Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 19, 1969, Winnipeg, Manitoba Iai Orimar Jurf 1969 Quebec mayors want Canadian Constitution revised by Leon Harris one of a series Quebec special a significant proportion Quebec mayors feels there is a crisis in Confidence in Canadian confederation and that widespread discontent in their province would be removed with immediate revision of the British North America act of 1867. Of the 35 Quebec mayors interviewed by the Canada to Crew none opted for sovereignty and All were agreed that separatism re presents a Small minority in the province. Yet 12 mayors 34 per cent of those surveyed made it abundantly Clear that the burgeoning ranks of independen Tistus would be effectively diminished Only through the promulgation of a revamped Constitution. For All but one of those holding this View a rewritten Una act implies constitutional change that would Accord to each provincial government t h e jurisdictional Powers deemed prop Erly is own. The mayor whose View on this queston is much More restricted administers the affairs of St. E. Hyacinthe a population City East of Montreal 99 per cent of which is French speaking. Although he did not spell its ramifications mayor Leon Nichols favors special status for Quebec thus implying that existing constitutional structures Are viable for the rest of Canada. His perception of a new federalism favouring Quebec has its basis in ethnocentrism the feeling that French canadians Are n nation within a nation and will remain in confederation Only under special considerations. We need confederation badly but it would serve us better if it were brought up to mayor Nichols says. I favor a special status for Quebec because French canadians Are in the minority and their rights should be protected. For the country As a whole the provincial government has the greatest Opportunity to do Good be cause it can open the channels to new business four More Quebec May ors also Call for a rewritten san act. But they do so on the Contention that the act is vague in defining the respective jurisdictions of Ottawa and the provinces their belief that current f e Deral Provinsal friction and the frustration Preva Lent in Quebec arises from overlapping governments jurisdictions does not necessarily entail giving in creased p o w e r s to the provinces under s new Constitution. Since the four mayors do not suggest outright that Quebec should have More jurisdiction they imply that a rewritten san act could Accord More authority to the Central Power than it has now. This certainly provides no answer to the aspirations and frustrations of nationalist and separatist elements in Quebec. The other 13 mayors interviewed feel in the main that there is a need for a new constitutional Frame work that the ban act of 1867 set Down perfectly viable structures for All of Canada then and now and granted Quebec All special privileges to which it is entitled. They say any malaise in the Quebec Canada relation milk As Low As per it a new experience in milk taste tastes great thousands of satisfied users medallion milk is real milk with All water and a percentage of butterfat removed. The bust and most natural tasting milk powders Ever made available. Medallion Brand a Irtle skim and skim milk is to your Home. Or May be purchased from your local mini Mart introductory pack 79e contains powder to make 1 it. Skim milk tastes like 2% fluid milk " 1 of. Rattly skin milk Rich or 1 it. Cream hot chocolate just add hot plus 1 special mixing Shaker. For Home delivery Telephone medallion milk co. Ltd. 233-7220 ship could be eradicated if the province and Ottawa were to exhibit a close spirit of co operation and use All available channels for Dialo gue and consultation on problems of Mutual con Cern. However one mayor in this group tackling the question of constitutional change in unique fashion does not reject the notion on grounds that q u e b e c s claims for increased Powers and revenues Are unjustifiable. Mayor Marcel Robidas of the 27-000 population City of Longueuil a Montreal sub Urb views the question As outdated and superseded by current economic trends on the North american Contin ent. He says no one should bother with constitutions change within the Canadian context since this country will be absorbed by the. United states in about 20 years. When final negotiations of the Kennedy round Are mayor Robidas says confederation will undergo an almost com plete transformation. With the elimination of Tariff barriers we will soon become part of the . Within 20 years or so. It is impossible that things will be otherwise. The states has invested much More Here than we have there and the economic feasibility of merging the two nations is inevitable. Trade will become North South and the whole North american continent will divided into some four regional districts. It would be futile for Quebec to separate now. The proposed political Sepa ration is not so difficult to realize but its economic Independence i s another matter the 12 mayors calling for prompt Revi Sion generally demand Dis Tinct and specific changes affecting the jurisdictions of the provinces. And the sooner that happened the sooner separatism could be Laid to rest in the Tomb of the unkown political Soldier. While they appear some what vague As to what specific changes should be made a distillation of their remarks reveals an underly ing Contention that Quebec and the other provinces require additional funds to carry heavy social responsibilities at Home. And the request for greater share of tax revenues is predicated on the belief the provinces should he allowed to take Over those areas they Are More qualified to handle. Mayor Yves Ryan of Montreal North an unsuccessful progressive conservative party Candi Date in the june 1968, Federal election is the president of the Quebec Union of municipal mayors. I m All for Canada but constitutional reforms must be made so the provinces can operate efficiently Given their proper Juristic mayor Ryan whose municipality boasts s population of the Federal government must think in terms of giving a greater slice of fiscal and other privileges to the provinces. I have made it a Point to question people on this subject constitutional re form 1 and most answer they would prefer a Strong Constitution. Many have said they would rather become part of the . Than remain in a separated confederation should strive to assure a better Federal system within a new partition of its monies and give economic priorities where they Are most need he says without giving specifics on changes needed in the constitutional Frame work. mayor Laurin says is completely the effect of a poor confederation system and there will be ills As Long As it is not changed. The people of Quebec Are not separatist oriented but if they continue to be prodded there will be greater problems to in Botic Herville on the South Shore of the