Mel Hurtig: . . nationalist, author, publisher - dies at 84

[Oscar]

Mel Hurtig: Ardent nationalist, author and publisher dies at 84

[ http://ottawacitizen.com/news/ardent-na ... =bf94-29ff ]

The Canadian Press Published on: August 3, 2016 | Last Updated: August 3, 2016 11:22 PM EDT

VANCOUVER — A published report says Mel Hurtig, the ardent nationalist behind “The Canadian Encyclopedia”, has died.

The Globe and Mail, which interviewed his daughter Leslie, reported he died Wednesday in hospital in Vancouver of complications from pneumonia.

He was 84.

“Let’s never, never, give in to those who are selling out Canada,” Hurtig urged in his 2002 book “The Vanishing Country.”

Hurtig was perhaps best known as publisher of “The Canadian Encyclopedia” and co-founder of the Council of Canadians, a group dedicated to preserving the country’s sovereignty.

“We mourn our friend and mentor,” Maude Barlow, national chairwoman of the council, posted to Twitter on Wednesday night.

“He was a legend in Canadian publishing and a pioneer of progressive causes,” said Ontario poet Paul Vermeersch. “A true Canadian hero.”

According to his Facebook page, he was an Officer of the Order of Canada, had honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from six Canadian universities and was the recipient of the Lester B. Pearson “Man of the Year Peace Award.”

Hurtig was born June 4, 1932, in Edmonton to Jewish parents. His father was Romanian, his mother Russian.

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[ http://ottawacitizen.com/news/ardent-na ... =bf94-29ff ]


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Formation of the Council of Canadians

[ http://canadians.org/media/other/1985/index.html ]

Media Release March 11, 1985

We thought members – both new and long-standing – would enjoy seeing this news release issued Monday, March 11, 1985, 10:30 a.m., announcing the formation of The Council of Canadians. See a timeline of our history here. [ http://canadians.org/history ]

The formation of a new national organization was announced today in Ottawa. The Council of Canadians has as its fundamental goals, a new and better Canada with more and better jobs for Canadians, a higher standard of living for Canadians, and a sovereign Canada that plays an important role among the world community of nations.

Edmonton publisher Mel Hurtig said that the C.O.C. will be ... broadly based both politically and geographically ... and positive in its programs.

Ottawa Mayor Marion Dewar said: "Only by celebrating our strengths and culture and our unique role in the world community can we as Canadians embrace our global opportunities and responsibilities. The Council of Canadians brings together Canadians from every region, every political philosophy, and every economic sector towards that goal."

Speaking from Halifax, the Hon. Eric Kierans said: "Does it matter who owns Canadian farms, resources and markets? If it does, isn’t it time to stop hemorrhaging? In many countries, both developed and developing, the phrase ‘we don’t want to be Canadianized’ means that we don’t want to lose control of our economy, our culture and our sovereignty."

Anne Claire Poirier, Montreal filmmaker, said: "At the mid-point of a life spent in seeking and defending my identity as a woman and as a Quebecker, I am today extending my action to the defence of Canadian autonomy, without which my identity is at risk. Twenty years of working at the National Film Board have finally convinced me that only powerful and publicly supported cultural institutions will allow us, not only to continue to be what we are, but above all to become what we want to be."

The C.O.C. believes that Canada should have foreign and defence policies which reflect both the best interest of Canadians and the independence of Canada as a sovereign nation.

The C.O.C. believes Canada can and should play an even greater role among the world community of nations, especially in attempting to de-escalate the tensions between our superpower neighbours. The C.O.C. believes that Canada is both geographically and historically situated to work towards world peace and encourage other nations to these efforts.

Mr. Hurtig said the new organization is very concerned about the dangers of a possible comprehensive bilateral trade agreement with the U.S. and the potential harmful effects to the Canadian economy of such an agreement. The C.O.C. will devote much effort towards studying the economic and political ramifications of the soon-to-be-released report of the Macdonald Royal Commission, which is widely thought to be on the verge of recommending a free trade agreement with the U.S. Later this year the C.O.C. will release alternate strategies for diversifying Canadian trade.

