No, they didn't. Really?Oh yes, they di-id:
OTTAWA — An unfortunate blunder by the Prime Minister's Office has residents of Nunavut alternately chuckling and cringing.
A news release sent out Monday outlined Prime Minister Stephen Harper's itinerary as he began a five-day tour of the North. The release repeatedly spelled the capital of Nunavut as Iqualuit - rather than Iqaluit.
The extra "u" makes a world of difference in the Inuktitut language.
Iqaluit, properly spelled, means "many fish."
Spelled with an extra "u," the Nunavut language commissioner's office says the word translates as a derogatory reference to "people with unwiped bums."
Bloggers from Iqaluit were quickly online ridiculing the gaffe - some light-hearted, some angry.
Iqaluit was named capital of Nunavut when the territory was created in 1999.
A news release today from the PMO spells Iqaluit correctly.
(h/t to James Morton who found it only "mildly amusing". Me? I think it's frickin' hilarious and so very expressive of the Cons' so-called 'cultural sensitivity'.)
