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The Prime Minister's Office is denying reports that he suggested during a CBC interview two months ago that the Sept. 11 attacks were fuelled in part by U.S. arrogance.

Reports of the interview, taped in July but aired only Wednesday on the anniversary of the attacks, made the front page of many newspapers. It was the subject of a number of radio talk shows.

But the PMO said the comments were misreported, saying he in no way implied the United States was to blame for the attacks.

"In fact, in response to a question about how he thought the world had changed on September 11th, the Prime Minister took the opportunity to point to the need for all Western developed countries to reflect on the long-term consequences of the growing divide between rich and poor nations — a divide which has clearly been used by fanatics to fan resentment toward the developed world. It is a gross misconstruction of his remarks to suggest that he was blaming the United States for the attacks," the office said in a statement.

Opposition Leader Stephen Harper did not agree with the interpretation.

"Mr. Chrétien's comments, particularly coming on the anniversary of 9/11, blaming the victim, are shameful. What was behind the events of Sept. 11 are the forces of evil and hatred. These must be resisted by free and democratic societies and their leaders," he said in a statement.

During the interview, Prime Minister implied that the United States had become too wealthy compared with impoverished countries and too powerful, causing a dangerous imbalance.

"It's always the problem when you read history — everybody doesn't know when to stop. There's a moment when you have to stop, there's a moment when you are very powerful," Mr. Chrétien said during the interview.

Mr. Harper called on the Prime Minister to apologize to the United States and to the families of the Canadian victims.

"The Liberal Party and its would-be leaders should disavow the statement," Mr. Harper said Thursday in a statement.

The same CBC program, which documented the actions taken by the Canadian government in the days after the attacks, also revealed that Ottawa decided to reroute commercial jets to remote areas including Gander, Nfld., to avoid hijackings or crashes near cities such as Toronto or Montreal.

Deputy opposition leader Dr. Grant Hill called the comments "offensive."

Gander was the site of Canada's official memorial Wednesday for those who died in the attacks.