Thursday July 16, 1998

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday July 16, 1998

Mulroney deserves some sort of medal from Ottawa

This is an opinionated column about Brian Mulroney being named a Companion of the Order of Canada. The rank of Companion is the highest in the Order. It is the highest civilian award a Canadian can receive; normally, most of those so honoured first became a Member of the Order, or an Officer, before – if ever – they become a Companion. (An exception is the Governor-General who becomes a Companion on his or her appointment to Rideau Hall since, of course, the Governor-General is always the ranking member of the Order.)

Appointments to the Order are made on being designated by a committee whose members include the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, the Clerk of the Privy Council, other ranking civil servants and other distinguished Canadians. None of the committee is an elected or serving politician.

Anyone who is a Canadian citizen may be nominated for the Order of Canada by anyone, including politicians, friends, or even one’s mother. But the decision as to whom is admitted to the Order is entirely that of the committee. It is easier to become a Lord in the British House of Lords – peerages are often sold and are always created almost exclusively by elected politicians – than it is to be appointed to the Order of Canada.

I am an Officer of the Order and honoured to be so. I have never met anyone who has been appointed who was not pleased about it, or anyone who was selected for the honour but turned it down. I have no idea who nominated me, or why. Finally, there was some added personal satisfaction in my case because the appointment was made during the reign of a Liberal government (thereby confounding legions of Canadian paranoids) and it so disturbed my morning paper (national edition) that it printed the news of the appointment, and the list of appointees, in four-point type in the back of the paper, near the truss ads. (The citation, which accompanies the award, made mention of my career in journalism.)

Not all appointments to the Order meet with public favour. It is not and should not be a popularity contest. An irate letter appearing in my morning paper complained about the honour conferred upon Mulroney, quoting a phone-in poll taken by a Vancouver television station which showed 97 per cent of callers had expressed disapproval.

I suppose one should praise the impartiality of those who made the Mulroney appointment, surely being well aware of the controversy which would come in the wake of their decision. The prestigious members followed their best judgment as to the merits of the nomination. We can’t have it both ways: either the appointments are made by those who will proceed with wet fingers to the political winds – which would disgrace the Order of Canada – or do what they believe is appropriate and fitting. Which sort of committee do we want?

Still, it is disconcerting to have the Order of Canada become a source of such rancour and controversy. Friends of the former Prime Minister who organized and supported his nomination deserve better marks for their loyalty than their judgment. To begin with, it is a precedent, so far as I know, and not obviously a good one.

Is Pierre Trudeau a Companion of the Order? Is Joe Clark? Is the appointment of Jean Chretien to the Order only a matter of time?

The question is whether the appointment of retired prime ministers to the highest rank in the nation’s highest civilian system of awards is to become a perfunctory matter. If it is, then Kim Campbell is a shoo-in.

But if it’s not to be perfunctory, how then do we fairly do it? What has Trudeau done, or not done, that Mulroney did or didn’t do? We have not read Mulroney’s citation – perhaps it is in recognition of his nine years of service in the nation’s highest elective office, or his leadership in the free-trade debate. Maybe it’s for charitable work beyond his political career. But what, other than some concoction of some other exceptional national contribution – in which case, how to explain the instant elevation to the highest rank? No, the Companion’s rank flows from Mulroney’s high office as prime minister.

Prime ministers are gorged with honours that are the gift of a pluralistic free society. They collect honorary degrees from prestigious universities. Such occasions reek with conflicts of interest since the university has now become the orphan child of governments. Later on, in recognition of services rendered, our former leaders are named to the boards of the major corporations. Nothing wrong with that, in the natural synthesis of gratitude, utility and homage. But the Order of Canada wasn’t created to honour retired prime ministers or provincial premiers. In fact, the Order was formed largely to recognize Canadian citizens for reasons other than political.

But if there is a medal for distinguished former prime ministers (or premiers) who have taken unjustified public abuse and calculated vilification from a darkly malicious government, then Brian Mulroney should get it. Perhaps he now has, and it’s called the Order of Canada. If so, it is richly deserved. – Dalton Camp (Toronto Star, A15, 7/15/1998)

What’s going on?

Canada is symbolized as a giant figure lifting a smaller Brian Mulroney using a baseball bat labelled “Public Opinion.” Mulroney, looking dejected, asks Canada to target someone else, gesturing towards Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. Further down two the bottom right of the frame, there’s Chrétien, depicted juggling four balls representing significant political challenges: GST, Free Trade, patronage, and cuts. The cartoon captures the political dynamics of the time, illustrating Mulroney’s weariness of public scrutiny and directing attention to the issues faced by Chrétien’s government. Added context referring to the medal dangling from Mulroney’s wrist is about Mulroney being named a Companion of the Order of Canada, the highest civilian award. The column, written by Dalton Camp, the late long time writer best known for being the thorn in the side of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, criticizes the decision, citing public disapproval revealed in a poll and questioning whether such appointments should be based on public opinion or the committee’s judgment. The author expresses concern about the Order becoming a source of controversy, highlighting the need to distinguish between political winds and appropriate recognition. The mention of Mulroney’s Order of Canada appointment is seen as contentious, raising questions about the criteria for such honours, especially for retired prime ministers. The column ultimately acknowledges the complexities surrounding awards like the Order of Canada and suggests Mulroney might deserve recognition for enduring public criticism during his political career. (Graeme MacKay – March 2024)