Canada Swears in New PM (http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/12/12/canada.leader.ap/index.html)
OTTAWA (AP) -- Jean Chretien stepped down Friday after 10 years as Canada's popular and often combative prime minister, giving way to Paul Martin, a former finance minister who has pledged to seek smoother ties with the United States despite strains over Iraq. So - how do you feel about him?

A better question - does his "let's buddy up to the US" platform help him or hurt him in your public opinion polls?

I know nothing about either Martin or Chretien, and I guess I'm just curious. Do tell.

Martin used to be Chretien’s finance minister until Chretien saw Martin as a threat and booted him out of cabinet. Martin was definitely a good finance minister; it was his policies that made me think that the Liberals were a bit less left-wing than I had feared.

It has been assumed for a long time that Martin would be Chretien's successor. As a Prime Minister, I’m not sure how he will do. He says the right things, but seems insincere in saying them (of course, you could probably say that about almost any politician). However, I like him more than Chretien, who had become, well, pretty loopy in the last few years. I don’t know that we’ll really have a chance to assess Martin’s performance before the next election, which will probably be next year, and before the new Conservative Party gets its act together.

As far as Martin’s U.S. stance goes, Chretien managed to piss the Bush administration off, due in part to Iraq, but also due to other things. I have some concerns here; I agree with our decision not to go to Iraq, but I think if Martin had been PM at the time, we might have gone anyway just to make the U.S. happy. Having said that, I’m all for good strong Canadian/U.S. relations, and Martin certainly has a good shot at mending the fences; I just hope that he doesn’t try to kiss Bush’s ass so much that he ends up selling out the country.

Well I just hope that Martin, doesn't become too friendly with US, if not we may become their little dog who do everything the US tell us. But it is true also that Canada's economy is tidly linked to the US so it might be a desaster to loose US's friendship. I just wish Martin do a balance between those two extreme. Also he seem competent enough to control the country and not to let it fall in povetry. I don't know if his cabinet is rightish or lefthis, but I sure wish it'll be more lefthis than rightish.

He's a businessman. That's good for some, horrible for others. He's bad for social programs, education and health care. He's good for the economy, foreign policy (or should I say US policy) and anything else that's has to do with cash money.

At any rate, he'll make a better PM than Jean (for God's sake, Charles Manson would make a better PM than Jean!)

While Jean may have been a dolt, at least he stood up to the States(well, most of the time). Can we honestly say that Martin will do the same?

Canada?....Prime Minister?....Wait, I thought you guys just had a Hall Monitor and a Crossing Guard? :D

That's a joke guys, you know I love Canada.

From what little I know about Martin, I would be concerned that he really doesn't want to be Prime Minister at all...he wants to be Governor. Then of course, he could have sent the Canadian National Guard to Iraq along side California and New York.

Woah! I didn't even know! Well, saying as he was the only PM I really knew about, it's kinda weird knowing its not him anymore.

I have always approved of Paul Martin and I think that he is the best person for the job. He was a very good finance minister and quite frankly I am quite unimpressed with all of the other potential candidates. I don't imagine that he will have too much difficulty winning the next election provided he doesn't do something really stupid between now and then.

In terms of Martin's position on Canada-U.S. relations, I do have some reservations about him being too pro-U.S.A. I approved of Chretien's decision to keep Canada out of the conflict in Iraq but I do think that the whole situation could have been handle much more diplomatically.

@ Mystra's : Remember that not only did Jean Chretien stand up to Bush, but waaaay back in the 1970s, when he was Minister of Justice under Pierre Trudeau, he was the architect of the Canadian Bill of Rights, the document that ensures that Canada is a world leader in human rights. Cretien leaves behind him a long and illustrious careerl he embodied the politics of inclusion.

Martin on the other hand is a real "Blue Grit" . I think that he is the first PM in Canadian history that has a real corporate resume, rather than a political one. I won't get too into his offshore holdings other than to point out that the fact that prefers to circumvent Canadian taxes is an indicator that he intends to cut taxes- at least for corporate interests. Remember that Martin, contrary to popular spin, is not the only Liberal worth his salt. Allan Rock, for example, is truly PM material, and may stage a coup before Paul Martin's first elected term is through,

Needless to say, I am not a big fan of Martin; but, it appears that the new *ahem* Conservative Party may not get the support in Ontario that it wished to due to the former Alliance Membership's views on social issues, and with the former PC Membership's Bay St.-Centric stances. Thus the Liberals seem like the only viable choice for most \Canadians.

