EDMONTON-Of all the political opponents Pierre Trudeau has faced, only one has known both the thrill of defeating him and the pain of having that victory snatched away: Joe Clark .
In an interview Wednesday, the former prime minister and Conservative leader offered an assessment of how he thinks Trudeau 's 15 years in power have altered the course of Canadian political life.
"I believe that a departing leader deserves generosity because this is a tough enough life as it is," Clark said. "So I am working to be generous. I don't want to be uncharitable, so let's talk about the good things.
"There's no doubt he's had an extraordinary personal influence (and) was able to personalize our public life in a way that is without modern parallel. Perhaps Sir John (A. Macdonald) and perhaps Sir Wilfred Laurier did that.
"But even Mr. Diefenbaker was not able to maintain that for as long as Pierre Trudeau did.
"Now that has meant some very bad things. It has meant that there has been a fairly uncritical acceptance of views that have no more weight than that they were his."*
As an example, Clark pointed to the lengthy constitutional battles that followed the Trudeau government's return in 1980. Canadians will be "paying the price for a long time to come" because of the passionate divisions created by this issue, Clark said.
But stirring up Canadians "was not all bad," Clark said.
"He undoubtedly gave people a sense of being in the system. There is no doubt that without his force we would not have had the Official Languages Act passed--and indeed, not just passed but in place in so much of the country. Kids going to (French-language) schools in Calgary, for instance, and the assumption that it is in one's self-interest to become bilingual.
"One might quarrel with (Trudeau 's) means but that has been a very important accomplishment that required extra force.
"He changed things a great deal--including many things that mean a great deal--including many things that mean a great deal to me--he changed the attitude toward Parliament profoundly" though not for the better, in Clark 's view.
How will history judge Trudeau?
Clark said he believes this question has preoccupied the prime minister since the Tories won the 1979 election, and is the key to much of what Trudeau has tried to accomplish in his current administration.
"I think that when he had time to reflect in 1979, when he was defeated, he became very conscious of history and his place in it. And I think he looked back on what he had done in his first 10 years, and really, the only thing that stood out was the Official Languages Act.
"It was the only thing that would endure, and I think he then became determined to accomplish some other things.
"I think that the other thing that happened--and this is the purest of speculation on my part--is that he became concerned about how his stewardship of the national party would be judged. I believe for the first time he became concerned about the state of the Liberal party in the last several months.
"I think that after our (1983 leadership) convention he decided to wait for us to make a mistake and if we did, I think he would have stayed. The fact that we've been remarkably successful in dealing with the traditional problems of (our) party, caused him probably around Christmas to take a cold look at things."
Clark 's personal relations with Trudeau have always been poor. Over the years, Trudeau has often shown a thinly disguised contempt for Clark 's intellect and vision of the country. Clark said there had been no evolution in his personal dealings with Trudeau .
"Brian (Mulroney) may well have the best relationship with him of the three Opposition leaders who have faced him." (The other Tory leader was Robert Stanfield.)
By way of explanation, Clark said: "I've always thought that a quite elemental failing of Trudeau 's was that he assumed himself to be a model of what the country could become and what everybody in the country could become. And consequently, it was an achievable, as well as a desirable goal, to be urbane and bilingual and all of those things.
"And Brian is closer to that model than either Bob Stanfield or me."
Mulroney "may be interesting to Trudeau because of where they both come from. I'm not sure how great a curiosity there really was there in that powerful intellect. A more curious man (than Trudeau ) would have sought regional representatives for example, who were more like the regions than like him.
"I always found it very interesting that the westerner he most trusted was Otto Lang, who was the most like him. And, putting aside their other differences, Donald MacDonald** (head of the royal commission on the economy) was more like Pierre Trudeau than John Turner was like Pierre Trudeau --and got on better."
Clark said Trudeau 's greatest assets as a politician sprang from his forceful character.
"He didn't have to be a political leader in the way that others were. He didn't have to compromise or reach out and embrace, and that may well have been a strength.
"No doubt he was a powerful presence in everyone's life, and there are undoubtedly a large number of people who see more good than they did ill. I tend to worry about the damage that he did.
"I suppose I really should work harder at being generous."
