The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
One June morning in 1957, a young reporter from a Saskatchewan hamlet set out this day for his first experience with London, the greatest cityÑthen and nowÑin the world. In awe and excitement on actually being alive with historyÑDickens and Shakespeare and Christopher Wren and all thatÑhe started walking in the most walkable town on earth. The 10 competing London dailies, as we all know, have their flashboards out on the street, manned by a Cockney with his cap and his accent, the posters changing with each edition. The young reporter is startled by one screaming headline: SHOCK IN CANADA ELECTION. He keeps walking down through Trafalgar Square, where the posters now read: DIEFENBAKER IN THE LEAD. Down past 10 Downing Street, under the shadow of Big Ben, posters now shout: DIEFENBAKER ELECTED. The young scribe had walked six hoursÑoccasional pit stops at pubsÑfor one of the most thrilling days in Canadian political history. That day comes back to the memory wagon because of what is going on at this time, with the wheels falling off the Martin machine. There is no way there is going to be a spring election. Thank God for the voters. The younger Martin has made the fatal mistake, as more than one pundit has pointed out, of running against his own party. While attempting to be virginal pure, and knowing nothing about the Quebec ad fiasco, he so hates Jean ChretienÑfor delaying his ascent to 24 Sussex Drive for nine yearsÑthat he forgets they belonged to the same political party. The reason the Natural Governing Party has rung this strange country for most of the last century is that it always hung together, through goofiness and scandal. Young Martin, with an undistinguished front bench, must regret by now getting rid of such experienced old pros as John Manley and Sheila Copps. As replacements, he has now what Ottawa calls "The Embalmers"Ñthe unlucky three who have to filibuster in Question Period when Martin does not want to answer the embarrassing probes about the Quebec fandango. Among Martin's biggest mistakes, in a vain attempt to get at least one Alberta seat, is appointing as deputy prime minister Edmonton's Anne Maclellan, whose shrill and humourless response in Question Period makes her duck soup for the grateful Opposition MPs of three parties. Further, one of the "Embalmers"Ñwho has been waiting long for a Cabinet seat he deservesÑis Stephen Owen from B.C., who has come to Ottawa with a fine reputation as an ombudsman and ethics spokesman. He was scheduled to be, in the new Martin cabinet after an election, as the senior minister from the Wet Coast, succeeding the fading and jaded David Anderson. Instead, as a designated Embalmer in Question Period while Martin runs around the country campaigning for an election that is not going to happen, the clever Owen has to resort to bafflegab and poppycock to fill out the time and defend a boondoggle that the PM himself never heard of. Such is Ottawa. Diefenbaker fuelled his 1957 campaign speeches on the chargeÑnot entirely trueÑthat C.D. Howe, super-minister of everything in Liberal government, told the Commons one day, "what's a million dollars?" The Martinis are flirting with the same problem. It's possibleÑnot probable but possibleÑthat Stephen Harper, who is a very hard guy to warm to, could be the next PM.
