Angry in the Great White North

Is there any well-educated Canadian who doesn't know that Quebec continues to host an asbestos industry, and though asbestos cannot be used in Canada, that the product is exported to the third world?

Oh right, Michael Ignatieff might be well-educated, but his credentials as a Canadian have always been suspect.  The mess he has made does nothing to alleviate doubts people might have.

Michael Ignatieff came out clearly against the export of asbestos:

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is being called a liar after he seemingly shifted his position on Canada's exporting of asbestos.

Last weekend, on a tour of Vancouver Island, Ignatieff was asked about his position on asbestos, and he said he favoured banning exports.

"I'm probably walking right off the cliff into some unexpected public policy bog of which I'm unaware, but if asbestos is bad for Parliamentarians in the Parliament of Canada, it just has to be bad for everybody else," he said. "Our export of this dangerous product overseas has got to stop."

Three days later, presumably after having this bit of Canadiana explained to him, Michael Ignatieff went out and changed his story:

"We have had 60 years of experience with this product. What I said in answer to a question is that we have an obligation to international agreements to the countries that we export to, to make them aware of the risks. That is all I said."

Based on the reporting, it seems clear that Michael Ignatieff wanted to end the export of asbestos.  Now Michael Ignatieff is being called a liar:

Kathleen Ruff, senior adviser on human rights for the Ottawa-based think-tank Rideau Institute, said Ignatieff's denial is untrue.

"I knew he would be under pressure to retract what he said but that's an out-and-out lie," said Ruff.

Michael Ignatieff the liar?

Didn't he realize that his first comments were recorded?  Or is his arrogance such that he thinks he can simply rewrite history, and that everyone will dutifully accept what he said?

It'll be interesting to see how the Liberals try to repair the damage.