Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 5, 1987, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press january paae7 focus a blueprint for reforming the system by John lament special to the free press in the interval since the decision Oft the cf18 some inter Esting nuances have and of particular interest to is the fact that the Adverse political reaction to the Federal decision in other parts of the country was far deeper and More widespread than people Here might have while the premiers of Alberta and Saskatchewan gave lip service support to the Federal the people of those provinces did nor did they approve of the position of their own provincial As surveys conducted by Western report show rather the fact that the premiers of both and Prince Edward Island supported Manitoba is also of inter it shows that the cf18 decision has wide implications for National As Well As a distinct regional Impact in the the implications in the Prairie Region for the Federal conserva Tives Are for the first and in a very dramatic it has been shown that they Are ineffective in representing and protecting vital it is Clear that this will mean a fall in support for them and there is not much they can do about the implications for the Provin Cial Wing of the conservative party Are More it was evident when the cf18 contract was announced that the conservatives in Manitoba were just As outraged As other Manitoban at the and everyone Felt keenly with them their disappointment when the great blizzard caused the Cancella Tion of their annual meeting and deprived them of the Opportunity of roasting Deputy prime minister Dan but complaining will not get them out of a serious dilemma their duty to their Manito places them in the position of having to be in opposition to the senior Wing of their their position will be impossible if they have to try to defend outrageous acts of the Federal nor will it be possible for them to avoid these provincial Leader Gary Filmon made a serious political error when he rebuked Premier Howard Ley for publishing an advertisement criticizing the Federal Premier Pawley is quite right in making the Federal government pay the absolute maximum political Price for its no doubt it served his political interests but it also served Mani Tobas Hilmons com plaint did this incident High lights the provincial conservatives if the conservatives have any doubt As to the hazards of this uncomfortable they need Only look at the Liberal party and its Fate in Western at the beginning of the Pearson Siefen Baker the liberals were one of the dominant parties in the but for two decades the Liberal party was dominated by Eastern interests and which Al ways prevailed whenever there was any clash of interest with the the result was the virtual extinction federally and provincially of the liberals in the this dreary Prospect now faces the provincial conservatives unless they can find a Way to represent Manitoba effectively when this involves the awarding of the cf18 contract to Quebec proves that the Federal system is corrupt and needs opposition to the position of the Federal in this the delay in their annual meeting May be a Blessing in it gives them time to there Are things which they can do they can take Steps to tackle the weaknesses in the Feder Al system which produced the cf18 if they do they really will be serving Manitoba interests and escape the Fate of the the weakness in the Federal sys tem arises because far too much Power is concentrated in the hands of the prime he has the and is seen to have the to dispense the largesse of the Federal government according to his of he May have to manoeuvre a to shift a few ministers in order to execute a pork barrel decision such As that of the cf18 but the prime minister certainly does have that it is now widely recognized that the Reform necessary to Correct this is an elected which could restrain that can this be accomplished it is surely now time to play the Federal system is seriously we have what amounts to an elected it is often assumed that a dictator ship is More efficient than a demo this is a when Power is highly major Deci Sions Are made on the basis of favors to persons or groups who can apply the most pressure or Supply the most major contract awards under this system become handed out As the system is highly since it pits various regions against one an it is also highly inefficient and because contracts do not go to the lowest bidder or the most efficient corrupt systems Are not Static they Are either or they become More the longer Reform is the More drastic the Reform must unless there is Reform the necessary Steps become More and the required measures can become totally revolutionary in it is now that there is a role for the Provin Cial Here is a plan for which the conservatives might consider at their annual the conservatives should Call for the Mani Toba legislature to set up a bipartisan committee on constitutional with the following Man Date Dit should be authorized to pro pose to the other provinces and the Federal parliament a constitutional amendment making provision for an elected with equal representation by or at a reasonable balance of representation by these Points in reverse Why the referendum on any changes because it is essential in order to be consistent with demo cratic constitutions Are designed to control which Are created to serve Ordinary human governments do