Fahrenheit 9/11 filmmaker burns Harper (from CBC)
Last Updated Thu, 24 Jun 2004 10:16:30

WASHINGTON – U.S. filmmaker Michael Moore sounded off Wednesday on Canada’s election, warning voters not to elect a Conservative government.

Moore, in Washington for the official American premiere of his movie Fahrenheit 9/11, said he hopes his film will convince Canadians to bypass Stephen Harper.

“You’ve got four days after it opens, to get people out to the polls to make sure that Mr. Harper doesn’t become your next prime minister,” he said.

“We’re trying to get rid of our conservative, you know. We’re going one way, you guys shouldn’t be going the opposite direction,” said Moore, whose new documentary takes a critical look at U.S. President George W. Bush’s response to the Sept. 11 attacks and the Iraq war.

“You should be saying, ‘You know what? We don’t want this country, Canada, to become like Bush’s America,'” he said.

When asked why he’s concerned with Canadian politics, Moore responded: “Well first of all, I live on the Canadian border. I don’t want to have to look across the border and see you guys going our way.”

Moore said he’s trying to convince Americans to be more like Canadians, and praised the country’s “ethic.”

“And that ethic says: ‘We’re all Canadians, we’re all in the same boat. If one of us gets sick, that person should get health care ’cause we’re all affected.’

“The American way is pull yourself up by your bootstraps: ‘Me, me, me, me, me. It’s mine. It’s mine.’ You know? Don’t go that way. Your Conservatives are trying to take you that way.”