Cheryl Gallant goes into the deep end and no one has a life preserver

"In Ontario we have inland seas, the Great Lakes, and it would never occur to any of us, even up in the Ottawa River, to count on the coast guard to come and help us," -- Cheryl Gallant, Conservative MP, provides Prime Minister Harper with the need for an aspirin or two.

There is much made about the "control" that Stephen Harper reportedly has over his caucus (see Harperland), if so, one wonders what distracted him when Cheryl Gallant waded into the debate over Coast Guard services on the Atlantic Coast.

Ms. Gallant, the Conservative MP from the Ottawa Valley riding of Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke has provided no shortage of material for commentators today, after providing her thoughts on the nature of emergency services on the water and how those that make their living on the seas should perhaps just take better care of their own requirements.

Exhibiting a rather scary lack of knowledge of matters marine, Ms. Gallant suggested that those on the coasts of the unpredictable oceans, should be more like the weekend pleasure boaters of the Britannia Yacht Club and not call on the the Coast guard when such things as 60 foot swells potentially rise up to swamp their boats.

Pointing out that Ontario and Quebec's boaters make do without a Coast Guard to call on when the swells get to two feet, Ms. Gallant seems to have offered the thought that the need for safer oceans and faster response is something that should not fall upon the shoulders of a national government.

Needless to say, those that have suffered the rage of the oceans and lost loved ones in ocean tragedies have been quick to suggest Ms. Gallant best not comment on things that she clearly knows nothing about.

Sound advice that one suggests should be heeded immediately, but much to the delight of Parliament Hill journalists, advice we imagine which shall be ignored.

Those journalists have been quick to  join in on the tidal wave of commentary which clearly outlines how out of touch the woman is with the issue under debate, making one wonder how she's been allowed to have any speaking parts in the ongoing theatre production of Parliament.

The political evisceration of Ms. Gallant's commentaries can be found below.

Globe and Mail -- SOS- Cheryl Gallant lost at sea
Montreal Gazette-- MP under fire for search-and-rescue comments
CBC-- Gallant backs away from search-and-rescue comments
Toronto Sun-- MP's comments draw ire of Newfoundlanders
VOCM News-- MP Offended by Conservative Comments Regarding SAR Response Times