tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post5649349885029622314..comments2024-03-28T19:18:40.387-04:00Comments on Northern Reflections: A Country For Old MenOwen Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-62860427174121985862011-10-02T12:26:05.734-04:002011-10-02T12:26:05.734-04:00It really is interesting, Kirby, to see how Trudea...It really is interesting, Kirby, to see how Trudeau's record stacks up against Harper's record.<br /><br />Frum calls Trudeau a "bad man"-- as if he were a villain in an old fashioned melodrama.<br /><br />His reading of history is more hysterical than factual.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-26773590172557478172011-10-02T12:19:25.701-04:002011-10-02T12:19:25.701-04:00Leaving the FLQ crisis aside, Frum is simply a ide...Leaving the FLQ crisis aside, Frum is simply a ideologist who would say and do anything to drive home his conservative agenda. <br /><br />The ironies are thus: The present government oversees a larger state apparatus than Trudeau ever imagined. The present government is seeking to make the prison system more Draconian than ever. The present government is less accountable than any previous government. The present government is more lawless and more anti-democratic than any government. And of course most ironically, the present government oversees the largest debt and deficit of any Canadian government. <br /><br />The fact should be clear to anyone - modern conservatives like Frum are not interested in smaller government, more accountability, genuine democracy, greater civil liberties. They are interesting only in more power for the rich and corporations; period.Kirbycairohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17528654183160305877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-38007547988566845852011-09-30T10:46:42.745-04:002011-09-30T10:46:42.745-04:00I was living in Montreal during the October Crisis...I was living in Montreal during the October Crisis, Philip. I remember passing by Dominion Square, seeing the troops and feeling very uncomfortable.<br /><br />On the other hand, I remember the fear people felt when Pierre Laporte's body was found in the trunk of that car.<br /><br />I also remember Trudeau refusing to seek cover when the annual St. Jean Baptiste Parade descended into chaos.<br /><br />There was much about Trudeau I didn't like. But I maintain that his refusal to buckle to the FLQ forced separatists to seek a political resolution for their grievances rather than a violent one.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-47382074042810478712011-09-30T09:18:28.367-04:002011-09-30T09:18:28.367-04:00I admire Trudeau for his accomplishments. He has d...I admire Trudeau for his accomplishments. He has done the most to shape the Canada of today, which I think most Canadians are proud of.<br /><br />BUT: I will never forgive him for allowing himself to be frightened by Quebec politicians afraid of the FLQ. He fell victim to the big lie, that there were 1000 FLQ cells when in fact there was one, maybe two. What should have been a police concern became a military one that suspended our civil rights. <br /><br />I was in the US at the time and told my friends there that Canadians trusted their government and that Americans would riot in the streets before they would allow government to take their rights away. How wrong I was! Along came GW Bush's politics of fear and the Patriot act (and other sinister legislation) which Americans accepted with hardly a whimper of complaint.Tossing Pebbles in the Streamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04354065895900279070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-44819448996011994632011-09-29T15:46:01.964-04:002011-09-29T15:46:01.964-04:00Frum forgets that the champion of civil liberties,...Frum forgets that the champion of civil liberties, Frank Scott -- a native Quebecer, poet and professor of law at McGill -- fully supported Trudeau's actions.<br /><br />Trudeau was arrogant; but he was also courageous. The present prime minister, who desperately wants to put an end to Trudeau's legacy, can't hold a candle to him.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-28096853906906123452011-09-29T14:26:09.399-04:002011-09-29T14:26:09.399-04:00As usual, Frum doesn't know his ass from his e...As usual, Frum doesn't know his ass from his elbow.<br /><br />Trudeau's response to the FLQ crisis was at the request of Premier Robert Bourassa and Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau. In fact, under the National Defence Act, Drapeau could have requested aid directly from the Canadian Armed Forces without involving Trudeau and Bourassa, but the War Measures Act was required to suspend civil liberties. <br /><br />This was a popular A December 1970 Gallup Poll found that 86% of French-speaking Canadians supported this action. PC Leader Robert Stanfield also supported this action - at least at the time. <br /><br />While "dozens" may have been arrested (497 actually), some were of a serious enough nature to have bail denied. As well, compensation was offered to those unjustly arrested. It's interesting that Frum gets his knickers in a knot over this yet has been silent on the Federal and Ontario governments' handling of last year's G8 and G20 protests. <br /><br />While Frum may believe that Trudeau drove Quebecers to the separatist fold, there is also evidence that the FLQ's actions in precipitating the crisis severely damaged the credibility of the violent separatists and led supporters to seek a peaceful political solution.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com