What are some of Canada's most controversial political quotes?

When Toronto city council banned plastic bags in a surprise vote on Wednesday, Mayor Rob Ford pointed the finger of blame at an unusual target (unusual for a politician, anyway): the people of Toronto.

When Toronto council banned plastic shopping bags, Ford said, 'It's the people's fault.' (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)"It's the people's fault. Honestly, sometimes I get so frustrated because the people are just sitting back listening. They don't pick up the phone, they don't go down to city hall, they don't ask questions, they just ... it's frustrating," Ford said in a Thursday morning radio interview.

Ironically, it was a member of his own executive who proposed the motion to ban plastic bags outright. While there had been some discussion of cancelling a five-cent fee for them, before Wednesday's vote the issue of banning them hadn't really come up.

It reminds us of other controversial political quotes that have come up in Canadian politics.

In 2005, Scott Reid, then director of communications for Liberal Leader Paul Martin, went on CBC News: Sunday defending the Liberal child care plan against the Conservative plan to give families of young children $1,200 a year.

"Don't give people 25 bucks a week to blow on beer and popcorn," said Reid. "Give them child-care spaces that work." Reid later apologized. 

And in 1997, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien was asked about student protesters at the APEC summit in Vancouver who had been pepper sprayed by RCMP officers. He said he himself had been a student protestor, but "these techniques did not exist in the days. For me, pepper, I put it on my plate."

More recently, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews was criticized for likening opponents of his bill, which would give police more surveillance powers, to child pornographers.

Of Liberal public safety critic Francis Scarpaleggia he said, "He can either stand with us or with the child pornographers."

And while most politicians are understandably mute when it comes to their own pay and pension, NDP MP Ryan Cleary recently said that he probably deserves more money.

"I work my butt off," Cleary told the Globe and Mail. "Would I deserve a pension of $28,000 after six years? Probably not. It should be more than that."
    
What's your favourite controversial political quote? List them here in the comments and let the CBC Community vote for their favourite.