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Monday, July 13, 2009
Jean Chretien appointed to Order of Merit
OTTAWA — Queen Elizabeth has appointed Jean Chretien to the exclusive Order of Merit.
The honour is restricted to 24 living members and few foreigners. It puts Chretien's name alongside such esteemed figures as Albert Schweitzer, Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela.
Chretien said he was surprised, honoured and grateful.
"What can I say?" he told The Canadian Press on Monday. "I take it as a great compliment and I accept it with some humility.
"I did my job as best I could and Her Majesty was gracious enough to recognize that."
Well, Chretien certainly merits something, but I'm not sure this is what anyone had in mind. Even the lefties can't believe it.
Posted by Terrence Watson on July 13, 2009 | Permalink
Comments
Won't he need special permission to get this, like the kind he denied to Conrad Black and to the Army Snipers for service in Afghanistan?
I still rank him as the second worst PM ever - second only to Pierre the Terrible himself.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2009-07-13 5:08:03 PM
Pike, he is MUCH better than Pierre the Terrible, because he said he was going to do things that I didn't like b he rarely did them.
Posted by: TM | 2009-07-13 5:09:41 PM
TM: that's an empty comparison since Pierre the Terrible was marginally better than Pinochet.
Chretien involved Canada in the Iraq War and lied to the people about it - and they loved him for it. He went to NYC after 9/11 and barely cared what happened there. He signed Kyoto and exempted Ontario. He even sent the army to help out Toronto during its snowstorm.
He's a flim-flam artist who achieved nothing in 13 years in office. Harper has done far more in three. How he managed to get this award is beyond me.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2009-07-13 5:16:32 PM
At least he balanced the budget. Stephen Harper never did that. But he did manage to turn a surplus into defecit. Should we cheer him for that?
Posted by: Doug Gilchrist | 2009-07-13 5:22:23 PM
Doug,
Well, the Queen could appoint Harper to the Order of Merit and make it completely meaningless. :-)
Posted by: Terrence Watson | 2009-07-13 5:29:52 PM
Pike, good points. I never did like much about Chretien axcept his feistiness. Yet I am glad he didn't deliver on many of his promises. Anytime a politician does something, we are worse off than when they do nothing.
Posted by: TM | 2009-07-13 5:31:06 PM
It should be pointed out that the Order of Merit is a British award, which means it concerns serves to the UK or to the Commonwealth more than anything domestic. How HMQ decided on this is beyond me. I hope Mr. Harper invokes the same rule about foreign awards that Chretien himself did during his time.
Good gravy, doesn't anyone remember Adscam, one of the worst corruption affairs in Cdn history? He got away with it by beating up on the authorities sent to oversee it. Others took the fall.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2009-07-13 5:39:13 PM
The rule about UK awards not being given to Canadians applies *only* to knighthoods, peerages, etc. Receipt of a medal is not proscribed.
That said, I'm as surprised as anyone else.
Posted by: JSmith | 2009-07-13 5:48:53 PM
JSmith: then why did he apply it in the case of the US Bronze Stars for Cdn soldiers in Afghanistan?
Chretien's contempt for the military was one of his worst legacies. Harper is the mirror opposite, and bless him for it.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2009-07-13 6:19:10 PM
Two things Harper will never have.
The Order of Merit.
A Governing Majority.
Poor CRAPer Harper. Maybe he could make another USA FOX NEWS appearance stating how he is ashamed to be Canadian. (Fully make-upped and perfectly coiffed as per his Fashionista).
Yo Harper! Nice Rug dude. Oooohhhh, the Rapture.
Posted by: jeff franklin | 2009-07-13 8:04:02 PM
You have to realize, the queen is off her rocker. She should have retired, or stepped down, whatever it is tyrants do when they get old. Some of her knights are a bit questionable also.
I had this vision of Mick Jagger, looking up as she touched him with the sword, and saying, hey majesty, I f***ed your sister.
Posted by: dp | 2009-07-13 8:17:54 PM
Well if Al Gore can get an Oscar and a Nobel Prize for that global warming hokum, Chretien - the second worst PM Canada ever had - can get some trinket.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2009-07-13 8:44:18 PM
"At least he balanced the budget. Stephen Harper never did that. But he did manage to turn a surplus into defecit. Should we cheer him for that?"
