrea in Ottawa
The person in the PM's office who gave the false information should resign.


This is not the first time something like this has happened.

Wendy
Well done Harper!
Airing dirty laundry & embarassing Canada on the world stage.
You sure showed the world that is all your concerned with is hanging onto your job.

The next election will be the best ever.
Opposition parties will have no need for attack ads.
You & the rest of your party have shown the world your incompetance.

Noel
Whether or not the information was correct or not is hardly the point.

The issue is that Harper is there as a representative of Canada. As our PM representing us at an international gathering. As such his first priority is to be a statesman in that he should be honorable, mesured, respectful and professional. The decision to air internal dirty laundry was his and his alone. SHAME

Partisanship aside, East-West, North-South, English-French is all moot. The issue is professionalism. I want a professional representing our interests at a G8 summit not a sniping, petty little man who barks like a yappy little dog.

Pocket that wafer.

Anne
The PM should not be airing this kind of thing at a meeting such as this, very un-leaderlike. Having said that, what kind of staff are they hiring on the Hill? Hasn't been that long since the 'files left in the studio' and the 'audio tape in the bathroom' fiascos. Maybe they need to find more competent HR recruiters.

mhz
Evan Miles from Winnipeg should cool his rhetoric as he is giving people the wrong idea about Winnipeg and the West. I also came from Winnipeg and I can assure him that people in the East are intelligent. Easterners can see Harper very clearly and they are not impressed, but anyone who votes for a PM based on whether he is from the East or West is missing some marbles.

JFC
Sure Harper, Mr Tar Sands, is from the west but he would never have won the election without support in the east. sad this is where Canada is at esp at a time when intelligence and common sense is needed desperately. We are actually starting to fall behind even the once ultra conservative USA in intellectual terms. The future of this country's place of respect in the World is starting to look very doubtful indeed.

Cal in Ottawa
Wow, yet another example of the PMO being idiots! How could someone pass such information to the PM without verifying it? The PM is ultimately responsible for his staff and there seems to be a pattern on incompetence here over the past couple of years. He is really not well-served! Surely there are better, more qualified people looking for work who would be glad to assist the PMO.

As to the substance of the article, Canada is really only there because the US wants us there.

Call a spade a spade
Funny how everyone on here is accusing Harper of mud-slinging. Where were they when the Liberals spent years in power talking about a Conservative "hidden agenda". Although that was based on facts right?

Ed - Ontario
Game #2 of 2

Where's Waldo? (Steven Harper)

Again he screws up a photo session.

This time when Steven Harper speaks, it is a double whammy.

1) Again with a Negative political view, against an other political party.

2) Then the PC party, not just Steven Harper, inform the Canadian public, of false information.

Kevin
RPK - Kitchener

You want a "comment on FACT"? "Orientated" is not a word, but a backformation of the word orientation. Maybe more people would take you more seriously if you could get a grasp on the proper English language. I dont know which is more incorrect; "orientated" or "Right Honourable Stephen Harper".

Elizabeth, Ontario
Evan Miles In Winnipeg ~ not all of us "morons in the east" are Liberal supporters. I personally am happy with Mr Harper and will vote for him when the next election comes along. Please don't classify everyone in the east as anti-Harper. Problem here is our votes are overpowered by the morons in Toronto.

Sanjay
Some of you are parroting Bob Rae saying Harper needs to take the blame, and not the underling to gave him the incorrect information.

I disagree. Harper the cat is obviously not going to relax his guard while he is away from Canada, and let the mice play.

The staffer who gave Harper is at fault, not Harper for going after Ignatieff, because it does sound like something Iggy would say. Note that it WAS some other academic that uttered the comments.

So don't fault Harper, and leave the blame where it should go, and thats the staff that gave the information as fact when it was rumour.

1mac
Clean House Mr. Harper

Fire Dimitri Soudas ...

Though the buck stops with you and you relied on being briefed properly... the team you have is letting you down.

Mitchell
Really? From across the pond.

Mr. Harper your tactics are Repubilican, attempting to appeal to the lowest common demoninator your (not the) electorate.

It all feels very Paris Hilton.

I'm embarassed.

craig
Harper needs to focus and pay attention to where he is. This is not the summer bbq/pancake breakfast circut. This guy is embarassing!!

marc from calgary
its sad to see comments like Evan from winnipegs.

There is such a lack of humility it some of the conservatives (and there is some in every group).

But this is a clear message of a screw up, and instead of apologising, he uses it again to attack liberals.

Grow up even. If Harper shot your dog by mistake you'd prob have some excuse of why your dog was in the way and how a liberal would have shot him, ran over him, and scooped him up with a shovel and threw him in a ditch....

Jim
I wonder if Ignatieff is going to accept the apology or launch the counter attack from his French Villa.

CrackerJackLee
it seems like a lot of media burping - they have nothing to talk about, LOL!

i used to vote Liberal until they became a bunch of "crapeaus" (pocket-lining-bend-over-stoopies). they should have been disbanded after Martin and his brothers put the blade into Chretien's back and certainly after they were found to be bureau-kratic-klepto-maniacs.

i dislike the Conservative-Reform Party, but i trust Harper to speak for Canada's interest.

we, like the Russians, are a Northern Country. we use energy so that our children don't freeze in the dark. why is there no Accord Allowances for this fact? because competetive Europeans want Canada's economy to take three steps back. Europeans do not lose sleep over Canadian issues such as the cold, the dark, the heavy snowfalls, and the long distances we must travel.

Do you still think the world is getting warmer from energy use? Statistics are saying something else. And why are other planets also getting warmer? Are they abusing their energy also?

Jill Van Zelst
I would think that it would be of proper protocol if a PM or any dignitary were to go to a function he/she would review proper etiquette procedures especially if it is pertaining to religious beliefs.He never should of received communion if he is not of Roman Catholic belief's and a practicing Catholic. A formal blessing would of more proper than receiving a communion that is so precious and meaningful to people who daily practice their faith.

SK Doctor
As usual, the Liberal-biased media of this country gave this the helium treatment...just remember come election time - if the Liberals win, you ALL will be paying more tax and enjoying less freedoms...

Jack R
I guess he had a hard time speaking with a foot in his mouth.

Bob in Lewisporte
Typical of Harper's spin doctors. Anything to stick a needle in Ignatieff.

I sure won't vote Conservative this time around..

Dorothy
I feel it was an inappropriate forum for any Prime Minister (whether Liberal or Conservative)to make the remarks. At this international meeting PM Harper should have stayed focused on issues relevant to G8 discussions and not tried to indulge in partisan bad mouthing.

I find the constant knee jerk reactions of East/West bashing on this site everytime a politician is criticized very irritating. To automatically refer to "morons from the East" because someone has a criticism of our PM is not helpful. How can we have open, honest dialogue of any issues when anytime someone raises a concern they are labelled as a "moron from the East", a "whiny Quebecer" etc.

