The Nova Scotia legislature has unanimously endorsed a resolution condemning Canadian Alliance Leader Stephen Harper for saying Atlantic Canadians have a defeatist attitude and rely on government handouts.

CTV News Staff

The Nova Scotia legislature has unanimously endorsed a resolution condemning Canadian Alliance Leader Stephen Harper for saying Atlantic Canadians have a defeatist attitude and rely on government handouts.

NDP Leader Darrell Dexter tabled the motion, calling for Harper to distinguish between his own party's unbroken string of defeats and the reality of achievement and optimism in the Atlantic region.

The motion didn't pass on first vote because of a Tory backbencher, but a second vote saw it sail through.

Harper complained to a New Brunswick reporter earlier this week that Atlantic Canadians are not inclined to vote for his party because of their "can't-do attitude," fostered by years of government handouts.

Harper tried to dampen his comments on Wednesday by saying all of Canada -- not just the Atlantic provinces -- has a defeatist attitude. He said there is a "culture of defeat'' not just in the eastern provinces but on the Prairies and among some Quebecers.

But the clarification did nothing to quell anger with politicians in Atlantic Canada.

"Calling Atlantic Canadians defeated is offensive," said Gerry Byrne of Newfoundland, the federal minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.

He described Harper's statements as "insulting and inflammatory."

New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord said Harper's comments displayed a profound ignorance of the region.

"If he truly wants to be a national leader, before he passes judgment on a region of the country, he should take the time to get informed," Lord said.

A Liberal MP from Prince Edward Island was more direct. "It's the most idiotic statement I've ever heard from a national leader," Wayne Easter said in Ottawa. "I've never even heard the likes of that from the separatists."

Prince Edward Island Premier Pat Binns said Harper must have missed the report released Tuesday by the Conference Board of Canada, that said Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island were expected to lead the country in terms of economic growth in 2002.

"I'm astounded that, once again, we have someone who really doesn't know what they're talking about telling us how to cure things in Atlantic Canada,'' Binns told the Canadian Press.

Less than two years ago, Alliance strategist and adviser John Mykytyshyn was forced to resign after he suggested Atlantic Canadians were lazy and always looking for handouts.