Chretien is no longer the Canadian PM but the current one (Paul Martin) is also not attending because he is fighting for his political life at the moment in the middle of an election campaign which is very short and will be over in a few weeks. In actual fact the Canadian Governor General is attending and she is above the PM protocol wise. I also think former PM Brian Mulroney will also attend.
I still don't understand why PM Martin isn't forcing one of his useless cabinet ministers to attend, as per past practice. The governor general technically represents the Queen of England, Canada's head of state, not Paul Martin.
Thanks for the correction. I confess that I do not watch Canadian politics closely. Chretien is still "mud" in my book. I'm glad the Canadians have the good grace to send the appropiate representative.