Duceppe apologizes for remarks

Last Updated Mon, 05 Dec 2005 13:18:25 EST
CBC News

Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe said on Monday he was overly enthusiastic when he said his party wants to make the Liberals "disappear" in Quebec.

Duceppe apologized for the remark, saying he only meant to say he wants his party to win every riding in Quebec, and blamed the comments on having too much enthusiasm.

He also said he'd like an apology from Jean Lapierre for comparing him to a Nazi for the remarks.

"There's no question of giving up one single riding to the Liberal Party of Canada," BQ Leader Gilles Duceppe told a special general council meeting of the party on Sunday.

"The Liberals, we'll make them disappear. Give yourself a present," he said.

Liberal cabinet minister Lapierre reacted angrily to the comment. "That kind of language, where you say you want to make your opponents disappear, there's a little bit of a Nazi tone in that," he said.