John Turner, first elected to Parliament in 1962 in a long defunct Montreal riding called St. Lawrence-St. George, died on Friday. He was 91. Turner was Canada’s second-shortest serving prime minister at 79 days, back in 1984, after having held several major positions in Pierre Trudeau’s governments.
Updates from September, 2020 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Kate
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Kate
Nathalie Bondil is suing the Museum of Fine Arts to the tune of $2 million for her dismissal.
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Kate
I’m sorry I didn’t see anything about this in advance: a lot of people worked Saturday on cleaning trash off riverside parks and other areas.
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Kate
A man was found stabbed in a parked car in Hochelaga on Saturday morning. He’s not expected to die.
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Kate
Woke up this morning to radio news that was all about Covid. New Conservative leader Erin O’Toole has it and François Legault, who met with him recently, is isolating himself. Another abattoir in Quebec is experiencing an outbreak. While one source says schools will stay open even in red zones, another says the education minister has an emergency protocol in case schools have to shut down again and cops in civvies are patrolling bars and restaurants all over Quebec, looking for infractions.
Six months later, we’re still at the mercy of SARS-CoV-2.
Update: Legault has tested negative but he and his wife are remaining in isolation for awhile to be sure.
Ephraim
This article about O’Toole and testing https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/otoole-covid-19-testing-delays-1.5727978 left me with more questions than answer….
1. Why does he not realize that testing is provincial jurisdiction and not federal…. calling out the feds on testing when it’s implemented at the provincial level. That’s OHIP… not the feds that are doing the testing.
2. Why should we trust American tests, they aren’t even members of WHO and can’t seem to get anything related to COVID right anyway. How about looking at the Europeans and their testing instead of the most failed COVID country on earth?
3. Why does Quebec have a preferential site for testing for government officials? And why isn’t the press asking the question, when other people in Quebec have to line up for a test? It’s Universal healthcare… no one should be treated better. And if they are, then I want it exposed.Kate
1. Why does he not realize…
He’s not very bright.
2. Why should we trust American tests…
Canadian Conservatives have always trended more pro-American, even when it wasn’t a smart thing to do (see #1)
3. Why does Quebec have a preferential site for testing… no one should be treated better.
It does because there’s a collective understanding that some people are better than others and their needs are more important. I’ve been forced to this conclusion after observing society for decades. We really do think some people (the rich, the famous) are better than us, and deserving of better treatment. If we didn’t, society would not be structured the way it is. If you’re of an evolutionary psychology turn of mind, you’d say this is based on primate social structures. Who knows.
Raymond Lutz
“If you’re of an evolutionary psychology turn of mind, you’d say this is based on primate social structures.”
Lobsters!
Kate
Raymond Lutz, this blog is a Jordan Peterson-free zone : )
Raymond Lutz
Kate, you’re right: the only occurrences of his name on this blog are from two of _your_ comments 😎
EmilyG 22:31 on 2020-09-19 Permalink
I was born when he was prime minister.
That’s a pretty specific way of dating myself.
Michael Black 22:50 on 2020-09-19 Permalink
I know some who was born in July 1984. It’s hard to believe it’s been 36 years.
Jebediah Pallindrome 15:02 on 2020-09-20 Permalink
Time is a spiral soufflé
Somewhere on an alien planet, in the eighth dimension, John Turner Prime has been born
Thr antidote
Kate 18:47 on 2020-09-20 Permalink
You OK there, Jebediah?
Jebediah Pallindrome 18:59 on 2020-09-20 Permalink
I couldn’t possibly be clearer
ENGAGE WITH TURNER PRIME
Max 08:19 on 2020-09-21 Permalink
Detailed obit (with a really weird picture) from the Globe’s Saturday edition:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-obituary-john-turner-pm-for-79-days-was-old-liberalisms-darling/
Funny how such an interesting and accomplished man wound up almost a footnote in Canadian history.
Kate 09:03 on 2020-09-21 Permalink
Turner’s a good example of how politics is partly a matter of luck and timing, I think. But it’s also an example of how some politicians who shine as the lieutenant of a bigger personality often can’t make it on their own as a leader. Paul Martin is another example: he was good as Jean Chrétien’s finance minister, but he didn’t work out when he was PM himself. (The UK experienced the exact same effect when Tony Blair’s finance guy, Gordon Brown, failed to work out when he was made PM there.)
Of course it’s never a strong position to find yourself PM because you’re left holding the bag after the previous leader quits, viz. Kim Campbell, Martin and Turner himself. You’ve got the top job, you’ve got to cope with situations you didn’t create, and you’re challenged to hold an election too soon as a popularity contest.
Uatu 10:31 on 2020-09-21 Permalink
I just remembered him stammering through sentences and wondering why everyone was so enamored with the guy. Then again I was a teenager and everyone over 21 was “wrong”