Ottawa

Stephen Harper joins the WWI debate

‘I find the comments outrageous, inflammatory, unacceptable’

The Prime Minister is profoundly saddened.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has come out swinging against New Democrat Alexandre Boulerice for the Quebec MP’s 2007 blog post that praised communists who opposed the First World War and cast the conflict as “a purely capitalist war on the backs of the workers and peasants.”

“I find the comments outrageous, inflammatory, unacceptable,” Harper said in Calgary.

NDP Veterans Affairs critic Peter Stoffer was also unimpressed.

Mr. Boulerice posted a reply on Facebook this evening to explain himself.

The story as reported by Sun news is inaccurate. I can assure you that I have the utmost respect for all our veterans and never criticized the role of the Canadian military personnel in WWI, nor in any other war. And we can always analyse the context of every conflict.The men and women who serve in our forces are doing a dangerous job, under difficult circumstances and deserve our gratitude.

My priority, as an MP, is to make sure that we take care of our veterans and we treat them with the respect they deserve.

For any who have been offended, I apologize. Be assured it was never my intention to in any way criticize Canada’s veterans.

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