not own constitutions the people in this it must be admitted there is a certain weakness in the present Canadian which can be amended without reference to the no significant change in a Constitution should Ever take place without the approval of at least a majority it is to be much More of the elec without a it is impossible to be sure a Given amendment has majority approx in the present there is provincial tories should push for elected Senate or join with other parties in creating an Independent d it should be asked to report Back on the prospects for the acceptance of such an amendment within one year and a d it should be in the event the committee finds it Neces sary to report negatively on the prospects of Senate to enter into discussions with the other three Western provinces on the prospects of forming a distinct and Independent Federal divorced from Eastern but within the British d the Resolution appointing this committee should clearly affirm that any constitutional amendment of any character within its mandate would have to be confirmed by a referendum submitted to All the electors of it is probably Best to consider an even More important reason Why any change should be subject to a in this we have something to Lear i from the negotiating strategies of Trade the first principle is that it is necessary to remain in Contact and enjoy the Confidence of your and the constituency in this the people of Manitoba must have the right to ratify the final this not Only reinforces a Strong bargaining but ensures the support of the people during the bargaining the people of Manitoba should be assured of the Opportunity of a or of any important change in our constitutional if they know this is we can be sure they will support vigorous measures to produce is it disloyal to discuss separa Tion an easy answer would be that loyalty is not a one Way of we do not owe much loyalty to the present Federal but the rest of the country is not the same thing As the clique that at present holds Power in we do owe some duty to our fellow citizens in other parts of the coun to our fellow we at least owe the duty of it is a fact that National Unity cannot Long sur Vive a continuous succession of Fla Grant discrimination of the Char Acter of the cf18 we have a duty to state that it is reasonable other parts of the country to in the Long it is As much in their interest As ours that the corrupt Federal system should be but there Are powerful resistances to no corrupt system exists unless there Are beneficiaries to the they resist re the principal beneficiaries of the present corrupt system Are the Cen trial provinces they need to be told the possible consequences of failure to the result of this failure would be that the West might Sepa and leave them to Stew in the cesspool of their own to Tell honestly and is not to be disloyal quite the the purpose of the plan is to create a More perfect Union but if other parts of the country Are or to share this objective and loyalty re quire that they be informed in and Vance of the probable result of negotiations with other Western provinces to Settle the basis of a new Union Are not of the character that could possibly be resolved but even the exis tence of such negotiations would substantially reduce the risk of unfair discrimination by the Federal of they actually wished to drive the West the fundamental purpose for this is to Demon Strate that we Are it tells the rest of Canada that we insist upon Reform that we will not Brook unreasonable delays that the cur rent situation is and that we Are determined to change it that if they will not agree to a Federal system that is fair and equitable to All its and if they insist on continuing to exploit then we Are getting out but it also tells the rest of Canada that our first preference is a More perfect in spite of the injuries they have done to reporting within one and on half years this situation is straight for it imposes a it affords an entirely adequate time Frame for others involved to react on the other it precludes the possibility of unreasonable it has the added advantage of bringing the matter to a head about the time of the next Federal elec this will if the matter is still that the question of the Reform suggested will inevitably be a major Issue in the next Federal All and All party would have to take positions on the this would mean that the people of and All parts of would have an Opportunity to in would be compelled to their Choice is far More Likely to be right than the Choice of politicians or political who have their own interests to a reformed and elected Senate is really the Only feasible Way of put Ting a Check on the unfettered Power of the prime and of getting a reasonable balance be tween regional and National inter it is a perfectly practical provided a prime minis Ter or potential prime minister can be persuaded to support the this will not be difficult if the Choice can mean winning or losing an this plan can do just this plan to Start the process of establishing a reformed Federal system is not one that could Ever be the monopoly of any particular political the nip could adopt or the or the Progress the Are Hung up on their absurd prejudice against reforming the Senate and by their irrational and impractical position that it should be they probably unable to take political advantage of this proposal for the provincial on the other Are under no