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April 13 - April 20,2003 |
Taking care of business before elections
Paul Martin prepares to announce leadership candidacy for the federal Liberal Party
By Angelo Persichilli
Originally Published: 2003-03-23
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Paul Martin
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He's seen as the next Prime Minister, but at the moment he only has the troubles of an MP. Paul Martin is not yet officially a candidate for the Liberal leadership, but the oppositions expect him to behave and make promises like a Prime Minister.
At present, Martin is just the MP for the Montreal ward of Lasalle-Emard, but everybody takes for granted that he will blow all his competitors away when Jean Chrétien's successor will be chosen in November.
In the meantime, he remains a mere MP; nonetheless, a few days ago he had to make a costly decision, divesting himself of the control and ownership of the shipping company he created over the past 20 years. This was a big step and, even though he left everything in the hands of his three children, it's a major change in his life.
We interviewed him hours after the announcement of this decision.
Mr. Martin, now that we're both poor, how do you feel?
"I shall never be as rich as you are."
I'll agree with that, depending on how we define richness. Jokes aside, how do you feel after taking this important decision?
"I had been thinking about this for a while. I simply sped up the procedure. I can say that I'm very proud of my company and very proud of my children. I'm confident that they will handle it very well."
How did they react?
"They understood my feelings perfectly, but at the same time they're very happy and excited about their new roles."
They may be happy, but the oppositions are not. They are asking for more.
"Clearly, the oppositions do not see the matter of the fact, especially the conclusions reached by independent industry experts, in addition to the recommendations made by Parliamentary Ethics Commissioner Wilson. He consulted with a numerous group of experts, including the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario, the former Ethics Commissioner of British Columbia and others, over the past few weeks."
Oppositions keep opposing, though.
"Not all of them, I'll say. In fact some members of other parties agree with me, like the vast majority of Canadians who wrote or called me these days. They understood that I've severed every tie with the company."
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