Chrétien receives rare honour from Queen

[Uncle Dudley]

Queen Elizabeth has appointed Jean Chrétien to the Order of Merit, making the former PM an OM.
The honour is restricted to 24 living members and few foreigners.

It puts Chrétien's name alongside such esteemed figures as Albert Schweitzer, Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela.

It is given to people "of exceptional distinction in the arts, learning, sciences and other areas such as public service."
The formal presentation will not be made for some time.

Да уж, полная дискредитация the Order of Merit

[Проф. Преображенский]

Чем тебе не нравится Кретьен?

[Uncle Dudley]

Говоря в целом, Кретьен действительно не заляется кем-то выделяющимся из длинного списка канадских политиков. Но давать

9. The billion-dollar boondoggle: Human Resources Development Minister Jane Stewart was in the hot seat in 2000 when an internal audit found that Jean Chrétien's Liberal government had failed to track employment program grants worth $1 billion to make sure the money was spent properly and the promised jobs were created. At one time, the RCMP had launched 12 separate investigations into HRDC files as a result of the audit; three of them related to grants awarded in the prime minister's riding of Saint-Maurice. Stewart faced grilling for months in the House of Commons, but managed to hold on to her job. She decided not to run again in the 2004 federal election, however.

10. Shawinigate: Questions over Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's involvement in two properties in his riding began in 1993 and lingered until the day he left office in late 2003. Chrétien sold his stake in the Auberge Grand-Mиre resort just before becoming prime minister and sold his shares in the Grand-Mиre Golf Course shortly after that. But he wasn't paid for the golf course shares until 1999.

The issue at the heart of the debate: when exactly did Chrétien stop having an "interest" in the properties? Twice in 1996, he contacted Franзois Beaudoin, president of the federal Business Development Bank of Canada, about a $2-million loan being sought by Yvon Duhaime, the new owner of the Auberge Grand-Mиre, to expand the hotel. The prime minister made another call to the BDC in 1997 about a scaled-back version of the loan. The federal ethics counsellor later ruled that Chrétien had done nothing wrong, but the opposition parties loudly begged to differ.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/cdngo ... ndals.html

Хотя опять же я не вникал в подробности за что дают the Order of Merit, действительно может как раз Кретьен и заслужил. Делами и делишками своими. Но в любом случае М.Тереза, к примеру, не сочетается с этим участнегом.

[Uncle Dudley]

Чем тебе не нравится Кретьен?

Brought Canada from top 3 places to live to 8th

[Проф. Преображенский]

Controversies

From first holding political office in 1963 to becoming Prime Minister in 1993, Chretien had never been under scrutiny or suspicion of wrongdoing. Chrétien's 10-year term as Prime Minister was marked by two major scandals.

Всего 2, я бы сказал.

Saying no to Iraq war was victory, Chretien says

Former prime minister Jean Chretien says one of the major victories in his career was standing up against pressure to join the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Вот это может и зря, хотя факт примечательный.


Chretien gets royal treatment

Buckingham Palace wouldn't say why the former prime minister was being honoured, but University of Ottawa history professor Michael Behiels pointed to Chretien's roles in patriating the Constitution and fighting separatism.

Order not without merit for Chrétien

The negative? The sponsorship scandal, Shawinigate, GST flip-flopping, the gun registry fiasco, military helicopters, the APEC controversy, his pedestrian manner, his overcentralizing of power, his being hounded out of office by his own party. Fixate on these‚ and you’ve got a loser. Yep, the Queen has gone batty.

The positive? Balancing the terribly-red books, leaving the economy in great shape, pushing back separatism with the Clarity Act, telling George W. Bush where to get off on Iraq, defending the ordinary people against corporate interests, winning three straight majority governments. Fixate on these — and it’s a different story.

Chrétien was a narcissistic politician who viewed politics as sport. For him, it wasn’t about ideals so much as the ego-gratification of winning.

At the same time, he was a leader of conviction with rock-hard Canadian values. He hated ideology because “when you’re doctrinaire, you’re always looking to justify your doctrine.” He never liked the rich because the rich, he said, always wanted more. “It’s very dangerous,” he said once, “when you find comfort with the big shots.”

He was a consolidator, not an innovator, a pragmatist, not an intellectual. He mingled with the elites but down deep was never one of them.

He bore grudges. Offend him and he would take you down. But Jean Chrétien loved the country and wasn’t dour or mean-spirited. At root he was a bullish champion of salt-of-the-earth Canadian values.

Despite all his shortcomings, this is where his significance lies. Through four decades in the political maelstrom, he stood up for what this country means like few others ever have. For that he is deserving of high honours.

[Uncle Dudley]

Controversies

From first holding political office in 1963 to becoming Prime Minister in 1993, Chretien had never been under scrutiny or suspicion of wrongdoing. Chrétien's 10-year term as Prime Minister was marked by two major scandals.

Всего 2, я бы сказал.

Я бы сказал 2 в которых ему никак не удалось отмазаться, несмотря на действительно выдающиеся способности в переводе стрелок.

Buckingham Palace wouldn't say why the former prime minister was being honoured, but University of Ottawa history professor Michael Behiels pointed to Chretien's roles in patriating the Constitution and fighting separatism.

Это часть игры. Все деньги шли в Квебек, квебекской мафии, те поддерживали накал страстей чтоб поток не иссякал.

Despite all his shortcomings, this is where his significance lies. Through four decades in the political maelstrom, he stood up for what this country means like few others ever have. For that he is deserving of high honours.

Верно. Какой поп, таков и приход.

[Проф. Преображенский]

Controversies

From first holding political office in 1963 to becoming Prime Minister in 1993, Chretien had never been under scrutiny or suspicion of wrongdoing. Chrétien's 10-year term as Prime Minister was marked by two major scandals.

Всего 2, я бы сказал.

Я бы сказал 2 в которых ему никак не удалось отмазаться, несмотря на действительно выдающиеся способности в переводе стрелок.

Не пойман - не вор. (с)

Buckingham Palace wouldn't say why the former prime minister was being honoured, but University of Ottawa history professor Michael Behiels pointed to Chretien's roles in patriating the Constitution and fighting separatism.

Это часть игры. Все деньги шли в Квебек, квебекской мафии, те поддерживали накал страстей чтоб поток не иссякал.

Ага. Ты, конечно, лучше бы справился.

Despite all his shortcomings, this is where his significance lies. Through four decades in the political maelstrom, he stood up for what this country means like few others ever have. For that he is deserving of high honours.

Верно. Какой поп, таков и приход.

Да. И мы живем в этом приходе. И в целом он неплох. Спасибо попу.

[Uncle Dudley]

Да. И мы живем в этом приходе. И в целом он неплох. Спасибо попу.

[Проф. Преображенский]

Да. И мы живем в этом приходе. И в целом он неплох. Спасибо попу.

Хе-хе. Да, примерно так. Только, что характерно, тут таких плакатов нету, да и самого Кретьена на палке не заставляют носить - так что оценка независимая.

[Uncle Dudley]

Да. И мы живем в этом приходе. И в целом он неплох. Спасибо попу.

Хе-хе. Да, примерно так. Только, что характерно, тут таких плакатов нету, да и самого Кретьена на палке не заставляют носить - так что оценка независимая.

Нужна ему твоя палка... Это ты после его правления остался с одной палкой.