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There's trouble brewing for the federal party leaders, make that brewing trouble.
Comic Rick Mercer has begun a Beer Not Kids petition demanding an end to the slagging of suds by politicians in the Jan. 23 federal election.
"Children are the future, but beer is now," Mercer declares in launching his online campaign.
The beer-versus-kids debate began after a Liberal aide scoffed at a Conservative day-care pledge by saying parents could blow the cash on beer and popcorn.
That spawned a website petition at www.kidsnotbeer.com, so Mercer counter-petitioned.
"I for one am not prepared to let the Kids Not Beer people win this one. Together we can stand up and say 'My Canada includes having a few pops,' " Mercer says on his blog.
"We are quite frankly flabbergasted that an election debate surrounding something as mundane as child care has degenerated into an attack on a sacred Canadian pastime like drinking beer.
"Some Canadians do in fact choose beer not kids. Don't bash the beer drinker," the petition to the party leaders concludes.
As of late Thursday, over 3,300 people had signed up. Mercer says children may be our greatest resource, but beer is our greatest beverage.
The comedian launched a petition in the 2000 election campaign to have then Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day change his name to Doris, which attracted hundreds of thousands of signatures.
- reprinted from the Edmonton Journal