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COVER STORY

Expect the worst: Rasputin comes to Sussex Drive

by Judi McLeod

July 21, 2003

The worst thing about this story is that it is true.

The second worst thing about this story is that, sadly, most average Canadians don’t know what is about to happen to their own country. Rasputin, as our headline says, is coming to Sussex Drive.

Rasputin, a la Canada, is a man called Maurice Strong. Hanging about in the corridors of power in the international arena, personal friend of Mikhail Gorbachev, big-time beneficiary of Ted Turner, and long time mentor of Paul Martin, Maurice Strong is moving out of the shadows and into the Canadian Prime Minister’s Office.

Radical environmentalists, like the Sierra Club’s Elizabeth May, have been dancing like druids ever since the news of his coming to the PMO was leaked to the reading world by CanWest.

Environmentalist supremo, special advisor to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the anti-American, Strong’s entrée as senior advisor to Paul Martin--who is all but assured of Prime Ministership--couldn’t be happening at a worst time for Canada.

Many Ontarians recognize Maurice Strong as the Ontario Hydro chairman who used their hard earned tax dollars to purchase a rain forest in Costa Rica.

They won’t have to wait long to see Strong in action.

According to CanWest: "Sources say Mr. Strong is expected to begin his new job at the end of this year or early next year, after the Nov. 15 Liberal leadership race, which Mr. Martin is expected to win handily. Sources have also said that Mr. Martin is preparing for an early election, possibly in the spring of 2004."

The spectre of Maurice Strong running Canada goes far beyond media hype. Hanne Strong, his wife, told CanWest from her Colorado ranch that they have bought a condo in downtown Ottawa, and intend to move back to the capital as early as November.

The Strongs’ move to Ottawa has been in the works for some time. Back in March, Frank magazine reporters tipped Toronto Free Press/Canadafreepress.com that a condo had been purchased for the couple. Indicating that Martin wanted Strong in Ottawa to see him through his leadership, Frank reporters were also spot on regarding the November timeline.

CFP was the first publication to consistently warn Canadians of the curious connection between Strong and Martin, whose relationship dates back to the days when Martin was in university.

Martin’s media image of bland is anything but. Strong, now 73, became president of Power Corp. at age 35, and hired Martin as his executive assistant. From a plethora of global sites, he’s been grooming Paul Martin for Prime Minister ever since.

Once head of the Earth Council, Strong is an icon of environmentalists worldwide.

"If Paul can attract Maurice to give him advice about the environment, the UN, and world affairs, he’s got one of the most expert and creative diplomats in the world," said Tom Axworthy, executive director of the Historical Foundation, and someone who has offered advice on Canada-U.S. relations to Martin.

With Liberals and environmentalists going ga ga over the success of the Maurice-to-the- PMO movement, it’s not difficult to cut through all the hype.

Earth Council chieftain, Strong headed the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, which started the ball rolling on the Kyoto climate change accord, and organized the Stockholm human environment conference at the UN in 1972.

Strong was one of the first of a long line of tow-the-line environmentalists to make a killing in the business world, in his case making millionaire status many times over.

In more recent chapters, he’s been in Beijing, where he’s been working on an environmental project for the Chinese government.

Some were a little leery when he served as Annan’s special envoy to North Korea in a chapter that happened to coincide with the American war in Iraq.

A one-time business associate of Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khasoggi, the man dubbed "Uncle Mo" by former socialist Ontario Premier Bob Rae, gets around.

If his success as an environmentalist-cum-entrepreneur has raised eyebrows at home and abroad, his colourful personal life is destined to inflame the imagination of news hounds everywhere.

Much has been written about Strong’s Dr. No-like 160,000-acre Baca ranch in Colorado, which doubles as a New Age spiritual colony.

Strong, who advocates population control, has predicted that water will be rationed by armed guards in the United States by 2031.

Are you comfortable having this guy in the Prime Minister’s Office?

The usually staid Sussex drive is bound to be enlivened by visits from new agers like Shirley MacLaine and Al Gore.

Meanwhile, the New Year of 2004 is the one in which Canadians will discover that compared to Paul Martin, Jean Chretien was merely a piker.

Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com


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