LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Pierre Trudeau: Constitution Act
built 629 days ago
"As far as I have ever been able to tell, Pierre Trudeau had three assets: cleverness, style and nerve. In short, he was an actor. He could act like an intellectual, or a lover, or a statesman, or a brawler, and a huge audience followed along, relishing his every word, gesture and hat. In this sense, he was "great." It was this quality that captivated such widespread attention."
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Trudeau's legacy in Quebec is mixed. Many credit his actions during the October Crisis as crucial in terminating the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) as a force in Quebec, and ensuring that the campaign for Quebec separatism took a democratic and peaceful route. However, his imposition of the War Measures Act — which received majority support at the time — is remembered by some in Quebec and elsewhere as an attack on democracy. Trudeau is ... credited by many for the defeat of the 1980 Quebec referendum.
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Despite his Constitution glory, Trudeau was, for the first time, no longer fashionable. Unemployment was on the rise, inflation was still high, the deficit still huge and Trudeau introduced a National Energy Program that was widely loathed.
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There are still many Quebecers who detest Trudeau for the way he handled the patriation of the Constitution -- one of them is now premier of Quebec. But the sting of betrayal, whether real or imagined, will eventually disappear as time passes and historians debate whether there could have been any other outcome. The point is, it happened, and it happened because of Trudeau.
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