My real hope is that my man, JACK LAYTON, will step up, and bring the New Democratic Party into opposition power. Another hope is that the Libs will form a minority Government (Quite likely actually, due to the Liberal Landslide provincially in Ontario) and that the NDP will become the swing vote in the house. No matter how it turns out, the next election is shaping up to be big.

The Bill of Rights wasn't such a big deal. It's not like we were a North Korea before those lines got added to the Constitution. It just took power out of Parliament and gave it to the Supreme Court. So which was better? Polititans, or professional liers... or lawyers?

Besides, it was Chretien who slipped down the slippery slope further slipping into slippy, slippy National Debt and 1 billion dollar per year interest. At this rate, we should be paid off by 2250!

Jack Layton? He seems nice enough, but I'm not sure it'd be wise to put the country in the hands of someone who's the leader of a party that's never been in power (federally, that is. But if you need further prodding, take a look at Saskatchewan. Man, what a sad place. I used to live there, and like everyone else I moved.)

I don't think I'll ever trust the PC's because of Mulroney, but maybe with the Conservatives' back together it'll be okay.

I think that he is the first PM in Canadian history that has a real corporate resume, rather than a political one Lets see, member of parliament for fifteen years out of which he served as finance minister for nine years - how exactly does he not have a political resume? :confused: I would say that perhaps you have being a lawyer confused with being a politician given that almost all of our PMs have been lawyers but Martin IS a lawyer. The fact that he also worked in an executive capacity with two corporations can only be considered a plus in my books.

I won't get too into his offshore holdings other than to point out that the fact that prefers to circumvent Canadian taxes Having offshore holdings does not prove that someone is evading income tax. :rolleyes:

I concede that there is certainly a strong possibility of tax evasion whenever someone has offshore holdings but if my understanding of the law is correct then to accuse someone of a crime, without having the evidence to prove it, is libel. If you have some evidence that Martin is not declaring income earned offshore you might want to consider doing the NDP a favour and provide your evidence to the proper authorities. :rolleyes:

Slightly off-topic, but based on a need to clarify ...

The Bill of Rights was passed by John Deifenbaker's government, Deifenbaker practically being a Liberal under the PC banner. It was an ordinary statute passed through Parliament. While it recited liberal ideals of individual rights, it just didn't have the same force as a constitutional document. It was little more than a piece of paper with good intentions and no teeth behind them.

It wasn't until the Charter came into force that government power was limited by a consitutional document ( and not just by common law tradition and parliamentary convention ). To be fair, whatever one might think of Chretien, he did have an important role in the creation of the Charter. Then again, the Charter is at its core, Pierre Trudeau's brainchild.

@JSBB Now you're accusing me of libel? The point of an open forum like this one is to throw the ideas out there, libel be damned. If PM the PM's lawyers are scouring cyberspace for potential libel suits, then I'm doomed. It's ridiculous and avoiding the issue for you to make a statement like that.

I am not suggesting that Martin is a tax evader per se, I am pointing out that he takes full advantage of all of the legal (and possibly semi- or il-legal) loopholes to mitigate his tax payments. And this is not the type of example I expect our PM to set.

I did not mean to say that Martin has no politcal resume, so much as to say the he has the thickest corporate resume we've ever seen with a PM.

quote: "The fact that he also worked in an executive capacity with two corporations can only be considered a plus in my books. "

That is where I have a problem, it seems like he knows too well where his bread is buttered, and will be much keener to promote new and sweeping corporate tax cuts than spend much needed money in healthcare, or public transit.

Prefacing a post with a glaring smiley signals to me that feelings are running a little hot in this thread.

Calm down everyone. This thread is about Martin's merits as a Canadian PM. No need to have accusations going back and forth.

You know, I never did find out what the heck the deal was with the feathers. I mean, is that how you spread Pixie Dust©? Exorcise the daemons? Marijuana incense?

This week is a week for celebrating for Canada. We got rid of two tyrants this week. Saddam Hussien and Jean Chretien! :D

Insert two US approved yes-men!