Eh?

A tidbit from *Heard on the Hill:

O, Not Canada! Yet another Member of Congress has uttered the “C” word in connection with the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers. And the Canucks, who get very sensitive about this issue, are just as irked as they can be.

This time it was Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D-Texas), who tied the hijackers to Canada when talking about the need for stronger border security last week. He said the terrorists “entered the United States from Canada on September 11, 2001, using passports that the Canadians accepted as valid despite the fact that the documents were doctored.” He repeated the comments in a press release on his Web site.

Oooh. That really burned some Canadian bacon. Canadian Ambassador Michael Kergin whipped off a letter to Hinojosa on Wednesday telling the Congressman that his statements were false. “None of the September 11th hijackers entered the United States through Canada,” Kergin said.

To back up his assertion, the ambassador quoted Attorney General John Ashcroft, who said, “None of the terrorists from the Sept. 11 carnage came to the United States through Canada to my knowledge.” Kergin also quoted Ashcroft thanking Canada for its efforts in fighting terrorism.

Let’s hope the Canadians’ efforts fighting terrorism are, indeed, as good as their efforts fighting bad press. One day after the ambassador sent his letter to Hinojosa — and shortly after Hinojosa realized that HOH had a copy of it — the Congressman corrected the record.

In a statement provided to HOH, Hinojosa said, “The references to Canada have been stricken from the remarks I submitted for the record. Earlier today, I informed the Canadian Embassy that these steps have been taken.”

Bernard Etzinger, a spokesman for the Canadian Embassy, said that by his count, at least seven Members of Congress have made the same mistake as Hinojosa since the 9/11 attacks.

“It happens all the time. It’s an urban myth,” he said. “There is no mention in the 9/11 commission’s report on any of the September 11th terrorists having entered the United States through Canada.”

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