St. Lawrence opposite Montreal Island. Mayor Clovis Langlois feels confederation As it now stands is very bad for the population. We Don t want to detached from the rest of Canada but we do want an equitable share of what if available from the Federal i am not in favor of separation but this could come about if the Constitution is not soon mayor Bernard Benoit of the Montreal suburb of Pointe Aux trembles popu lation 85 per. Cent French speaking for increased rights for the provinces. But he too is not specific As to what they should entail. The provinces should be Given More jurisdictional he says. I m not against federalism but they Ottawa took away certain Powers from the provinces Afler the War and never gave them Back. We should All work to Gether within one country but in Quebec we need Protection for our mayor horrid a prud homme of the North West Quebec municipality of grand Mere says con federation is in perfect health but there should be amendments to the Constitution that would better serve the provinces. I Don t think Quebec should have a special arrangement but minor changes in the Constitution Are certainly so tie mayors favouring constitutional change Bor Row copiously from the lexicon of terms arising from the Issue they demand More jurisdiction for the provinces Transfer of tax resources special status in one Case just partition of monies Equit Able sharing and the like. And mayor Ryan Speaks of a Strong federalism under a revised Constitution giving the provinces the jurisdictions they Are More Quali fied to handle. However Only one mayor Vince is at the Root of Canada s co Federal prob lems and that their solution lies in diminishing the Cen trial government. Quebec is the key to confederation problems and when we speak of a strengthening or a weaken ing other provinces Are not so he says. Canada 70 in the group recommending c o n s t i t u t ional change carries the More jurisdiction argument to its logical conclusion re centralization and weak ening of the Federal Power. Mayor Clark Graham of the Montreal Island suburb of baie d Urfe population largely English speaking believes this pro we Are moving toward Point where we Are going to be forced to make a total assessment of the problem. One Day the Issue will have to be put to the voters. However we Are definitely going toward decentralization. Already the Federal government is giving cer Tain of its prerogatives to the provincial governments. At some Point the Cen trial Power will cease to be a functioning entity and i doubt if the majority of elements Here will be Satis fied. The Man who has the most drastic Conception of constitutional change is mayor Gilles Tremblay of Chicoutimi with metro Politan area containing 60.000 inhabitants most of them French speaking. While he is a co Federal mayor Tremblay says he is attracted to British Columbia Premier w. A. C. Bennett s idea that it might be better to have five Large provinces instead of 10. "b.c. Could stand alone the four maritime provinces would join together and Ontario and Quebec come together. 1 think this would have its merits and it would mean a restudy of the Constitution which should mayor trembly s vision of reorganized provincial entities within a co Federal system does not necessarily involve weakening the Cen trial Power. He Speaks of the need to work at the Munici pal level to achieve amalgamations of various municipalities to eliminate waste improve services and encourage Industry. Equalization of tax revenues Between the various municipalities must be. Car ried he says. At the present time some municipalities get such a Large share from Industry that they ctn loan to nearby municipalities which Are almost bankrupt. We As municipalities Are creatures of the provincial government but we Are also attached to the Federal government in Many ways and in Many projects. We have our own Harbor and in that sense we look to the National harbours Board. H is the same for our railways. I think regional development minister Jean Marchand will also help bring us closer to the Federal government. I Don t like the current attitude in Quebec of rally ing behind the principle of autonomy and continuing a War of words with the four mayors calling for a rewritten Constitution to clarify ill defined jurisdictional Powers restrict their remarks to the Neces sity of that Endeavor and prefer to wait for the results before venturing on the increased provincial Powers tack. Most representative of this category of mayoral opinion Are the remarks of minor Gilles Lamontagne of ii Cher City the provincial capital and mayor Jean Marie Bruno of Sli Winigan. Mayor Lamontagne says "1 think. At a que Becer. The same As the Ontario people or the other provinces that we should fight to retain the rights the Constitution gave us. Nobody seems Able to define in a Clear Way which is the right of the provinces and which Are those of the Federal government. And this causes friction. To think when you look at a contract and the Constitution is a contract Between the provinces and the Feder Al government that people must sit Down around the table and define first what Are our rights As this is the annunciation one of three 15-th" Send Ira master pieces presented to the Winnipeg Arl gallery by lord and lady Gort. It is the work of a South German master of the late 15th Century. All three Are panels from Large altar pieces which were the major decoration of churches in the late gothic period. The other two Are the nativity and the martyrdom of St. Catherine and St. Stephen. 5-year terms possible Toronto up the Feder Al Justice department thursday elected to prosecute Stafford smythe and Harold Ballard. Directors of Maple Leaf gardens by Way of indictment on charges of income tax evasion and making false or deceptive statements in income tax re turns. I after a Brief appearance in c o u r t. The two men were remanded without plea to sept. They received summonses july 10 after Federal investigators swore information that j smythe evaded payment of in come taxes on s278.920 and bal lard evaded payment on s134 685. Prosecutor Norman Chalmers of the Justice department said Justice minister John Turner elected to proceed by indict ment instead of summary procedure. Under indictment procedure the men Are liable for prison terms of up to five years and a Fine of up to s10.000 on conviction. Double the amount of tax evaded would also have to be paid. Under summary procedure imprisonment on conviction can be up to two years but fines would be the same. The information allege that Between april. 1965, and april 1968, smythe and Ballard also used Money appropriated from Maple Leaf gardens on improving their residences and for per Sonal and family expenses. Upon Sale for savings extra Good Only monday tuesday head shoulders shampoo first Quality it. Less Coupon 37t. You pay Worth 61 c 32 . 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