Finance Minister Jim Flaherty: New Age Pirate
National Post
January 11, 2008
by Ron Nurwisah
Ottawa
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, whose family came to Canada from Ireland four generations ago, spoke at lunch hosted by the Ireland Canada Chamber of Commerce in Toronto on Friday. But he didn't just speak. He spoke with a hint of an Irish accent here and there. Wee words like "little" were shortened, ya hear, to smaller words, like l'il.
He told tales of his family's heritage, the feared O'Flaherty tribe back in the Old Country.
“I am an Irish-Canadian with a somewhat chequered past,” he said, before launching into a l’il story about his ancestors.
"It was said that they were pirates. In fact, they were pirates, according to the history of it. And that from time to time, would go from the county to the city of Galway and pillage," he said.
Their rampages were so bad that some say they resulted in the inscription over Galway’s wall that bears the inscription loosely translated as: "God save us from the wrath of the O'Flahertys."
Someone once told Mr. Flaherty that this was a suitable ancestry for finance minister. He replied: “I said, really, today we call it more elegantly, not pillaging
, but taxation.”
— Carrie Tait
Photo: Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, now just imagine him with an Irish accent in a pirate cap. (Chris Wattie/Reuters)
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Canada is different that Somalia. Here pirates become Finance Ministers
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3 comments:
“I am an Irish-Canadian with a somewhat chequered past,” he said.
Holy crap Batman--this is the first honest thing this guy has said since he became Fin Min.
If I still could afford one , I would love to hit him with an old potato.
A handful of Meow Mix just doesn`t cut it.
Dr Mike
Flaherty shows a complete lack of historical understanding in joking about his family and piracy.
Piracy is a curse. Pirates throw their captives aboard; unless the captives are women, whom the pirates rape and then sell into slavery or kill.
If Flaherty is proud to associate himself with pirates, so be it.
No doubt Flaherty's relatives are rolling in their graves, Jim is a complete failure as a pirate and finance minister.
A pirate operates for personnel financial gain, Jims attacked on income trusts resulted in no gains, a multi billion dollar loss to the victims and a multi billion dollar loss in tax revenue for the good ship Jim was a claiming to defend.
Kind of like shooting your self in the foot or sending a canon ball though the bottom of your own hull.
The only potential winners, certain corporate identities now find themselves in serious financial difficulties looking for hand out from the taxpayers they were so eager to see attacked.
Ironic!
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