Last fall Jon Ferry, columnist for the Province newspaper, mused about how the world might need a kind of Global Charter of Responsibilities before too much more globalizing went on. He asked for ideas as to what that charter might mention.
I wrote to Mr Ferry to inform him that back in 1998 I met and interviewed Pierre Trudeau for my paper, The Nelson Village Voice, about precisely the need for this sort of document. Mr Trudeau informed me that he and other heads of state were then working on A Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities and these former leaders were hopeful they could prevail on their country’s current leaders to adopt this creed. (Interesting to note that Mr Ferry ignored my letter, and after a brief canine sniff of that issue went on about grubbing for some other bones.)
Thoughtful readers may enjoy this true story of how Mr Trudeau permitted me to become the publisher of this important global document.
On the evening of March 31, 1998, I was informed in a hush-hush sort of way by an employee of the Heritage Hotel in Nelson that Mr Trudeau was staying there. Dashing back to my office I prepared the following letter:
“Dear Mr Trudeau,
A friend and fan of my little paper (a magazine of philosophy and social commentary delivered every two weeks to every home and business of Nelson) told me in a ‘secret’ way that you were here.
I am and have been a long time supporter of your thoughts and political courage (and was a ‘crowd marshal’ at Toronto City Hall in 1967 during your ‘philosophical’ speech. And I am hopeful that you might grant me a 30 minute interview that I may put to you questions of a philosophical nature, as in:
*do you believe you may have had a greater impact on your country and the community we live in had you remained a published intellectual , as opposed to becoming a full time politician?
*given the trend to establishing global currencies and free trade agreements, do you personally feel these arrangements will benefit the common (global) man?
*Is there a necessity to put in place (in writing) A Moral Imperative as in A Global Creed by which all countries, corporations, and religious fiefdoms must abide? (A loaded question, n’est-ce pas?)
These are the kinds of questions I would enjoy putting to you in person. I would happily agree to a half hopur limit of your time. Though I dare you to keep it under that.
As a former Catholic private school student (St Philip Neri, Toronto) I was dismayed to find no debating club at Downsview Secondary School in 1964. I organized it with Mr Larry Martinello (my history teacher) and our first guest speaker was Richard Needham of The Globe and Mail. Larry has since become the author of the history text taught in high schools throughout Ontario, and here I am, the author of a novel, and publisher of a neat little philosophy paper and a man of extreme interest in interviewing you.
What say you? I’m a block away from the heritage Hotel and can be there in a flash. Call me? I’ll keep checking my messages
Best wishes to you, sir, no matter your decision re this appeal.”
With that letter and two back issues of The Nelson Village Voice (one of which talked about the spirituality of children that I was especially hopeful Mr Trudeau might read) I approached my Heritage Hotel ‘mole’ and made the following pitch: “I’ve never asked for a favour from the hotel before and have spent at least $16,000 at Mike’s Place pub upstairs, so here’s my favour: Get this envelope to Mr Trudeau while he’s a guest here. I’ll be upstairs playing pool.”
I waited for a couple of hours then returned to the lobby, feeling a bit like a stalker. After a little while of pacing and being on the verge of calling it a night, in walked the former porime Minister and leader of this country for 15 years wearing a red ski jacket, seeming quite small, walking slowly and alone. I approached him and with camera bag, papers sticking out of my pocket, my fedora, pen in hand, I assumed he had a notion I was from the press.
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