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OTTAWA Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau apologized Tuesday after he suggested on Twitter that a parliamentary reporter who wrote a story about his poor attendance record was a bitch.

Brazeau, best known to Canadians for losing a boxing match to Liberal MP Justin Trudeau this spring, was reacting to a story written by Canadian Press reporter Jennifer Ditchburn that said Brazeau had the poorest attendance record for this session of parliament.

Taking to Twitter, Brazeau called the story one-sided.

"Change the D to a B in your last name and we're even!" Brazeau tweeted at Ditchburn Tuesday afternoon.

"Don't mean it but needs saying."

Brazeau was absent for 25 per cent of the 72 sittings between June 2011 and April 2012, the Senate attendance register shows. By the end of that period, the Quebecer was four days away from being fined, Ditchburn reported.

"The very simple answer to your question with respect to my attendance or lack thereof is for personal matters," Brazeau is quoted as saying in Ditchburn's story.

Ditchburn defended herself on Twitter, noting that she called Brazeau's office twice and exchanged emails prior to the story being published.

"Dear Senator: Many a person has made fun of my name and (the) word 'Bitch.' But never a Canadian senator. That's a first," Ditchburn tweeted.

Brazeau isn't the first parliamentarian to use intemperate vocabulary on social media. President of the Treasury Board Tony Clement has twice called someone a "jackass," interim Liberal leader Bob Rae tweeted "what bullshit is this?" in response to a spat between young Liberals last winter, and NDP MP Pat Martin raised a few eyebrows after an F-bomb-filled Twitter tirade in response to the Tories' move to end debate on a budget-related bill.

Originally posted here:
B-word gets Brazeau in Twitter trouble