People constantly complain about the quality of our politicians but maybe we are getting what we deserve. We seem to be incapable of showing respect to each other so why do we expect our politicians to be any different.

I grew up in Ontario but have lived in Alberta, and now BC for over 15 years. I have loved each province I have lived in and have met fabulous wonderful people in each province. We may not always agree, but can't we at least be respectful

Gibsons, BC

Nick in Gatineau
To Evan in Winnipeg.

The reason why the west gets nothing the majority of the time is because the resources and products which the western provinces produce are 100 % eligible for export. Any federal funds that goes to Help is deemed a subsidy by the US congress and they would slap a 19 or 20 % surtax on everything.

You can't get water pipelines except to produce oil. You can't get Hay in times of drought. Etc...

The US bypasses their own agreements by saying that the 'States' legislation is above that of the federal government therefore any subsidy is technically speaking not a subsidy.

Here in Canada we can't do this because of the way our legislations are written.

If you want money, go see your nearest US congressman and bribe him.

lissa in O-town
Really not the time or place to be doing such things. Whether Mr. Harper is fit to lead the country is really not the issue here. The issue is the appropriateness of the attack given the forum and the question he was asked. In this case, Mr. Harper showed poor form.

Roger T
WOW, Harper doesn't just look like a fool at the G8 meetings but even at home. It's low, pathetic and scum to put attack ads out with false and mis-leading informations. With this kinds of dirty tactics no wonder the economy and country is in shamble.

Just look at all the wrongs that his staff has gotten themselves into in the past few months.

WE NEED CHANGE NOW!

BadP, Edmonton
It is embarassing that the Prime Minister tries to use an international forum to criticize his internal opposition.

However, voices calling for election of the Liberals miss one important point: Liberals are as stupid, incompetent and humiliating as Conservatives (remember how Jean Cretien went to a ski resort when all world leaders attended the King Assad funeral?)
And in addition to this, they are theieves! In my opinion, there is alternative to Conservatives.

martin in toronto
Maureen Dowd in the NY Times does a deadly take on Ms Palin ... I wish she'd do a couple of articles focused on Mr. Harper. Probably be nothin' but paragraphs of spitting, whining and back-patting, though ... that's all the Conswervatives do now.

Too bad we don't have any active Conservative Statesmen or Stateswomen. They were all smart enough to leave when MacKay sold the PCs up the river.

Shawn in Montréal
What can one say other than:

KARMA!

Of course the PMO will play this down as a minor gaff... meanwhile the PM is playing Holier than Thou about the Communion-gate story.

Reap and Sow, Mr. Prime Minister. Reap and Sow.

Kel
What a great reason to stop making attack ads!! I can't say I'm a fan of them anyways.

I was raised on the golden rule of "due unto others as you'd have done to you." Why is it okay for representatives of our country to call each other names and point out weaknesses?

Childish, childish, childish... and this time, they're busted.

Steven Boucher
And another thing, when will PM Harper STOP pointing fingers at Ingatieff or others and start acting responsibly. My God this man does nothing but blame blame blame, does he ever once own up to anything? Politics is in complete disgrace when a leader has no common sense, sounds like a whining baby and childess at the blame game. GROW UP HARPER!

CVS
Why can't our so-called prime minister try to act like a statesman at international events like this? No one outside of Canada cares what Ignatieff may or may not have said. Harper is a constant embarrassment.

simon
Another Blunder while Harper was "Just Visiting" Italy.
This will add to his pocketing the wafer, disrespecting G8 schedules and turning up late, and conflicting with Prentice who said Canada will reduce emissions by 60-70% while Harper had a concensus on 80% by 2050.

All of this while the deficit is expected to hit 700 Billion.

Nice job, Harper !!!!!!

Norm Qc
Harper is so desperate and so scared of Iggy that he will say anything to hold power.
Keep it up Stephen, your time as PM is soon over.

Bryan
I don't care who's in government, I just wish Canada would stop blocking progress on environmental action and instead become a world leader when it comes to cutting carbon emissions.

Jeff
As someone from Alberta who voted conservative in the last election, I find these continued attacks are really starting to alienate me from the party I voted for to get a local voice into the House of Commons. Let's concentrate on 'real' issues, this is just getting stupid already.

guppies
Doesn't matter he is late or not.

Doesn't matter what he said.

For sure :

1). We are in recession

2). we are 50B+ in the hole and counting.

3). We spend millions and millions on Brian Mulroney scandle

on and on and on.....


Well, The next Election will tell.

Ontario Jim
"He slammed Ignatieff..." He slammed Ignatieff? Doesn't it jump out at anybody that this article doesn't actually include what he said? I'll have to assume that there was a wrestling match.

oh and... Slam-Gate -FIST!-

Frank
Easy for these hair-brain idiots in here think that to err is inhuman. I'm putting my money on the fact that not one of Harperes critics in here could pass a GAT. Probably don't even know what it is, but they think they have all the answers. Apologies have been extended and I wouldn't be so sure that it wasn't a set up from the git-go.

Alan in Montreal
Why doesn't Harper attempt to convince us to vote for him by running the country in such a manner that we will want his party in office, instead of consistently attempting to demonize the opposition. This is pathetic and as a citizen and taxpayer, I'm sick of it!

Harper: Inspire me to vote for your party instead of trying to scare me with propaganda.

Nic MacD
Jay B - I totally agree with you! An international summit is not the place to be trying to score one against the Liberal party.

Do your job and represent Canadians!

zwinky
I am so tired of politicians in general and Mr Harper in particular being more interested in name calling and attacking than in actually doing something constructive.

Mr. P.M. it is an insult to those of us who have genuine concerns for our country and want to hear IDEAS and SOLUTIONS that you seem to have no interest in anything but attempts to make your opponent look bad.

Parliament Hill is not a schoolyard so please, please, PLEASE can we stop the childishness in light of this latest embarassment?

Ken - Calgary
This man is an absolute disgrace to this country. Anyone who supports Harper needs to have their heads checked! Using the G8 as a medium for attacking his opponent - using LIES nonetheless - is an utter embarassment, and he should be apologizing for it immediately. of course, knowing Harper and his draconian ego, this won't happen. Harper should be stepping down immediately. He has NO RIGHT to be running this country.

peter in bc
Dear Mr. Harper:

"What a maroon!"

Time to focus on being a PM rather than attacking the opposition with false accusation or misinformation. I have enough of the attack ads. Pass a new law that states attack ads can only be run 30 days prior to an election. Enough with the pathetic party tactics and run the country in a responsible manner like those who voted for you (yeah, not me!) intended for you to do.

Worst PM ever..........

Scott Stelmaschuk
Actually, in regards to Evan Mills, Harper is not really a Westerner. He was born and raised in Ontario before coming out to Alberta for work.

Our only true Western Prime Minister was Kim Campbell, who was born in British Columbia, and we all remember how that turned out...

This is not an issue of East Vs West that has to do with why certain people don't like Stephen Harper. I'm from Saskatchewan, born and raised, and I don't support the Prime Minister, EXACTLY for reasons like this.

