Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - November 6, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free november 1981 7 Levesque cites four objections up photo Montreal up the constitutional Accord Between Ottawa and nine mainly English speaking provinces flies in the face of Quebec quest to be Premier Rene Levesque found self the Odd Man out yesterday As his former provincial allies finally closed ranks with Ottawa on a constitutional Patria Tion amid the a tired and angry Levesque spurned the a saying it was unacceptable to Quebec in four Levesque would not sign because Quebec would not be compensated for programs stemming from the rights charter if it decided to opt out of specific it also would be victimized by a guarantee of inter pro Vinci Al worker mobility and the imposition of minority education the Premier he also attacked the dropping of a proposal to hold a National referendum on the rights the kind of vote his parti quebecois government is convinced it could win and thus Bury implementation of the entire rights outright Quebec nationalists As Well As those who Back Extension of que becs jurisdiction within the Federal system were Quick to come to Leves ques calling the Deal a be trayal of special status it remains to be seen if that knee Jerk reaction to yesterdays turn of events can be channelled into greater support for sovereignty the pcs Raison Detre or at least a coherent Effort to get Quebec Back into a position of strength to bargain for some sort of special status within Conedera a glum Levesque told reporters the Accord amounted to English Canada acting unilaterally against French speaking Quebec to bring the Constitution to the kind of move fought by provincial political leaders since the late Union National Premier Maurice the argument that the Quebec gov As principal protector of francophone in North should be in a position to expand its Juristic not just hold on to existing Provin Cial is Likely to be the Crux of the provinces Levesque would Only hint at where and How the Battle against the reworked Patria Tion package May be saying he had to consult with everyone that needs to be consult that should Range from Quebec lib eral Leader Claude to the feisty pm to Quebec London lobbyist Gilles last Ryan angered English speaking Quebe cers when he sided with the government in calling for More talks and a halt to any move which would diminish Quebec Legisla Tive ryans initial reaction yesterday was Sharp criticism of Levesques handling of the although the Liberal Leader was obviously wary of frenc Canadian nationalists within his own caucus and would not immediately endorse the Patria Tion As for the pm it has been under growing pressure by party sup porters to toughen its stand on Independence since the referendum de feat of sovereignty association in recent opinion polls indicate about 45 per cent of Quebe cers now favor whereas the option was Defeated by a 6040 margin in the Quebec lobbying efforts in London to have the British parliament reject the package a slim Hope now with 10 of 11 governments backing it will be called action limited the Accord limits Levesques course of action to going to Quebe cers some kind of endorsement of continued opposition to the he already has vowed there will be no referendum on sovereignty association during the pcs second but the party National Council has drawn up a position paper backing the possibility of a plebiscite on a More specific such As asking voters to voice opposition to the the National which includes also has urged that the next provincial election be fought with Independence As the main part of Levesques sourness yester Day could be put Down to reaction to prime minister Trudeau adroit manoeuvring in the constitutional Neotia which resulted in a final package that could be relatively easy to sell Quebe cers when the dust Back in Levesque went on record in favor of reciprocal agree ments Between provinces on education for and yesterday Trudeau said the charter would provide Reci telling the anglophone pre Miers they would not have to Intro Duce French language schooling where numbers it until Quebec has guaranteed similar rights for canadians who come to this worker mobility the imposition of the right to inter provincial worker mobility May also be difficult for Quebec to set up As the Centre Block of opposition to the pack the problem has Only flared up occasionally Between Quebec and on Tario construction that leaves the amending formula with its relatively attractive opting out but without compensation for provinces which do shun constitutional changes that would bring Federal Fin until arguments that Quebec gets the Short end of the Finan Cial stick in confederation have not tilted a majority in favor of ind Epen the new package May Well de fuse some opposition on specific but the ingrained sentiment that que becs cultural and social differences Are Best protected by a Strong legislature has been a Strong rallying Point in it will be difficult for supporters of the new package to dispel the fear that Quebec society major tool has been seriously parti quebecois Las gathered in closed session yesterday in Quebec City to discuss he claims off pm Leader hints at referendum or election on Issue of Constitution Ottawa up Quebec Premier Rene