Shane Doan cannot escape the iron fist of a Canadian Parliament scorned. The sheer accusation of remarks he may or may not have made about French Canadians in an NHL game have followed him to the World Championships. From the IHWC.net website:

Meanwhile, back in Canada, the appointment of Shane Doan as the captain of Team Canada has become an issue in the nation’s Parliament, reports Canadian Press. Shane Doan may have scored the winning goal in Canada’s 4-2 win over Norway at the world championships in Russia on Monday, but he found few fans in Parliament as opposition parties criticized his choice as the team’s captain.

At the heart of the controversy are comments about French-Canadians that Doan allegedly directed towards officials during a December 2005 game between his Phoenix Coyotes and the Montreal Canadiens.

Though Doan denies making the comments, all three opposition parties questioned whether Doan was an appropriate choice to represent the team given the allegations. Opposition leaders were also irked by the government’s unwillingness to deal with the issue.

“It’s not a government decision,” said Secretary of State for Sport Helena Guergis to repeated questions in the House of Commons.

I’m starting to wonder if the Canadian people aren’t getting a little sick of the Canadian government getting the most press and the most vocal about hockey issues. Remember how they issued a statement about the NHL placing a Saturday playoff game between the Senators and the Penguins in the afternoon? This is you government working for you.

Now let the comedy begin.

But Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe rejected those claims.

“I cannot understand why the government wouldn’t put out a single comment to say that this is disrespectful to French Canadians,” Duceppe said.

Umm. Perhaps Robert for Eyes on the Prize can tell me, do they not have a French Canadian word for “allegedly?” (sorry, was that insensitive?) He hasn’t been convicted of anything, one man’s word against his being the only evidence brought to light. Perhaps that is why. Wasn’t this the same party that didn’t want to listen to it’s own people on the real issue of seperation? This is how they pass their time?

The NDP’s Jack Layton suggested that Doan’s captaincy will “cast a shadow on (Canada’s) participation on the international stage.”

Actually, the Canadian government making an issue about an accusation that hasn’t been proved and placing it on the international stage casts a bigger shadow. Or, even worse, pardoning Alan Eagleson casts a bigger shadow on the international stage of the Canadian government.

So, the government doesn’t mind someone stealing from hockey players pensions, but does mind a hockey player possibly making an insult toward their own? Getting a grip doesn’t even cover it.

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