Any doubts that you once wrote for the Red Star, Doug, vanished with that statement. It contains anti-Conservative claptrap, a lie, and a spelling mistake all in one. It's a good thing you have that double-major BA in which you graduated cum laude. Imagine what your writing would be like without it.
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2009-07-13 9:01:02 PM
Unfortunately, Zeb, Conrad Black was awarded not a decoration, but a peerage. Entirely different. Chretien's opposition to the award was based on the advice of his ministers and their interpretation of the 1919 Nickle Resolution.
It was dissatisfaction with the British system of awarding honours that led to the establishment of the Order of Canada in 1967. Of course, the judgement of the committee for that decoration is not necessarily any better, given their habit of handing it out to abortionists. Had Walter Freeman and Jack Kevorkian been Canadian, they'd doubtless have one by now as well. I wouldn't be surprised to see Emery get it, either.
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2009-07-13 9:09:56 PM
Thank You Mr.Chretien for your working towards the Legalization of Cannabis in Canada.
From the 1969 Ledain Commission to the 2002 Senate Report that recognizes that greater harm comes to the user from the prohibition of Cannabis than from the drug itself.
Your efforts will not be forgotten Sir.
Posted by: jeff franklin | 2009-07-13 9:47:34 PM
It is tragic that Chretien would be honored for his role in maintaining national unity when Quebec nearly seceded on his watch - TWICE. Second worst PM ever.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2009-07-13 10:14:45 PM
"doesn't anyone remember Adscam"
Apparently, the Queen does.
Chrétien used various undemocratic methods to prevent Québec to acheive independance during the last referendum and that's the way to please an English Queen. I'm not suprised at all she rewards Chrétien for keeping, at all costs, her Empire intact.
At least Harper gives us, Québec indépendantistes, way more hope.
Posted by: Marc | 2009-07-13 10:38:31 PM
Makes sense, Marc. I think you nailed it.
Again, apologies for taking your remark about Gatti the wrong way.
Posted by: dp | 2009-07-13 10:48:48 PM
But he was a good minion.
Posted by: Guess What | 2009-07-13 11:10:57 PM
Apologies accepted, dp.
No one in Québec would ever talk cheaply of Arturo. He's incontestably the most spectacular and respected boxer in Montreal. Both in and out of the ring.
He paved the way to the likes of Group Gym, Interbox, Éric Lucas, Lucian Bute, Alcine, Jean-Pascal, and so many more.
He inspired everyone to follow their dreams and a lot because of him, the boxe in Montreal has never been in a better health.
Gatti had so much class in general but when it comes to fans, he always took the time.
Another example of his class is when he refused to fight Dave Hilton after he was accused of abusing his nieces and sister; saying: "He's not gonna make money on my back".
Imagine the mental toughness it takes to refuse to junp in the ring to destroy this sack of shit...
You will be missed Arturo.
Posted by: Marc | 2009-07-13 11:11:54 PM
>>It puts Chretien's name alongside such esteemed figures as Albert Schweitzer, Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela.
SOME HOW I CAN'T SEE IT..
Albert helped others.. Jean helped himself
Mothere Theresa gave to others.. Jean took from others
Nelson Mandella spent years in prison for what he believed.. Jean should go to prizon for what he did..
Posted by: Bewildered | 2009-07-14 5:14:00 AM
>I still rank him as the second worst PM ever - second only to
Brian Mulroney
Posted by: Still Bewildered | 2009-07-14 5:17:39 AM
"At least Harper gives us, Québec indépendantistes, way more hope."
Marc, Québec has not been in the black since Duplessis died. What steps do you propose to make Québec a profitable and prosperous nation once equalization payments and cash gifts from Ottawa are no longer forthcoming?
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2009-07-14 6:59:51 AM
Mulroney deserves to be in the top 5, a true visionary. Free Trade, improved US relations and fighting for human rights (i.e. Apartheid South Africa) rank among his greatest accomplishments. He was the Lyndon Johnson of Canada, not truly appreciated until long after he left office.
