The prime minister and the protester
Jean Chrétien had a habit of wading into crowds and that was a problem for the RCMP
On Feb. 15, 1996, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien declared the first National Flag of Canada Day, commemorating the adoption of the Maple Leaf flag in 1965.
It was also the day the prime minister got physical with a protester who stood in his way.
Chrétien had been speaking at an event in what was then called Hull, Que., but was being drowned out by protesters angered by cuts to unemployment insurance.
To get back to his car, Chrétien walked into the crowd — a manoeuvre that took his security staff by surprise.
As he waded through the mass of people, a man later identified as labour activist Bill Clennett got in Chrétien's way.
"Suddenly, Chrétien took the man by the back of the neck," said reporter Jason Moscovitz in a report that night for CBC's The National.
"His other hand was over the protester's mouth. He pushed him aside."
'If you're in my way, I'm walking'
"Some people came in my way... and I had to go, so if you're in my way, I'm walking," said Chrétien when reporters asked him about the altercation immediately after it happened. "I don't know what happened. Somebody should not have been there."
To his biographer, Lawrence Martin, the action that later became known as Chrétien's "Shawinigan handshake" was consistent with his character.
"The old streetfighter's back in town," he said. "This is Jean Chrétien forgetting his prime ministerial pose, and saying 'I'm not going to take this anymore. I've had enough. First Bouchard, then the knife-wielder, now this guy.'"
Just months earlier, on Nov. 5, 1995, an intruder broke into 24 Sussex Drive and confronted Chrétien and his wife, Aline. The couple locked themselves in their bedroom and waited for the RCMP to arrive, which they did, seven minutes later.
Crowd-surfing, almost
Wading into crowds had become a habit of Chrétien's in recent months.
"RCMP sources have told CBC News the prime minister has a spontaneous style that drives them to distraction," reporter Julie Van Dusen said later in the broadcast.
During the 1995 Quebec referendum campaign, he had done it at least twice — once after a rally, and once on the way to another when traffic was so slow he decided to get out of the car and walk.
On the night of the referendum, he left his office in Parliament to greet crowds outside and jumped on top of a car.
"[The RCMP] worry he's jeopardizing his own safety by his actions," said Van Dusen.
Scrutiny for RCMP actions
Outside the House of Commons four days later, Chrétien seemed to suggest the RCMP had neglected their duty.
"Generally speaking, I am not confronted because the police keep people a bit away," he said. "But (Clennett) was right in front of me shouting and trying to block my way so I took him out."
Solicitor General Herb Gray wouldn't point a finger at the RCMP, but said it was their responsibility "to have people in position."
For their part, the RCMP was adamant that Chrétien's life had never been in danger and they had done nothing wrong. But they pledged to "ensure a more controlled access to the Prime Minister" in future.
Former RCMP Deputy Commissioner Henry Jensen believed the prime minister had gone too far.
"It was an aggressive form ... and would not be considered restraint if a member of the force handled a citizen that way," he said.
Clennett declined to press charges against Chrétien. According to the Globe and Mail, his dental work was damaged when the RCMP wrestled him to the ground, and he was reimbursed $500 by the government.
A few years later, the RCMP would again face scrutiny over an incident again involving Chrétien and someone who gained close access to him — a man who put a pie in the prime minister's face.
In that incident, the RCMP acknowledged "it shouldn't have happened" under their watch.
