The Way It Works: Inside Ottawa

Paul G. Thomas is the Duff Roblin Professor of Government at the
University of Manitoba, the author of Parliamentary Reform Through
Political Parties, and the co-author of Canadian Public Administration:
Problematical Perspectives.

Eddie Goldenberg was the chief policy advisor and all-purpose
“fixer” in the office of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. He has
written a highly readable book that provides important insights into how
issues are defined and power is exercised at the centre of government.
In a prologue, an epilogue, and 22 chapters in between, Goldenberg
analyses the roles of the key actors and institutions and the politics
of the Chrétien era—from taking power in 1993, to the preparation of
the budgets of the mid-1990s (which imposed deep expenditure cuts), to
the 1995 referendum campaign (which nearly saw the separatist cause
triumph in Quebec), to the response of the Clarity Act (which set forth
conditions under which Quebec could leave), to the events of 9/11 and
the decision not to enter the Iraq War.

As compelling as these stories are, it is Goldenberg’s account of the
personal rivalry battles between Prime Minister Chrétien and his
finance minister, Paul Martin, that attracted most of the attention when
the book first appeared. Goldenberg was the bridge and broker between
the warring parties. It is clear that he blames Martin’s frustrated
ambition to become prime minister sooner rather than later as the
fundamental, underlying cause of the rift, which was very atypical of
the Liberal Party when it was in power. On the sponsorship scandal,
Goldenberg insists there was no way that Paul Martin was unaware of the
strategy to funnel government advertising dollars to
“Liberal-friendly” firms in Quebec to promote national unity. That
scandal, of course, led to the Gomery inquiry and limited Paul Martin to
a short term as prime minister leading a minority government. Many of
the events described in the book will be familiar to close political
watchers, but the stories are told in a vivid, engaging way and are
supported by the shrewd insights of a central player.