Cheryl Gallant issues late-night Twitter apology to Michael Ignatieff

Posted by Joanna Smith, Ottawa Bureau

It appears Conservative incumbent Cheryl Gallant (Renfrew--Nipissing--Pembroke) has pulled a Kanye West and issued a late-night Twitter apologyto Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff for changing his name so that it sounded like that of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Gallant, who goes by the handle @cherylgallant on Twitter, posted the following at 11:24 p.m. on Thursday:

@M_Ignatieff, sorry about remark on day 1. No place in debate about ideas and values

Unlike the belated Twitter mea culpa from the controversial rapper, which everyone knew was for having so rudely interrupted country music singer Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, it was not immediately clear what Gallant was apologizing for.

But searching for her Twitter handle suggested Gallant had appeared to play on Ignatieff's name so that it seemed like she was comparing him to Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The alleged tweet cannot be found on Gallant's Twitter timeline, but someone named Tricia Wood, or @pkbwood, captured a screen shot of the tweet being archived on OpenParliament.ca, which keeps track of tweets by politicians.

The second tweet up from the bottom, apparently posted three days ago, says:

Wilmer Verch had super efficient wood furnaces @ Renfrew Home Show.  No carbon tax please, Igaffi!

Gallant could not immediately be reached for comment and no one answered the telephone at the Conservative war room (it is pretty late at night, after all).

The official Twitter account for Ignatieff (@M_Ignatieff) had not yet responded by 12:31 a.m. Friday, as the latest tweet, posted Thursday at 2:11 p.m., was clearly not on the topic:

   You haven't lived until you've had a Kelekis hot dog and shoestring fries.

Ignatieff spokeswoman Leslie Church sent me an email at 12:38 a.m. Friday outlining her understanding of the story behind the apology:

"Cheryl Gallant was under fire tonight for calling Mr. Ignatieff 'Igaffi', in a poorly judged, less than subtle reference to Gaddafi on her Twitter account," Church wrote.

 

Comments

[Phil]

It is nice to see someone do the honorable thing and apologize when they are wrong. Still waiting for Ignatieff's apology to all the Canadian's who really did come to Canada with only the clothes on their backs.

[Rod Croskery]

April Fool, right?

Not as good as National News Watch's scoop that Don Cherry will represent Canada at the Royal Wedding. That's choice.

[KayDee]

Cheryl Gallant has been and will continue to be an embarrassment to the Ottawa Valley. That area has a lot of pride and used to show that pride in its provincial and federal politicians (see Sean Conway, Len Hopkins...). I continue to hope that the people there will soon wake up and see just how little Gallant actually does for them...

[alsandor]

Well, that lacked klass (with a kapital K). It`s not in her habit to apologize so someone must have made her do it.

[Bob Dole]

Her comment was a joke. Anyone who takes that seriously is just plain stoopid. P.S. Igaffi's Kelekis hot dog and fries comment was a direct, and very childish attack on an earlier Harper tweet about Kabanosy sausages.

Who cares?! NOooooobody!

[Wade Ens]

Ignatieff's "'LESSER EVIL" essay published in New York Times where his says we need to fight evil with evil, pre-emptive strikes, co-ersive interogation and assissination.
This is singed the hair off my legs.

[The Thorn]

Way to keep it classy, Gallant! :(

[Patrick]

Just when I think that political coverage can't get any shallower, this comes along.

[Pamela Becking]

Not good enough. What does an apology on twitter mean? NOTHING!!!

[Quinten]

Ok, so Nobody even knew about this until the apology. Now every one will be calling Ignutjob Igaffi.
Perfect.
Just shows that the Star is not totally useless.