Worst: too numerous to mention in my lifetime/service (50 and 33 years respectively). As I'm still suffering for what Hellyer did, he's obviously deserving of special mention. Cottenelle and Eggleton were worse than useless. Kim Campbell was completely clueless, consistent with her "performance" as Justice Minister and Prime Minister. Most others are simply forgotten. In keeping with the traditional Lieberal manner of demonstrating their respect for the Armed Forces by appointing spineless idiots to the job, witness their choice of Defence Critic. There is no better reason for celebrating their ejection from office than that he is not the Minister - except for every other reason.
Best Lieberal: Bill Graham. Much as I despise his party and the vast majority of those in it, he did come across as a genuinely decent fellow who simply fell in with a bad crowd.
Best overall: Perrin Beatty, who unfortunately did not stay in the job long enough and who, like us, seemed to have the rug pulled out from beneath him by the rest of his government.
I just dug out my old copy of "Challenge and Commitment", the 1987 White Paper. In his foreword, he said:
"Shortly after the Prime Minister asked me to become Minister of National Defence, I had the pleasure of meeting with a group of young Canadian Forces officers stationed in Germany.
"These dedicated young Canadians, who will help form the next generation of our country's military leadership, were candid about what they looked for from their Government. They listed four goals:
- Honesty. A frank admission that the Forces had to deal with serious problems which would take time to overcome.
- A contemporary and manageable mandate. A clear statement of what their Government expected them to do.
- The resources necessary to do the job, and,
- Perhaps most important of all, the clear moral support of Canadians for their work on behalf of Canada.
"I agree fully with those priorities. This new defence policy, the first in 16 years, provides a modern and realistic mandate to the Canadian Forces and commits the Government to giving the Forces the tools to do the job.
"For much of the 1960s and 1970s, Canada's security and our defence relationship with the other democracies were given a low priority by the Federal Government. The Forces were cut in size and much of their equipment was allowed to become obsolete. As a result, Canada's security and sovereignty were seriously weakened and both our allies and potential opponents received mixed signals about our reliability as a NATO partner.
"The challenges that Canadians must face between now and the next century go to the survival of humanity itself and to whether Canada will continue as a free and independent country. The new defence policy outlined in this White Paper will help ensure for our children a sovereign and free Canada in a more peaceful world."
I posted the whole thing because, almost twenty years on, it makes an interesting comparison to today's situation.
I really only meant to post the first two paragraphs, as I was one of those "young Canadian Forces officers stationed in Germany". We'd never heard of Mr Beatty, and so were somewhat cautious in our approach to him. He spent a lot of time chatting with us in the Mess on his first visit, as he did on at least one subsequent one. He openly admitted that he knew nothing about military matters, but was keen to learn. He asked clear, intelligent questions and followed these up with more, based upon the answers that he received. It was obvious that he was paying attention and was genuinely interested. We were quite impressed with him.
It was an exciting couple of years, which, unfortunately, ended rather abruptly and I still harbour some resentment for the betrayal.
For NCdt Lumber: I can appreciate that you're "new to politics, hell ... new to life". I am not, and I can tell you from long and bitter experience in more matters than Defence that the Lieberals more than deserve their "bashing" and that they are more than "simply ... mind numbingly incompetent". They are lying, thieving, arrogant, self-serving, corrupt ***********. I can forgive you for voting Lieberal this once. I am not usually that generous in such matters, but we are all entitled to at least one mistake. "Give them some credit"? Okay, they are very good liars and thieves who have raised the bar for arrogance, self-serving, and corruption. Please provide an example of one or more "competent and inspiring liveral (sic) cabinet ministers". None in my lifetime have inspired me to do anything more than vomit.