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Books in Review

Jean Chretien, a legacy of government corruption, waste and scandal: Paul Tuns' fascinating read

Paul and Christina Tuns.

by Judi McLeod, Canadafreepress.com

You don’t need the Gomery Inquiry to get a peek inside the arrogance of former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

By coincidence of timing author Paul Tuns lays bare the arrogant corrupt wastland of the Chretien years in Jean Chretien a legacy of Scandal, now available on local bookstands.

Canada Free Press has good reason to be proud of Tuns and his latest book. When he was a journalist at Conestoga College, a shrewd professor noted that this particular student was going to go far. The professor wrote to CFP (then Our Toronto), asking editor Judi McLeod to join staff as an intern.

The professor was right and Tuns, who started here, went on to become a public affairs commentator and political analyst whose articles have appeared in more than 35 publications, including the National Post, Globe and Mail and Toronto Star. Tuns is the respected editor of the feisty Interim, Canada’s life and family newspaper and is a contributor to Business Report. The father of three children is also a regular panelist on CTS’s Behind the Story, and a frequent contributor to the book section of The Halifax Herald.

Applying his digging skills as an investigative journalist to Jean Chretien a legacy of scandal, Tuns has written a book that makes for a most fascinating read.

Below, with the author’s permission is an excerpt:

Jean Chretien a legacy of Scandal

...Levant argues Kyoto not only cements Chretien's legacy at home but globally, and at the same time furthes his internationl ambitions to be a major player on the international stage. It is a sad reflection that Chretien would, in his final days as prime minister, foist a potentially harmful environmental treaty on the country with practically no discussion in parliament, purely to advance his own standing and legacy.

...While the Prime Minister frantically sought a legacy - some kind of federal program or accomplishment that would cement his place in Canadian history - there were several less flattering historical footnotes and political trends for which he would long be remembered: the litany of scandals, ever-decreasing voter turnout, a stifling of political debate, the centralization of power and the trivialization of the office of the prime minister by reducing it to being the highlight of a long curriculum vitae.

...By the end of his decade-long tenure as Prime Minister it was clear that he was where he was to serve himself and his party rather than the country. Chretien, as demonstrated by the events following his departure, sought mostly to empower and enrich himself and the Liberal Party. But even with all the bumbling, duplicity, and abuse of power that was the hallmark of the Chrentien Liberals for a decade, the biggest scandal to hit his government had yet to be made public.

...The decade-long rule of Jean Chretien is a real-life Aesop's fable, a lesson for democracies of what can happen when a country has an inattentive public, a negligent media and an ineffective Opposition. There will always be corrupt and arrogant leaders, but their potential to inflict harm on the country is usually attenuated when others - citizens, journalists and opposition politicians - fulfill their responsibilities.

To purchase a copy of Jean Chretien: A Legacy of Scandal please click on link.