Mr. Hurtig stressed that the new Council is not anti-American, narrowly nationalistic, or against all forms of foreign investment. However, he made it clear that the C.O.C. is very much opposed to the growth of foreign ownership and foreign control of Canada...

Mr. Hurtig said the C.O.C. does not support anti-Americanism or chauvinistic nationalism. Rather, he said, the new organization will advocate positive policies in the national interest, similar to policies other nations around the world adopt in the best interests of their citizens.

The C.O.C. has been formed because of a growing apprehension across the country to the "Continentalism" of the federal Conservative government, in some sectors of the business community and in some research and economic institutions.

Some of the members of the C.O.C. are: Doris Anderson, Margaret Atwood, Maude Barlow, Pierre Berton, Gerry Caplan, Stephen Clarkson, Sheila Copps M.P., Mayor Marion Dewar, Hon. T.C. Douglas, Graeme Gibson, Hon. Walter Gordon, Hon. Herb Gray, Grace Hartman, Mel Hurtig, Pauline Jewett M.P., Hon. Eric Kierans, Margaret Laurence, Gordon Laxer, James Lorimer, Paul Martin Jr., Farley Mowat, Peter C. Newman, Anne Claire Poirier, Heather Robertson, Lloyd Shaw, David Suzuki, Mel Watkins, and Robert White.

Media contact

For media calls:
Dylan Penner, Media Officer
Cell: (613) 795-8685
Office: (613) 233-4487, ext. 249
E-mail: dpenner@canadians.org

[Oscar]

Council of Canadians founder Mel Hurtig passes away

[ http://canadians.org/blog/council-canad ... asses-away ]

August 4, 2016 - 1:57pm

The Council of Canadians is mourning the passing of Mel Hurtig.

The CBC reports, "Mel Hurtig — Edmonton publisher, bookseller, activist and publisher of The Canadian Encyclopedia — died Wednesday at the age of 84. Hurtig died surrounded by his daughters after a short bout of pneumonia in a Vancouver hospital. Born in Edmonton in 1932, Hurtig opened the city's first independent bookstore with just $500 in 1956. By 1972, he operated three highly successful stores in the city. Patrons were welcome to socialize, sip coffee and play chess in his establishments, where he also held theatrical performances and readings. Hurtig's Edmonton book empire [later] expanded from book selling to publishing."

That article highlights, "An economic nationalist, he was a founding member of the Committee for an Independent Canada, the Council of Canadians and led the National Party of Canada."

Our first media release – which announced the formation of The Council of Canadians in March 1985 – stated, "Edmonton publisher Mel Hurtig said that the C.O.C. will be broadly based both politically and geographically and positive in its programs. Mr. Hurtig said the new organization is very concerned about the dangers of a possible comprehensive bilateral trade agreement with the U.S. [the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement] and the potential harmful effects to the Canadian economy of such an agreement. Mr. Hurtig stressed that the new Council is not anti-American, narrowly nationalistic, or against all forms of foreign investment."

Today, the Canadian Press reported, "'We mourn our friend and mentor', Maude Barlow, national chairwoman of the council, posted to Twitter on Wednesday night."

Barlow also talked about Hurtig's legacy and what motivated him on the CBC Radio program Q this morning.

The Toronto Star notes that Hurtig's eldest daughter Barbara "said his political pluck lasted to the end, noting that when her youngest sister read him a headline on Wednesday about the inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, he remarked: 'Bravo, it’s about time.'"

Barbara and her sisters have now released a statement that says, "Canadians knew dad as our country's consummate patriot. He was a bookseller, publisher, and a politician, an author and an activist. In every chapter of his life, dad's cause was Canada and his commitment was unconditional. Dad's love of country was exceeded only by his devotion to his family and friends. To us, he was an extraordinary father; to so many others, he was an irreplaceable companion, colleague, and compatriot. We will share our plans to celebrate dad's life in due course."

