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- Pierre Trudeau, former Prime Minister of Canada, was once described as
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- "A French Canadian proud of his identity and culture, yet a biting critic
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- of French-Canadian society, determined to destroy its mythology and
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- illusions". He has also been identified as "A staunch, upholder of
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- provincial autonomy holding the justice portfolio in the federal
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- government". Such cumulative appraisal and observation made by past fellow
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- bureaucrat provides high testimonial for the ex-Democratic Socialist. This
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- critique will establish and dispute the prime directives that Trudeau had
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- advocated in his own book written during the years 1965 to 1967. The
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- compilation of political essays featured in his book deal with the diverse
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- complexities of social, cultural and economical issues that were
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- predominant in Canadian politics during the mid 1960's. However, throughout
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- my readings I was also able to discover the fundamental principles that
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- Trudeau would advocate in order to establish a strong and productive
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- influence in Canadian politics.
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- Born in 1921, Trudeau entered the world in a bilingual/bicultural home
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- located in the heart of Montreal, Quebec. His acceptance into the
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- University of Montreal would mark the beginning of his adventures into the
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- Canadian political spectrum. Early in his life, Trudeau had become somewhat
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- anti-clerical and possessed communist ideologies which were considered
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- radical at the time. Graduating from prestigious institutions such as
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- Harvard and The School of Economics in England, Turdeau returned to Canada
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- in 1949 and resumed his social science endeavors. At this time in Quebec,
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- the province was experiencing tremendous cultural and political differences
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- with the rest of the country. The Union Nationale had taken possession of
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- political matters in Quebec and was steadily dismantling the socialist
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- essence imposed on the province by the Federal government. The current
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- Prime Minister, Maurice Duplessis, found himself battling a religious
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- nationalist movement that corrupted the very fabric of political stability
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- in Quebec. The Duplessis faction maintained their conservative approach
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- towards political reform but failed to sway the majority of the population
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- into alleviating with the demands of the Canadian government. The citizens
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- of Quebec revered their clerical sector as holding 'utmost importance'
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- towards preserving French cultural values and this did not correlate with
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- the Federal government's policies and ideals. Francophones were under the
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- impression that their own Federal government had set out to crush and
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- assimilate what had remained of their illustrious heritage in order to
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- accommodate economic and political tranquility. Trudeau himself had decided
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- to join the nationalist uprising with his advocation of provincial
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- autonomy. Ultimately, he and other skilled social scientists attempted to
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- bring down the Duplessis party in 1949, but failed miserably in their
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- efforts. Duplessis buckled underneath the continuous pressure of French
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- patriotism and was rewarded for his inept idleness by winning his fourth
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- consecutive election in 1956. Although nothing of significance had been
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- accomplished, Quebec has solidified its temporary presence in confederation
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- at such a time. This prompted Trudeau to involve himself in provincial
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- diplomacy as he would engage in several media projects that would voice his
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- displeasure and disapproval with the ongoing cultural predicament in Canada
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- (this included a syndicated newspaper firm, live radio programs). "If, in
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- the last analysis, we continually identify Catholicism with conservatism
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- and patriotism with immobility, we will lose by default that which is in
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- play between all cultures...". By literally encouraging a liberal, left-
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- wing revolution in his province, Trudeau believed that Democracy must come
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- before Ideology. Gradually, his disposition would attract many politicians
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- and advocates of Socialism, and thus it allowed him to radiate his ideology
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- onto the populace of Quebec. Trudeau makes it clear in his book that during
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- the early years of the Duplessis government, he was a staunch admirer of
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- provincial autonomy, but with the archaic sequence of events following the
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- conflicts that arouse between Federal and Provincial matters in Quebec, he
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- had taken a stance on Federalism that involved security, economic
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- prosperity and centralized authority. It wasn't until 1963 when the newly
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- appointed Premier of Quebec, Rene Levesque, warned that there must be a new
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- Canada within five years or Quebec will quit confederation. It was not
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- until 1965 that a man named Pierre Trudeau entered politics.