During an election, we can expect candidates and leaders to throw the odd jab at each other and we tolerate it because it's an election.

But when a Prime Minister uses an international opportunity and conference to slam his opponent, that's pretty low in my books.

The G8 summit is a chance for world leaders to come together and discuss the problems facing the world and how we can best deal with them before they happen; not a stomping ground for tearing apart your home opposition.

Regardless of the facts, and the idea that it was a staffer's mistake, the Prime Minister must apologize for the attack AND must apologize for using an international forum as a stump speech against his opponents.

Canada Goose Whistler
I only hope the conservatives can finally now see.
Harper is at the G8 to represent Canada to promote Canada on the world stage. It cost us money to send him there to represent us.

The attack on Mr Ignatieff on the world stage shows everyone in the world what?

It shows the world that he is not interested in anything happening at the G8.
It shows the world he is just visiting the G8.
It shows the world he is only there to promote himself.
Ignatieff has had more than one chance to form a coalition with the Bloc & NDP he was not interested. He supported Harper & lost votes because of this.
Ignatieff is the only one that is actually working for Canadians.

Enough already
Here is a crazy concept, instead of spending all of his time trying to dig up dirt on the opposition, why doesn't Harper just do his job. If he is that worried about losing in a vote, do a better job at being prime minister. Do a good enough job that people will be proud to call you their prime minister.

and to Evan Miles in Winnipeg, if you check the facts you will learn that Stephen Harper is from Ontario, not out west. So your comment about people from the east coast not liking him because he is from the west is stupid and makes no sense.

Jay, Ottawa
Fred said, "...CTV.ca, you are showing your Liberal bias."

LOL. One day they're accused of being Conservative hacks the next day they have a Liberal bias.

Just because they report a story that you don't like doesn't automatically imply that there is bias at work.

David from Alberta
Well if you do get enough idiots you can be come a leader of anything. This proves it and why can't we get someone elected who represents the people like Mr. Williams. Harper is the 3 stooges wrapped into one and better to keep you mouth closed and open it and make yourself look like an idiot. Vote for him, we have too many hockey fans who think maybe next year will be better. Well it's not getting better and we are sinking.. What ever happen to Haper's party of holding politician accountable?

Henry
I guess Evan Miles is the shining example of intelligent debate we should expect from the West? Congratulations on making a stupid political error a regional divide!

Jeff, Calgary
Wish our PM would just grow up and promote policies instead of attacking personalities.

It would also help if he cleaned out the bunch of juveniles in the back offices.

James Tod
I think Harper's team is unable to multi-task. Between the stupid wafer thing, the almost no-show for another G8 leaders photo op and now an outright lie fed to him by one of his top officials.

If nothing else, this incident cements Harper's architype as an ultra-partisan.

Bee
Evan Miles in Winnipeg,

This isn't about East & West. Stop trying to divide us.

Patrick
Evan Miles:

Are you clueless? Do you have communication devices such as TV and the Internet?
Your poor down trodden "west" attitude is sooooo old! We live in a global society. You're as outdated ad those fool separatists in Quebec. I bet you'd love to see those separatists and their stupid ideas separate and get lost.
Well heads up Evan baby, you're the same as them.
Maybe if you were out working your fields right now instead of spewing crap, you wouldn't need all those payouts you so proudly boast about from StatsCan.

jon
Please be a real Prime Minister of Canada and take the high road especially on the International Stage.

I believe Ignatieff will never "attack" his adversaries on Foreign Soil.

deal with it
to Evan Miles in Winnipeg

You sit there and brag about the west but you seem to be forgetting something, most of the people working in the west and making all of the money that is being sent to the east are from the east. I was all through the prairies and the west coast for quite a while and almost everyone you meet is from the east coast. When you ask company owners why there are more easteners they reply "because they work harder and do a better job".

Taryn
These false attacks on Ignatieff during a time when our leader should be representing our country make him look like a little insecure school boy. Ignatieff seems to really have him scared.

I can’t wait till the next election.

How embarrassing for Canada.

bellainottawa
Firstly, Mr.Harper is at the G8 meeting in Italy, therefore he should be acting like a leader instead of going off message to attack the opposition.

Secondly, shouldn't his spokesperson have substantiated that email before passing it along? He's supposed to be a "great" spokesman for the PM. He surely failed at that today.

Bad all around from the PM and his office.

Sanjay
Some of you are parroting Bob Rae saying Harper needs to take the blame, and not the underling to gave him the incorrect information.

I disagree. Harper the cat is obviously not going to relax his guard while he is away from Canada, and let the mice play.

The staffer who gave Harper is at fault, not Harper for going after Ignatieff, because it does sound like something Iggy would say. Note that it WAS some other academic that uttered the comments.

So don't fault Harper, and leave the blame where it should go, and thats the staff that gave the information as fact when it was rumour.

Paul Vancouver Island
Our Prime Minister should be gracious and diplomatic while outside the country. He just cannot leave his small town politics behind. He should realize as Prime Minister he represents all of us not just conservatives.

We need a new fresh, polite, welcoming face as Prime Minister.

mark
Oh please, If Ignatieff loved Canada so much why did he live abroad for 35 years and NEVER come back till he was offered a leadership postion. Harper loves this country and is man enough to admit wheh he has made a mistake. Show the LIberal who would do the same.

HG
Hmmmm another low blow by Harper..when are these men in power of our country going to grow up and stop playing these childesh games. I am sick of hearing our PM bash the Liberals because that is the only way they feel they can take majority away! What happened to winning an election because you have the best interest and ideas for our country..where has that competition gone to these days. I have to say it would be REALLY nice to see a woman in power to know if this is a game that all politicians play or just the childesh little boys club that seems to keep popping up all over the news. Whether it be news worthy or not if affects our country and how we are protrayed across the world and I for one am proud to be a Canadian and do not want that reputation tarnished by immature grown men that are supposed to be representing our country!!

Laura Langstaff
What a goof! And I mean that in the full institutional sense of the word.

Sam C
"Can't this man act like a Prime Minister - at least when he is on the international stage."

He did, as far as I'm concerned.

When a staffer gives him information, the PM doesn't have time to double-check it -- that was the staffer's duty.

When made aware of the error, Harper apologized immediately AND publicly: that, to me, is the mark of a statesman.

Matt
Harper is starting to slip and fall everywhere. I want my solid leader back NOW.

becky of calgary
Well that must have almost killed premier Harper to apologize but he did.
Personally I am not sure I'd vote for him again anyway. There's his 'always not there' MP in Calgary Rob Andrews who has recently surfaced for a day or two but never ever called me back to answer my questions at all but then neither did the Hon Harper .

David, Mississauga
Looks like Mr. Soudas will be out of a job, as he should be. Harper, like any leader, relies on his staff to provide him with accurate information. He has to trust that what he's being told by his staff is correct. When a blunder like this occurs, especially on the international stage, someone's head has to roll.