(article accompanied by photograph of Joe Clark, captioned:
(text of March 2, 1984 Vancouver Sun article)
*-THIS SOUNDS
LIKE ANOTHER WAY OF SAYING WHAT YOU FIND IF YOU TAKE A BRIEF SIDESTEP HERE . AND THEN, TO KNOW WHAT
ENSUES IF YOU DEFER TO THIS "LIKE" OF HIS, YOU SHOULD TAKE A BRIEF SERIES OF SIDESTEPS HERE
(IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY FROM THE ANNOTATED PASSAGE ABOVE).
**-IN THIS SPIRIT OF REFLECTING BACK ON THIS MAN, I WOULD ADD A FEW THINGS
HERE.
WHEN I RETURNED TO COLLEGE IN TORONTO IN 1975 (HAVING BEEN FORCED TO DROP OUT OF THE FILM PRODUCTION COURSE I WAS TAKING IN 1972 BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU FIND IF YOU TAKE A BRIEF SIDESTEP HERE), I LIVED IN THE RIDING
REPRESENTED BY DONALD MacDONALD. WE NEVER MET FACE-TO-FACE, BUT WHEN A
SPECIAL DELIVERY LETTER WITH MY PARENTS' CHRISTMAS GIFT TO ME WAS LOST IN THE
CANADA POST SYSTEM, AND CANADA POST IN TORONTO HAD ONE STORY ABOUT HOW LONG IT
WOULD TAKE TO REPLACE IT (30 DAYS) AND CANADA POST IN THUNDER BAY (WHERE MY
PARENTS LIVE) HAD A DIFFERENT ONE (6 MONTHS TO A YEAR), I WENT TO MR.
MacDONALD'S RIDING OFFICE A FEW BLOCKS FROM WHERE I LIVED TO SEE WHAT HELP
HE COULD OFFER.
AFTER MEETING WITH HIS OFFICE MANAGER AND BEING TOLD SHE
WOULD SEE WHAT THEY COULD DO, I FOUND THE REPLACEMENT CHEQUE FOR THE LOST
SPECIAL DELIVERY LETTER ON MY DOORSTEP THE FOLLOWING MORNING.
SO--I HAVE A
GOOD REGARD IN HINDSIGHT FOR
MR. MacDONALD.
I HAVE A SIMILAR REGARD FOR MS. CARNEY AND
THE TWO LADIES WHO RAN HER RIDING OFFICE BETWEEN 1983 AND 1988 BECAUSE THEY WERE
CONSISTENTLY VERY PLEASANT AND COOPERATIVE.
I WILL RISK FRIVILOUS LAWSUIT
BECAUSE I DIDN'T KEEP COPIES OF THE ARTICLES TO SUBSTANTIATE THIS. AGAIN IN THIS
SPIRIT OF REFLECTING BACK ON THIS MAN--PRIMARILY FOR PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T HAVE TO
DEAL WITH HIM OR THAT "FAIRLY UNCRITICAL ACCEPTANCE OF VIEWS THAT [SHOULD]
HAVE NO MORE WEIGHT THAN THAT THEY WERE HIS"--AS THE LATTER CONTINUES AS
RELEVANT TO OUR/"(MY) PRESENT SITUATION" --I REMIND
THOSE OF US WHO DO RECALL WHAT HE WAS/IS(?) LIKE OF CERTAIN THINGS.
I
BRING THEM UP HERE PRIMARILY BECAUSE I HAVE AN ANECDOTE THAT I PERSONALLY BEAR
IN MIND IN ALL MY TRAVAILS HAVING TO DO WITH DEALING WITH HIM OR THAT "FAIRLY
UNCRITICAL ACCEPTANCE..." OR THE FORMER TRUDEAU
CABINET MINISTER (IN NUMEROUS POSTS ) THAT I ONCE HEARD
NICKNAMED BY A PRESS PUNDIT (BECAUSE OF HIS HAVING HELD NUMEROUS POSTS IN GOVERNMENTS FOR TRUDEAU )
"THE ULTIMATE YES MAN."
WHEN SPECULATION ABOUT TRUDEAU 'S RETIREMENT BEGAN AROUND THE TIME OF THIS
ARTICLE'S PUBLICATION IN 1984, OF COURSE PUNDITS BROUGHT FORWARD THEIR OWN
ANECDOTES ABOUT HIM AND WHOM EACH THOUGHT HE MIGHT FAVOUR AS HIS SUCCESSOR. AND
I RECALL ONE PUNDIT MENTIONING THE CANADIAN TRADITION IS FOR THE DEPARTING
LEADER TO INDICATE WHOM HE/SHE FAVOURS AS SUCCESSOR.
