The great Republican George Shultz turned 100 years old last Sunday.
He marked the occasion by pointing to the most important thing he had discovered in all those years, during which he had served in combat as a marine, in the Eisenhower government as an economics adviser, in the Nixon and Reagan administrations as a cabinet secretary and later in many other significant roles.
“I’m struck that there is one lesson I learned early and then relearned over and over: Trust is the coin of the realm.”
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A man of character, a big, steady-eyed pragmatist, Mr. Shultz always looked for opportunities to build trust. “When trust was in the room,” he wrote, “… good things happened. When trust was not in the room, good things did not happen. Everything else is details.”
John F. Kennedy once said, “I don’t believe in personal feuds. There is no percentage in them.” It’s a wise thought, and a perspective from which Mr. Shultz operated.
As the second secretary of state to Ronald Reagan, he helped build trust with many nations, Canada included. Relations had grown strained partly on account of prime minister Pierre Trudeau’s ornery attitude to Mr. Reagan, who he didn’t think was very bright. Mr. Shultz worked to calm things down with the Liberals and was a central player in completely refashioning bilateral relations when the Tory government of Brian Mulroney took over.
Indicative of his style were some of his memoranda to the president I saw while doing book research. He urged the president, as one of the notes stated, to handle disagreements “in a manner that avoids embarrassing Mr. Mulroney with his public.”
Despite being consumed by Cold War issues, Mr. Shultz conferred with foreign minister Joe Clark so often that he claimed no other administration had devoted more time to bilateral relations than Reagan’s.
In his 100th birthday observations in The Washington Post, Mr. Shultz did not have to provide chapter and verse on how, in relations at home and abroad, trust has come to be replaced by rancour and antagonism by Donald Trump’s administration.
But he is likely to be encouraged by what happened in tandem with his words. On Monday, Joe Biden was certified by the electoral college as the duly elected president – this, after trust in even something as sacrosanct as a democratic election had been shorn by wild charges of vote-rigging from the Trump tribe.
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On the very same day, the first vaccination to immunize Americans against the novel coronavirus that was ravaging the country was administered. Following months and months of faulty, failed efforts to contain the virus, the U.S. came through in the clutch, producing vaccines in record time.
On both counts, trust in the American way was restored. Some observers went so far as to claim that the day constituted a historic turning point for the country.
That may be a bit excessive. The numbers dying from the pandemic are appalling. And there isn’t exactly peace on the Potomac: Mr. Trump is still tweeting that the election was rigged, claiming that there was “tremendous evidence pouring in on voter fraud,” even after Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell congratulated Mr. Biden on his victory on Tuesday, And there is still some drama to be played out when the House and Senate meet together on Jan. 6 to confirm or dispute the electoral college vote.
But the die appears cast. The country has begun moving in the right direction on politics and the pandemic.
Though it was the private sector in the form of Pfizer and Moderna that produced the vaccine, Mr. Trump could take some credit for his government’s role in forging Operation Warp Speed, as it is called. It turned out to be exactly that fast. Mr. Trump vowed the vaccine could come before the end of the year. Critics didn’t believe him. They were wrong.
But rather than celebrate the vaccine’s arrival while conceding the election, Mr. Trump appears set on continuing to foment division. He will have a powerful voice when he leaves the presidency, but nowhere near the megaphone power that the Oval Office provided.
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Mr. Biden, meanwhile, is trying to keep things on an even keel. While impugning Mr. Trump for obvious reasons, he has avoided inflaming tensions with unduly provocative rhetoric.
He is most fortunate with the timing of the vaccine’s arrival as he can begin his presidency with a remedy for the heinous affliction in hand.
Rebuilding that vital ingredient of trust that George Shultz talks about will be a monumental task. But this week provided hope. The two things that had to happen did happen.
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Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