Christian, NL
When a man apologizes for something he did wrong, thats a real man.

At least he has the guts to admit when he makes a mistake.

Mattman in Ottawa
What a blunder! The international stage is no place to continue the circus that goes on at home. We don't send our leader to these meetings to score points against his opposition at home!

But, kudos to Harper for the prompt, if grudging, appology.

CraigW
Jeez, if Harper had to apologize for every lie he told, he wouldn't have time for anything esle. It's a good thing he only apologizes for the ones he gets caught at.

Benny
What's the big deal?
So Harper got his facts wrong, that's nothing new.
Canadians expect these kinds of antics from the Harper-Cons now, it's their legacy.
Don't expect honorable actions from the dishonorable.

Patricia
A totally inappropriate remark to be made on the world stage whether the quote was true or not. Mr. Harper is always playing partisan politics and does not know when he should keep his flappy mouth shut. As Prime minister he is a total disgrace to our wonderful country. I hope we kick him out of office and out of Ottawa SOON!

Peter Rapsey
We don't want an election, but we NEED one to get rid of the communication nastiness and incompetence of the Harper team. It has been hurting Canada for over 2 years and is continuing to do so. Please Mr. Harper do one decent thing for Canadians...quit or call an election.

A better headline would be...
"PM apologizes for misguided attack on Afghanistan"

Ron
The conservative machine, a group of ex Republicans and young Bush lovers keeps attacking everyone no matter what, I remember all the things the Conservatives were going to do when they were in opposition, funny how they have changed, Harper and his small minded attack ad gang need to go, we need real statemen in this country, so stop airing your dirty laundry on the word stage, and get something done at home and aboard that is positive , stop all the attacks!!

Bonnie from Quebec
East vs West
West Vs East
Its's the same old story over and over, so let's move on.

I'm not great fan of Mr. Harper's, and like it or not he has been elected as Prime Minster of Canada, but the negative campaigning has to stop.

James in New Brunswick
This is a case of forgetting the old adage,

"Keep your words soft and sweet,
For you'll never know which you'll have to eat!"

We are making a big deal out of things that really aren't that important. Imagine if PM Harper carried on like Berlusconi or Bill Clinton! That would be scandalous!

Mr. B.
I wish Harper would just stick to the international business at hand & not get into petty Canadian mudslinging. What makes it worse, the insinuations were false. The other leaders have the class & brains to stay away from that type of stuff.

linda
To Evan,
I am from the west- Harpers riding and I am embarrassed by the man! Does he think any other country wants to hear his cheap attacks. No class what so ever. So how many mistakes is this in the last few weeks that the conservatives have blamed on their aides! The buck stops with the leader, hire some compentant people or take the heat. Keep your dirty style of politics off the world stage and try to make it to the offical picture taking without keeping all other world leaders waiting!

GJ
Canada irrelevent in the G8 ?? How dare they !

Canada is irrelevent on the world stage. Get your facts right!

Of course Canadians have a complex about that. We matter , really we do.

If you say it enough maybe you will convince yourselves. Air time in the large non-Canadian markets about Canada are limited to "Toronto Stinks", "Whacko decapitates person on bus", and "PM prorogues Parliament".

Hard to matter when thats what you offer.

J
Staff is getting nervous about the likely upcoming election this fall so they start doing cheap shots like that towards the opposition. It's obvious it will backfire badly. Meanwhile Soudas' career as PM aid is toasted.

T in Barrie
This man has class. He did not sidestep or deny a mistake, he apologized. Classy.

Doug Rutherford, Whitehorse
Leader speaking at international events do not include local politics in their speeches. It's considered good etiquette. After all, most of the leaders attending neither know or care much about the local politics in other countries. It's the equivalent of someone you don't know well inflicting hours of their home movies on you.

Now, we have another reason for not doing it.

Sober, Newmarket
An honest mistake followed by greatness of heart to apologise publicly. Mr. Harper is a great leader at the right time for Canada. Liberals made and make the same kind of mistake all the time. The vultures will probably feast on this one for a while, but, at the end of the day, greatness is not about being perfect but about doing the right thing - which he did by apologising.

Paul
Harper using the world stage for his partisan invectives is the issue he needs to appologize for and needs desparate coaching on.

Dave - Seattle, WA
I am sure that many leaders, including our current President have made gaffes and erroneous statements made with incomplete information.

Stephen Harper has proven to be an effective leader, both in terms of fiscal policy (your government was running a surplus, while our government was running our into the ground with massive debts), and foreign policy.

In the words of Christ, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." The fact that he apologized at the first available opportunity speaks volumes about your Prime Minister. You should be proud as Canadians to have him at this time.

Joseph in Toronto
Why do I get the feeling that Stephen Harper has never gone to Dale Carnegie?

Danny Dinosaur
Who is to blame for this error? I would say it should be blamed on who ever was unable to leave politics behind. Blame the one who is so blinded by a desire to humiliate any opposition to their own ideas that they are unable to control it - even on a world stage. Blame the person who thinks they can improve themselves at the expense of others, rather than from their own good ideas. Blame the person that is so blinded that they actually thought it was appropriate to say, in that venue - even if it was true.
That is who I blame, but I must admit it is hard to nail that down to a single person. It almost seems to be the wolf pack mentality of a group of people.
Practicing or attempting to practice dirty politics on a world stage is not what I would like to see Canada known for. For that, MR. Harper is clearly at fault.

Hubert
I have observed the more overt actions of the PMO staffers over the last several months and end up with a tied score for mean -spiritedness vs. incompetence. In the last week : an obvious lack of briefing re the protocol around taking part in a religious service in a church not of one's religious affiliation, not able to get the PM to a photo-op. on time, and now , hungry , as usual, for the kill, passing on info to the PM that was incorrect.On second thought , to heck with the mean spiritedness, its got to be sheer incompetence!

allan
It does not matter whether the P.M. speaks rightly or wrongly, as the eastern power block is against him no matter what he does. I pray the west seperates from this mess! Go away Ontarion and Quebec!

Hunter Mars
More Tom foolery from the kings of idiocy .
No attack ads required .
They are implodeing,quite nicely,all by themselves .
This man (?) is a huge embarassment to our nation .
Cannot wait for the next election to kick him to the curb .
Neo-cons always rise in the polls when parliament is in recess .
They can't do any danage while not sitting .
Once they return the Liberals will surge ahead .

wolfie
Canada is in a heap of trouble the way I see it. Call an election, spend another 300 million, and get another incompetent government from whoever wins, guaranteed. Throw out Harper, and replace him with who? One of the three muskateers from the other parties? None of them are one iota better and are all an embarassment to most Canadians. What smart policy initiatives have you heard from them other than criticism that warrants a vote for them? Please name one before you demand yet another election.

Sam
I could care less whether Mr. Harper was from the East, the West, the North, or anywhere else. My problem with Mr. Harper (a concern shared by two thirds of the country, I might add) is that his first instinct is to attack and divide Canadians instead of uniting us. His Press Secretary told him that Mr. Ignatieff said something, and instead of asking for the full quote, and the date, place, and time it was said, he chose to run with it.

