You can't pin this entirely on Cretien and turn this into a partisan political debate!
I pinned it entirely on noone. But it was a partisan, political matter.
This goes back almost 100yrs in Canadian history,involved several other prime ministers,is part of our succession from Britain and our independence...
Not really. It's the arbitrary choice of the sitting prime minister to allow or disallow such honours. But, his jurisdiction extends only to Canadian citizens, not British ones. Other British-Canadians received such a distinction after 1919: the Viscount Bennett, the Baron Thomson of Fleet; and still others (whether dual citizens or not) carry on hereditary Peerage titles (which Black's is not): the Baron Beaverbrook, the Marquess of Exeter, the Baron Shaughnessy.
It was as a British citizen Black was receiving the honour, not as a Canadian citizen, but Chretien took it upon himself to intervene anyway.
[ed.: +]
Edited by g_bambino, 06 May 2012 - 07:27 AM.