Layton mixes up BSE, SARSUPDATED: 2007-01-18 01:42:47 MST
By CP
BRANDON, Man. -- It was all acronym soup at a speech by Jack Layton at Manitoba Ag Days yesterday.
The federal NDP leader left agricultural producers looking at each other in wide-eyed wonder after a speech about farm issues in which he repeatedly referred to the "SARS" crisis which affected the Manitoba cattle industry.
"Another important issue is SARS," said Layton.
"I was just talking to a cattle producer today who said the situation is worse now than when we were in the middle of SARS."
Manitoba Agriculture Minister Rosann Wowchuk loudly whispered, "it's BSE, not SARS," from her seat at the front of the audience.
BSE is the acronym for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad-cow disease, while SARS stands for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, the respiratory illness that paralyzed Toronto for several months in 2003.
Layton didn't hear Wowchuk and kept going, saying SARS several more times.
