21 Days

Leslie McGrath was a librarian with the Toronto Public Library.

Senator Hébert’s famous hunger strike of March 1986 created serious divisions among Canadians. Those who opposed him denounced him as a “moral terrorist.” Those who approved the latest spectacular exploits of this remarkable Canadian hailed him as the quintessential idealist.

Now the Senator has put his experiences down on paper. He’s an experienced author having written more than 20 books ranging from his travels in China years ago with long-time friend Pierre Elliott Trudeau to books on youth enterprises he’s founded such as Canada World Youth and Katimavik. It was for the latter, of course, that he went on his hunger strike, and this book is an account of his battle with the Mulroney government to keep that programme alive.

The book is breezily written. Hébert reproduces his correspondence with Mulroney. Not everyone would agree with his boast to Mulroney that the Katimavik programme “served as a flagship of hope in the sea of despair that is engulfing our young people.” Nonetheless, the fact that Senator Hébert aroused and brought together such wide support shows that Katimavik meant a lot to a significant number of people.

But did it create jobs? This is the central point of dispute between Hébert and his supporters, on the one hand, and the Mulroney government on the other. Hébert tries to argue that it did, but then broadens his argument to his Special Senate Committee on Youth, which examined the severity of unemployment across the country, particularly in the Atlantic and Pacific regions.

This is a very well written and readable book, and sensibly doesn’t restrict itself to the human drama of the individuals concerned. The author considers the moral issues — he addresses the blackmail argument by quoting the Senate debate. This is a feeling book, one which brims with gusto.