No dam apology, P.E.I. environment minister tells legislature

PEI Cabinet Minister Richard Brown (photo CBC)

Story from CBC

Just like Frank Sinatra and Bono, Richard Brown and Jim Bagnall got under each other’s skin.

Sinatra was trying to get over it: Bono was just trying to hold the melody and tempo.

Brown says he never killed a beaver, in a comment tinged with double entendre if there ever was one. Bagnall reaches for an apology. It was only Thursday in the Legislature for Pete’s sake.

CBC’s going to have to be careful. The US Supreme Court ruled that that cursing on TV is illegal. Oh well, they only used the “d” word not the “f” word.

CBC – No dam apology

P.E.I. Environment Minister Richard Brown says he never killed a beaver, and will not apologize for the work he did blowing up beaver dams when he was young.

‘They want to make a mockery of this thing, then they can do that.’— Environment Minister Richard Brown

Brown was commenting in the legislature earlier about the current problem the Island is having with beaver dams blocking streams, and discussed how he had blown up dams with dynamite when he was young.

Environment critic Jim Bagnall asked Brown to apologize for his actions.

“I take offence to that,” Brown responded.

“This legislature is here to debate and discuss things. Now if this opposition doesn’t want open and frank debate here, Madame Speaker, and they want to make a mockery of this thing, then they can do that. Thirty years ago this was acceptable to go around and do that. It’s not acceptable today. And that’s all I was trying to say.”

Brown said he had a permit to blow up the dams and that he never harmed or killed a single beaver. The beavers were always removed in a humane way before the dynamite was used.