such disadvantage and they have the political base upon which they can make it unlike the smaller they can embrace a re form of immense importance to Manitoba without being disloyal to their Federal if the nip government should decline to go along with the conservatives will be in the Delight Ful position of being Able to expose the nip As a Bunch of crusty old resisting the path of Are the provincial conservatives up to choosing the path of destiny for the answer to this question we must await the events that january will and the conduct of the conservatives at their postponed annual who will ride to defence of English in Quebec this is just pure mind but i am willing to bet that there will be no troop of Whiteknight journalistic cavalry Riding to the defence of businessmen in Quebec who want to have signs in both English and neither will there be spirited television programs beamed across the the Way they were during the Manitoba language pointing out that the unilingual sign provision of Quebec Bill 101 has been struck Down by a High and yet continues to be if not by the provincial then by the fire bomb squads that have already persuaded Zellers that Legal bilingual signs Are not to be tolerated in part of legally bilingual we will All be told that the fire bombs Are just isolated acts by irresponsible we will be told in Quebec will return to what Premier Robert Bourassa describes As a state of and that then will be the time for initiatives that will help permit English speaking que Beckers to live in the same manner French speak ing canadians in in the meantime a few things Premier Bourassa promised to change if he was elected will remain and a court ruling will have no effect because those who would have benefited from it have been terrorized into for icing on that particular we can look to Ottawa where prime minister Brian the Man who was so anxious to override the wishes of the majority of Manitoban on is on record As supporting no Retreat on the use of French in All that is needed is to add the word after French and the prime minister himself could be seen to be on the Side of those unfortunate radicals who care Little for the court determined rights of Quebec English speaking minor Fred Cleverley who Are canadians to do what he promised in the election Campaign in the Way French speaking businessmen Are accommodated elsewhere in Canada would be to turn himself into a according to Premier a generous interpretation of this statement is that what has happened in the past will continue in the the rest of Canada will be dragged or pushed into a bilingual no matter what the Cost in convenience or practical while Quebec will continue on its path to the creation of a part of a bilingual country that for educational and emotional a Young or a Young albertan will find it extremely difficult to join the ranks of the provincial police forces in their provinces if they cannot speak a Young Luebecker will stand a better Chance of getting a Job in his particular provincial police Force if French is the his Only Lan jobs in the Many Federal in Side and outside of will go first to bilingual jobs in provincial governments other than Quebec will go first to bilingual mainly because of the need for communication be tween these provincial governments and in British Columbia or elsewhere a businessman will be legally permitted to advertise in any either in a single language or in a Combina Tion of in a businessman will be legally entitled to advertise his through his shop in both French and but if he chooses to exercise his right he May discover that his fire insurance rates Are he will need Premier Bourassaw minister of Educa Claud announced that English would be permitted to be used beginning in Grade rather than in Grade As provided this change will be in either English or French May be used from Nursery school All of which is by those who think it necessary to provide As part of the need to protect the French language in the argument was raised during the Mani Toba language the offer by the conservatives in this province to agree to provide the Protection in the form of a provincial act was not sufficient for the journalistic particularly the squad Rons based in Eastern for nothing Short of constitutional entrenchment was these journalistic nationalists exhibited some selective interpretation when Ontario on a provincial legislated toward just what Manitoba conservatives were in such Protection was not Only but praiseworthy As the time has come for these same people to Start raising beginning with the attitude of the prime minister of whose no Retreat position on the use of French in Quebec described by him As minding my own business when i am speaking about the rights of Canadian Citi he certainly had no problem minding the business of Manitoba a few years when he happened to be on the other Side of the same As i mentioned at the this is All perhaps i will be proved wrong when the Toronto newspapers Start condemning Premier Bourassa for backing Down on his election promises to restore the rights of English speaking citizens of his perhaps the Csc will do an in depth analysis of the problems of an in Glis speaking Quebec serving English speaking who dares not display his business name in English for fear of having his shop blown doonesbury by Garry Trudeau i help you an Are you i Jeremy Cavan i associate of hkla7bhu5 an appoint jek5my is that Phat ;