Canada's Silliest Scandal
In honour of Harper's wafer waffle, now a month old and back in the news, I'll be tossing up a poll to crown Canada's all-time silliest scandal next week.
"Silliest" can be interpreted however you want, but I would suggest "gets way more attention than it deserves" as a guideline.
So submit your nominations below. Scandal names ending in "gate" are preferred, since that adds to their silliness, but suggestions of good scandals from back in the day are also welcome. Lost luggage, dropped footballs...there's definitely material there for a good list.
"Silliest" can be interpreted however you want, but I would suggest "gets way more attention than it deserves" as a guideline.
So submit your nominations below. Scandal names ending in "gate" are preferred, since that adds to their silliness, but suggestions of good scandals from back in the day are also welcome. Lost luggage, dropped footballs...there's definitely material there for a good list.
posted by calgarygrit at
1:02 p.m.
11 Comments:
Hand-shakegate; Harper scandalously shakes his son's hand instead of a big old bearhug for the camera's.
InVestagate; 3 days of Harper dressed in a desert vest, looking fat next to Bush....(same vest also warn by Martin in previous 3Amigos meeting, but so what)
By
wilson, at 1:20 p.m.
I can't find documentation on the internet but I have this memory from high school history class of a scandal involving Wilfred Laurier and some sort of jerky, probably beef. The long and short of it as I recall was there was a government funded mission to the north pole and whoever got the jerky contract (important for an arctic expedition) was connected to the Laurier government.
It was a real scandal but because it involves jerky I think it qualifies as pretty silly. Anyone got proof of this scandal?
By
Aaron Ginsberg, at 1:54 p.m.
"Fuddle Duddle"-gate.
I'm in agreement with Dan. The gate thing has been overplayed. We need to go back to calling scandals "affairs". Seriously.
The "Prorogue Affair". It sounds like a movie starring Ashley Judd. I'd see it.
By
Unknown, at 5:56 p.m.
Brent, Fuddle Duddle is an absolute classic.
I am including some perceived gaffes in my list of scandals. I am thinking in terms of - how much attention did the scandal get, how much did it deserve, and how impactful it was (in spite of a lack of substance).
The quality and lateness of the Dion tape responding to Harper (2008)
Dion CTV interview: take four (2008)
Bernier's briefs (2007)
The income trust scandal (2006)
The Grewal Tapes (2005)
John Nunziata's claim that John Tory tried to bribe him into dropping out of the Toronto mayoral race (2003)
The Ernie Eves press release calling Dalton McGuinty an "evil reptilian kitten-eater from another planet" (2003)
The BILLION DOLLAR (actually only $85,000) BOONDOGGLE or HRDC scandal (1999)
Casinogate in British Columbia (1999)
The tainted tuna scandal (1985)
Part of the King-Byng affair: In the 20's there was a convention that cabinet ministers should face by-elections before being elevated to the cabinet. When gov-gen. Byng appointed Meighen PM, Meighen had a problem since his prospective cabinet ministers would be out of parliament for the course of their by-elections. As such he made them acting ministers. Mackenzie-King used the subsequent uproar to get Progressives to vote down the government, and to win the next election (in spite of a massive scandal).
Least silly scandal that should have been big:
The time Rene Levesque killed a homeless man.
By
french wedding cat, at 4:56 p.m.
(CPC decides to capitalize on Harper's hockey image as a distraction from Wafergate)
TV Commercial Director: Is a simple Lays potato chip commercial.
M.Messier: Honour to work with you.
S.Harper: I was a fan. Any Canadian who went to work in the USA and returned is a friend of mine.
Director: ACTION!! take one.
Mess: Betcha can't eat just one. And if I win I get to be PM for a day.
PM: You're on!
(takes chip from Messier's chip bag, palms it and pockets it).
director: CUT!! Stephen, supposed to eat the chip.
Take two from PM's line, ACTION!!
PM: You're on!
(takes chip from bag and rolls it across his knuckles before flipping it with his thumb into his hair.
director: Cut! Sir, you need to eat the chip or we don't have a commercial.
PM: I did eat it.
director: ...and take 3, ACTION!!
PM: You're on!!
(takes handful of chips out of bag and stuffs them into sweater).
...many takes later...
M.Messier: (shaking head and muttering to self) Unbelievable. 300 takes and he didn't eat the chip once. Un-@#$%ing-believable.
PM: (sweater, hair, pockets stuffed with chips. smiling) I got to meet a HOFer. Off to do the Viagra commercial rounds with Guy.
(a flock of ravenous Lays-eating pigeons turns the sky tar black...)
By
Phillip Huggan, at 8:06 p.m.
"Fuddle Duddle" definitely gets my vote; one big joke that everybody was in on.
L'Affaire Bernier is another good one. There was a notionally serious issue (Bernier leaving the documents lying around), but everybody was really only interested in the trappings (ie, Julie Couillard's black book).
You might add the recent Raitt/Aglukkark thing as similar to that, since the whole thing was really about whether one of Harper's ministers was saying bitchy things about another.
By
IslandLiberal, at 11:31 p.m.
The Romanian stripper stuff surrounding Judy Sgro was ridiculously overblown.
By
Anonymous, at 10:42 a.m.
Also since this is an alberta blog, you have to put the brownlee affair in there.
A premier brough down by a non existant sex scandal.
By
Anonymous, at 10:45 a.m.
Would the CBC failing to renew the Hockey Night in Canada Theme count, or are you only looking for Government scandals?
By
Paul, at 5:54 p.m.
(Bernier leaving the documents lying around), but everybody was really only interested in the trappings (ie, Julie Couillard's black book).
Is that a euphemism for tits?
By
dianispa, at 12:45 a.m.
I remember this. At those time I was saying to myself this is hilarious.
Thanks,
Dom
Best Cosmetic Dentistry in Canada
By
Anonymous, at 2:00 a.m.
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