Peter MacKay apologizes to Italians

Canada's Federal Conservative Party Vice Leader admits his Mafia allusions wrong

I had no intention of offending anyone. If I did so, it was a misunderstanding on my part; anyway, I apologize unreservedly for the remarks I made a few weeks ago in Parliament," declared Conservative Party Vice Leader Peter MacKay in an interview that also touched upon national politics and the situation within his own party.
MacKay also said he "never meant to offend anyone, especially the Italian-Canadian community, which I have only respect for."
As many readers will recall, two weeks ago MacKay, during the daily Question Period, attacked the Liberals about the sponsorship scandal, using a few sentences of Italian in his speech in French. In particular, referring to Alfonso Gagliano, MacKay spoke of la famiglia liberale. That was interpreted as a clear allusion to the Mafia and the Italian origins of the former minister of Public Works.
MacKay said, "the question was prepared by a French-speaking aide; French not being my first language, I did not immediately understand the implications of those words, and many people felt offended by the way the question was formulated."
MacKay also added, "only later I realized that the sentence had a negative connotation. At that point in time I was asked to retract that sentence and I did so at once, both in Parliament and later with the press."
MacKay repeatedly said, "it was not my intention of offending anybody, so I wish to apologize, unequivocally and unreservedly, to anybody whom I might have involuntarily offended with those words." Mackay said, "I regret using those words without realizing their full significance."
MacKay also insisted that he's always worked to promote cultural equality and that he intends to intensify this activity.
In regards to the Conservative Party in general, MacKay remarked, "this was undoubtedly a tumultuous year and much work remains to be done, especially in preparing our platform. We are busy doing that, getting all our members and organizations involved."
According to MacKay, "Parliamentary work is important, but it's not the only type of work that is required of a political organization." He believes, "we are moving in the right direction, very professionally, and we've shown we really are ready to form a Government."
He admitted that the process of unification of the Right "was hard and trying, but in the end we came out stronger and ready for future challenges."
MacKay said that keeping the Government under pressure is very important, "but it is even more important to build an alternative for the voters, in order to keep the democratic system alive."
Will the minority Government work? MacKay said he was "more pessimistic at first, when the Government appeared ready for an all-out confrontation. Now things seem to have improved, also at the committee level."

Publication Date: 2004-11-21
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4630