STILL, THERE WAS THEN
A WIDELY ESPOUSED BELIEF THAT HE WOULDN'T EXPLICITLY INDICATE A CHOICE,
THOUGH A NUMBER OF COLUMNS I RECALL READING NOTED THE LONGSTANDING ANIMOSITY
BETWEEN TRUDEAU AND THE FRONTRUNNER (BECAUSE OF HIS
POPULARITY WHILE HE WAS IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR): THE MAN WHO WOULD ULTIMATELY
SUCCEED HIM, HIS FORMER CABINET MINISTER, JOHN TURNER.
AS AN ASIDE,
I WOULD SIMPLY STATE HERE THAT I MET FACE-TO-FACE WITH MR. TURNER TWICE.
AND THERE IS ON THIS AWARD-WINNING WEBSITE DOCUMENTATION OF 1989-90
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN US THAT IS AS RELEVANT TO UNDERSTANDING WHY I OPENED THIS
WEBSITE AS ANYTHING ELSE HERE.
I WILL OUTLINE THIS AT THE END OF THIS
FOOTNOTE AND PROVIDE THE LINKS TO THE RELEVANT PAGES.
(RESUMING...) SO THERE
WAS SPECULATION I RECALL THAT TRUDEAU MIGHT TRY TO
INFLUENCE HIS PARTY'S CHOICE OF SUCCESSOR SIMPLY TO CONFOUND TURNER'S
AMBITION. AND, INDEED, THERE WERE REPORTS I READ THAT WERE SORT OF (I TRUST "ALL OF US" KNOW HOW POLITICIANS ARE) 'SIGNS' HE
FAVOURED AS HIS SUCCESSOR, DONALD MacDONALD, HIS FORMER FINANCE
MINISTER, SINCE (LIKE TURNER), RETURNED TO PRIVATE SECTOR WORK.
THIS
INEVITABLY LED TO NUMEROUS OP-ED PIECES AND COLUMNS ON THE PUBLIC RECORD OF MR.
MacDONALD. AND IT IS A PARTICULAR ONE I NOW RECALL, THE AUTHOR OF WHICH I
CAN'T RECALL PRESENTLY. (BUT IF HE OR SHE IS STILL WITH US AND READS THIS,
PRESUMABLY IN FUTURE HE OR SHE WILL SUBSTANTIATE MY RECOLLECTION OF THAT OP-ED
PIECE OR COLUMN.)
IT NOTED THE WIDELY REPORTED (DURING HIS 17 YEARS IN
PUBLIC OFFICE AS JUSTICE MINISTER OR OFFICIAL OPPOSITION LEADER OR PRIME
MINISTER) PERSONAL INSENSITIVITY OF TRUDEAU TO
PEOPLE IN GENERAL--PARTICULARLY IN "CLOSE PERSONAL" CIRCUMSTANCES, I
BELIEVE I RECALL FAIRLY ACCURATELY WAS THE TERMINOLOGY USED. AND, IN SUGGESTING
THAT HE MIGHT FAVOUR MR. MacDONALD AS HIS SUCCESSOR, NONETHELESS THERE
WAS RECALLED AN ANECDOTE OF THEIR PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WHEN MR. MacDONALD
WAS IN HIS CABINET.
THE STORY IS THAT FORMER TRUDEAU POLITICAL
COLLEAGUES GENERALLY FALL INTO TWO CATEGORIES RATHER APPROPRIATELY TYPIFIED BY
TURNER AND MR. MacDONALD: THOSE WHO HAVE BITTERNESS ABOUT THEIR
PAST WORK WITH THE MAN (TURNER), AND THOSE WHO REMAINED LOYAL TO HIM
DESPITE HIS ABRASIVE PERSONALITY (MacDONALD).
