A senior campaign worker for Canada’s governing Conservative Party has resigned after claiming he wrote a pro-Iraq war speech for Prime Minister Stephen Harper that plagiarised another world leader’s address.
The opposition Liberals released transcripts and video of speeches delivered by then-Australian prime minister John Howard on March 18th, 2003, and one by Mr Harper two days later in the Canadian parliament when Mr Harper was the opposition leader.
Conservative campaign worker Owen Lippert resigned later after taking responsibility for the speech. He said he worked in Mr Harper’s office in 2003 and wrote the speech calling for Canadian troops to be sent to Iraq.
“Pressed for time, I was overzealous in copying segments of another world leader’s speech,” Mr Lippert said. He said neither Mr Harper nor anyone else in his office had any idea he copied from Mr Howard’s speech.
Liberal foreign affairs spokesman Bob Rae said nearly half of Mr Harper’s speech was a word-for-word recitation of Mr Howard’s comments.
He said it was further evidence “of how Canada’s foreign policy is now in lockstep with the right-wing foreign policy of the Bush administration”.
Canada’s Liberal government at the time turned down Washington’s request to send forces to Iraq, while Australia sent troops.
Mr Rae said a number of lines from Mr Howard's speech were also duplicated in a guest editorial in the Wall Street Journalunder Mr Harper's byline on March 29th, 2003. Mr Rae said duplicated lines also appeared under Mr Harper's byline in guest editorials in the Toronto Star, National Post and Ottawa Citizen.
PA