Newfoundland and Labrador Lt.-Gov John Crosbie has apologized for cracking an off-colour joke about Pakistan and suicide bombers.
Crosbie was attending a provincial cabinet shuffle last week when he made the quip, which began with a suicidal man calling a hotline for help.
The intended punch line? The suicidal man, fraught with worry over the U.S. economy, is transferred to a call centre in Pakistan where he's asked if he can drive a truck.
While the Lt.-Gov's quip generated laughs in the room, Pakistani groups at local universities have scolded Crosbie for perpetuating negative stereotypes.
In a prepared statement, N.L. Premier Kathy Dunderdale also condemned the joke as "clearly inappropriate."
Crosbie responded to the backlash on Thursday, saying that he'd choose his words more carefully in the future.
This isn't the first time Crosbie's sense of humour has grabbed headline attention and garnered several disapproving headshakes.
In an incident that lives on in parliamentary infamy, the formal federal cabinet minister once told Liberal MP Sheila Copps: "Just quiet down, baby."
Copps eventually got the last word, titling her autobiography, "Nobody's Baby."
Even after quitting federal politics in 1993, Crosbie carried on with his trademark — albeit often off-beat — wit.
"One of the first lessons I learned very early on in my life as an elected member was that everybody didn't love me,'' he said when he was sworn in as lieutenant-governor in 2008.
With files from The Canadian Press
