General

Rough days for MacKay

Peter MacKay has had one tough week. One day, Twitter is laughing at his expense, the next day, union officials serve him a “layoff notice.”

Last Friday, the defense minister gave a speech on Bastille Day at the French Embassy with some historical inaccuracies. “Suffice it to say in the 200th commemoration of the War of 1812,” Mackay said, “had the French not been here fighting side by side, we might be standing here next to each other in a new light.” This is according to a tape recording made by Embassy magazine and quoted by the Ottawa Citizen.

The French actually supported the Americans in the War of 1812, and Twitter was soon abuzz with Mackay’s gaffe.

On Thursday,  a member of the Union of National Defence Employees served Mackey papers for his “layoff.” “You have been identified as an affected employee and your services as a Member of Parliament may no longer be required due to your reckless cuts to public services,” the letter reads, according to the Ottawa Citizen. The letter comes in response to the 88 workers at Canadian Forces Base Pett]awawa who were informed that their jobs are in jeopardy.

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