A Prime Minister has a duty to get things right. He has a duty to represent Canada with a certain level of dignity on the world stage. Instead, Mr. Harper is fast becoming a global laughing stock, who has exploited a crisis to divide our country at every step. Compare that to US President Barack Obama, who has united his country.

No, it has nothing to do with East vs. West. As it happens, I live in Western Canada. I'm originally from the very riding that Mr. Harper now represents. I have no fondness for the Ontario-centric view of Canada. I can think of a number of Tory MP's that I do respect (Jim Prentice, Diane Ablonczy, and James Moore come to mind). No, my problem with Mr. Harper isn't that he's from the West. It's that the first Western Prime Minister we've had in so long has turned out to be an utter disgrace.

Concerned Canadian
Only people who have no real arguments stoop to name calling and personal attacks.

Mr. Harper's gaffe is not an isolated case. Consider the attack ads that he has been running against Mr. Ignatieff. Unable to criticize Ignatieff's arguments, he attacks the man.

This is a sign of desperation.

Unfortunately, there are still many people who lack the basic education to be able to think critically about such behaviour. Notice that many of the Conservative supporters who respond to these posts fall back on two irrational positions: raise old,irrelevant issues about Mr. Martin or Mr. Chretien, or call Mr. Ignatieff names, as if this constituted an argument.

I'm sorry folks. Mr. Harper apologized for his error- good for him. But the fact that he would stoop to this, and that many of you would defend him, is indicitive of a kind of mind set that is fundamentally at odds with good reasoning.

Andrew Mason
PM says something a little off - media pounce on it, one correspondent says it may outshine the "message" the PM intended to come out of the event, media then ensures that it does. What's the story here? I can see tomorrow's headlines: "a week of gaffes", e.g. the non-issue about communion waffer, the non-issue of his two minute tardiness and the one immediately retracted attack on Iggy. Yawn.

Dave in Manotrick
A good aid would have stuck his wafer in his mouth and shut him up before he stuck his foot in again.

GET REAL
To Harper,
From Canada,

Your fired !!!!

You have proven to be the worst PM Canada has ever had.

How sad you have become.

P.S. Stephane Dion would have made a better PM than you turned out to be.

FA OTTAWA
ohhhhh...well this is quite embarrassing. Never did like that harper!

Brian in Orangeville
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please"
-Mark Twain

M
I say fire your aide!!! Clearly your support staff are regularly dropping the ball.
Twice late for photo-ops and now this? All at the same meeting?
These employees need to realize exactly what's required of them. Kick them to the curb-that aught to get the lesson through loud and clear!

M M B Ont
To all those who are once again bashing Mr Harper, since when are each of you PERFECT ? I am sure that each and every one of you has made fools of yourselves, made errors in judgement at some time and have been an embarrasment to someone at some time in your life.
Reading all these Harper bashing comments must make Canadians looks pretty stupid and irrespectful to one abother to all the people in other countries who get to read this crap. Only in Canada and only with the help of the Canadian press are we Canadians subjected to such immature and shameful behaviours. These comments against Harper , be it from media or citizens are indeed a disgrace to Canada.

Mikey
Sure is a weird thing to attack Ignatieff at the G8.
Some of the leaders there might know Ignatieff some not, just plain weird. Obviously obsesed with trying to discredit Ignatief to hold on to power.
I'm really surprised that he didn't say. The wafer made me do it!
Soon he will be off to play hide the wafer with the Pope.

rj
Evan is there any wonder there is conflict between East and West when ppl like you or just you call us here in the East 'morons"Having been out West i do know that it is not the majority that fel this way but please you really need to consider your words more carefully.

M M B Ont
To those of you who claim Harper did not apologize, had you listened further to the news, he was shown apologizing to Mr Iggy immediately after he learned of the error in information he received. It takes a real man to quickly apologize as he did. Now how many of you will apologize for accusing Mr Harper of not apologizing?

I thought so.

Paul of T.O.
I can't wait for the next federal election to get rid of that idiot Harper the rest of his lying Cons.

Deb
This is not the first time Stephen Harper has opened his mouth and shot himself; I find it quite interesting the Conservs attaching the Lib leader from the outset - I do wonder if Mr. Harper is worried about his own future - obviously the future of Canada and the economy is on the much lower end of the totem pole; I'm not a political afficionado, however, I do get tired of the kindergarten games that are played.

reidjr
Sam
Obama was late yesterday yet the media did not go crazy and most people were fine with it.Here harper is late and people go on as its a awful thing.

Time to change the channel
OMG! This on the heels of wafer/cracker-gate and Almost,(but not) missing the photo-op gate - now apology-gate. Imagine the screaming and wailing had the PM not apologized. I cannot believe CTV is actually begging for our support and money to prop them up when they are more concerned with their Liberal agenda than reporting real, factual news.

dwigget
slow week in news = attach PM every chance possible. between this & the whining over 1 min 40 seconds late for a photo op, I'm pretty much turned off to news media right now.

(btw: I'm non-partisan)

Adam in Ottawa
Not surprised at all that he would say something so idiotic, but floored that he actually apologised this time! The great part is that Iggy and the Reds don't even have to say anything back. The Conservatives will continue to make themselves look foolish all on their own! BTW, are tax dollars still being spent for someone to go through 25 year old video clips to get dirt on Ignatieff?

Rae
Refreshing to see a national leader who is willing to admit a mistake immediately and rectify it. No other recent Prime Minister of any party was willing to admit being wrong about anything, ever. But I think all of them made some mistakes.

dwayne-ottawa
Harper one screw up after the other is he in compitation with Mulroney to see who will be Canada's worse Prime Minister? Boy these two nut jobs make Joe Clark look great.

Mike
PM apologizes for pretending to be a PM.

Rick
What a buffoon. This man is representing us on the world stage?

How embarrassing.

Oh, and Dimitri - it was nice knowin' ya.

Steve Dolesch
Why can't Harper apologise to Ignatieff in his presence? Instead he apologises few thousand miles away. Just an observation.

Jinder
Mr. Harper showing his true colors, over and over??????????

Darrell
It is rather sad that a few comments here resort to simplistic assumptions about east/west differences. Bottom line is that Harper should be examined, credited and held accountable for his actions ... not where he comes from or who is doing the assessing.

Surely, we are bright enough to examine the merits and demerits of his words and actions. I could care less where he comes from, but I anxiously look forward to his ouster - not because he is a Westerner, but because the country deserves better. It would be wonderful if we could find and elect a dignified leader that is capable of speaking frankly to us without spin and without calculating what damage his or her words and actions can cause to his or her opponents.

Richard L. Provencher
My wife, and I are seniors and very proud of our PM Harper. He deserves a majority in the next election. If the naysayers had been paying attention, he has garnered a lot more respect for Canada in the world press. Only in our papers, does the nonsense get such space. I think all reporters who constantly write nasty things about our PM should have a cut in salary because they have so little imagination to write about other positive issues.

