September 15, 2000
He haunts us still - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER -- To say the entire Pierre Trudeau “death watch” or “vigil” left a bad taste in my mouth, is a sheer understatement. Truth be told, while I disagree with a lot of the politics propagated by Trudeau, I have long been an admirer and fan of the man who constantly found his lapel with rose pinned on.
Trudeau made us feel proud to be Canadian. Sure, he taunted us and he haunts us still (to borrow from Stephen Clarkson & Christina McCall’s prize-winning bio,) but through his life do we see our collective Canadian possibility, both dashed and realised.
My e-mail account at home subscribes to a newsletter put out by the good people who put the CBC’s The National together. Peter Mansbridge usually files anecdotal summaries of what to expect from the night’s telecast, which is of help to them in reeling in extra viewers. For me, I can check their daily post and adjust my schedule accordingly, as to whether I tune into “Canada’s most watched newscast.” (Actually, Lloyd Robertson’s CTV News gets more viewers. They digress.)
Last Thursday, the 7th, a staffer sent out the daily e-mail saying Mansbridge was en route to the Sydney games to join Brian Stewart in anchoring the Mother Corp’s Olympic coverage. The lead story for that night’s National was of course the ailing health of the former PM, Pierre Trudeau.
Low and behold, Mansbridge, who’s supposed to be at Pearson International heading ‘Down Under’, signs on behind the anchor desk, last Thursday. Those of us on the National’s wire service found out the next day from Peter himself, that his bosses at the CBC wanted him to stay in the country should anything further develop in the former Prime Minister’s condition. In plain English, Mother Corp. wants Mansbridge ready, in case Trudeau croaks, so he can anchor funeral coverage.
Now I understand it’s the network’s prerogative and their journalistic judgement at work, but I find the entire circumstance somewhat crude and tasteless. I guess it’s this insane feeling within myself (and many other Canadians,) that wants Trudeau to defy the constraints of time and mortality.
Most people across the country have complained at the fact those pesky TV microwave trucks sat outside of the Mont Royal home of Trudeau, even though they had asked for their privacy. Sure, the media have acted as selfish vultures that refuse to reconcile taste and decency in the pursuit of a story, but Trudeau IS a story. The man makes an appearance, he’s in the news. He turned 80 and the nation stood to wish him well. The sentiment of the people is cropped down here to a throng of well-wishers, admirers and Canadians, forever guarding their magus to the very end.
Another point worth writing about is the demeanor of the National Post through this entire exercise. Perhaps it is through this event that they’ve finally come out of the closest as pro-righters and anti-Liberal all the way. Perhaps it is in the vain of their proprietor, almost-Lord Conrad Black. Although I have enjoyed their anti-Chrétien baiting over the last year or so, I indict them of tasteless coverage of the Trudeau story.
Their otherwise brilliant Hill reporter, Paul Wells, was unbelievable in the tone his copy read in last Friday’s edition. He regarded his assignment as simply overseeing a “death watch,” where he could be doing other things instead. He crassly regarding Trudeau as an ageing man whose last breath was to be his cue to give his occupation some excitement amongst the jaded nature of covering politics.
In a future column, I’ll be looking at the legacy of Brian Mulroney. In it, I say something to the effect that Mulroney was and is highly unpopular. Yet, amidst his standing in popularity polls, he should be afforded a little respect for the fact he was the head of government for a certain amount of time. The least we could do for these bastardised politicians is give them our respect for the time they took out of their lives, to better our lives, for better or for worse. I feel very strongly about Trudeau and his service to the nation, as do I of Mulroney.
When death is a reality, let’s afford them a little more respect. Glad to see the ‘watch’ has somewhat ceased.
Questions and comments may be sent to: editor@thecommentary.ca
An archive of Joseph Planta's previous columns can be found by clicking HERE .