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Peter MacKay
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===Minister of Foreign Affairs=== [[File:Mackay-amorim05022007.jpg|thumb|MacKay as [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]], speaking with his Brazilian counterpart, [[Celso Amorim]], February 2007]] Following the Conservative victory in the [[2006 Canadian federal election|2006 election]], Prime Minister [[Stephen Harper]] named MacKay as [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] and [[Minister for the purposes of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Act|Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]]; he was also tasked to be the political minister for both his home province, and for neighbouring [[Prince Edward Island]], just as his father [[Elmer MacKay|Elmer]] had done between 1988 and 1993. {{Citation needed|date=May 2011}} During the first mandate, his biggest issue was the [[Lebanon]]β[[Israel]]β[[Hezbollah]] [[2006 Lebanon War|crisis]] that occurred in July 2006. The government decided to evacuate thousands of Canadians from Lebanon to safer locations and many back to Canada. MacKay responded to critics saying that the process was slow, that the boats (those which were used to evacuate) had limited capacity. MacKay's statements in support of the Israelis during the [[2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict]] created a national debate in Canada, especially among Arabs and Muslim Canadians who opposed MacKay's position. During this period MacKay and the [[Conservative Party of Canada]] joined the Bush Administration in opposing the [[United Nations]]' call for a ceasefire. It was also during this period that MacKay made a controversial statement in which he referred to [[Hezbollah]] as a "cancer" in Lebanon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_2382.aspx |title=Citytv |publisher=Citynews.ca |access-date=May 5, 2011 }} {{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Hezbollah is formally recognized by the government of Canada as a terrorist organization.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/prg/ns/le/cle-eng.aspx#Hizballah%23Hizballah |title=Currently listed entities |publisher=Publicsafety.gc.ca |date=February 1, 2011 |access-date=May 5, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209042421/http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/prg/ns/le/cle-eng.aspx#Hizballah%23Hizballah |archive-date=February 9, 2009 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> On October 19, 2006, during a debate on the Conservative Party's clean air plan, MP [[Mark Holland]] said that a Liberal colleague, [[David McGuinty]] asked MacKay about the impact of pollution on humans and animals by asking, "What about your dog?" This referred to MacKay posing for photographs on a farm with his neighbour's dog following his break-up with Belinda Stronach.<ref name="Neighbour's dog">{{cite web|url=https://nationalpost.com/opinion/andrew-coyne-peter-mackay-was-a-politician-of-many-titles-but-little-achievement|title=Peter MacKay was a politician of many titles, but little achievement|author=Coyne, Andrew|date=30 May 2015|publisher=[[National Post]]|access-date=1 December 2023}}</ref> MacKay then allegedly pointed to Stronach's vacant chair and replied "You already have her." Holland lodged a complaint with the [[Speaker of the House of Commons (Canada)|Commons Speaker]] and demanded an apology from MacKay. Stronach has said that the comment was disrespectful to both herself and Canadian women, and has herself asked for an apology. MacKay has denied referring to Stronach as a "dog".<ref name="MacKay denies-CBC">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/mackay-denies-referring-to-stronach-as-a-dog-1.625723|title=MacKay denies referring to Stronach as a dog|date=October 19, 2006|access-date=April 4, 2014|publisher=CBC News}}</ref> The alleged comment was not heard by Speaker of the House [[Peter Milliken]] and it was not recorded in the official Hansard. Afterwards, Milliken and his staff said that they could not hear the remarks on the tape recording.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/stronach-demands-mackay-apologize-for-alleged-dog-comment-1.599061|title=Stronach demands MacKay apologize for alleged 'dog' comment|publisher=CBC News|date=October 21, 2006|access-date=May 14, 2018}}</ref>
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