We were also very honoured that the family stated, "Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the Council of Canadians [click here to do that] – or to the political party of your choice." [ https://secure.canadians.org/ea-action/ ... n.id=54318 ]

To read more about the extraordinary life of Mel Hurtig, please see The Canadian Encyclopedia biography of him. [ http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/e ... el-hurtig/ ]

Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]

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Remembering Mel Hurtig

[ http://canadians.org/content/remembering-mel-hurtig ]

August 4, 2016

I’m writing you with a heavy heart. Yesterday, our friend and mentor, Mel Hurtig, passed away peacefully at the age of 84.

Mel founded the Council of Canadians, along with many dedicated Canadians, to fight for a better Canada and a better world. Thirty-one years later, his values and vision still resonate throughout the important work of the Council of Canadians.

Mel’s family issued this lovely statement earlier today:

Canadians knew dad as our country's consummate patriot. He was a bookseller, publisher, and a politician, an author and an activist. In every chapter of his life, dad's cause was Canada and his commitment was unconditional.

Dad's love of country was exceeded only by his devotion to his family and friends. To us, he was an extraordinary father; to so many others, he was an irreplaceable companion, colleague, and compatriot.

We will share our plans to celebrate dad's life in due course. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the Council of Canadians – or to the political party of your choice.

Barbara, Jane, Gillian, and Leslie Hurtig

An online memorial page has been set up where you can make a donation to celebrate Mel’s life and legacy. You can also add your personal condolences, which we will send to his family. [ https://secure.canadians.org/ea-action/ ... n.id=54318 ]

You can also call us at 1-800-387-7177, or mail in your gift and condolences to 300-251 Bank Street, Ottawa, ON K2P 1X3.

Mel not only started this amazing organization, he has left a legacy that continues to inspire the fight for a better Canada.

Please join me in remembering and celebrating our friend, Mel Hurtig.

With thanks and hope,

Maude

Maude Barlow
National Chairperson
Council of Canadians

[Oscar]

Mel Hurtig. 1932-2016. By Robin Mathews

[ http://www.vivelecanada.ca/article/2359 ... g-19322016 ]

On Wednesday, August 3, 2016, Mel Hurtig shook off the chains of his mortality to find the place of peace that passeth understanding, and - as Shakespeare has it - ‘from whose bourn no traveller returns’.

On Wednesday, August 3, 2016, Canada lost one of its finest citizens. At once truculent, determined, irascible, warm, colourful, imaginative … and more, Mel Hurtig gave of his most intense energies to shape an honourable, independent, and self-respecting nation Canadians could own and cherish. In that work he was indefatigable.

For much of his adult life, Mel Hurtig wrote books to inform Canadians of their loss of sovereignty and to urge them to action. His last book, written for the October 2015 federal election, was a rich compendium of reasons Canadians should remove the Conservative government led by Stephen Harper … and Mel believed the book is, possibly, his most important one. Inasmuch as it helped Canadians to take the action that changed government, it may well be his most important book.

Mel Hurtig was a self-made man. Raised in Edmonton, Alberta, he is said to have gone for a year to university, deciding that was not the route for him to take. He created a bookstore in Edmonton that became famous. Then he became a publisher – and Hurtig Publishers had an impressive and significant life. He is remembered for creating the excellent Canadian Encyclopedia – enormously important in the years before the internet and its “research engines”, and still an on-going, important, research source.

The story is told that he gave speeches in schools, and would visit the school library each time… shocked and disappointed at the absence of research materials on Canada. Not only did he set about producing an Encyclopedia of the highest standard, but he also is said to have talked the Alberta government into supplying a copy for every school with a library in Canada!

A determined patriot, Mel Hurtig was early an important member of the Committee for an Independent Canada (1970). He was an admirer and friend of Walter Gordon who was the most important politician of the 1960s and 1970s working for the repatriation of Canadian economic sovereignty. The Committee disbanded in 1981, declaring (incorrectly) that its ends were mostly achieved. Perhaps that was because the (returned) Trudeau Liberal government appeared determined to effect greater Canadian economic sovereignty.

Instead, the Trudeau Liberal government faded away, to be replaced by the intensely pro-U.S. Conservative government of “lyin Brian” Mulroney, pushing for closer ties and “deep integration” with the U.S.A. The result was the founding in 1985 of the Council of Canadians – very largely the work of Mel Hurtig and Walter Gordon.