Pierre the Terrible, on the other hand, left nothing but destruction, misery and hypocrisy behind. His supporters point to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as his greatest accomplishment, while ignoring (or at least whitewashing) his reputation as Canada's greatest human rights violator in the 1970 invasion of Quebec to go after a couple of kidnappers, and the 1980 attack on Alberta, depriving millions of the right to be treated as equals. The only world leader he should be compared to his Augusto Pinochet, dictator of Chile.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2009-07-14 7:38:43 AM
The only PM worse than Mulroney is Harper. I'm still ashamed that I voted for Mulroney. Jean Cretien is the best PM we have had since I've been old enough to care about such things. I wish he was still the PM, I havn't voted for a Liberal since Martin took over the party. If Cretien was leader of the Liberals again I suspect they would win an overwhelming majority. I was only a kid when Trudeau was in power but I am very thankful that he was PM and gave us the charter to offer some protection to the citizens from abuse of power by the state.
Just the fact that so many Harper supporting theo-cons hate Trudeau tells me that he must have been a very great PM. Hopefully when Justin is Prime minister we will be as great as his father.
Posted by: DrGreenthumb | 2009-07-14 9:17:23 AM
You'd vote for Stalin if he legalized dope, Greenthumb.
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2009-07-14 9:44:20 AM
See what drugs do to you, kids? They rot your brain and make you delusional.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2009-07-14 9:55:09 AM
What a bunch of complainers! Jean Chretien was a great PM and deserves the Order of Merit. He stood up for minorities, fought for this great country and stayed true to his principles. Stop complaining and go do something with your lives like he did.
Posted by: Jake | 2009-07-14 10:36:59 AM
LOL, I just read the post about Justin becoming a PM.... yeah, that'll be the day! LMAO!
Posted by: Jake | 2009-07-14 10:38:43 AM
"He stood up for minorities, fought for this great country and stayed true to his principles."
A statement that is so vague as to mean absolutely nothing. To judge from Adscam and the long-gun registry with its 100,000-percent cost overrun, one his principles must be pork, and plenty of it.
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2009-07-14 11:06:46 AM
"...gave us the charter to offer some protection to the citizens from abuse of power by the state."
Don't you mean "...to offer the ability for the state do do whatever the hell it pleases, so long as it references section 33 of said charter."
Or maybe you were looking for "...locked in the people's lack of property rights and subservience to the state by making constitutional amendments nearly impossible."
Posted by: K Stricker | 2009-07-14 2:12:56 PM
A more likely case is that Trudeau manipulated the racial and ethnic vote in order to keep in power. He had to do that in order to prevent too much white backlash. He knew that they would never ask for much - making them the perfect people to patronize and lie to. It did work, but whites still remain on top and in charge. Until that changes, Pierre the Terrible will rank as the worst PM Canada ever had.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2009-07-14 3:32:13 PM
Is that wretched old creep still breathing?
Posted by: The original JC | 2009-07-14 5:33:11 PM
The Cover of the National Post the other day questioned the appropriateness of giving THIS man (picture of Chretien doing his bodyguard's job) the Order of Canada.
Of the many objections that could be perhaps raised, that photograph is nowhere found.
Posted by: Timothy | 2009-07-17 12:59:19 PM
I really don't see a guy who lied his way through elections with promises to get rid of the gst etc. etc. etc. as deserving to be in that company.
Posted by: Jim | 2009-07-19 6:26:24 PM
So Chretien, a comic opera dictator who is barely able to speak either official language with clarity, has been honoured by the House of Windsor? And this is the same buffoon who denied knighthoods to Canadian industrialists and US medals to Canadian soldiers, but is happy to accept an award for himself? The hypocracy is glaring. He broke every election promise he ever made, including scrapping the hated GST, embraced his fellow dicators such as Chavez, Castro and Mugabe, and gutted the military until it was barely able to defend a province, never mind the whole country. Perhaps most unforgivable of all was the cancellation of the EH101 helicopters that were ordered by former PM Brian Mulroney to replace the dangerously obselete Sea Kings. Not only did Chretiern fail to find a replacement chopper, but 10 Canadian aircrew members were killed flying dilapidated Sea Kings and Labradors. Chretien should have been charged with criminal negligence in their deaths.
The man is quite possibly the worst PM next to Pierre Castro-Trudeau that this country has ever had. Harper is a breath of fresh air compared to the last few Liberal dictators we have had to endure in our pretend democracy.
Posted by: Bill Gibbons | 2009-07-22 1:26:08 PM
Memo to Jeff Franklin.
Quit talking bollocks and get a life.
Posted by: Bill Gibbons | 2009-07-22 1:30:19 PM
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