AND THE PRESS REPORT I
NOW RECALL AGAIN NOTED THAT LOYALIST MR. MacDONALD WAS THE FINANCE
MINISTER OF CANADA WHEN TRUDEAU DID HIS LEGENDARY (IN
CANADA) "FLIP-FLOP" ON WAGE AND PRICE CONTROLS IN 1974-75. (TO SEE
THIS RATHER WELL AND BRIEFLY OUTLINED, TAKE A BRIEF SIDESTEP
HERE .)
THIS PRODUCED WIDESPREAD POPULAR DISENCHANTMENT WITH TRUDEAU AT THAT TIME. BUT MR. MacDONALD WAS
THERE FOR HIM TO TAKE A LOT OF THE PRESSURE OFF HIM PERSONALLY.
SOMETIME
LATER APPARENTLY MR. MacDONALD'S WIFE GOT VERY SICK AND WAS
HOSPITALIZED, AND THERE WAS UNCERTAINTY FOR ABOUT A MONTH WHETHER SHE WOULD
RECOVER.
AND THE POINT OF THE OP-ED ARTICLE I RECALL READING WAS THAT TRUDEAU DIDN'T EVEN SEND MR. MacDONALD OR
HIS WIFE A CARD TO ACKNOWLEDGE HE CARED WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO THEM.
I AM
NOT GOING TO NOW GO INTO THIS IN DETAIL. THERE IS THE ISSUE/THE
PRINCIPLE OF WHETHER JIMMY CARTER IS GOING TO
PROVIDE ME WITH COPIES OF MY 1978 DOCUMENTS (AS WAS PROMISED IN 1978) TO FILL IN
THE MISSING PIECES OF THIS STORY AND ANSWER QUITE A FEW OF THE TROUBLING
QUESTIONS RAISED BY WHAT AN OBJECTIVE EVALUATION OF THIS AWARD-WINNING WEBSITE
WOULD PRODUCE.
BUT I WILL SAY SIMPLY THAT, REGARDING WHAT VISITORS TO THIS
AWARD-WINNING WEBSITE FIND VIRTUALLY EVERYTIME THEY TAKE THE LINKS FROM TRUDEAU'S NAME, IT REMINDS ME OF THIS ANECDOTE ABOUT MR.
MacDONALD, HIS LOYALTY TO THE WORK THEY DID TOGETHER FOR THE CANADIAN
PEOPLE, AND THE PERSONAL PROBLEM OF THE MAN AND HIS WIFE. AND I DID NOT
ASK FOR THAT AUTOGRAPHED PICTURE AND HAVE NEVER KEPT IT ANYWHERE EXCEPT IN THE
PLACE WHERE I KEEP CORRESPONDENCE RELATED TO THIS "INTERNATIONAL
DIPLOMATIC WORK...ON A DIRECT BASIS" FOR THE WORLD'S CHILDREN .
AND IF
THERE ARE QUESTIONS THE CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE RAISE IN THE MINDS OF
VISITORS TO IT THAT THEY FEEL THEY ARE ENTITLED TO HAVE ANSWERS TO, NOT ONLY DO
I POINT OUT THAT I HAVE PROVIDED THE GUESTBOOK TO SIGN ON EACH PAGE OF THE
WEBSITE. I ALSO POINT OUT WHAT I RECEIVED FROM THE
THEN-PREMIER OF BRITISH COLUMBIA,
WILLIAM VANDER ZALM , AS AN "ALTERNATIVE" TO THIS RIDICULOUS AUTOGRAPHED PICTURE, OR THE SIMILARLY INADEQUATE LETTER IN 1983 FROM JOE CLARK, OR THE EQUALLY ABSURD LETTER I DREW TO THE ATTENTION OF THEN-BRITISH COLUMBIA PREMIER MIKE HARCOURT IN 1992.
WHICH
SEEMS MOST APPROPRIATE IN OUR/"(MY) PRESENT SITUATION" ?
TO SEE THE TEXT OF MY 1989 SUBMISSION TO MR. TURNER, TAKE A BRIEF SIDESTEP HERE .
TO SEE A SCAN OF TURNER'S REPLY, TAKE A BRIEF SIDESTEP HERE .
TO SEE THE TEXT OF MY 1990 SUBMISSION TO MR. TURNER, TAKE A BRIEF SIDESTEP HERE .
TO SEE A SCAN OF TURNER'S ASTONISHING TWO-PAGE PERSONAL REPLY, TAKE A BRIEF SERIES OF SIDESTEPS HERE.