Whether they're negotiating, innovating or grandstanding, many thousands of Canadians bring their best efforts to public service in Canada by working in government. Most are trying to make a difference to our country and society. Here are a few Canadians in government who made noteworthy contributions in 2005.
Frank and sometimes blunt,
John Gomery cut to the core of the complicated relations between politicians, government officials and business people involved in the sponsorship scandal. At the age of 73, he is handling the celebrity status thrust upon him as head of the inquiry into the sponsorship scandal with dignity and humour.
After bitter negotiations and lots of grandstanding, including removing
the Canadian flag from Newfoundland provincial government buildings in protest, Newfoundland Premier
Danny Williams finally negotiated a deal with the federal government on offshore revenue sharing. The deal brought $2.6 billion over eight years to the province. Newfoundland gets to keep its equalization payments until it meets the national standard.
Realizing how large and complex the U.S. government and the U.S. news media are, Canadian Ambassador Frank McKenna appealed for help from more than one million Canadians living in the United States to get accurate information about Canada across to Americans. He started the Connect2Canada network which lets Canadian expats find out what is happening in the U.S. related to Canada and get email notices on topics of interest so they can share information about Canada with their American friends.
Belinda Stronach always attracts attention, but probably not more than when she switched from the Conservatives to the Liberals in May 2005. She's evolving from the wooden words prominent when she ran for the Conservative leadership, and is starting to speak out on issues of importance to her, like national unity and women in politics. As she said in a speech to the Canadian Club in December 2005, "...at the end of the day it’s not where you sit that matters. It’s where you stand."
An Independent MP from Surrey BC,
Chuck Cadman went into politics to make a difference. In 2002 he was effective in having his private members bill incorporated in the Youth Criminal Justice Act. In May 2005, while undergoing cancer treatment, he made it to Ottawa where his vote on budget amendments resulted in a tie, in effect sparing Canada a summer election. He told
CTV News that his constituents were not prepared to go into an election. Chuck Cadman died of skin cancer in July 2005.
While well-known in Quebec before her appointment as Governor General of Canada in 2005,
Michaëlle Jean was a fresh face to most Canadians. She has managed to smooth over initial flurries of controversy about ties she and her husband filmmaker Jean-Daniel Lafond may have had with separatists, and is quietly settling into the job. Michaëlle Jean's tendencies towards social activism should add some spice to the job of Governor General of Canada.
Young, energetic and openly gay,
André Boisclair was elected leader of the Parti Québécois in November 2005. While party hardliners were concerned that Boisclair was a moderate on Quebec sovereignty, he quickly promised that in the next election the Parti Québécois will seek a mandate to hold a referendum on Quebec sovereignty as soon as possible. With both provincial and federal Liberals at low points in popularity in the province, the issue of Quebec separation is back on the public agenda.
Ralph Klein set the tone for a different kind of federal-provincial relations when he announced an Alberta centennial gift of funding for 325 scholarships of $2005 each to post-secondary students across the country. The premier said the scholarships were "a way to thank fellow Canadians for their incredible support over the last century," mentioning the help Alberta received from the Hay West program in 2002 and the way Canadians rallied behind the Alberta beef industry during the BSE crisis.
