Bennett loses B.C. cabinet post over profanity-laced e-mail
Last Updated: Tuesday, February 6, 2007 | 3:59 PM PT
CBC News
East Kootenay MLA Bill Bennett will stay in the Liberal caucus after quitting a junior cabinet post and admitting he sent an e-mail full of profanities to a constituent, B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell says.
Bennett, who has represented the riding in B.C.'s southeast corner since 2001, resigned Tuesday as minister of state for mining.
"He's clearly taken a significant hit as far as his personal accountability, measured by the fact that he's stepping aside from cabinet," Campbell said, "and I frankly value his voice on behalf of the Kootenays.
"He's done an exceptional job as minister of state for mining that in no way excused the e-mail exchange, and that's how Bill felt, and I agree with him."
Bennett had been angered by an e-mail he received from a constituent, Maarten Hart of the Fernie Rod and Gun Club.
Hart said the government was insulting British Columbia residents with overly generous big-game allocations to guides and outfitters at the expense of local hunters.
He accused the government of bowing to the dollar and facing toward Wall Street three times a day.
Bennett replied in sometimes scatological terms, calling Hart, along other things, a self-inflated, pompous know-it-all.
"I took offence to his e-mail and got angry and fired off an e-mail without even reading it and realized in minutes it was a very stupid thing to do," Bennett said.
"So I'm paying the price for my own lack of prudence."
Share Tools
Latest British Columbia News Headlines
- Ryder Hesjedal wins prestigious Giro d'Italia
- Victoria native Ryder Hesjedal has become the first Canadian to win one of the cycling world's three Grand Tour events, wrapping up the 2012 Giro d'Italia with an excellent performance in the final stage in Milan. more »
- Surrey RCMP seek hit-run driver
- Police are looking for a light-coloured Chrysler with damage to the driver's front side after a pedestrian was hit in Surrey, B.C., early Sunday morning. more »
- B.C. man who scaled Everest returns home
- A Vancouver man who climbed the world's highest mountain is back home and talking about the adventure. more »
- Fort Langley restaurant damaged in fire
- A sushi restaurant in Fort Langley, B.C., was damaged in a fire early Sunday morning. more »
Top News Headlines
- Canadian Pacific strikers face back-to-work legislation
- Labour Minister Lisa Raitt is prepared to end the Canadian Pacific Railway strike if necessary, after both CP and the union rejected a proposal for voluntary arbitration by the government-appointed negotiator on Sunday. Raitt says she is "extremely disappointed." more »
- Syrian regime denies role in Houla massacre
- The UN Security Council condemned the Syrian regime at an emergency meeting Sunday, holding president Bashar al-Assad's military responsible for the massacre of more than 100 people, dozens of whom were children younger than 10 years old. more »
- Ryder Hesjedal wins prestigious Giro d'Italia
- Victoria native Ryder Hesjedal has become the first Canadian to win one of the cycling world's three Grand Tour events, wrapping up the 2012 Giro d'Italia with an excellent performance in the final stage in Milan. more »
- Neighbour may have helped find missing kids in Mexico
- Two Winnipeg children who had been missing for nearly four years were found in Mexico after a man raised concerns about his neighbour, according to a private investigator. more »
- B.C. NDP calls for unity in fighting coast guard closure
- Surrey RCMP seek hit-run driver
- B.C. man who scaled Everest returns home
- Fort Langley restaurant damaged in fire
- Passengers' families sue for fatal B.C. plane crash
- B.C. Coast Guard Auxiliary gets new name
- Tsunami motorcycle heading to Harley museum
- Psych ward escapes worry neighbours
- Gang forum honours Surrey 6 victim