Many are the claims of those who declare themselves “founders” of the COC!! But the man who secured the Four Seasons Hotel accommodation for the founding meeting, who invited (or had the word spread to) all who came to that meeting in Toronto, and then who led the Council as Chair for the first years … was Mel Hurtig. Indeed, when (a year or so ago) a fantasy list of “founders” was published by COC, I was alarmed. Mel Hurtig’s name was not even listed! ! In a telephone conversation with me, he remembered that a few months after the founding meeting (which she attended) he met Maud Barlow in Ottawa … and urged her to become involved with the Council….

But prickly as he was … Mel Hurtig would not speak publicly about the founding of the COC, refusing to discuss the subject. If there were founders of the Council of Canadians, they were two: Mel Hurtig and Walter Gordon. When I entered the meeting room in the Toronto Four Seasons Hotel, I recognized the dozens of people present as those who had a history of fighting for Canadian independence; it was almost a family reunion and - at least as ‘older brothers’ - Mel Hurtig and Walter Gordon knew all the family members.

A few days later I met Mel Hurtig and he told me that when the meeting finished, he returned to his hotel room to find it had been ransacked and left so he would know it had been ransacked. The Mulroney RCMP, Mel surmised, leaving a calling card. Readers will remember that as prime minister Brian Mulroney was driven in a bullet-proof car – which, upon becoming prime minister, Jean Chretien laughed at … and removed.

Mel Hurtig received well-deserved honours during his lifetime of tireless work. He will be sorely missed … and sorely needed in the coming years. If he could have a wish fulfilled involving his public life, it might well be that others, young Canadians, will materialize, will take up the task of gaining Canadian independence, and will fight on for it until it is won.

Rest in Peace.

[Oscar]

Remembering Mel Hurtig, Canada’s protector: Editorial

[ https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editori ... orial.html ]

Neither ally nor enemy can reasonably deny Mel Hurtig’s contribution to the defining Canadian debates of our time.

August 4, 2016

It’s a good thing for Canadians the furrier’s life did not appeal to Mel Hurtig. The author, entrepreneur and political activist, who died Tuesday at the age of 84, left his father’s Edmonton fur shop in the mid-1950s to found first a chain of bookstores, then a publishing house and eventually a series of public projects all dedicated to promoting the ideas he held dear: that Canadians should be allowed to shape their own future and that prosperity should be fairly shared.

Hurtig’s was a passionate, progressive voice that attracted followers and ruffled feathers in roughly equal measure. But neither ally nor enemy could reasonably deny his contribution to the defining Canadian debates of our time.

Hurtig first came to prominence as a publisher, most notably of the massive Canadian Encyclopedia, an ambitious project that hinted at the nationalism that would define his political life. After selling his publishing company, he became a key figure in the debates over free trade that divided the country in the 1980s.

Hurtig feared that with the North American Free Trade Agreement, Canada was selling off the resources that gave us our competitive advantage. He warned that by allowing powerful foreign states outsize influence in our domestic affairs we were corroding our democracy and erasing our identity. However much one might disagree with his position, it provided an important counterpoint to the ascendant economic view.

It was to fight the swallowing-up of Canada that he founded the Council of Canadians and the National Party of Canada, nationalist organizations with none of the xenophobia or anti-immigrant sentiment that mark European – or, more recently, American - nativism. And while in his advocacy and writing he consistently understated the benefits of global trade, he did understand more clearly than most the democratic challenges posed by these deals – challenges that in recent years have prompted some rethinking of trade treaties as we know them.

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[ https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editori ... orial.html ]

[Oscar]

LISTEN: Citizen Mel, Part 1 - 54 mins.

[ http://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas ]

August 5, 2016

Mel Hurtig died on Wednesday, August 3rd, at the age of 84. His name was virtually synonymous with the words "Canadian nationalist". For almost fifty years, Mel Hurtig was a prominent voice in any discussion about the country that he loved. He was a bookseller, a publisher and a catalyst for debate on subjects ranging from child poverty to nuclear arms. Former IDEAS producer Kathleen Flaherty traced Mel Hurtig's lifelong quest to shape a Canada that he passionately believed in.

