Ignatieff slams Harper for ‘cheap shot’ in Haiti
February 16-17 2010 – Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff slams Prime Minister Harper for making a “cheap shot” against the Liberal Party in an address to Canadian Forces in Haiti.
Harper said the recent investment in the C-17 heavy-lift aircraft is an example of his government’s focus on increasing Canada ‘hard power’ capabilities, as opposed to the ‘soft power’ policies of past governments.
I single out the C-17 for a reason. There was a time when that kind of heavy lift aircraft didn’t fit Canada’s ‘soft power’ policies. But our government bought them for the ‘hard power’ requirements of today’s world. Now we’re using them for relief work. What is the moral of the story? To do soft power, you need hard power; you need a full range of capabilities.
- Stephen Harper
Every time Mr. Harper gets within a mile of Canadian military equipment, he takes a swipe at the Liberal Party … It’s inappropriate to use Haiti, to use a Canadian military base to make an attack on a political party … Every time he takes a cheap shot like that, it just sours the atmosphere.
- Micheal Ignatieff
