February 23, 2004
…."Now here’s a picture you don’t see everyday in Canada, Prime Minister Paul Martin prepares to take oath for PM," said the caption of a photograph posted to the Sagkeeng First Nation website. The photo depicts Martin participating in a traditional "Smudging Ceremony" prior to taking his oath as Canada’s new unelected Prime Minister on December 12. Elder Elmer Courchene conducted the ceremony for this historical event. "This is the first time in history that any Prime Minister incorporated aboriginal ceremony into the political event," read the caption.
The calendar moves up to late February, with voters demanding answers on the Liberal government’s sponsorship scandals. In February photo ops, Martin was shown, arm thrown up in jubilation, as he was being taken for a ride by a dog sled team during a visit to The Pas, Manitoba.
Still and live photos of the beleaguered Prime Minister contrast.
Live television clips of Martin during question period at the House of Commons show a stuttering stammering new leader.
Gone are the jubilation gestures. Gone, for the moment, are the pomp and ceremony.
For the average Canadian taxpayer, the optics are bad.
For the fledgling Martin, the optics have been the same since auditor-General Sheila Fraser’s report on how $100 million was funneled to Liberal-friendly communications firms came into public view.
It’s a burgeoning scandal that needs the constant eye of the camera.
While television cameras are trained on Martin, the 14 employees in the public works department, fingered for blame in the Fraser report, retain the luxury of out of camera eye privacy.
Top officials blamed for being on the front lines of the sponsorship scandal, namely those with Canada Post and VIa Rail, are still collecting paycheques from well-paid jobs.
In Canada, the trust of the public for politicians is at an all time low.
While Martin tinkers with the possibilities of a spring election, the promised inquiry into the sponsorship scandal could take up to a year.
another bad timing problem for the Prime Minister comes from the federal budget, which is expected next month.
In terms of promises not kept, Martin is beginning to look a lot like his Queen’s Park sidekick, Ontario Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty.
Dying on the vine only two months after its origination is an agenda promised in the throne speech. an agenda that included the diligent defense of a universal health care system and a long touted new deal for cities.
Martin, who has dedicated a lifetime in reaching for the office of Canada’s Prime Minister, has, since his arrival to power, leaned heavily on the side of pomp and ceremony.
He must be the only leader of an industrialized nation to have allowed a rock star to make the keynote address at the Liberal convention where he replaced outgoing Prime Minister Jean Chretien.
Incorporating an aboriginal Smudging Ceremony is the first in the history of Canadian prime ministers being sworn into office, and word has it that his government will host the Dalai Lama from Parliament next month.
Substance counts to the public paying the freight. and unless a stop is found for the plundering of the public purse, Martin’s pomp and ceremony, will like the sweetgrass in Smudging Ceremonies, go up in so much smoke.
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