Canadian Prime Minister Eats Steak to Allay Mad Cow Concerns - NYT 5/

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New York Times

 

 

Canadian Prime Minister Eats Steak to Allay Mad Cow Concerns

 

May 21, 2003

By REUTERS

 

 

 

 

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Another health scare, another lunch in

front of the cameras.

 

 

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien tucked into a prime

Alberta steak in a downtown Ottawa restaurant Wednesday in

a bid to allay public fears over mad cow disease.

 

 

Chretien, who critics said had not done enough to reassure

Canadians during the height of a recent SARS crisis,

grabbed the bull by the horns after one case of mad cow

disease was confirmed in the western province of Alberta

Tuesday.

 

 

First the Liberal prime minister appeared before reporters

early Wednesday morning to say he expected the cow in

question was an isolated case and to announce he would be

eating steak that day.

 

 

Then he made good on his word, turning up with senior aides

at an outdoor restaurant for a meal of Alberta sirloin

steak under a cluster of boom microphones.

 

 

"I'll have mine medium, like a Liberal," he said in

comments loud enough to be heard by the waiting media.

 

 

Later he went over to shake the hands of a group of excited

schoolchildren and told them: "You should have a steak

today."

 

 

Last month Chretien had lunch in Toronto's Chinatown

district as he sought to persuade Canadians that it was

safe to eat in Chinese restaurants despite the spread of

SARS, which originated in China.

 

 

Shortly afterward he went to the Dominican Republic for an

official visit and a 10-day vacation, prompting critics to

say he should have been more involved in tackling the SARS

crisis.