The Town of Gander, N.L., says its invitation to United States Ambassador Pete Hoekstra to attend a 9/11 ceremony this month was protocol, not an endorsement.
Hoekstra is among a list of dignitaries attending the town’s commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.
News of his attendance prompted strong reactions online, as well as an article in satirical news site The Beaverton, titled “Come from Away sequel will see Newfoundlanders put the friggin’ boots to Pete Hoekstra.”
“Come From Away” is a hit musical about how the people of Gander fed, clothed and cared for more than 6,500 air passengers who were stranded there for days after the 9/11 attacks.
In a news release Friday, Gander’s town council said the community’s 9/11 story is about people, not politics.
The town said it understands Canadians are frustrated by ongoing tensions with the United States, but it asked residents to look beyond those differences.
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“There are times when we will disagree. There are also times when we have to recognize that something is bigger than those differences,” the news release said. “For Gander, September 11 is one of those times.”
The town council followed appropriate protocols when it invited governments and diplomatic representatives to the ceremony next week, it said.
Hoekstra has caused controversy by criticizing the “elbows up” campaign against U.S. tariffs and by expressing irritation with Canadians’ response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about making the country the 51st state.
Tens of thousands of Canadians have signed a petition asking the federal government to kick Hoekstra out of the country and request his removal as ambassador.
His office did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Friday.
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Earlier this week, Hoekstra said he was attending “not just on behalf of those who were stranded, but for an entire nation that remains moved by Gander’s generosity.”
“I look forward to meeting many of those who opened their hearts and homes and honouring the enduring bond built that week,” the ambassador said in an emailed statement.
Thirty-eight planes made emergency landings in Gander after the U.S. airspace closed on Sept. 11, 2001. Hijackers had just slammed planes into the World Trade Center in New York, killing nearly 3,000 people.
“We are not asking anyone to change how they feel or what they believe,” said Friday’s release from Gander’s town council.
“We are asking that, for this occasion, the focus remain on the nearly 3,000 lives lost, the people forever affected by September 11, and the humanity that brought people together here 25 years ago.”
There is no “protocol” requiring the Gander town council to invite the American ambassador or any other American governments official. If they wanted an American presence they should have invited the Fire Chief or the Police Chief of New York City… Their staffs were the people who bore the brunt of the work trying to help the terrorist’s victims.. The “protocol” spin sounds like corporate damage control written by a PR firm and the entire blunder dishonours what the event represents
I would like to add my voice to the many good people of Gander and to the many Canadians who are disturbed by the local government’s decision to invite ambassador Peter Hoekstra to the 9/11 celebrations. The current ambassador is the most unsupportive ambassador to our great country in history, is rude to Canadians and favors the breakup of our great country. He does not deserve the invitation. Invite American representatives who appreciate our friendship.
As Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra has done absolutely nothing to unite the two countries and in fact has created the opposite with his rhetoric. Another Trump MAGA. Wasted invitation.
To ‘Turd Oh’:
your comments reflect the poor quality of your intellect. If you are too cowardly to use your real name then your comment is not worth listening to.
Hey anonymous Sept 5 10am, I’m a conservative and I live in Hamilton, let me know when your here. You talk pretty loud for a guy who doesn’t use his real name.
I think we should look at Gander as a people story, a great one. Poitics should have no part of it.
Hijackers? Call them what they were TERRORISTS!
Annoying pp wearing his mom’s used panties, typing till wee hours
Libturd keyboard warriors, a dildo in their azz and commence typing, brainless twits, crack pipe in their mouth drooling dumbazzes
Screw protocol. The ambassador doesn’t like us, probably doesn’t want to attend and should be kicked out of the country.
Conservative keyboard warriors in full swing today.
Bahahaha, not a real man in the crowd
I really hope Alberta separates and Canada dies.
I would move there in a heartbeat.
Of course the Canadian Press wont call them terrorists.
Curious of how they might report attacks on their offices that takes down the entire building?
Liberals will be wiped out along with all of their identity nonsense.
Nothing can stop it.
No, Anonymous poster that does not share our values, you’re just an American hating muzzy or brainwashed liberal arts dummy.
Why’s that, is Gander trying to separate now too? What else is this fascist clown good for. PNG. Sign the petition.
Americans are our enemy. They are the enemies of the free world, the enemies of reason, of science, of humanity, of all thinking and feeling, of families, of empathy, of all trust and social agreements. The scumbag conservatives are a cult, and they have to be removed from society forever. They conserve nothing. No culture, no class, no knowledge, no budget, no sense. All childish trash talking incompetent weak grown up children who deserve to be put out. War criminals, psychopaths. We have listened to these sick people target us for wanting a just society, for my whole life. It’s time to cut them out forever
conservative voices are the scumbags of the world. You’re all gutless coward sycophants. Speak up in front of me you wannabe tough guy pssy, see how far you get with an actual human
Hey look, adults with brains instead of juvenile liberals.
Why call the 9 11 participants hyjackers when they were clearly terrorists? Is global now adopting CBC revisionist sentiments?
Pathetic!!
I think Murica has been gentle with us, the trolling is just geting started.. and wait till the “secrets” slip out.
Hate him, no hate him, hate who, I don’t know, him, not him,him, oooooh
NOT HAPPY ABOUT THAT.
The elbozo’s little heads are exploding over this. I love it! 🤯
F/ K GANDER
Really!? Do you folks figure Hoekstra et al has used ‘protocol’ on Canada then? You figure Trump has been doing by the book ‘protocol’ in his dealings with us? JESUS CHRIST! GROW SOME BALLS!
The future of your children depends on wether you can take your warmongering head out of your ass. TDS is a disease which inflicts hurt feelings on the TDS suffering individual,which causes them to blow up their own house in response. America will be more then fine without us, God help you if your rhetoric brings physical war to your children’s country. Your not special Gord, we are third world.
To ‘Classy’
“Americans are not our enemy.”
Exactly what kind of ‘friend’ threatens to take over our country (Historically twice), inflicts punishing tariffs on us, insults our youth, ignores us providing a safe haven when they were attacked on 9/11, kills our troops when we support them in Afghanistan, and says we are not a country? with ‘friends’ like that who needs enemies?
Finally some class shown by somebody in this country. Americans are not our enemy.
Haven’t we sent The Goblin home yet?