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Part 2 - August 12, 2016

[Oscar]

Farewell to Mel Hurtig, Canada’s Best Friend

[ http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2016/08/05/Fa ... ign=110816 ]

He stood on guard for the nation’s highest ideals and potential.

By David Beers , 5 Aug 2016 | TheTyee.ca David Beers is founding editor of The Tyee.

Mel Hurtig’s defence of Canada’s sovereignty, cultural and economic, was smilingly relentless.

On Wednesday Canada lost a mighty herald of the nation’s better angels. Mel Hurtig was a huge fan of Canada, a nationalist in the best sense. That is what made him such an incisive critic of leaders who sold short Canada’s potential – the potential to be a land of opportunity for all, and a beacon of tolerance and fair-mindedness to the rest of the world.

Hurtig could make such a dream seem practical because, in various ways, he lived it. Born of Jewish immigrants, he became a highly successful bookseller, publisher and author, and even sought to lead the country as head of a short-lived experiment aptly named The National Party.

Here are some gifts Mel Hurtig gave Canada:

At the high-rolling expense of millions of dollars, coordinating 2,500 creative contributors, he published The Canadian Encyclopedia in 1985. This was before the internet and so weaving a three-volume, information-rich narrative of Canada might be seen as the ultimate gesture of defiance against the U.S. cultural juggernaut. The Canadian Encyclopedia, lives on, by the way, on the internet. [ http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/about/ ]

Mel Hurtig helped found the Council of Canadians, a non-profit group dedicated to fighting for social and environmental justice. As national chairperson Maude Barlow said yesterday on the COC website: “Mel Hurtig loved this country more than anyone I ever met.”

Mel Hurtig wrote eight books. Among the titles:

The Betrayal of Canada (in which he lambastes the NAFTA trade treaty with the U.S.; 1991).

At Twilight in the Country: Memoirs of a Canadian Nationalist (Autobiographical; 1996).

Pay the Rent or Feed the Kids (on poverty in Canada; 2000).

The Vanishing Country (on foreign ownership eroding Canada’s self-sufficiency; 2002).

Rushing to Armageddon (on the perils posed by the U.S. missile defence system and Canada’s participation; 2004).

The Truth about Canada (on how Canada measures up in social and economic indicators against other OECD nations; 2008).

‘It would have been incredibly hypocritical’

As a nationalist who’d invested his faith and energies in building up Canada’s ability to tell its own stories, Hurtig was heartbroken to watch a string of Canadian publishing houses subsumed into global corporations headquartered in other nations.

So disturbed, in fact, that when the top level Canadian publisher for his last book was bought up by a U.S firm, he turned his back on the five-figure advance he’d been promised and self-published. The book, a scathing take-down of Stephen Harper and his record, Hurtig titled The Arrogant Autocrat. In 2015 it became a bestseller, topping 25,000 copies. As Hurtig told The Tyee at the time: “I, for years, led the battle against the takeover of the Canadian publishing industry by foreign interests. It would have been incredibly hypocritical for me to have my book published by an American conglomerate.” [
http://thetyee.ca/Culture/2015/06/08/Ar ... en-Harper/ ]

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[ http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2016/08/05/Fa ... ign=110816 ]

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Mel Hurtig Tags Stephen Harper: 'The Arrogant Autocrat'

[ http://thetyee.ca/Culture/2015/06/08/Ar ... en-Harper/ ]

The great Canadian nationalist talks to The Tyee. Read slices of his razor-like book here all week.

By David Beers , 8 Jun 2015 | TheTyee.ca David Beers is founding editor of The Tyee.

EXCERPT:

As Hurtig writes in the late pages of The Arrogant Autocrat: "The most critical message I wish to convey to readers of this book is that we must defeat Stephen Harper and the Conservatives at the polls, and then begin work immediately to reform the dysfunctional electoral system that allowed him to wreak such havoc in nine short years."