PUBLICATION:        The Ottawa Citizen

DATE:                         2003.03.27

EDITION:                    Final

SECTION:                  Editorial

PAGE:                         A18

SOURCE:                   The Ottawa Citizen

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Gun-shy 

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The classic film High Noon would have garnered far less critical acclaim had the lonely hero, at the critical moment, failed to show up at all, or else been there but abstained. Yet when Jean Chretien made what some MPs denounced as a tyrannical demand that they support yet another $59 million down the gun-registry rat hole, three members of his caucus refused to vote, while several others did not pass the portals of Parliament at all.

Stand up? They didn't even show up. If Mr. Chretien really is pushing his caucus around, the fault may not all be on his side. So when backbenchers claim they have no influence, remember: People without spines rarely stand tall.