Late last night the Agriculture Minister, Gerry Ritz, made a public apology for what he called ''callous and inappropriate'' remarks during the listeriosis outbreak.

Ritz joked in a conference call with bureaucrats and staff that the political fallout from the outbreak was like death by a thousand cuts, ''or should I say cold cuts."

The comments were reported late yesterday.

A few hours later the Parliamentary Press Gallery sent out a notice to journalists saying Ritz would make a statement on the front steps of the Confederation Building on Parliament Hill.

Ritz was accompanied by Mike Storeshaw, normally a senior aide to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, but who is now working in the Conservative war room.

At the start of the campaign, a note went out from the Speaker's office to remind MPs that Parliament Hill is not to be used for election purposes during the campaign.

The Conservatives say the Ritz apology was not a campaign event — despite the presence of a campaign official. And they point out that some office windows on Parliament Hill have Liberal campaign posters on them — a clear violation of the rule.

Confed, as the old stone building is known in Ottawa, is where many MPs have their offices, including Ritz. But it is not home to the agriculture department, or Ritz's office as minister.

No word from the Speaker's office on whether apologizing in the middle of a campaign, in front of a parliamentary building, is using the Hill for election purposes.

— Chris Hall