Senator says car tire pierced in U.S. lot
Anne Dawson, Chief Political Correspondent
National Post
Saturday, March 29, 2003
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OTTAWA - A Quebec Senator is warning Canadian snowbirds to be careful going the United States after his car tires were slashed in Florida, an incident he attributes to a backlash over anti-American comments by Liberal MPs and Cabinet ministers.
Roch Bolduc said his wife, Gisèle, found a "huge nail in one of the brand new Michelin tires" after it was parked in a lot Monday while she was doing errands near their condo in Pompano Beach.
He said his wife, whom he will join in Florida next week, has heard of similar incidents in the area happening to other cars with Canadian licence plates. Fellow Canadian snowbirds have reportedly had their cars scratched with car keys, he said.
"I don't want to dramatize the situation, but they should be careful," said Mr. Bolduc, referring to Canadians who travel south of the border, especially snowbirds who spend the winter in Florida.
He said Canadian citizens are paying the price for the "insolence" that has been displayed by Canadian politicians who have lashed out against the Americans for the position their government has taken in going to war against Iraq.
"This is very bad for Canada. The Liberals behave like children and we are going to pay for it. This is not a hockey game. This is a real game," said the Conservative Senator.
He said the behaviour of Carolyn Parrish, the Mississauga MP who sparked an international controversy by saying she hated American "bastards", was "disgusting," and said Jean Chrétien, the Prime Minister, should remove Herb Dhaliwal, the Minister of Natural Resources, from Cabinet for saying the U.S. President is "not a statesman."
Both the offices of Sen. Noel Kinsella, who represents N.B., and Elsie Wayne, a Conservative MP from Saint John, have been made aware of another incident they say shows Americans are striking back at Canadians for the anti-U.S. sentiments of Canadian politicians.
Mr. Kinsella said a local trucker, who crosses the border regularly between St. Stephen, N.B., and Maine and always stops in Calais, Me., to fill up with gas, was recently told to keep driving because a gas station "was not servicing Canadian trucks" any longer.
"I'm hearing from a lot of Canadians that they're embarrassed to drive their cars across the border, now," said the Conservative senator.
Liberal Sen. Gerry Grafstein, has called on the Prime Minister to take "large and visible steps" to stem this anti-American attitude that permeates his government and assure the Americans that even though the government doesn't support their position on the war, Canada and the United States are still close allies.
Mr. Grafstein, who organized the Canada Loves New York rally that sent thousands of Canadians to that city after Sept. 11, 2001 attack, said he does not believe the Prime Minister when he says there will be no economic fallout from these verbal attacks against Americans.
"My concern is ... Americans act viscerally and emotionally and that's the wild card in this relationship. I don't want our economic interests to become collateral damage," he said. "The Prime Minister has an obligation to take large and visible steps to ensure our economic relationship is not affected."
Mr. Grafstein, who is the co-chairman of the Canada-U.S. Interparliamentary Group -- a friendship group between the two governments, said he will travel to Washington next Wednesday to meet with Amo Houghton, a Republican New York Congressman who co-chairs the U.S. side of the group, to discuss ways the two governments can work to stem negativity.
adawson@nationalpost.com
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