Mike Lake, the Conservative MP for Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont, recently delivered a petition to the House of Commons concerning Bigfoot.
Yes. Bigfoot:
The sasquatch, the legendary hairy man-like beast said to roam the wilderness of B.C. and other parts of North America, should be protected as an endangered species, says MP Mike Lake.
He wants the sasquatch -- a.k.a. Bigfoot -- to be protected under Canada's Species at Risk Act.
A petition to the House of Commons, signed by almost 500 of Lake's constituents in Edmonton and due for debate next week, asks the government "to establish immediate, comprehensive legislation to effect immediate protection of Bigfoot."
The problem is that this report is not really right. All Lake did was deliver a petition on behalf of his constituents:
An Edmonton MP has presented the government with a petition to protect Bigfoot.
Edmonton-Mill Woods- Beaumont MP Mike Lake offered the petition up March 28 in the House of Commons on behalf of a constituent who’s convinced Bigfoot exists and needs legal protection.
“You don’t make judgment calls on petitions,” Lake told Sun Media yesterday. “We try to do it as a service to constituents.”
Asked whether or not he believed in Bigfoot, the Tory offered a firm “No,” followed by a chuckle.
“But if he did exist, I’m sure he would vote NDP,” Lake kidded.
Nevertheless, some Liberals are making this out to be some sort of embarrassment:
Our new government at work, showing how its [sic] in touch with the grassroots! Magnificent!
I would remind them that a bona-fide Bigfoot booster was part of the Liberal Party election team in the last election:
James Ludwar is a 40-year-old Calgary lawyer running as the Liberal candidate against Conservative incumbent Jason Kenney. In 2004, Mr. Kenney won by more than 28,000 votes over his second-place opponent, the Liberal. So it's a good thing Mr. Ludwar not only has kept his day job but has a hobby.
He is a member of the Western Canadian Sasquatch Research Organization (WCSRO). Mr. Ludwar says that while he has never seen a sasquatch, a couple of his friends "had some experience with something they say was a sasquatch."
What he likes most about his hobby is that it gets him outside. "It's basically kind of a cheesy excuse to get out in the bush and enjoy the great outdoors," he says.
He admits, too, that he doesn't really believe in sasquatches. "Am I going to bet that they exist? Yeah, I might put five bucks on it, but I'm not going to put any more."
A group of citizens wants their concerns heard. Their member of parliament delivers their concerns for consideration. The appropriate ministry will review the petition, and then decide that the government need not be involved. The MP has done his duty. Democracy works. Nuff said.
