Quote from Jean Cretien - former Canadian PM Options

[-priority(+)target-]

"I don't know what is marijuana. Perhaps I will try it when it will no longer be criminal. I will have my money for my fine and a joint in the other hand,"

• A quote made jokingly in an interview with the Winnipeg Free Press.

[T/A6Pak]

What a class act --- NOT!!! Glad he got the boot!! Can you believe an idiot like that running our Government? He should go back to the trailer he fell out of. I think he would make a great contestant on the Springer Show...LOL

[HammaTime]

What a hoot!!

I always liked Chrétien. He seemed a kind of fearless politician, but I really knew nothing of his politics - not that it would have mattered to me. I photographed him on assignment during the lead up to the last Quebec secession referendum vote in 1995. After dealing for four years with the intense security provided President George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, I was amazed that I could simply show up in the Parliament building and walk right in without even having my equipment bag swept. I'd imagine the security for Harper has changed quite dramatically in this post-9/11 world.

This post has been edited by HammaTime: 09/27/06 4:31pm

[-priority(+)target-]

Who needs security?

t/a you are canadian then? He was an interesting man for sure and dedicated his life to Canada, even if you didn't like him you have to appreciate that. His quotes are so entertaining, something to do with the english as a second language thing I guess. Maybe he was speaking about you in the quote below HT! lol If my recollection is correct, this incident involved a reporter not a demonstrator. I also seem to recall the media pressing for assault charges, or was it civil... can't remember. Only in Canada

"I don't know. What happened? If you don't know, the cameras were there. Some people came in my way, it might have been... I had to go, so if you are in my way, I am walking. So I don't know what happened. Something happened to somebody who should not have been there."

• When asked for his explanation as to why he grabbed the demonstrator's neck.

This post has been edited by no_help: 09/27/06 4:55pm

[Crazy Canuck]

crooked smile suited his crooked politics! good riddance Cretien!

[T/A6Pak]

Hey Crazy Canuck....remember this??? lol

http://www.mindfully.org/GE/GE2/Evan-Brown-Pie-PM.htm

[Crazy Canuck]

Hey Crazy Canuck....remember this??? lol

http://www.mindfully.org/GE/GE2/Evan-Brown-Pie-PM.htm

yes! that guy was my hero for a week!

[T/A6Pak]

I am Canadian...and my opinion of him is that he should of stuck with commedy instead of running a corrupt government that stole money from the people and then showed no accountablility for it's spending. http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/groupaction/

Running government is responsibility and if your going to hire your buddies and take kick backs...sooner or later it will become public. I really lost faith in the Canadian government with the gun registry scandal and this one as well. Just google canadian government scandals and you will see why. No one is accountable and they take there buddies to run different sections...that they have no training for. So for the rest of there lives they just collect large pensions (after scamming the tax payers).

While at the University, although I majored in Criminology I got a double minor in political science and business. So I now realize why politians have so much money. Trustworthy= Not. I have learned that there are people who make a difference, it's just not the politians who's only vested interest is there own and what will get them re-elected the following year.

[Crazy Canuck]

amen!

[-priority(+)target-]

Chretien sayed some funny stuff... I just read a few quotes and enjoyed a good chuckle, thought some may enjoy them.

[HammaTime]

What I've enjoyed - besides laughing at that ridiculous quote - is the contrast of how familiar you all are with our presidents and how incredibly ignorant Americans are of your prime ministers. I even met the guy and knew NOTHING about his politics and his scandals. Meeting him in person he came off as an incredibly gregarious person. A guy like that simply would never be able to rise to the national level in America. I find it embarrassing that Americans remain so incredibly ignorant of our closest ally, and I've got no excuse because I live just a few hours from the border.

Thanks CC and 6Pak for enlightening me. I never realized Chretian led such a scandalized government.

When I covered President George H.W. Bush I got to photograph Mulroney on a number of ocassions with Bush as they "vacationed" in Kennebunkport. Mulroney certainly fit the image of a world leader, but compared to Chretian, he looked like a fish out of water when it came to ... fishing on the water. LOL.

Just goes to show that appearances aren't everything.

[Hellfighter]

I have to say I liked Chretien AND he was much better than so many post-Trudeau prime-ministers. Even my 2 canuck compatriots must admit.... Short memories! LOL, remember Mulroney[ defying the odds he somehow got revoted for PM - you think Bush is unpopular Hamma... see how bad Mulroney was at the end- if I remember 14% popularity and his detached idealogy led to the promotion of a 'new' conservative party in order for them not to be wiped off the face of canadian politics] . Then there were more jokester PMs-Turner/Clark, not to mention jokers who were in the opposition. Imho, he wasn't perfect -especially at the end- but he didn't run things like an ostrich with his head in the sand, he actually worked hard to make things run properly [admittedly all his way, but no slacking allowed on his ship - are their any fellow elected governments doing a stellar job. I guess we knew he was all business and no-nonsense after the Somalia/disbanded Parachute regiment affair [I personally agreed with him on that]. Hamma you got to read up on that episode [1990? google it up- was a big big issue up here] if you're that fascinated by how 'interesting' politics can get up here... never mind your ongoing cage-rattling pre mid-term elections down on your side of the border.

This post has been edited by Hellfighter: 09/28/06 3:51pm

[Crazy Canuck]

i would say the main reason canadians no more about whats going on in american politics than americans do about canadian is the fact that probably more than half of our channel lineup for tv is american. I doubt american satelite tv offers many canadian channels, if any!

so doon't feel bad, we really have no choice but to hear all about your affairs!

[HammaTime]

That's odd you mention the channel line-up. I was in Quebec City a few weeks ago and was surprised to see such an intense line-up of American channels including all major broadcast channels, Fox and CNN (but no MSNBC). Of course, the Quebec line-up is quite crowded with all the French channels in addition to all the English channels.

Last week I was in Bangor, Maine which is only 2 hours north of where I live in southern Maine, but they had CBC in their channel line-up. I thought it was really odd that the northern half of the state gets CBC, but not the southern half! Especially seeing as how the traditional migration route in Canada was from New Brunswick west to Quebec and then down into Maine. Lots of Mainers have family ties in both Quebec and New Brunswick. Of course, the majority of those folks stayed in northern Maine. The more recent migration in the last half century has brought a lot of the northern Mainers to southern Maine and farther south. With that comes an increased interest in Canadian affairs - but obviously not enough to see CBC spread farther south than Bangor! Too bad.

[Crazy Canuck]

cbc = hockey night in canada every saturday night! you are missing out!