May 15, 1989

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COLUMN

John Turner: a man out of time

One of the most interesting things John Turner ever said was a supposed joke that in fact was a description of himself. “The definition of a Rhodes Scholar,” he told a friend one day, “is someone whose future is behind him.” It wasn’t an original line; some forgotten wit first coined the phrase (which has a lot of validity), but it was somewhat strange that Rhodes Scholar Turner would be quoting it rather than some enemy of his. By Allan Fotheringham4 min

BUSINESS

DOUBTS OVER DEFICIT CUTS

The Montreal Canadiens were leading the Philadelphia Flyers 1-0 in a Stanley Cup semifinal game on May 3. The loquacious Don Cherry had just finished praising the referee during a segment of The Coach ’s Corner. Then, amid a barrage of commercials aimed at the largest television audience in Canada that night, the federal government delivered a message about the country’s $320-billion national debt.