Tearful Raitt Apologizes For “Sexy” Cancer Remark
Posted June 10, 2009 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
She’s heard on tape calling a shortage of medical isotopes for cancer patients a “sexy” issue.
That comment has led to calls for Lisa Raitt’s resignation since it surfaced earlier this week. But now the embattled Natural Resources Minister has come forward with a tear-filled apology that seeks to deflect the mounting criticism against her.
In a statement that was both brief and filled with frequent emotional pauses on Wednesday, Raitt noted near tears that cancer has touched her own life and she deeply regrets the way the comments were interpreted.
“I want to personally convey my deep regret for wording I used in a private discussion earlier this year which was inadvertently recorded,” she told a hastily assembled news conference in Ottawa.
“As somebody who has been, in their personal life, deeply affected by cancer, my intent was certainly not to show any disrespect for cancer victims, survivors or their families.
“However, it’s clear that these remarks have been interpreted in that way, so I want to offer a clear apology to anyone who’s been offended by what I’ve said. I want people to know that when I was 11 years old, I watched my father pass away from colon cancer over a period of 18 months.
“My mother and I and my brother took care of him until his final days. Twenty years later, I was in the room with my brother as he died from lung cancer.
“As you can see, it’s a very personal issue for me and it’s one that I really don’t take lightly.”
She promised to continue to work with Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, whose competence she questioned on the now infamous tape that was left at a Halifax newspaper.
She left without taking any questions.
She later made three calls to several organizations, including the Canadian Cancer Society. Her abrupt departure made it impossible for reporters to ask why she didn’t apologize sooner.
The opposition has been screaming for her resignation, accusing her of using the plight of cancer patients as a way to advance her political career.
It’s not clear if the emotional response will temper those demands that she leave her post.
