\nI wasn’t surprised to hear that Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s office allegedly ran a secret investigation to spy on the Québec separatists in the 70s. Rather, I expected nothing less. My only surprise was that it ever came to light, and that anyone else would be surprised.<\/p>\n
\nAlthough I was very young, I recall Pierre Elliott Trudeau was a powerful man who made Canadians feel powerful. He didn’t seem nervous about what the US or Britain – major players in the Cold War – thought. On the other hand, he did seem friendly towards the Soviets. Therefore, Pierre Elliott Trudeau didn’t seem to care about criticism, while he did seem to sympathize with a government that put central control over citizens’ rights.<\/p>\n
\nP.E. Trudeau liked being in power, and many Canadians thought he wore it well. He was PM for over 15 years. He briefly lost power to Joe Clark in 1979, but won it back in 1980.<\/p>\n\n
When a democratic government feels its power is threatened by something other than an election, it has invisible options. I suspect Pierre found Canada threatened in an unprecedented way, so felt that he needed to respond. He didn’t come across as indecisive.<\/p>\n
\nI imagine Pierre would prefer to be seen as someone who painted outside of the lines in order to keep Canada together rather than as someone who risked letting it falling apart because of the rules. On the other hand, members of the Parti Québecois and some other Québec citizens seem offended by what they perceive as abuse of power.<\/p>\n
\nPierre, you never were boring.<\/p>\n
Source:<\/p>\n
cbc.ca<\/a><\/p>\nJack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane,<\/a> Campbell River, BC.\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Self-tutoring about Canadian politics: the tutor mentions a recent article he read about Pierre Elliott Trudeau and the Québec separatists back in the 70s. I wasn’t surprised to hear that Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s office allegedly ran a secret investigation to …<\/p>\n