tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14068948.post112558725431035062..comments2024-03-10T04:16:27.797-04:00Comments on Lord Kitchener's Own: Did Canada respond to Katrina fast enough?Lord Kitchener's Ownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08348376638620272991noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14068948.post-1125603368486299282005-09-01T15:36:00.000-04:002005-09-01T15:36:00.000-04:00Hi Brent,As you pasted your reply to my comment to...Hi Brent,<BR/><BR/>As you pasted your reply to my comment to your post on your blog into a comment on my post on my blog, I'll post my reply to your comment on my comment on your blog under your comment to my post on my blog too. (That wasn't meant to be snarky BTW, I just wanted to see if I could write that and have it make sense.... it does... barely)<BR/><BR/>:-)<BR/><BR/>I understand your point Brent, and certainly, one can always do better in these sorts of situations. But I would point out a couple of things.<BR/><BR/>Anne McLellan is not just Deputy Prime Minister, but Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and is therefore the single best placed Cabinet Minister to help our American friends and keep them informed of what we have, and how we can help. (she’s also chair of Parliament’s Security, Public Health and Emergencies Committee).<BR/><BR/>Second, I just don’t think anyone realized until Wednesday, the day of Martin’s press release how bad things were (and I’ll point out again that the government’s press release offering condolences, any and all aid, and explaining that the Deputy PM had already been in touch with the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Health Minister was coordinating cooperation between our Public Health officials and HHS came on Tuesday, the same day as Harper’s).<BR/><BR/>Fine, fine, Stephen Harper offered his personal condolences one day before the PM. But the PM’s statement came on the SAME DAY that President Bush decided to end his vacation and return to Washington, and BEFORE the President formally addressed his nation regarding the tragedy. I point this out not to slag the President, whom I’m fully confident wishes to do whatever can be done for his fellow citizens, and will use all of his power to save lives and restore New Orleans. I simply want to make it clear that NO ONE, not even President Bush realized how bad this was until yesterday, and Mr. Martin responded in the media just as quickly as the President did, once it was clear how devastating this has been.<BR/><BR/>None of that really matters to me anyway. What upsets me is a party willing to use a natural disaster as a blugeon against their opponents. It’s sad and uncalled for.<BR/><BR/>If timing is so important, maybe the CPC shouldn’t have called on Canadians to swamp the White House switchboard ON THE DAY OF THE HURRICANE.<BR/><BR/>I wish someone would lead the country too Brent, and I’m not pleased with Martin by any stretch of the imagination, I just wish someone, ANYONE, would give me an alternative. But I don’t see one.<BR/><BR/>I imagine we’re not hearing much from Martin this month because someone told him to keep quiet, sit back and watch the CPC implode (with stupid hair-brained schemes for foreign policy and shocking partisanship during a time of tragedy). Pretty good political advice for Martin finally (who knows where it came from, as the PMO is filled with tools). Too bad it’s going to keep him in office though.Lord Kitchener's Ownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08348376638620272991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14068948.post-1125598267536486272005-09-01T14:11:00.000-04:002005-09-01T14:11:00.000-04:00I was not suggesting that the Prime Minister would...I was not suggesting that the Prime Minister would communicate via press release. I would have hoped that as a neighbour he would have picked up the phone and contacted the President to make the offer of support personally.<BR/><BR/>The issue of the Prime Minister abdicating his responsibility to his deputy at a time of crisis was shameful. One of the duties of leadership is to reassure those that you lead. Let the Canadian people know exactly what our government has done and is willing to do. Marshall the population to direct their desire to aid our friends where it is most needed and ensure that Canadians realize that they have learned from the lessons of the Tsunami tragedy and that when the call comes for assistance he has put the response teams on alert so that we can quickly provide whatever assistance we can.<BR/><BR/>You may think that the CPC doesn’t want to lead the country, I just wish someone would.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com