Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Goodbye, Goofy Toque Guy


Here's a blast from the past: the man in the goofy toque who Jean Chretien famously manhandled at a protest rally 10 years ago, Bill Clennett, is hanging up his earflaps:

Frustrated by what he sees as the failure of Canadians and their political parties to treat the poor fairly, Mr. Clennett has resigned as the head of the Association for the Defence of Social Rights, a Gatineau group that promotes the rights of the poor.

Mr. Clennett said yesterday he will never again demonstrate in front of a Canadian prime minister, wave a steak in a parliamentary hearing at Quebec's national assembly or picket NDP headquarters because of what he regards as the party's failure to help the poor.

After 20 years as an anti-poverty organizer in Gatineau, Mr. Clennett wants to spend his time thinking about what should be done to change the way Canada treats poor people.


That picture makes me feel almost nostalgic for the bad old days of Jean Chretien's government. Almost. It was one of the few actions he took in government that I respected him for.

Source: Ottawa Citizen

1 comment:

Mark said...

I hear ya. When Chretien moved that guy out of the way I cheered.