alone in his opposition to Canadas proposed new cons Titu returned to Quebec yesterday to consult with his Cabinet and other col leagues on their next Levesque hinted that a province wide vote a referendum or an election was among the possibilities he was but he would not be More at the end of the first ministers con the Quebec delegation appeared As if it Felt betrayed by the seven provinces that had been que becs allies for the last year in its fight against Ottawa constitutional pack Levesque was angry with his former saying they had worked behind his hammering out the agree ment Over the last few and had gone along prime minister tru Deau because they were afraid of him and of taking their fight to Lon took it for granted we took it for granted that the people were of Good Faith and that if something was happening they would have Given us a said one member of the Quebec who explained that Quebec had not been aware that the others were planning a move until a breakfast meeting yester Day Levesque said that when Trudeau explained Quebec would lose its traditional veto Over constitutional changes there was no reaction from any of my colleagues except Quebec has specific objections to three areas of the agreement the minority language of education Sec the mobility rights clause and the opting out provision of the amending just what the Accord will mean for Quebec charter of the French Lan Guage is the which limits Access to English language schools to the Chil Dren of Quebe cers who were them selves educated in conflicts with a provision in the Accord calling for each province to provide minority language education Levesque said Trudeau tried to blackmail Quebec into accepting the language provisions of the Accord by suggesting that it would not apply to the other provinces until Quebec had but Federal Justice minister Jean Chretien denied the decision is not made yet on How we will handle he the formula that allows provinces to opt out of future constitutional changes in social areas involving spending says that a province which opts out would receive no financial compensation from for Leader of a party whose aim is the creation of an inde pendent yesterdays Accord and the isolation of Quebec carry a number of political the stage could be set for the parti quebecois to take its option off the Bac Burner next month at its policy parti quebecois National Assembly members in Quebec already were talk ing of a but there was an Uncertain reaction from the opposition most of whom just a month ago supported the pm in decrying the fact that the package then proposed weakened Quebec Ottawa up prime minister Trudeau and the provincial premiers propelled the country beyond Cen Turi sold British Legal traditions yesterday into what could be a new Era of rights guarantees with the courts As the Trudeau and nine of the premiers All but Quebec Rene Levesque agreed to entrench a charter of Basic human rights and freedoms into the Constitution to be brought Home from despite Quebec the guarantees will apply to every govern ment in but individual prov inces can pass Laws which violate rights spelled out in the those Laws must contain a specific phrase that notwithstanding rights guaranteed in the a certain Law will the notwithstanding clause must be renewed every five years by the specific rights the result of this new system of entrenched rights could mean that the vast array of government agencies which routinely make decisions affecting the lives of canadians will be put on notice that they had better be ready to defend them in the until the rights have existed More by court challenges alleging violation of a specific right have tended to be based on years of judicial interpretation by the courts rather than on tightly worded constitutional it gives them a piece of paper to wave when they go into court rather than a stack of years of said one Federal it could mean for that a citizen upset that a provincial censor Board has banned the showing of a film could take a complaint to the courts under a Section of the new charter which guarantees Freedom of expression or perhaps under the Sec Tion that guarantees Freedom of the press and other Media of Communia it also could mean a woman who was refused the right to apply for a Job As a prison guard May Challenge that decision in the courts under a Section prohibiting discrimination on the basis of or an individual who believed he or she had been refused a government Job because of a mental or physical Handicap May Challenge that decision under the Section prohibiting discrimination on the basis of mental or physical the charter itself is divided into about seven key sections including a general limitation on the Protection of fundamental demo cratic mobility Legal nondiscrimination rights and language key sections d general limitation this Section guarantees rights and freedoms set out in the charter subject Only to such reasonable limits prescribed by Law As can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic u fundamental freedoms this says everyone has the Freedom of con science and of of of opinion and of the press and other Media of communication and of peaceful Assembly and Equality rights d democratic rights this is the Only Section that provinces would not be Able to bypass with among