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Jean Chrétien, the best leader I never had
Although I was never a member of Jean Chrétien’s Liberal caucus, he helped me as much as any political leader during my seven terms in office.
My first exposure to Mr. Chrétien was shortly after he was elected Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. In order to have a seat in the House, the Liberal Member of Parliament in the riding next to mine, Fernand Robichaud, gave up his seat to allow Mr. Chrétien to run for a seat in Parliament. There was a by-election on December 10th, 1990, and Mr. Chrétien won that seat and returned to the House of Commons.
Shortly after the by-election, I was on my way to Ottawa. I had to change planes in Montréal. Way over in a corner of the airport, sitting all by himself was the newly elected MP Jean Chrétien. We had never met. He had two briefcases and papers all over the place in his little corner in the Montreal airport. As his neighbour in the next riding, I thought I might introduce myself.
When I approached Mr. Chrétien, we shook hands and started to chat. I explained that I represented the riding next to his and in fact, he was my MP in a way. At the time, I still had my car dealership in Amherst, but I had a small branch operation in Sackville, New Brunswick, which was in his riding. Hence, he was my MP in a way.
Mr. Chrétien immediately said in jest, “If Prime Minister Brian Mulroney gives you a hard time on anything in Sackville, you come and see me, and we’ll fight back!” We had a good laugh and went about our business.
Shortly after that, MP Chrétien was invited to be a guest speaker at the Amherst Rotary Club. At the time, I was a Progressive Conservative MP, and of course, he was the Liberal leader. The members of the Rotary Club were all assembled in the main meeting room of the Wandlyn Motel when Mr. Chrétien arrived. I was kind of hiding in the back of the room, expecting him to connect with the Liberals present.
However, he walked right through the crowd and came over to me and started to chat. I was more than glad to talk to him, but finally I said, I think you'd better go talk to some Liberals. “Yes, you are right he said,” and I took him over to a group who I knew were all Liberal supporters.
When I became involved in the Middle East, I could not do much without support from the Liberal Government. Incredible support came from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honorable John Manley, but he was strongly backed up by the Rt. Hon. Jean Chrétien, who was now Prime Minister. I know of no other case where an opposition member got as much help as I did through this endeavor.
Another time, I needed support to have the abandoned historic Acadian Village of Beaubassin recognized and preserved. I had no luck with Parks Canada at all. Further, I could not get the interest of any minister or any official at any level of government, either provincial or federal. Out of frustration, one day I walked across the floor of the House of Commons and sat down with Prime Minister Chrétien and said, “I need some help in my riding.” His response was, “You voted for my Clarity Bill,” and I said, “Yes, I did.”
He said, “Come up to my office after Question Period.”
Later, in the wonderful Prime Minister’s office upstairs, I showed him the documents that I had, and he immediately grasped the importance of this historic site. With no hesitation, he contacted senior officials at Parks Canada and convinced them to take an interest in the site. Within days, there was an archaeologist on site to confirm the exact location of Beaubassin, and that it was a valuable historic site. So far, the archeological dig has found 53 foundations of Acadian buildings which had been burned down in 1750. They have also found 7,000 artifacts. And, there is more area to dig.
As I showed Prime Minister Chrétien the Beaubassin documents and maps, his Executive Assistant Bruce Hartley took a photograph. It is on my wall, and I consider it the most important 30 seconds of my career when Mr. Chrétien realized how important this site might be. A copy of the photo is attached. I am so glad that Bruce Hartley captured that moment.
Meanwhile, the property has been purchased by Parks Canada, and a significant shelter has been constructed with trails and interpretive panels. The site is now a National Historic Site.
Years later, Mr. Chrétien came to Amherst after he left politics. I had invited him to come and see the Beaubassin site that he saved. The archaeologists had found 5,000 artifacts by that time. On the way out to the site, we were in the back of his big black Suburban, and he said, “Do you know why I helped you with that project?”
I said, “No, I don’t,” and I didn’t.
Mr. Chrétien said, “You’re an Anglo, I know you’re an Anglo, and if an Anglo’s going to take this interest in Acadian history, the least I could do was help.” I appreciated that.
