Not: The passenger in seat 14A. Mitt Romney, the Republican politician, refused to press charges against the passenger who tried to assault him yesterday while he was on an Air Canada flight leaving Vancouver for Los Angeles.
The man, who the RCMP won’t name, was arrested, let go and later caught another flight.
“The male who was alleged assaulted did not wish for charges to go ahead,” said Corporal Jennifer Pound, of the Richmond RCMP.
Police escorted the man off the plane; his luggage was also removed. The 62-year-old former Massachusetts governor was not injured.
Mr. Romney and his wife, Ann, had been in Vancouver since last Friday attending the Winter Olympic Games.
As the former president and CEO of the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games, Mr. Romney was at the Games as a special guest. He attended the opening ceremony and took in some events over the weekend.
The couple had always planned to leave Monday. And they were booked on an 11 a.m. Air Canada flight to Los Angeles. They were sitting in the economy section, row 15, of the aircraft, when the incident happened.
The man sitting in front of Mr. Romney’s wife dropped his seat back and when Mr. Romney asked him to move it upright for takeoff, the man became “physically violent,” according to Mr. Romney’s spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom. Another report said the man tried to strike Mr. Romney.
“Gov. Romney did not retaliate,” Mr. Fehrnstrom said. Instead, he allowed the Air Canada crew to take over.
The pilot decided to turn the plane back to the gate so the man could be removed.
Mr. Romney ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. He also served as governor of Massachusetts. There is much speculation that he is preparing for another bid for the Republican nomination in 2012.
Hot: Danny Williams. There is strong speculation the controversial Newfoundland and Labrador Premier is planning to come to the Winter Olympics for Newfoundland Day.
This could be the first public appearance for Mr. Williams since he stirred a huge national debate over health care when he travelled south of the border for surgery.
It is still not known where he was in the United States or exactly what procedure he had done. All that is known is that he was released last week and is recovering from heart surgery.
There were reports that he would be back on the job early in March.
Every province, meanwhile, sponsors a day at the Olympics – yesterday it was Quebec Day and today it is Nova Scotia Day. This gives each province a chance to shows off its culture, food and even investment opportunities.
Newfoundland Day is scheduled for Feb. 26; the province’s popular band Great Big Sea is to perform that day.
And Mr. Williams might just be there, having to answer questions as to why he didn’t use the Canadian health care system for his surgery.
The talk of the Premier’s appearance came during a Nova Scotia breakfast at Atlantic House, the pavilion on Vancouver’s Granville Island.
No one could confirm it exactly but a source close to Mr. Williams said he believed that he was planning to come.
His spokeswoman, Elizabeth Matthews would not confirm that his attendance was certain.
In an email exchange, she said, the “Premier’s attendance depends on his recovery, so we’re still up in the air at this point.
“Will likely be next week before he decides one way or another,” she said.
Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter, meanwhile, said he had spoken to Mr. Williams shortly before the news broke of his operation. He said there was no indication during that call that his provincial colleague was scheduled for surgery.
Premier Dexter would not get into the health care issues around Mr. Williams’ decision. Indeed, a recent poll showed that 65 per cent of Atlantic Canadians felt that travelling south for his care was appropriate.
With a report from Robert Matas
(Photo: Mr. Romney attends a women's Olympic hockey match between the U.S. and China in Vancouver this weekend. Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
