Jean Chrétien

the very honourable Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , C.P., C.R., D.C., B.A., LL.L, LL.D. (born on January 11th, 1934 with Shawinigan, with the Quebec) was the twentieth Prime Minister of Canada, of November 4th, 1993 until December 12th, 2003, under the banner of the Liberal party.

Youth and ministerial career

Born in Shawinigan (province of Quebec) ten eighth in a family from nineteen children (10 died in childhood), Jean Chrétien obtains her diploma of right to the Laval university in Quebec, then begins in a political career. He is elected liberal Député with the Canadian Parlement in 1963, and preserves his seat at the time of the nine following elections. He is minister in the cabinet Lester Pearson in 1967, then in all the cabinets of Pierre Elliott Trudeau. In 1984, it does not succeed in taking the head of the Liberal party which it leaves with a former colleague of cabinet, John Turner.

Leader of the Liberal party

In 1986, Jean Chrétien resigns of her seat and leaves the front of the political scene to exert the right. After the resignation of John Turner in 1990, it is elected to succeed to him the head of the Liberal party. Between 1990 and 1993, it concentrates all its energy with the rebuilding of the party, which was not with the capacity since 1984. At the time of the general election of October 25th, 1993, the liberals beat the Parti preserving progressist with the capacity by one crushing majority. They gain, indeed, 177 of the 294 seats of the House of Commons.

Like Prime Minister

In October 1993, Jean Chrétien becomes Prime Minister of Canada, her party demolishing the Parti progressist-conservative Canada of Kim Campbell. He is re-elected in 1997 and 2000, creating three consecutive majorities. Only Wilfrid Laurier knew to make in the same way since the birth of the Canadian federation.

Whereas Pierre Trudeau, Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney was relatively new on the political scene at the time of their installation to the 24 Sussex, Jean Chrétien can count over 30 years of experience in policy. It makes known remarkable of the Canadian system to him parliamentary, which encourages it with strongly centralizing the government. In spite of the efficiency of this experiment, several critics showed Chrétien to be intolerant vis-a-vis internal criticisms.

Christian inherited a country largely involved in debt and close to a financial bankruptcy. With the assistance of its Minister for Finance, Paul Martin, the government proceeded to important budgetary cuts in the transfers to the provinces, like in all the fields of the federal government. While he was Prime Minister, Jean Chrétien eliminated a budget deficit from 42 billion dollars, 5 budgets of budgetary surpluses were recorded, 36 billion dollars were refunded on the national debt of Canada and the taxes of the private individuals and the companies were reduced of 100 billion dollars over 5 years, the greatest tax cut of the Canadian history. The budgetary reductions also had like result reducing the number of services, in particular in the field of the health which must function with these budgetary reductions and the ageing of the Canadian population. The majority of the budgetary reductions were restored towards the Chrétien end of the year.

Jean Chrétien seeks to develop the foreign politics of her country so that Canada can fulfill a role with its measurement on the international scene and counterbalance the weight of the the United States and the Accord of North-American free trade (ALÈNA), opposite which the Liberal party expressed some reserve. On the internal plan, its policy is devoted to the reduction of the annual deficit of the federal government

One of the priorities of Christian was also the fight against the sovereignty of the Quebec, especially because the Parti Québécois controlled Quebec during the majority of the Chrétien years. When the referendum of 1995 gives a thin victory to the federalists, the government of Christian passes the law on the clearness chief clerk which, mainly, does not recognize a unilateral declaration of independence of Quebec unless a “  claire  majority; ” separation does not support based on “  a claire  question; ”, defined by the Parliament of Canada. The “  claire  majority; ” remained without specification.

Christian supports the attack in Afghanistan intended to eliminate the Talibans and Al-Qaida in answer to the Attentats of September 11th, 2001.

Under Christian, Canada does not take part in the war in Iraq of 2003. He prefers the sanction of UNO before engaging Canada. Even if Canada is not member of the Safety advice, it tries to build a consensus around a resolution which would have allowed the use of the force after a short extension (from two to three months) of the U.N. inspection on supposed the massive weapons of destruction Iraqi. Some critical noticed that Chrétien, then chief of the opposition, was also opposed to the first war of the gulf.

On the international plan, the last year with the capacity of Jean Chrétien is remembered by the will to dissociate itself from the American positions. This determination appears in particular as regards environment when Canadian the Prime Minister commits himself ratifying the protocol of Kyoto on the climate changes. After the attacks of September 11th, 2001 against the United States and the support brought by Canada in the fight against terrorism (in particular the sending of troops to Afghanistan), the Canadian government is dissociated from the American policy while refusing to take part in 2003 in a war in Iraq without the downstream of UNO. This decision is worth in Jean Chrétien a renewal of regard near the Canadian population, mainly opposed to this conflict.

Weakened by a series of cabinet reshuffles in particular dependant on accounting scandals, Canadian the Prime Minister must face the course of its third mandate to the dissatisfaction growing with the provincial governments: while the federal government managed to carry out important financial surpluses, the provinces say victims of an fiscal imbalance and claim more means whereas their needs increase (health education in particular).

This mandate is also marked by the tensions which oppose Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin, its rival within the Liberal party. They culminate in June 2002 with the dismissal of Paul Martin of its post of minister of Finances. This operation does not make it possible however Jean Chrétien to safeguard her leadership. He announces in an anticipated way his withdrawal of the political life in August 2002.

After its retirement

Jean Chrétien leaves the capacity in December 2003. Paul Martin, elected official with the head of the Liberal party, succeeds to him the post of Prime Minister.

Before 2005, it appears in front of the Commission Gomery which inquires into the Scandale of the mixed liability companies. It tries thereafter to make relieve Gomery judge, but without success. The first report/ratio of Gomery judge emitted on November 1st, 2005 blames Jean Chrétien and some collaborators for the absence of checks.

He is member of Bilderberg.

Nominations with the Supreme court of Canada

In Canada, the Prime Minister of Canada names the judges with the Supreme court of Canada, judicial body supreme of the country. These nominations are important, because any judgment put forth by this court affects the whole of Canadian jurisprudence. For example, a liberal judge has a less negative vision of the Avortement than a conservative judge. If the court is mainly made up of liberal judges, there are strong chances that the Avortement is seen like an acceptable practice in a bearing case on the rights of the fetus. The decision returned risk to favorably modify the legal framework touching the abortion, or to maintain the assets.

Christian named the following judges with the Supreme court of Canada:

Nominations of two general governors

Jean Chrétien named the following general governors:

Anecdote

On several occasions, Jean Chrétien commented on situations or answered questions in a not very considered way. These words were described as “Chrétiennerie S”. Example: during the adoption of the Canadian Charter in 1982, Christian, then Minister for Justice, declared: “The Charter, it is basket for lawyers! ”

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