A few more years later, after the archaeologists had found 7,000 artifacts at the Beaubassin Village site, I decided to call Mr. Chrétien and give him an update. Without his intervention, there would not have been one artifact found, much less 7,000.
One evening, I looked at my iPhone and there was a phone number for Jean Chrétien. I had no idea what the number was, but I called it. I got an anonymous recorded message saying "leave a message". I left a message that I would like to give Mr. Chrétien an update on Beaubassin, and I hung up. Then I thought to myself, I have no idea where I left that message. So, I called his law office in Ottawa and left a similar message.
The next morning at 8:00, the phone rang in my office, and it was Mr. Chrétien. Did someone there call me? “Yes, Mr. Chrétien, it was me, Bill Casey,” I replied.
“How did you get my home phone number in Shawinigan?”
I had to say, “I don’t know, it was just in my iPhone.” I still have no idea how his home number was on my phone, but it still is.
Mr. Chrétien then said, “You left a message at my house, but you did’t say who it was. My wife said that you sounded like a nice person and that I should return the call.” Thank you, Mrs. Chrétien.
He then invited me over to his law office where we talked for almost two hours about all things politic. He was very curious about what it was like when Mr. Harper expelled me from caucus and what Mr. Harper was like as a leader. He said that he admired certain aspects of Mr. Harper’s leadership but did’t understand others.
He wanted to know how I could possibly get elected as an Independent with 70% of the vote. He said that he could never do that, but I believe that he could. He was being very generous.
Mr. Chrétien never treated me like a member of an opposition party. Many times, he bent over backwards to help me, even though I was a Progressive Conservative, and then a Harper Conservative. I have never been a partisan person in my life, and I appreciate his approach.
In my view, if someone can get through a political nomination process in Canada, and then a federal election process, they bring something to the table, and that should be appreciated. In politics, I always tried to show respect, have credibility, and represent those who voted for me. Certainly, Prime Minister Chrétien practices that approach with me and others.
Thank you, Mr. Chrétien. I am very grateful for your help.
Thanks for reading,
Bill
My first exposure to Mr. Chrétien was shortly after he was elected Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. In order to have a seat in the House, the Liberal Member of Parliament in the riding next to mine, Fernand Robichaud, gave up his seat to allow Mr. Chrétien to run for a seat in Parliament. There was a by-election on December 10th, 1990, and Mr. Chrétien won that seat and returned to the House of Commons.
Shortly after the by-election, I was on my way to Ottawa. I had to change planes in Montréal. Way over in a corner of the airport, sitting all by himself was the newly elected MP Jean Chrétien. We had never met. He had two briefcases and papers all over the place in his little corner in the Montreal airport. As his neighbour in the next riding, I thought I might introduce myself.
When I approached Mr. Chrétien, we shook hands and started to chat. I explained that I represented the riding next to his and in fact, he was my MP in a way. At the time, I still had my car dealership in Amherst, but I had a small branch operation in Sackville, New Brunswick, which was in his riding. Hence, he was my MP in a way.
Mr. Chrétien immediately said in jest, “If Prime Minister Brian Mulroney gives you a hard time on anything in Sackville, you come and see me, and we’ll fight back!” We had a good laugh and went about our business.
Shortly after that, MP Chrétien was invited to be a guest speaker at the Amherst Rotary Club. At the time, I was a Progressive Conservative MP, and of course, he was the Liberal leader. The members of the Rotary Club were all assembled in the main meeting room of the Wandlyn Motel when Mr. Chrétien arrived. I was kind of hiding in the back of the room, expecting him to connect with the Liberals present.
However, he walked right through the crowd and came over to me and started to chat. I was more than glad to talk to him, but finally I said, I think you'd better go talk to some Liberals. “Yes, you are right he said,” and I took him over to a group who I knew were all Liberal supporters.
When I became involved in the Middle East, I could not do much without support from the Liberal Government. Incredible support came from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honorable John Manley, but he was strongly backed up by the Rt. Hon. Jean Chrétien, who was now Prime Minister. I know of no other case where an opposition member got as much help as I did through this endeavor.