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- It is at this point in his anthology that I was able to surmise the
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- radical and unorthodox political convictions that the soon-to-be Prime
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- Minister would incorporate into Canada. His thesis is focused around
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- pertinent issues which demanded attention at the time. After he elaborates
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- on the importance of Federalism and how it is associated with Quebec, the
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- reader begins to interpret the resolutions he offers and then finds himself
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- comprehending the dilemma that French Canadians face in Canada. In the wake
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- of a constitutional referendum, such knowledge can be viewed as ironically
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- significant. A defender of civil rights and freedoms, Trudeau, even as a
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- teenager, was adamantly opposed to supporting any political theory based on
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- ethnic tendencies; he makes this clear on an essay in the book entitled:
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- "Quebec and the Constitutional Problem". He was convinced that not only the
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- divided jurisdiction of a federal state helped protect the liberty of its
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- citizens but also that in fact the economic, social and cultural goods of
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- Quebec can best be achieved with a Canadian federal state. It seemed that
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- an archetypal Trudeau Federal infrastructure would be one where each level
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- of government would function on its own jurisdiction. In doing so, Trudeau
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- would voice his admiration for the Bill of Rights and how he would
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- concentrate on developing a Federal government for the individual. It was
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- not until 1962 that Trudeau actually began defending Federalism for what it
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- represented to the average labourer, but the fact that Quebec seemed to
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- convert provincial autonomy into an absolute forced him to reconsider his
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- political stance. Joining the struggling Liberal party in 1965, his only
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- coinciding proposition with that of his party was the advocation of an open
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- Federal system. Nonetheless, it marked the beginning of a political career
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- that would take him to the heights of power in his dominion.
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- "My political action, or my theory - insomuch as I can be said to have
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- one - can be expressed very simply: create counter-weights". The measure of
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- a man can be traced to his ideological convictions, and in doing so, I have
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- only started to realize the prominent role that Trudeau has played in
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- Canadian politics. He was heralded as a radical, somewhat of a usurper and
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- definitely a socialist mogul, but what was clear about Trudeau was his
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- respect and admiration for liberties of the common man and how they were
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- preserved from the clutches of Federal policies. This respect would not be
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- replaced at any cost during his tenure and as he forecasted the ensuing
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- constitutional dilemma with a very impartial, non-partisan outlook, he
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- would primarily concentrate on two factors (economic and linguistic) which
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- offered practical conclusions without chaotic implications. Trudeau
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- envisioned himself in power, speculating two choices he would offer to
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- Quebec; full sovereignty or maximized integration into the American
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- continent. But what Trudeau avoided treading upon was the infringement of
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- state policies on the individual's rights and freedoms. Many members of the
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- Federal government believed that Trudeau did not speak on behalf of French
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- Canadians but that he substituted their cultural plight with his own
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- theories. This generated the following response: "If the party does not
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- agree with my opponents, it can repudiate me; if my constituents do not,
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- they can elect someone else". Trudeau maintains that he dedicated his
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- anthology in order for others to understand the problems that French
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- Canadians faced in terms of cultural progress, and I am compelled to
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- conclude that his involvement with the Federal regime may have saved the
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- country for twenty years...unfortunately, he was unable to complete the
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- affirmation of his ideology into the French Canadian scope and thus Canada
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- today is contemplating the outcome of another constitutional referendum.
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- His failure to absolve the constitution of any future repercussions with
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- the masses should not be viewed as a political error, but as an ideological
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- truth which he exhibited since 1965 (the addition of the "notwithstanding"
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- clause).
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- Trudeau's book covers an immense amount of historical and idealistic
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- content. Published in 1965, it is fascinating to read and discover how
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- intently and closely he would follow his ideologies as he would eventually
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- ascend to the position of Prime Minister. His reliability would be
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- questionable at the time (based on limited experience as a politician) but
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- the fact that he had submerged himself into a field which required
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- innovative and pragmatic thought led me to believe that his Federalist
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- stance would eventually be justified in Canadian history. With a
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- superlative writing style, his use of vocabulary and terminology aided the
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- reader in understanding his convictions. Not even this reader expected such
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- a barrage of political jargon.
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- Recent events in Canada have somewhat curtailed the ambience dealing
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- with this critique in respects to the opinions exhibited on behalf of the
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- author and reviewer. Trudeau takes obvious pride in his ideological
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- perspective of multicultural Canada, and in doing so one might expect a
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- partisan, biased array of resolutions. This, however, is not the case. This
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- book leaves room for educational prowess without any noticeable weaknesses.
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- Federalism and the French Canadians is an insightful, ideological anthology
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- that could be found especially useful to other politics students who wish
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- to examine the importance of cultural and social values in a country
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- missing a stable political doctrine (and perhaps a leader, no less).
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