Kris
Kudos to Harper for apologizing and making it right.

Margaret
At least Mr. Harper is man enough to recognize a mistake, and has the fortitude to admit it and apologize for it. He's not blaming anyone. He's just 'fessing up. As a good, honest, man should.

WHY is this headline news??? Get a grip!

Margaret
Medicine Hat

SM from Brampton
Oh WOW!!! Was Harper's face really that red when he was apologizing?

Our PM looks like a cry baby, he's probably kicking the people in the nut sacs who gave him that false info.

BadP, Edmonton
There was a critical error in my original message:

It is embarassing that the Prime Minister tries to use an international forum to criticize his internal opposition.

However, voices calling for election of the Liberals miss one important point: Liberals are as stupid, incompetent and humiliating as Conservatives (remember how Jean Cretien went to a ski resort when all world leaders attended the King Assad funeral?)
And in addition to this, they are theieves! In my opinion, there is NO alternative to Conservatives.

By the way, do you remember a prime minister whose cabinet colleage called the American President "an idiot" and American senators "bastards"? He didn't react on that at all but when that lady called him a lousy leader he fired her on the spot. How embarassing was that? Good old Liberals...

ADM Saskatchewan
I guess the Prime minister should have shown he did not trust his staff to do their jobs and asked if the info was verified or not. But even if it had been verified as correct the summit was not the place to make it public.

Richard L. Provencher
I had to comment again, this time re Mr. Ignatieff slamming Mr. Harper, the other day, when Iggy was supposed to be giving a lecture to an international conference. How come it did not become a headline, or why does he not apologize for his nasty comments attacking our PM, which took him off message to his audience? It is tiring to see the local wolves always waiting to jump on our PM. There is a majority of Canadians who like the work our PM is doing, ie our economy is rebounding. Now, that's news! Where are the positive headlines? The Liberals keep talking election again in the Fall. Now why doesn't the press tell Iggy to settle down? He's hardly back in Canada two years and already wants to be PM.

SamJ
Of course, Chretien never embarrassed us on the world stage. "“A proof is a proof. What kind of a proof? It's a proof. A proof is a proof. And when you have a good proof, it's because it's proven.”

Alysha Ont
Strange how just a few days ago, Iggy was shown on TV in Calgary talking against Mr Harper. Stranger too is the fact that there was no story on here or no opportunity to make comments on Mr Iggy talking negatively about Mr Harper.

PLain to see how anything Iggy says is ok but if Harper says it, then Canadians are ashamed. Iggy can spew the attacks on Harper and has many times over. He is not the saint you all have him portrayed to be. So it is plain to see how the media support only the Liberals!

Bruce from Alberta
Maybe the USA has it right. maybe you should vote someone in and thats it for a certain number of years.

When ever I read Canadian news it seems to always be arguements or threats.

These politicians are always in a leadership race since at any moment an election maybe called.

It gets tiresome.

PepperPot
Once again Mr Harper has conducted himself with class on an international stage. We are very fortunate to have him. As for this gaffe he appologized immediately and thbe problem was his staff who acknowledged it right away. If it had been true it was very relevant to the topic of Canada hosting G8 so it was not just a matter of partisanship. I am so tired of people and media knocking Harper for the most trival things and ignoring his accomplisments. Boring ---

Edmonton John
Harper was wrong, no excuse, and apologizing gets you no points when it is your duty to put things right.

What could be the pettiest part of this whole debacle is Harper's envy of the relationship that Ignatieff has with Obama.

Ignatieff, by dint of his academic achievements and publications, is known and respected in international communities, and especially by the current president of the US.

Harper must have been delighted to have an opportunity to make Ignatieff look bad in front of these people. He was so jealous and delighted his mouth got way ahead of his brain.

Harper really needs to apologize to all Canadians. The most sincere form of apology would be to resign, and that would suit me just fine.

Josh in Alberta
Harper spoke too soon. It happens to the best of us. GET OVER IT! As if Iggy wouldn't have taken exactly the same actions had the situation been reversed. No politician is above a cheap shot based on unconfirmed information.

Bill in Ottawa
Like the world leaders really wants to hear about internal Canadian politics. Harper is so narrow minded the world does not revolve around his petty infighting with the opposition.

The problem is though, Ignatief is better known to most diplomats than Mr Harper. Ignatief's grandfather was an advisor to the last Russian Tsar, and Ignatief himself has written several books on international diplomacy. Oh and How is Harper's book on the history of hockey coming along?

alain
that was no accident that was on purpose

Dan from Van
Petty, petty, petty. My goodness, I've never appreciated Mr. Harper but this is really over the top. Come on Mr. Prime Minister, that type of behaviour, especially in front of the global media is uncalled for.

Ben
Harper should have checked his facts. Somebody already commented that this is what happens when you make attacking your political opponents your focus, you'll mess up and pay for it. I agree completely, but I should also suggest that it wouldn't be surprising at all if Iggy or any other politician on the other side of the fence did the same thing.

This nonsense must stop and political parties need to forget about their opponents. They are there to present options and it's not their business to tell us, the voters who is better. That's our decision.

brian in sarnia
Why on earth to western canadians think other canadians don't like Harper because he's from the west. Look, you're just playing the race card... it's cheap and prevents you from having to defend someone who more than 60 percent of the country finds rather incompetent. That has nothing to do with where you're from.

Retired Soldier in Kingston, ON
Memo to the PMO:

In the current toxic environment which passes for political "debate" here in Canada, kindly ensure that ANY and ALL quotations are properly vetted BEFORE passing them onto the PM for public consumption!!

This will keep the jackals ( read Opposition parties and media ) from diverting attention from issues of actual concern to the Canadian electorate, and prevent them from seizing on yet another
non-issue!!

Perhaps then the country can have a real debate about issues that actual matter...say " global climate change", out of control immigration in S. Ontario, devastation of our Boreal forests and catastrophic "over-fishing" of the worlds oceans!!

Pro Patria!

Bill in BC
Comment made, apology made. End of story. Move on.


But of course, the Liberal apologists won't move on. Just like they didn't when they created the "hidden agenda" or when they claimed that Harper was going to buy supercarriers for the navy to support the US.

MOVE ON!

Canadiehn
What a puppet...typical "milkboy", has to rely on others, just like he is following Obama like a puppy...step down Harpo

Leadrship and My vote
I am considered a centrist..and think the majority of Canadians would place themselves there. I have noticed a lot of partisan commenters on here over the months..and I would have to say that they are in the minority no matter which party one sides with. I would also say I am a balanced centrist...meaning there are times I will take a right wing or a left wing position on a particular issue. To my point. I believe that we should assess our PM on 3 main areas- integrity, leadership( domestic and international stage) and representative policies and legislation for the benefit of ALL Canadians. On my scorecard and I will assume on most of the centrists cards...the PM ( a self proclaimed MR Transparency that has not lived up to this billing) has failed miserably on integrity and iffy on issue representation; and scores a big goose egg on leadership as well. Way too many gaffes to be considered a competent leader. Thus my vote will not go to the Conservatives this time around.