Another time, I needed support to have the abandoned historic Acadian Village of Beaubassin recognized and preserved. I had no luck with Parks Canada at all. Further, I could not get the interest of any minister or any official at any level of government, either provincial or federal. Out of frustration, one day I walked across the floor of the House of Commons and sat down with Prime Minister Chrétien and said, “I need some help in my riding.” His response was, “You voted for my Clarity Bill,” and I said, “Yes, I did.”
He said, “Come up to my office after Question Period.”
Later, in the wonderful Prime Minister’s office upstairs, I showed him the documents that I had, and he immediately grasped the importance of this historic site. With no hesitation, he contacted senior officials at Parks Canada and convinced them to take an interest in the site. Within days, there was an archaeologist on site to confirm the exact location of Beaubassin, and that it was a valuable historic site. So far, the archeological dig has found 53 foundations of Acadian buildings which had been burned down in 1750. They have also found 7,000 artifacts. And, there is more area to dig.
As I showed Prime Minister Chrétien the Beaubassin documents and maps, his Executive Assistant Bruce Hartley took a photograph. It is on my wall, and I consider it the most important 30 seconds of my career when Mr. Chrétien realized how important this site might be. A copy of the photo is attached. I am so glad that Bruce Hartley captured that moment.
Meanwhile, the property has been purchased by Parks Canada, and a significant shelter has been constructed with trails and interpretive panels. The site is now a National Historic Site.
Years later, Mr. Chrétien came to Amherst after he left politics. I had invited him to come and see the Beaubassin site that he saved. The archaeologists had found 5,000 artifacts by that time. On the way out to the site, we were in the back of his big black Suburban, and he said, “Do you know why I helped you with that project?”
I said, “No, I don’t,” and I didn’t.
Mr. Chrétien said, “You’re an Anglo, I know you’re an Anglo, and if an Anglo’s going to take this interest in Acadian history, the least I could do was help.” I appreciated that.
A few more years later, after the archaeologists had found 7,000 artifacts at the Beaubassin Village site, I decided to call Mr. Chrétien and give him an update. Without his intervention, there would not have been one artifact found, much less 7,000.
One evening, I looked at my iPhone and there was a phone number for Jean Chrétien. I had no idea what the number was, but I called it. I got an anonymous recorded message saying "leave a message". I left a message that I would like to give Mr. Chrétien an update on Beaubassin, and I hung up. Then I thought to myself, I have no idea where I left that message. So, I called his law office in Ottawa and left a similar message.
The next morning at 8:00, the phone rang in my office, and it was Mr. Chrétien. Did someone there call me? “Yes, Mr. Chrétien, it was me, Bill Casey,” I replied.
“How did you get my home phone number in Shawinigan?”
I had to say, “I don’t know, it was just in my iPhone.” I still have no idea how his home number was on my phone, but it still is.
Mr. Chrétien then said, “You left a message at my house, but you did’t say who it was. My wife said that you sounded like a nice person and that I should return the call.” Thank you, Mrs. Chrétien.
He then invited me over to his law office where we talked for almost two hours about all things politic. He was very curious about what it was like when Mr. Harper expelled me from caucus and what Mr. Harper was like as a leader. He said that he admired certain aspects of Mr. Harper’s leadership but did’t understand others.
He wanted to know how I could possibly get elected as an Independent with 70% of the vote. He said that he could never do that, but I believe that he could. He was being very generous.
Mr. Chrétien never treated me like a member of an opposition party. Many times, he bent over backwards to help me, even though I was a Progressive Conservative, and then a Harper Conservative. I have never been a partisan person in my life, and I appreciate his approach.
In my view, if someone can get through a political nomination process in Canada, and then a federal election process, they bring something to the table, and that should be appreciated. In politics, I always tried to show respect, have credibility, and represent those who voted for me. Certainly, Prime Minister Chrétien practices that approach with me and others.
Thank you, Mr. Chrétien. I am very grateful for your help.
Thanks for reading,
Bill