Will the Reformers Bar Jean Chretien From Anniversary of Park he Helped to Create?

In yet another move to put partisanship above the common good, the Harperites appear to be excluding Jean Chretien from the anniversary celebrations for a park that he helped to create.

He might have created the national park near his hometown but Jean Chrétien shouldn’t necessarily count on an invitation to its 40th anniversary party. The Conservative government won’t offer any guarantees that the three-term former prime minister will be on the guest list for the anniversary event near Shawinigan.

Chrétien helped inaugurate Mauricie National Park in 1970, while he was still a young cabinet minister in Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s government. The birthday bash is scheduled for next month. Environment Minister Jim Prentice’s office can’t say for certain whether the Liberal prime minister will be invited. It says the event-planning is still in its initial stages. That the attendance of Shawinigan’s favourite son should even be in doubt has angered local supporters, who detect a Tory conspiracy afoot.

I'm sure residents will be thrilled that Jim "I don't have time to act on the environment because I'm too busy doing my hair" Prentice will be there.