A5

By APRIL ROBINSON
Canadaeast News Service

Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

2 Comment(s)

SAINT JOHN - In the heat of the 1993 federal election, Jean Chretien woke up in Saint John one morning to attack ads making fun of his crooked mouth.

His aides were worried it would give the Kim Campbell Tories a lead.

"God gave me a defect - my mouth," Chretien said to 1,200 Liberal supporters in Saint John on Saturday night.

"Perhaps I have a crooked mouth, but I don't have a crooked mind."

The Liberals won in a landslide with 178 seats.

Now, Conservative attack ads are targetting Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, saying he isn't truly Canadian because he lived and worked in the United States for years.

"That doesn't mean he's less of a Canadian," said Chretien, 75.

"There are other Canadians who are working in Pittsburgh these days," he said to the roaring crowd at the trade and convention centre.

"Is Sidney Crosby not a good Canadian? Is Mario Lemieux not a good Canadian because he owns a hockey team and won a Stanley Cup last night?" asked Chretien at the $500-a-plate fundraiser for the provincial Liberal party.

Raising $600,000, it was the most successful fundraiser by any party in New Brunswick's history, said Premier Shawn Graham.

"And it still shows that Prime Minister Chretien is a great draw," Graham said before the dinner.

It was the first time Chretien, Canada's 20th prime minister, has spoken publicly in more than five years.

"And it's great to be back and do it in New Brunswick," he said.

Chretien was a Member of Parliament for Beausejour from 1990 to 1993, when he was the leader of the official Opposition. He served as prime minister from 1993 to 2003.

He thanked New Brunswick for accepting him in the riding.

"You helped me when it was tough in the '90s," he said. "You received me and you received me well."

Chretien said he was happy to be back in Saint John and help the premier, whose father once helped him.

He recalled his days as prime minister, and they weren't always easy, he said. He went by the mantra "do the right thing," even if it wasn't popular.

Shaving the deficit, laying off 60,000 bureaucrats to balance the books, and not participating in the Iraq war were among his tough decisions, he said.

"And now, we're facing a difficult period of time, too. My Dad used to tell me, 'Tory times are bad times.' They always come and we have a hell of a problem."

He criticized the Stephen Harper government for focusing on crime when it should be focusing on the recession.

"It's only when they were put in the corner by the Liberals in the House of Commons that they woke up," he said, recalling when Harper advised Canadians it was a good time to buy stocks with low prices.

He said he's concerned about Canadian relations with China. A Chinese president once told Chretien that Canada was his country's best friend.

"They turned their back on them," he said of the Conservatives. "And it is our kids who will pay the price for that."

Canada should also be working with African countries to develop resources, he said. But instead, the government is closing African embassies, one by one.

Still, he thanked the room full of businesspeople and politicians for embracing the Liberal values that make Canada strong, he said.

"You're a great example of that, living together with different languages," he said to applause.

"I spent 40 years of my life fighting for that, and we have come a long way," he said. "But to keep going, we have to promote these values of generosity and sharing that has become a trademark of Canada."

He said he has no regrets. Serving Canadians for 40 years was a privilege.

"Despite all of our problems, millions would give their last penny to come and live here, because - and I believe it - Canada is the best."