Canadian Prime Minister Creamed With Pie
Aug. 16 -- Oh, the indignity of it all.
Canadian Prime Minister Prime Minister Jean Chretien was creamed in the face with a pie as he tried to enter a building in Charlottetown, capital of the province of Prince Edward Island.
The pastry was thrown by a protester said to be with PEI Pie Brigade. He was soon hustled away by a host of Mounties.
Just Desserts?
The man said Chretien was merely meeting his just desserts for committing “crimes against Canadians,” such as cutting welfare payments and allowing the sale of genetically modified food, according to reporter Joy Malbon of CTV News.
The activist was not immediately identified and it was not clear what charges he may face. The flavor of the pie was also unknown.
A pie in the face used to be a staple of stage comedy. Chretien, however, did not appear amused as he continued into the building, his face covered with cream.
“[Chretien] walked right by me and as he was being taken away … I could just see in his eyes how angry he was,” Malbon said. “His mouth was clenched, he was taken away and we haven’t seen him since.”
The prime minister can take heart from the knowledge that he’s in good company. Members of the Biotic Baking Brigade and other protesters have pied the likes of San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman and designer Oscar de la Renta. In February 1998, during a visit to Belgium, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates was greeted by a pie in the kisser.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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