The dope on Hatfield
Campbell Gordon
There are occasional uses in reading the inferior tabloids. If you had not, this week, for instance, you would have missed the news that Mr Richard Hatfield, the premier of New Brunswick, and hero of the Prince and Princess of Wales's last visit to Canada, was reported to have owned a suitcase in the outside pocket of which was discovered a small quantity of marijuana. Not in itself anything more than a minor criminal offence in Canada, but more serious because the suitcase was accom- panying the Premier on the Queen's aero- plane. Mr Hatfield has held a press conference in which he remarked 'Obviously I don't know how it got there.' The police are dithering about pressing charges on the simple face of possession. If they do, and if the incident is politically damaging to Mr Hatfield, it will be very sad. The few colourful characters in Canda- dian political history have tended to install themselves in the provincial premierships. There was the Mr Smith, Premier of British Columbia, who changed his name to Amor de Cosmos (sic). There were a whole series of inexcusable autocrats like `Mitch' Hepburn of Ontario and Maurice Duplessis of Quebec. Hatfield, while fol- lowing in the individualistic and autocratic style (he has referred to one opposition party as 'dissidents') has combined with it a prominent national role on the festering language issue. His province is 60 per cent English and 40 per cent French, which makes it the only truly bilingual province and gives it an importance that outweighs its numerical insignificance in comprising only four per cent of the Canadian popula- tion. Hatfield has been the most enlight- ened of the provincial premiers on the language question since his election 14 years ago, and is the first New Brunswick conservative to have significant support among the French-speaking population. 'His French gets worse every time I hear it,' remarked one supporter of the last election.
Hatfield first came to real national prominence in the televised First Ministers meetings on the Constitution where he astonished the public by being the only Premier who knew how to take on Mr Trudeau, avoiding intellectual debates, lecturing and conference on their duty and reproving the Prime Minister: 'Come on, Pierre, you don't ask for credit, you just take it.' In the closed sessions he lectures his colleagues on where they should take their holidays and on how boring they were to be going to Florida.
Hatfield himself runs an effective and uncorrupt administration and has a reputa- tion for always being away from it. He is to be found at most exciting North American events including space shuttle launchings, and has always been on hand to represent Canada (not a provincial function) at events such as the funerals of Presidents Tito and Boumedienne. He is a loyal friend — anxious to dispel the myth, for example, that Yasser Arafat does not shave apparently it's a skin condition. He knows every inch of his province and practically everyone in it — but he also knows every inch of New York and London and is an honorary citizen of Upper Volta. He has won four consecutive elections with ever- increasing majorities.
Hatfield is also known for his extraordi- narily good, though occasionally incompre- hensible, conversation and indiscretion, in which his only real rival is Prince Siha- nouk. With his qualities, the effective administration he has provided, and the healing effect he has had on the divisive language issue, it would be very silly if the suitcase incident were to cause his resigna- tion.
When asked in the past why he is still premier after ten, 12 or 14 years, he has always replied, 'It's obvious.' And the fact remains that it is still obvious. Do you think New Brunswick would make the Spectator if it were not for Richard Hat- field?
Previous page