other it guarantees the right to vote and run for office and places limits on sittings of parliament and the Legislatures except in time of u mobility rights this Section guarantees the right to remain in and leave Canada and the right to move to any province to get a provinces with employment rates lower than the National average would have the right to give Job preference for work to their la Legal rights fundamental Legal rights Are set including the right to Liberty and Security of the per son and Security against unreason Able search or d Equality rights this prohibits discrimination based on nationality or etl inic age and mental or physical d official languages this Section entrenches the official languages act and adds new Brunswick to the prov inces of Quebec and Manitoba designated As officially Saskatchewan social Howard and the 56 other new democrats who Are asking Mani Toba voters to let them form the government after november 17 never miss a Chance to Tell us How Sweet things Are in that one remaining bastion of social democracy to be found in North Pawley Hopes to create a second such right Here in on november since Saskatchewan has a new democratic albeit an nip government that acts More conserva at than everything that happens there is held up As an example of what could happen if Only Manitoban regain their political not quite being the Manitoba new democrats Are selective in their just in Case they happened to miss this account of a Saskatchewan car ried in the october 20 edition of the Regina Leader it is offered to free of charge or so that they May repeat it on the election the Story begins Saskatchewan government has shown a disturbing trend toward slowing Down spending on social programs in the past five a University of Regeria professor new democrats if they follow their Normal pattern of Fred Cleverley should use because they usually climb on whatever bandwagon is Avail provided it is being driven by a University no matter Wii at opinion is being put since the Story despite the fact that our Sas Katche wans provincial wealth has been growing the proportion of it that the government spends on departments of education and social services has been Graham assistant Dean of the University faculty of social said the dates Are since the time the period during which Manitoba conservatives have been in Power the nip governments social spending declined from 10 per cent of the total provincial wealth in 1976 to per cent in he while the Story does not define total provincial a Quick look at Manitoba budget figures show that this province spent 10 per cent of its total provincial budget on Community ser vices in the last year the nip was in Power and spent the same percentage in the estimates for 198182 put the Manitoba figure at per in the Good professor since the government has placed a heavier emphasis on the eco nomic and resource sector at the expense of social spending pos Sec Mondary mental health child welfare and family ser vices have been among the services Law and order spending has been increased while assistance benefits re main shades of perhaps shades of Sterling but surely not in social democratic Sas Katche professor riches asked whether the pressure for economic growth in the 1980s will mean less Money for social the professor is quoted we May is our governments commitment to an increasingly just society what Are its social priorities perhaps Howard Pawley should put the question to Allan the As a Good newspaper put the professors charges to Dwain Saskatchewan minister of social the minis As a Good minister did his Best to deny he said he didst think the Saskatchewan government Cut Back on social service spending in real terms from 1976 to Howe he said that spending on social programs had declined slightly As a share of the total provincial wealth because the provinces economic growth has been so there have been reductions in staff in certain areas of social the minister its a process of Belt tightening to get the House in the statement sounds like another Way of saying the same thing As the professor had More for economic less for human that is exactly what Manitoba new democrats say they doonesbury d d d last this column dealt with the practice politicians have of stealing one another and using them As their one particular concerning the difficulties of a new pre Mier staying in was credited to Sidney the credit was Given after checking with several other peo ple familiar with the goings on at the Manitoba among those not consulted was the former Manitoba government House Warner he Tele phoned the Day after the column appeared to say that it was his not Sidney and that he had told it first in the Manitoba he could he provide the Hansard three hours he made another Telephone he had found the account of his telling of the joke in and it did predate the telling of the joke by Sid Warner need not have bothered looking it everyone believed him when he claimed to be the reason he was so readily believed is this elec Warner has retired and is not running for since he is no longer an Active what Possi ble reason could he have for not telling the exact truth As a retired he does not now even have to steal 5 rack and Whites that Otmen 6uakp them s h Uit m better 6ejpown youve pro Wop the charges you War m ;