Canadian PM Jean Chretien: what will be his legacy?

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From what I've read he did an excellent job handling the economy and the budget. How much of a role did he play in restoring fiscal sanity? Did he do anything else significant?

[BurtWorm]

1. Martin, his successor, seems to get more of the credit for turning

Canada's economy around. He was Chretien's finance minister for nine years.

[Benhurst]

2. He stood up to the Bush* Crime Family over Iraq n/t

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4. Good point

He was the first Canadian PM to not send troops to support a war in which both the US and UK participated.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

3. Subduing Quebec Nationalists, seeing off the Reform Party.

His Clarity Bill has scuppered the PQ's chances of cheating their way to victory in a sovereignty referendum.

[Spazito]

5. Yes, he certainly did...

Took a courageous stand against participating in Bush's unilateral invasion of Iraq knowing that we would take a hit for doing that.

Taking on Quebec sovreignty head on with the Clarity Bill when he was told it was the wrong thing to do (glarious pointed this out in a post on another thread - thanks, glarious). He neutralized the separatists with it.

Had the leadership ability to choose the right people to whom he could delegate responsibility for accomplishing his agenda ie Paul Martin as Finance Minister

[glarius]

6. Ditto to everything you said...I don't believe there will ever be another

Quebec referendum due to Chretien's Clarity Bill...They know they wouldn't have a chance of a snowball in hell if they asked a clear question to the people....(Thanks for the mention!)...:)

[Screaming Lord Byron]

9. The PQ's problem is that they can't really define what they want

On a straight actual independence (not 'sovereignty association - whatever the hell that is!) vote, they'd go down 2-1. Then they'd blame 'big business and the ethnic vote'

[Spazito]

11. That's why Chretien's Clarity bill defused them, it spelled out what..

independence would really mean and what they would have to forfit to get it. It was a brilliant move.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

12. No argument here.

Chretien was a lot more eloquent in thought than in speech. That bill was a masterpiece.

[glarius]

13. I've always thought there is NO separatist movement....by that I mean

There has been a rather small group of separatists, who I believe are just power hungry and they have tried to convince the rest of the Quebecers to follow them....There has NEVER been a revolution as we know revolutions....No hoards of people marching in the streets demanding freedom from Canada....Most of the time ALL of the Quebecers go about there everyday life like the rest of Canada and periodically, (in their hunger for power?), people such as Levesque, Parizeau, Bouchard, Landry and their ilk, con some of the citizens of Quebec into a quasi-support for sovereignty, through tricky questions in a referendum. Now, with the Clarity Act they won't be able to fool their fellow Quebecers anymore....This is my opinion anyway...:)

[glarius]

14. I think they WON'T define what they really want because they know

it's a lost cause in Quebec if they do....That's why they spend so much time struggling to form the question when they call a referendum....They HAVE to obfiscate in order to hide their true intent and that ain't easy!.....IMO....:)

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7. Toronto Star readers comment on Chretien's legacy

http://www.torontostar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?GXHC_gx_session_id_=3a3c0a81ec3d64bb&pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1068764600505&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968705899037

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8. Will he be considered one of the all-time great PM's?

?

[Spazito]

10. Yes, I believe he will...

he took a country that was deeply in debt, very insecure about itself and split in more than one way and brought us economic success, forward thinking social policy and gave us back our sense of pride and our standing in the world. I will be forever grateful for that.