Apparently there truly is nothing better to talk about than hockey in this country. The opposition parties in Canada's parliament felt that the choice of Team Canada's captain in the current World Championships warranted debate in the House of Commons during question period today.
Phoenix Coyotes' star Shane Doan was named captain of the national squad for this year's tournament in Moscow. So what's the big deal? Earlier in this season, Doan, an Albertan, was accused of making comments regarding French-Canadians during a tirade directed to a game official. Evidently, the opposition parties feel it is the government's place to select the captain of the hockey team, as they criticized the decision and targeted the Tory Secretary of State for Sport during question period.
Worth noting about this story:
- The NHL conducted an investigation about the alleged comments. It was never proven that Doan made such remarks, and he was never punished for doing so (despite receiving a game ejection for verbal abuse of an official)
- Doan has frequently represented Canada before and never indicated he has a disrespect for Francophones
- The captaincy of a sports team was being debated in our national government. I think that deserves mentioning again, just so that it sinks in
So, while we face things like long health care waits, shortages of doctors, serious climate change issues, homelessness, poverty, and countless other notable issues that our government should be focusing their efforts on, they are discussing the decisions of Andy Murray and Steve Yzerman in terms of personel decisions of a hockey team. My plea to all of our MP's: quit wasting our tax dollars; leave the hockey analysis and debate to the armchair GM's. If you care to join them, I'm sure there's a sports bar not far from Parliament Hill ... stop by after work to discuss it with some Sens fans while you watch the game and enjoy a pint. There are more pressing issues for our government to be dedicating their time towards.
No comments:
Post a Comment