Ryan Leef suggested that Stephen Harper may have a flesh-eating disease, and apparently it’s infectious.
Leef stumbled over his words Monday at an event in Carcross, and introduced Harper as the “prime minister of cannibal.”
Only two days later, Environment Minister Peter Kent repeated the gaffe at Harper’s national park announcement in the Northwest Territories. He introduced the prime minister using the exact same words.
Harper laughed off the remark in both instances.
In response to Leef, he said, “You’ve confirmed some rumours about me, I think.”
And in reply to Kent’s repeat offence, Harper said, “So, I hear my reputation precedes me,” according to reports.
Both of the blunders were caught on video and have been posted online by the CBC.
Leef’s mistake may have resulted from a conflation of the word “Canada” with the next stressed word in his introduction, “honourable.”
Kent, on the other hand, blamed Leef for his misstep.
“This has been planted in my mind from an anecdote involving my colleague Ryan Leef,” Kent insisted.
We can only hope that the infection does not spread further.