By Mike Oliveira
TORONTO (CP) - Newly minted Liberal Leader Stephane Dion is welcome to call for free advice any time he likes, but former prime minister Jean Chretien said Wednesday he has no plans to butt in and try to run the party behind the scenes.
Chretien refused to confirm reports that he's advising Dion's transition team as they prepare for an election, saying only that he speaks with the new Liberal leader "when he calls me." "If he wants my view, he knows my phone number and he can call me, but he will run his own show," Chretien said.
"If they want my views, I'll tell them. If they use them, fine, if they don't use them, it's still fine."
Chretien, who spent nearly 15 years in Pierre Trudeau's cabinet, said a similar arrangement with his former boss worked well after Chretien was elected prime minister in 1993.
"I was talking with him once in a while (for advice), but he never called me to tell me what to do, and I don't intend to do that with anybody."
Chretien said he's confident that Dion can lead the Liberals to victory in a federal election and would make a good prime minister.
"He's been a minister for more than 10 years and he's a bright guy," he said. "He's a man of a lot of talent."
Chretien was in Toronto for a speaking engagement at the Professional Convention Management Association conference, where he shared the stage with Newt Gingrich, the former Republican speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
In a session that was closed to the media, the pair discussed the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which will require air travellers entering the United States to carry a valid passport when it goes into effect Jan. 23.
Chretien said he's sure Canada and the United States will find a way to solve their border security issues without causing cross-border traffic to grind to a halt.
"I'm confident that common sense will prevail, they will find a way to let the people cross the border," Chretien said. "I know they can find a way if they want to find a way."
Travellers can cross several national borders in Europe without any significant delays and something similar should be possible in North America, he added. "In Europe, you go from Austria, Germany, France, Spain to Portugal with nobody stopping you."
The problem is that there's more at stake for Canada than for the U.S, where the Bush administration needs to be convinced it really needs Canadian visitors and the tourism dollars they generate, Chretien said.
"We're very good to them, all these guys going to play golf in the United States and the snowbirds in California and Arizona and Florida," he said.
"(But) it's a big country and they look (after) themselves more than anything else and that's part of their mentality."
TORONTO (CP) - Newly minted Liberal Leader Stephane Dion is welcome to call for free advice any time he likes, but former prime minister Jean Chretien said Wednesday he has no plans to butt in and try to run the party behind the scenes.
Chretien refused to confirm reports that he's advising Dion's transition team as they prepare for an election, saying only that he speaks with the new Liberal leader "when he calls me." "If he wants my view, he knows my phone number and he can call me, but he will run his own show," Chretien said.
"If they want my views, I'll tell them. If they use them, fine, if they don't use them, it's still fine."
Chretien, who spent nearly 15 years in Pierre Trudeau's cabinet, said a similar arrangement with his former boss worked well after Chretien was elected prime minister in 1993.
"I was talking with him once in a while (for advice), but he never called me to tell me what to do, and I don't intend to do that with anybody."
Chretien said he's confident that Dion can lead the Liberals to victory in a federal election and would make a good prime minister.
"He's been a minister for more than 10 years and he's a bright guy," he said. "He's a man of a lot of talent."
Chretien was in Toronto for a speaking engagement at the Professional Convention Management Association conference, where he shared the stage with Newt Gingrich, the former Republican speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
In a session that was closed to the media, the pair discussed the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which will require air travellers entering the United States to carry a valid passport when it goes into effect Jan. 23.
Chretien said he's sure Canada and the United States will find a way to solve their border security issues without causing cross-border traffic to grind to a halt.
"I'm confident that common sense will prevail, they will find a way to let the people cross the border," Chretien said. "I know they can find a way if they want to find a way."
Travellers can cross several national borders in Europe without any significant delays and something similar should be possible in North America, he added. "In Europe, you go from Austria, Germany, France, Spain to Portugal with nobody stopping you."
The problem is that there's more at stake for Canada than for the U.S, where the Bush administration needs to be convinced it really needs Canadian visitors and the tourism dollars they generate, Chretien said.
"We're very good to them, all these guys going to play golf in the United States and the snowbirds in California and Arizona and Florida," he said.
"(But) it's a big country and they look (after) themselves more than anything else and that's part of their mentality."
