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Hill explains "disrespectful" comments; no-show in Grand Forks all-candidates forum

by Nelson Daily editor on 19 Apr 2011
in
Hill explains "disrespectful" comments; no-show in Grand Forks all-candidates forum

By Timothy Schafer, The Nelson Daily

The political future of BC Southern Interior Conservative candidate Stephen Hill is uncertain after he was a no show in an all-candidates forum in Grand Forks Monday night, one day after apologizing for "disrespectful" comments he made in a public forum in Nelson earlier this year.

Neither Hill nor his campaign manager Jill Prince could be reached for comment Tuesday, prior to the all candidates forum in Nelson. On Monday, Hill did not show up for a scheduled forum in Grand Forks despite confirming in advance he would attend.

A letter posted Sunday, April 17 at 4:54 p.m. by a Nelson woman on a local bulletin board system said Hill had spoken "loudly and rudely" at a CETA (Canada-European Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) forum sponsored by The Council of Canadians, Friday, Feb. 11 at the Nelson United Church.

The woman said Hill stood up during the question period of the forum and told the people present that they "should go home and scrub with bleach. He then uttered a veiled warning, threatening and hinting at what he was going to do to us once he was elected."

Hill responded just over five hours later through a posting by his campaign manager Jill Prince at 10:06 p.m., saying he "did make some inappropriate comments. 

"In hindsight, I should not have attended that meeting. I was not in a very good frame of mind given that I had been invited to participate as a panellist at the forum and then had my invitation revoked. Additionally, I was very tired and not feeling all that well.

"The comments I made regarding washing with bleach because of the presence of the unwashed (me) were meant to be a joke. Obviously, my joke failed miserably and I apologize to ... anyone else who was offended by it."

Hill said someone who aspired to represent the people in the BC Southern Interior riding — which includes Nelson and Rossland, where Hill resides — in the federal government should not make that kind of error in judgement.

editor@thenelsondaily.com

Comments

Creating Muddy Water

by John Howes on 27 Apr 2011 at about 13:34.
“The majority don’t want the election.” “They can’t understand why we are wasting $300 million of taxpayer money." This lame attempt at diversion is all I hear from the Conservatives. It was not the other political parties that found the Conservatives in contempt of parliament. It was the 'Speaker of the House' who found the Conservatives in contempt. The vote of no-confidence by the parties happened shortly thereafter. This is not a case of "we don't like your budget", it is a serious (criminal) offense wherein the Conservatives were found to have deliberately misled Parliament. How can anyone trust the Conservative party and it's leader after such disrespect of the parliamentary system...

Please Vote

by Bounty on 27 Apr 2011 at about 10:14.
Following up on my last note, even though you may feel your vote may not make a difference, give it a shot.

Reaping What You Sow

by Bounty on 27 Apr 2011 at about 12:49.
In politics as well as business, I am a great believer in Karma. Everyone has an agenda, although it may not be evident. I believe that in this case,this politician's intent is clear. It is the voter's choice whether or not they support him. I do not..

Newsworthy

by Nelson Daily editor on 20 Apr 2011 at about 23:39.

Please note, regarding the comment about editorial bias: When words appear in quotation marks in a headline above a news story, that means the word has been pulled from a direct quote from the body of the story.

That is not editorializing, or injecting the writer's opinion. It has to do with summarizing what the meat of the story is about, using somebody else's account of the instance.

You are right, Redtrail, Stephen Hill did apologize for the remarks, and good on him for admitting he made them. That shows some character. But he did defend his state of mind that night in an explanation email and for that he earns some marks.

Timothy Schafer

"That kind of politician"

by Mona Mattei on 20 Apr 2011 at about 16:58.

Personally I like a politician who can manage his outbursts, not apologize repeatedly.  He has also lost his cool in discussing unionization with Grand Forks residents calling businesses who get unionized "failures."

My MP should be someone of integrity and needs to be able to manage himself in every situation including heated arguments. Reverting to childish actions, and suggesting that he is just misunderstood further demonstrates his inexperience and inability to manage his temper.  

