Happy fucking birthday indeed, Helena

You delicate flower.

The tautologically-challenged Helena Guergis issued a written statement Thursday saying she was "rushing to catch a flight" last week and "spoke emotionally" to airport staff.

Let’s help her with the truth, shall we?  (emphasis mine) According to a letter (and obviously supported since Guergis saw the need to do what few CONs do: issue an apology) -

...Guergis and an aide were at the Air Canada ticket counter five minutes before the flight was to depart and they were "being so difficult and rude" they were almost denied permission to board.  They berated (the ticket agent) loudly and treated him in a most condescending manner after he told them some of their excessive bags were too large to be carry-on and should be checked.

At security screening...Guergis initially refused to remove her boots, which set off the metal detector. She then "huffily" removed her boots, "slammed" them into a bin and groused to the security screener: "Happy f**king birthday to me. I guess I'm stuck on this hell hole. (P.E.I.)"

Guergis is correct in stating her behaviour was inappropriate.  If you or I tried that at an airport, we would at the very least be removed from the airport to find another way home.  This behaviour is especially horrendous coming from a Minister.  It is abusive, and shows contempt for the Atlantic province.

Guergis’ show of contempt did not stop there, either.  She goes on to show contempt for people who are simply trying to do their job.

Told at one point that she should have checked in at least two hours before her flight's departure time, the writer says Guergis shouted: "I don't need to be lectured about flight time by you. I've been down here working my ass off for you people."

The very day that Baird announced Canadians will have to pay a higher airport security tax to make us all safer, Guergis helps him out by showing all of Canada how unstable people can become disruptive and violate security at airports.

Once she cleared security, Guergis allegedly tried to force open a locked door from the pre-boarding area on to the tarmac, where her plane was waiting. Told to wait for an Air Canada representative, Guergis and her aide instead began "screaming and hammering on the soundproof tinted glass that separates pre-board from airside," apparently hoping to catch the attention of an airline representative.

In the world of the CONs, it seems, laws are only meant for those people the members work their asses off for in various hell holes around the country.

Simple solution to your frustration with Canadians, Helena.  If you resent the work so much and have such contempt for people you claim to work for, just quit.  It’s not like we’d miss you.

A long history of discrimination + Cuts to the social safety net + Failure to provide basic services like legal aid, affordable housing and childcare + lack of investment in sectors of the economy employing any significant number of women + bargaining away fundamental rights like pay equity = women highly vulnerable to violence and poverty, rendered invisible and voiceless.

And the PMO’s reaction?  Predictable:

When contacted by CBC News, the Prime Minister's Office said it was "satisfied" with her apology, and that it "closes the matter."

Well, the matter is hardly closed for all Canadians.  Guergis, like other elected politicians, is supposed to work for the people of Canada.  Guergis did not, as she is trying now to say speak emotionally.  She was verbally abusive to people who were trying to do their job, and she violated security procedures at an airport.  An apology doesn’t cut it.  Such behaviour is not written off for anyone else at airports because we are all expected to respect the rights of others and follow security procedures.  An MP who has so little control over their own actions should not be instrumental in shaping laws for others.