Worth Fighting For

Geoff Hayes is an associate professor of History and the Director of
International Studies Option at the University of Waterloo.

Dark motivations lie beneath Sheila Copps’s second memoir. Written in
a simple, folksy style, this is a statement of Copps’s political
achievements, her philosophy, and her loyalty to Jean Chrétien, who
wrote the foreword. It is also a rather weak attempt to villainize Paul
Martin. Indeed, by Copps’s telling, her political victories were moral
victories won against Martin and his nasty handlers.

Sheila Copps was first elected a member of Parliament in 1984, and as a
member of the Rat Pack worked to undermine Brian Mulroney. It was at
that time she first met with Paul Martin, who announced to her that he
wanted to become prime minister. (Of course, Chrétien and Copps herself
had similar ambitions, but Martin’s business success made her worry
about his motives.)

Six years later, bitterness over the failure of the Meech Lake Accord
spilled over to divide Martin and Chrétien at the Liberal leadership
convention. While Copps (who ran third in that leadership bid) loyally
turned to support Chrétien, Martin and his team launched a “vicious
... battle for the hearts and minds of Liberals.”

By this account, Copps was an eager warrior against Martin’s Finance
Department, fighting for those with a social conscience. As Environment
Minister, she worked against Martin’s hypocrisy to pass an impressive
array of environmental legislation. Despite attacks by Martin
supporters, she held to her pledge to resign if her government did not
replace the GST; Copps was re-elected anyway. As Heritage Minister,
Copps battled Martin’s attempts to reduce (or privatize) the CBC. In
this account, only Sheila Copps and Jean Chrétien stood between Paul
Martin and his plans to cut the Canada Health Act or the old-age
pension. In this book, Copps and Chrétien are good; Martin is bad.

By 2003, only Copps remained to check Martin’s coronation as Liberal
leader. By this telling, Martin’s handlers continued to cheat,
intimidate, and stifle any debate. In a final twist, Martin’s
“Business Liberals” forced Copps from her long-held riding. Like an
old Frank Capra movie, this work is entertaining, but should not be
taken too seriously, for Sheila Copps is no Jefferson Smith.