Stress, media attention and being tired do not provide excuses - a MP needs to be able to work through very tough situations with a clear head.

Apology or no, Hill is displaying his clear lack of leadership ability.

 

Apology Accepted

by Redtrail on 20 Apr 2011 at about 16:48.
Whether Mr. Hill was correct or not on the issue of CETA is really not the point of the story. He was out of line. But, unlike most (all?) politicians he admitted that and apologized. I like that kind of politician! I agree with Adrian that the story is newsworthy. Where the editorial bias comes in is the title. It says Mr Hill "defends disrespectful remarks". That assumes the remarks were "disrespectful" (not just inappropriate and misunderstood) and further misleads the reader by suggesting that he "defended" those same remarks when the story clearly indicates that he apologized for those remarks.

Pants zipped but won't take this lip.

by Andrew Bennet (not verified) on 20 Apr 2011 at about 11:47.
Yes, it's a travesty that so many uninformed people are talking about CEDA. Particularly since its CETA, a trade agreement, although our present government is doing all it can to make sure it's a Draconian Agreement that will severely impact our economic sovereignty, all for short term gains that I have yet to fathom — perhaps another Conservative wallet-padding that has yet to surface? The negative potential of CETA is easily understood with a clear-headed look at NAFTA. The analysis has been well-presented by the Council of Canadians and others. From one perspective, we are now locked into binding trade arrangements with the U.S. as its economy sinks to the bottom of the sea. Meanwhile, this limits our ability to negotiate partnerships with the new powers - namely China. I am non-partisan in the sense that I would consider voting for independent, Green, or NDP candidates — and Liberals if they're quite remarkable — but the Conservative record on social and environmental issues is dismal while their economic policy is focused on ramping up short-sighted resource extraction. All this besides the party's severe anti-democratic tendencies in Parliament that quite rightfully triggered this election. I understand why this wouldn't bother you, Fed Up, because of your own anti-democractic tendencies. If you want to throw around slander, taking aim at the CBC, do so with some evidence of wrong-doing. The CBC is a renowned public media service that is at the very core of our democracy. If the CBC appears to take aim at the Conservatives, it's only because they're such a juicy target of corrupt self-service. And, by the way, though you didn't mention it I could hear you thinking it: Harper didn't carry us through the economic crisis. Paul Martin's policies were the last to set the "Canadian Shield" of bedrock under our banks.

just some more anti Conservative crap

by fed up on 20 Apr 2011 at about 09:59.
He then uttered a veiled warning, threatening and hinting at what he was going to do to us once he was elected."? Give me a break. The heart of the matter is he sat there at the meeting listening to many uninformed people talk about CEDA. The reason he lost his cool is because he is informed on this subject. He should not have even attended the meeting because it was a another NDP conspiracy gathering and he was doomed . Another thing was that he was asked to speak at this meeting and at the last minute they told him he couldn't. Sometimes people that are passionate about their beliefs and actually care about the local economy says things that they regret. Of course it got top story with an unflattering picture of him. I see some of the local news media are taking lessons from the CBC. Tuck your politics back in your pants.

The hypocrisy is simply staggering

by Gravity on 20 Apr 2011 at about 19:01.
Check out this video of Stephen Hill's and Fed Up's chosen leader talk about coalitions. Nobody should trust Stephen Harper and the Reform/Conservative party to do what is best for Canadians. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkF4NC5nUjM&sns=fb Pass it on, lets get this video viral

Reporting on a situation

by Adrian Barnes on 20 Apr 2011 at about 12:39.

Reporting on a situation where a candidate for office was forced to apologize for improper behaviour isn't 'anti Conservative crap', fed up: it's just news reporting. Any newspaper in the land would have reported on this had the candidate been Green, NDP, Liberal, or what have you. If we HADN'T reported on Mr. Hill's troubles, that would have been bias.

Don't blame the messenger for the troubles of someone you support.