JPF
When in doubt, attack.

Jayme
Edmonton John
Be honest you really beleave the liberals would win if there was an election.

Joe from Thunder Bay
This is a lot to do about nothing. A apology has been given and I am sure Mr Ignatieff has been misquoted before. Particularly about his comment that the Canadian flag is best suited for a beer can label or that the only thing he missed about Canada in his 35 year absence was a Algonquin Park. He was misquoted? The picture that accompanied this article I gather had no relation to the quote. and used for no other reason other than to. demean the PM of our country. Let's use the most unattractive picture of the PM we can find. Shame on the editorial staff of CTV.Your political bias could not have been more bliatant,or obvious.

I can see clearly now.
It must be evident to all by now that the primary objective of Harper has been and always will be relentless in attempting to try to get political points to win elections wherever he may be.
Everything else is secondary.
And when he finds himself ahead in the polls, all pieces of legislation in parliament are confidence motions.
When he is behind in the polls he resorts to negative personal attacks without thinking.

It is time to put Harper out of his misery !!!

Josh in High Prairie
An unfortunate slip, but one that shows the honourable character of Mr. Harper. It takes merit to make such an apology, especially to one's political adversary.

Kojak
Some people have no respect. The man made a mistake. He may not be perfect but he is our Prime Minister. Give the man a break already. You are not perfect either and I doubt you could run the Country any better yourselves, hell, half of you can't even spell.

Prof. Pye Chartt
@ Concerned Canadian

"Only people who have no real arguments stoop to name calling and personal attacks."

--- While this sounds cute, it's factually incorrect. Firstly, our PM criticized comments assumed to be made by a vocal political opponent. Fair game. (The time/place was inappropriate.) Secondly, in politics, "name calling" and "personal attacks" are offenses commonly committed by both sides. That's reality. Your logic and reasoning is flawed, and merely wishful.
________________________

"Mr. Harper's gaffe is not an isolated case. Consider the attack ads that he has been running against Mr. Ignatieff. Unable to criticize Ignatieff's arguments, he attacks the man."

--- Silly. It's entirely fair to point to legitimate questions that can be raised about a political opponent and his/her public background/record (and perceived motives). The offense you take is rooted in pure partisanship. Lastly, Mr. Ignatieff, being a sly prime ministerial wannabe driven by a self-proclaimed destiny, never tables any real "arguments." Rather, he just instigates self-serving trouble.
_______________________

"...Conservative supporters who respond to these posts fall back on two irrational positions: raise old,irrelevant issues about Mr. Martin or Mr. Chretien, or call Mr. Ignatieff names..."

--- If, indeed, you followed your own (Liberal) party as closely as you monitor the Conservatives for a public gaffe, you'd be aware that the aforementioned Liberal Prime Ministers engaged in some rather memorable loose-lip foolishness relating to foreign/domestic matters (see another posted account in this forum). Being an academic who loves to talk/write, Mr. Ignatieff has crafted a buffet of spoken/written political nuggets to shine a light on.
_______________________

Other than the above, I agree with you.

P.S. Your posts would have more credibility if you weren't always compulsively given to slag Conservatives and Republicans with a painfully biased assessment.

Rod from Gander
Another "wafer scandel" for sure, way to go CTV for more hard hitting news from the toilet.

Lamorial
The pooping puffin is at it again! Gives puffins a bad name. What a moronic, disgraceful, international spectacle this is.

Reece
It never ends with this gov't. Always blaming the other guy. Why not where a t-shirt with errors pointing elsewhere "I'm with stupid".

Ed in Ontario
Time to fire Soudas. He didn't tell the PM that he wasn't supposed to accept Catholic Communion, didn't keep him on time for the G8 photo shoot, and he gave substantially incorrect information to the PM. He's simply incompetent.

Ken M
He's man enough to right a wrong. I wish iggy would call an election and finnally put an end to the 3 dead beats once and for all. Mr.Harper...the best leader i've see in 50 yrs! Beats the scandalous Fiberals hands down!

Is that asking too much?
In Harper's Government, the PM and Ministers have no Responsibilities.
Recent events have led me to believe so without any shadow of a doubt.
I am talking about top secret documents left at a media office by a junior staff whom I believe is on EI.
The press secretary on news today will soon be on EI.
Whether he is qualified or whether he will collect, the Tories do not care.
I can go on with other examples, but I think you get the message.

The buck stops well before the elite club of Members of the conservative caucus, Ministers and the PMO with the Harper government.

So, in the context of the news of the day, are you comfortable with Canada being embarrassed again internationally, with our explanation being that a junior staff goofed? ???

Are we to tell the G8 that we cannot produce medical isotopes because a junior staff goofed???

It is about time we get a government of Canada, for Canada and for Canadians.
And where the buck stops at the PM and Ministers offices.

In other words:
Do not pass the buck onto junior officers.

Is that asking too much?

dianne
What a 'bufoon' & embarrassment Stephen Harper is on the international stage!

Partisan politics does NOT belong on the international stage whatsoever. Attacking the Loyal Member of the Opposition from Italy is nothing but horrid, especially when the comments were completely FABRICATED!

HARPER stick to the washroom combing your 'aubrun' hair & spraying hairspray & missing the photo ops, that's all you are good for.

UNBELIEVABLE!

The body of Christ. Amen.
The next embarrassment will come when Harper visits the POPE.

I am sure the VATICAN has seen the YouTube video.

Perhaps they will not give him a WAFER.

But..............

A LOAF OF BREAD.

Serious.......... But LOL !!!

Daveyboy
Both of them can shut their pie holes and get on with working together. Both leaders were elected by their respective parties and constituents to act in the best interest of the citizens of Canada. What we have here is the classic case of puffed up fat head syndrome which usually occurs when someone is put into a leadership position or a position of power. To all leaders who have contracted this debilitating syndrome please put your pride aside and work together. I'm sure they're both good guys but man, Pathetic.

Prof. Pye Chartt
@ "Concerned Canadian"

FOOTNOTE...

CTV Guidelines (since amended to remove reference to your moniker): "If you're using an alias, make sure it's unique. We already have plenty of 'Concerned Canadians.'"

--------------

My previous post presumes that you are who I think you are. Perhaps, as CTV suggests, it's time for a new/better/"unique" handle. Can I pick one? (I've got a couple beauties. Oh, I jest.)

Snik
How utterly pathetic. It boggles the mind how anyone could support this clown.

Steve in Manotick
This poor excuse for a man will jump at anything to make himself look good!!! What kind of inferiority complex is he suffering from.. Mr Harper go and seek some medical help!!!

geosun@yahoo.com
Harper is the greatest goofy among all the PMs I ever seen in my life. Evan from Winnipeg, you are just a the greatest socialist suck-ash from the East who probably sit on welfare cash.

