April 21, 2003
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, much like other things that seem to be obscene at first glance, does occasionally have some redeeming social value. As we all know, Chrétien’s silence while members of his staff and caucus were spewing their anti-American diatribes, was deafening. Just for the sake of argument, let’s try and put those comments at their highest. Francie Ducros’ "What a moron!" and Carolyn Parrish’s "Damn Americans--I hate those bastards!" were probably spontaneous utterances that were not meant to be heard by the media who later reported them. And Natural Resources Minister, Herb Dhaliwal, had he taken the time, could have expressed his feelings about the then upcoming Iraqi war in a way other than by calling George W. Bush a failed statesman. But what cannot be excused, even if one was inclined to do so, was Parrish’s appearance on the Comedy Network, where she chuckled, giggled, graciously took applause from the anti-American types in the audience, and then chuckled and giggled some more while she said that she couldn’t guarantee that it wouldn’t happen again. Her appearance on the show was planned and deliberate, and no amount of trying to put a positive spin on it can justify her juvenile behaviour and grandstanding.
Although no right-thinking person could justify Parrish’s actions, that didn’t stop the littlest guy from Shawinigan from excusing it. Jean Chrétien’s first argument was that MPs should have freedom of speech. Good point, Jean--maybe that’s why Members have absolute privilege against libel and related actions for statements that they make inside of the House. Freedom of speech is important--we can’t forget that thousands of Canadians gave up their lives so we can live in freedom, although obviously not recently. What the Prime Minister means is that his MPs have the freedom to be rude and obnoxious and to slander an entire population of a country.
Chrétien’s second justification for the propriety of those comments is that it didn’t really matter because Americans don’t pay much attention to what is said in Canada. Since Canadian affairs are not a top priority in Washington, it seems perfectly respectable to refer to the U.S. as a nation of bastards, led by a moron. Now surely the Prime Minister of Canada can’t be wrong. After all, if he was wrong, he wouldn’t be Prime Minister, would he?
Now, if it’s okay for MPs to make any type of derogatory remarks that they want to, because they have freedom of speech and nobody really pays much attention anyway, the press should be entitled to the same rights. Prior to Jean Chrétien clarifying things, as only he can clarify, only conservatives were fair game to be called names. When Lord Black owned the National Post, politically correct left-leaning journalists, who oppose racism, sexism, weightism, ageism, and all the other "isms," had no qualms about calling him "Tubby." And when Al Franken released his 1999 book, Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot, there was hardly a ripple amongst the beacons of political correctness. But, as a result of the wonderful leadership that we have in this country, we are now free to say anything we want. The expression, "if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all", is, much like Canada having the United States and Britain as allies, history.
And speaking of tubbiness and big fat idiots, Revenue Minister Elinor Caplan has come under attack recently in the House for her department’s decision not to allow customs agents to be armed. Her stand is not surprising, since the defense of Canada and the security of its citizens are a low priority for this government. But Caplan argues that the safety of customs agents comes first and if they had guns, well, they would just end up shooting each other or innocent bystanders.
The opposition of labelling customs agents "glorified bank tellers" has accused Caplan. In defending her position, the Minister did what she does best; used the politics of personal destruction. When Rahim Jaffer of the Canadian Alliance questioned her on the practice, she called him a lobbyist for the right wing gun lobby. Lacking the ability to make a coherent argument for why men and women who are charged with keeping guns, drugs and criminals out of Canada should not be armed, Caplan did, as she does so often, resorted to name calling. Calling Jaffer a lobbyist does absolutely nothing to further the debate on Canada’s security or lack thereof. Caplan, as you will remember, was the one that referred to Canadian Alliance voters as "racists, bigots, and Holocaust deniers."
Under the Criminal Code of Canada, customs agents are included in the definition of "peace officer." To put them in the role of government Wal-Mart-like greeters, smiling sweetly at the terrorists and criminal deportees who enter Canada, instead of treating them like law enforcement officers, perhaps best illustrates how this government views the security of this country. It is part and parcel of the Chrétonian Doctrine, best expressed by the PM when he spoke of Afghanistan -- "we don’t want to get into a big fight there".