Pierre Trudeau and the Ottawa Heads of Government Meeting

 

 

Tony Eggleton (left) with Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau  Arnold Smith said that Trudeau showed how deeply he had come to value the association.  He formed important friendships at it, and contributed greatly with his insistence on informal discussion and longer-range thought.

 

Tony Eggleton was the first Director of Information  at the Secretariat, from 1971-1974.  Arnold Smith said of him, in Stitches in Time, "he managed to produce good information material on a miserably small budget, help run the Ottawa HGM with aplomb and gave me invaluable political advice, not only about Australia and Papua New Guinea, but in many other spheres". 

Tony writes:

 

Pierre Trudeau, as host of the 1973 CHOGM, looked to the Commonwealth Secretariat to play a key role in organizing and supporting the Ottawa meeting and in enhancing the value of Heads of Government meetings.

The Canadian Prime Minister wanted the Ottawa meeting to increase significantly the relevance and impact of the biennial gatherings of Commonwealth leaders.

Pierre Trudeau had not made an auspicious start on the Commonwealth scene.   At his first CHOGM in London he made headlines with his banister sliding feats rather than for his contribution to the deliberations.

But by the time of the CHOGM in Singapore in 1971 he had reassessed the Commonwealth, had come to recognize its distinctive value, and had concluded that he wanted to become a positive and constructive participant.

He felt the meetings could be run and structured in way that would more effectively capitalize on the Commonwealth's unique format, bringing Prime Ministers and Presidents together eyeball-to-eyeball around a conference table.  

He offered to host the next meeting in Ottawa and his aim was to ensure that the Commonwealth, every two years, took full advantage of the opportunity provided by  the face to face meetings (and with a minimum of officials at the leadership sessions).   

With the growth of the modern Commonwealth, there had been an increasing tendency for the leaders to arrive with prepared texts.    These speeches were read formally to the assembled leaders and officials, and copies released in respective national capitals.    Pierre Trudeau, and some other leaders, saw this as a wasted opportunity.   Rather, the Prime Ministers should actively engage in informal debate, without relying on turgid speeches written in their home countries.

In preparing for the Ottawa conference, Prime Minister Trudeau and his advisers met with Commonwealth Secretariat staff to discuss this fresh strategy.

In the course of the CHOGM, he executed this with tactful authority.   When a Prime Minister was embarking on a prepared speech, Pierre Trudeau, as host chairman, listened politely for a few minutes.   Then he started questioning the speaker, raising points of elaboration and clarification.   Texts soon became irrelevant and were abandoned as Pierre Trudeau encouraged all leaders to join in the discussion.

The frank exchanges contributed to mutual understanding and ensured more focused and pertinent decision making.

With fewer texts available for release, the post-session media briefings became more challenging for the Secretariat staff and others maintaining liaison with the press.

But the outcome was very much to the liking of Prime Minister Trudeau and other leaders.

A precedent had been set whereby the Prime Ministers and Presidents looked forward to a Commonwealth forum that gave them the chance directly to debate issues with their opposite numbers, in a private environment, undeterred by officials and predetermined attitudes.

Pierre Trudeau, through his Ottawa initiatives and strategies, gave a welcome new impetus and purpose to Commonwealth conferences.

 

 A recent picture of Tony Eggleton