Dave in Cobourg
What can one say...open mouth.. insert foot, then check the facts.
It's time to replace this government before we lose all credability on the world stage.

Nick in Gatineau
The last time that a government had so many mistakes and so many buffoons in cabinet was because they could not get the security clearence needed to be cabinet ministers.

So how many cabinet ministers presently have the security clearences needed to address the cases that they should be taking care of ? Or are most of the cases being dealt with by Deputy Ministers ?

Does the PM have the proper security clearence ?

Hmmm. Financial administrations act describes the verification process during electoral campaigns... Hmmm. Attack adds. Hmmm. Section 18 to 26. Do I smell somthing ? Hmmm. Hey Lynyrd is coming to town for Bluesfest. Great song: That Smell.

Curious as to why I received a pamphlet from a Conservative MP a few weeks back in ragards to culture in Québec. Against the HofC rules ? Did not come from a Cabinet Minister. Did not come from my representative. Was that legal ? Aren't publications supposed to be for the riding you represent ?

Hmmm.

Peter
Harper is an embarassment and a sharp contrast to a class act like Obama. Thanks to his attack ads, I'm now an Ignatieff supporter.

mahanna ali
i can't help but notice that the thumbs up/thumbs down are not favoring the conservatives as of recently...a sharp contrast to the norm.due to the time of year i can only conclude that a large number of conservative supporters are on vacation at their cottages,trailers or travelling(since they can afford to...)like i will be for the next three weeks....just a thought.....

terri
Wow,243 blogs. Imagine if he hadn't apologized. The Liberals would have a field day but hey, we all know an apology is not good enough for a Liberal. Off with his head.

gerry
He did the right thing to apologize to Mr. Ignatieff. But he needs to make a larger apology to Canadians and the International community. His comments were simply inappropriate. It is never appropriate to "gossip" about another person even in politics, and especially in politics. He has created a negative character assination towards Mr. Ignatieff and that cannot be resolved by a 20 second apology. Mr Harper will lose the next election. If that is what he thinks of political colleagues, then what does Harper think of the rest of us? I think Mr. Harper needs to self-reflect about what leadership means.

LDL in ONT
All this talk about embarassment on the international stage is hogwash. These are Canadian journalists asking Canadian questions at an international conference, to which the PM is responding. Besides, foriegn journalists are not listening, attending or reporting on this dribble unless it has relevance for everyone. I'm sure Obama got questions from U.S. journalists about domestic issues that we're not hearing about. Oh, while we're talking about it, when did an apologies cease to have no value?

Henry
To ALL parties-remember: He who throws dirt loses ground. If you give someone a piece of your mind, you will have less left than you had before

oH cANADA!
It is not a question of West against East or East against West.

It is the question of Who is the best Canadian Leader to do the Job.

I will not fall into the trap of West Alienation or East Alienation, or for Quebec separation for that matter.

Canada is a Federation.
I will support this Federation.

I hate it when one wants to DIVIDE.

Harper continually wants to divide.
He says IGGY wants the bloc support to defeat him because the bloc are pedophiles.
Harper blasted the separatists not too long ago and yet he will surely sleep with them to survive the next no confidence vote. Because he will never see eye to eye with the NDP.

The person who will need Bloc support in the fall is HARPER.

I predict that Harper will cave in to DUCEPPE's wishes to avoid losing an election in the fall.

And for all of you in the West. please find a job and a place in the EAST.
Harper will leave you in the COLD.
The East will get you out of Recession by 2014.
Just like Harper promised.
Provided he is EXCOMMUNICATED.
OH CANADA !!!


Down with the Tories.

me
243 comments. some very heated one way or another. holy smoke. is it really worth this much attention?

James in Ontario
well things will get better, the press secretary made a mistake, and he apologized. It's unfortunate that the situation occured but the apology was made so its good. Nothing to worry about.

In the 21st century, in the 2000s the forms of communications are fast unfortunately, if the circumstance would of occured 35 years ago, the media would not of known about it. I think the modern technology is also to blame for that in a small way.

This is the 21st century, and the technology is advanced, too advanced in my opinion, but we can't change it sadly. This is the 2000s era. There is no supernatural control of the earth, it rotates endlessly. The circumstance with the press secretary, and the Prime Minister was fixed appropriately, therefore it's all good.

MARG MM
Just wondering what part of my earlier comment didn't pass review.Must have been the part that mentioned "unless Mr Ignatieff was in Italy trying to get into the G8 Summit" which was in reference to someone saying that PM Harper should have apologized to Mr Ignatieff in person.

I've noticed lately that comments favoring Liberals and nasty ones against PM Harper and the conservative are the ones that seem to get posted.

Showing bias are we??????

The Widowmaker
Hey Stoopid. And the fall continues. See this is the crap you get into when you make it personal. Harper is an embarassment to this country. Lets get this bum out NOW.

A Koster - BC
Harper's comment in Italy at G8 was tasteless and showed a complete lack of class to the world.. no doubt those attack ads were the brainchild of Dimitri Soudas too... just demonstrates what a pawn Harper really is imo. Do I need glasses after all?? or is there indeed the omission in the article above of Canada's $800 million contribution to that $15 billion? Hello... there is joblessness, poverty, and homelessness here at home to be dealt with first?
As far as the rest of the G8 summit, the US and Canada et al owe literally $trillions to China, yet China is taking a 'developing nation' stance and telling us to clean up our act first... maybe to borrow a few more $trillion off them to accomplish it? The whole scenario is preposterous and mind boggling.

brian
As usual, Harper and the Conservatives have nothing constructive to say, so they revert to their negative advertising/public relations statements. They seem to believe this is the way to inspire the confidence of Canadians. NOTHING could be further from the truth. Harper and Co will almost certainly be responsible for the election of a Liberal Government at the next election. Rather odd way of moving forward, Mr. Harper

my take on this
I've got ten bucks that says Harper tries to get the pope to kiss his ... ring.

Steve
I'm really amazed at all the self-righteous liberal bigots in the audiance today. The man apoligized for something that he took as fact and turned out to be false. Liberal pm's haven't and never would apoligize if there life was on the line. As for stupidity from the top politician in the land; remember a certain mr. cretien saying: A proof is a proof. It's a good proof because it is a proofen proof. What an embarrassment he was to the country.

Rick in NB
@ me,
No our international image isn't as important as Mike Jackson scratching his crotch. He had over 300 comments.

Michael (Ottawa)
It takes a man of good character to acknowledge his error and to publicly apologize. That speaks volumes to me about the character of our Prime Minister and the man behind the title.

The age we live in has fewer and fewer men who have good character never mind in politics where it seems to be even more lacking so this is a breathe of fresh air.

J.C.
The man made a sincere apology so let's get over it and move on to something more important!
After all it is only human to error, forgiveness is divine.

CFS in Alberta
To Mr. Miles in Winnipeg. "Be careful what you wish for." I doubt Harper can win an election now. A Liberal minority for sure.