A DOPEY LOBBY

It is nothing new for Jean Chretien to be feuding with backbenchers. But
while the Prime Minister may have himself to blame for some of his
deteriorating relations, he appears to have had good cause to blow his top
at several of his caucus members last week.

In July, a group of Liberal MPs met with Barry Crane, the U.S. deputy drug
czar. The MPs claim the point of the meeting was simply to help them gain
an understanding of U.S. concerns over Canada's plan to decriminalize
possession of small amounts of marijuana. But a Foreign Affairs official
who attended and took notes has reported that they used the opportunity to
actively lobby the U.S. government to press its objections to the policy
change by tying it to trade and border disputes. "All the attendees were
highly critical of the proposed cannabis reform bill," the official's memo
noted. "The apparent aim of the members of the meeting was to solicit the
help of U.S. officials to defeat [it]."

Although some of the MPs have claimed that their intentions have been
misreported, at least one -- Brenda Chamberlain -- has admitted not only
that she and others asked Mr. Crane to tell the PM and federal bureaucrats
about the possibility of border problems if the law passed, but that they
asked him to repeat those concerns when he indicated he had already
expressed them. And according to reports, Liberal MP Dan McTeague -- who
the memo says conveyed "the obvious implication that the only thing that
would stop [decriminalization] was U.S. influence" -- gave Mr. Crane's
officials a memo listing the bill's flaws.

Assuming the MPs have not been unfairly smeared by these reports, their
conduct was inexcusable: Given the damage that has already been wrought
against our economy thanks to existing U.S. restrictions on softwood lumber
and beef, we hardly need our elected MPs manufacturing yet another problem.
Indeed, the backbenchers' spiteful campaign against the government's
sensible marijuana reforms contravenes the national interest they were
elected to protect.

Somewhere along the way, Ms. Chamberlain, Mr. McTeague and others appear to
have lost perspective. As some of Mr. Chretien's toughest critics, their
tactics have grown increasingly aggressive over the past couple of years.
Ordinarily, that's just fine; given the weak state of the opposition
parties, a little friendly fire is a constructive thing. But attempting to
turn our neighbours against us represents a step too far.