(This column was published in the North Shore News on Dec. 17, 2003)
Will Paul Martin back up his careful words?
By Leo Knight
HER Excellency, the Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson swore in Canada's 21st prime minister on Friday.
Paul Martin was beaming about an hour later when he said for the assembled media, "It's a great day."
Let's hope history will record it as such, but somehow, I doubt it.
Having said that, the first signs emitted by the new Martin administration are encouraging. Appointing two Westerners to the two most important cabinet posts is a good sign that he is prepared to take us seriously. We'll see for how long.
Admittedly, one of those, Edmonton West MP Anne McLellan, who was given the post of deputy prime minister as well as the newly-created Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness portfolio, was decidedly unspectacular as minister of justice in the Chretien years. She was nearly invisible for her first year in that office and seemed indecisive in the public eye for the four years following.
She was also responsible for bringing into existence Allan Rock's ridiculous long-barrelled gun registry and steadfastly defended that billion-dollar abomination. She is also the architect of the new Youth Criminal Justice Act.
On the positive side, the creation of a Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness is a long-needed move. Since Sept. 11, 2001, our federal government has lurched from inaction to ineffective decision, all the while fouling the relationship with our nearest neighbour and single biggest trading partner.
Martin created this new ministry partly as a response to his predecessor's declining relations with U.S. President George W. Bush. But also, he did it as a response to the new post 9/11 world. This country has abrogated its responsibility to secure its citizens, leaving it, by default, to the Americans. Hopefully, this is a signal that a Martin government wants to start living up to its responsibilities.
After the swearing-in ceremony, McLellan said, "the single most important thing that a government must do is guarantee the security of its people." While this is absolutely true, we certainly never heard that from any representative of the Chretien government. I'm heartened to hear it now.
The other important aspect of this move by Martin, was to bring together under one roof, the various agencies that are charged with securing this country. For years, during the Chretien government, Canada Customs was inexplicably a part of the minister of revenue's portfolio. Considering they are the first line of defence at our borders calling them tax collectors goes a long way toward demonstrating how out of touch the previous government was.
What is also heartening is the disappearance of some of the more abject failures that marked the former government. Jane "Dough" Stewart, who headed up HRDC through the gut-wrenching "Shovelgate" scandal with more than a dozen police investigations in its wake, is gone. So too, is former solicitor general Wayne Easter, the spud farmer who seemed totally out of his depth being responsible for the RCMP and CSIS.
Gone too, is Martin Cauchon whose displays of sycophancy in the days immediately after Sept. 11 were truly embarrassing. Mercifully demoted is John McCallum from Defence to Veteran's Affairs.
But despite the promising words from the new PM and the heartening reconfiguration of cabinet, Martin still has a long and hard row to hoe to regain the public trust and credibility in the eyes of the United States.
I can already hear the voices screaming from the anti-American crowd out there. They seem not to realize that if border trade with the United States gets shut down, we cease to exist as we now do. We are simply not self sufficient. We cannot defend our borders nor can we sustain our lifestyles without the U.S. marketplace to purchase our goods. We need to have good relations.
While it is true the United States also needs Canada, it is only to a point. And Martin knows this.
If we are to have a voice in world affairs that we crave, we desperately need to rise from the irrelevant position we now, sadly, find ourselves in.
How irrelevant? Following the capture of Saddam Hussein, Bush called a number of world leaders to inform them of the momentous event. Canada was not among them. In fact, our new PM didn't even call to convey his congratulations to the president. He sent a telegram instead. I guess he didn't want to have to explain to Canadians that the switchboard operator at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. wouldn't put his call through.
This country needs some strong leadership to regain our status in the world and fix the damage at home. Martin is saying the right things. It is up to him to now deliver.
But still, I'm skeptical.
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