Carolyn Parrish was walking away from reporters after expressing frustration about the likelihood of war in Iraq when she joked: "Damn Americans, I hate the bastards." The remark was picked up by a TV microphone and Parrish issued an apology within two hours.

"I deeply regret the comments that I made today in the heat of the moment, in a private conversation," she said in a statement.

"My comments do not reflect my personal opinion of the American people and they certainly do not reflect the views of the government of Canada."

She added: "I have developed a new respect for boom microphones."

Canadian Alliance Leader Stephen Harper said the off-hand comment is the latest in a series of anti-American remarks by people in government and doesn't do anyone any good.

"It's extremely unhelpful," Harper said. "I don't see the point of those kinds of comments but they constantly come from the Liberal party.

"They don't do Canadians any good - Canadians who are trying to cross the border for business, Canadians who are trying to sell lumber or agricultural products or manufactured goods into the United States.

"I wish we could get that attitude out of the government."

Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe said the comment was "completely misplaced."

"It's not the American people, it's the American government."

Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham refused to comment on the matter, saying he hadn't heard the remark himself. But he added that MPs must answer to their constituents for their actions.

Parrish, a Toronto-area MP, is one of a number of Liberals who don't want Canada to support a war in Iraq unless it's backed by the UN.

Last year, Prime Minister Jean Chretien's communications director resigned after using the term "moron" to refer to U.S. President George W Bush.

Parrish made the comment after talking to reporters following the weekly Liberal caucus meeting.

She said she attended a NATO parliamentary assembly last week where she said U.S. officials and British Tories were solidly behind the war effort, while British "Labour was looking for a way to get rid of Tony Blair."

The United States, she said, has built up such a military force in the Middle East that war is inevitable.

Her "damn Americans" remark was caught on tape by a CHUM Television cameraman as Parrish walked away from the scrum and made an aside to a reporter, laughing in mock exasperation as she did so.

Liberal whip Marlene Catterall said the remark does not reflect an attitude in the Liberal government. No disciplinary action was planned, she added.

"I think members of Parliament have a variety of opinions and . . . this in no way represents the opinion of the government," said Catterall.

"She's free to express her opinion on it. I don't have to agree with it."

Natural Resources Minister Herb Dhaliwal said war in Iraq would be "a great mistake at this time."