Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 28, 1995, Winnipeg, Manitoba Brian Cole 6977044 readers forum saturday free Winnipeg a t c october 1995 costs of sovereignty will be too High for Quebec on no is answer in the weeks before the referendum on Quebec the free press and the Quebec City newspaper be Soleil have been exchanging and publishing columns on the Issue to give readers a different perspective on the Gilbert president and publisher of be weighs in with the newspapers position on the by Gilbert Lacasse special to the free press with a few Days remaining before referendum we wish to present this newspapers Point of View to our not in a passionate declaration but in a simple the Way we do with a serious personal Deci when we list the reasons in favor Down one half of a Blank Sheet of paper and the reasons against on he other the achievement of sovereignty would no doubt give us new collective for the majority of French speaking Quebe it would give the Energy of a feeling of a sensation of Mas Tery Over our recognition of que Bec As a distinct society would be automatically we would have Only one government to thank or blame for whatever the federalist spokesmen May we believe that a Sovereign que Bec would achieve an economic agree ment with the rest of the financial interests at stake Are simply too businesses would want to protect their commercial networks and their powerful lenders who finance Federal and provincial borrowing would require an agreement to guarantee the value of their Quebec commands skilled human abundant natural and the institutions of a mod Ern in sovereignty is a Fea sible now for the other Side of the have you noticed something our politicians in the two Camps have never been Able to agree on the number of jobs a Sovereign Quebec would nor on the additional level of debt that a Sepa rate Quebec would have to it is striking nobody claims there would be improvements neither in new jobs nor in reduced debts arising from our sover Only possible advantage through elimination of duplication in government services has been cancelled out by the Promise of Parizeau government to hire All the Federal civil ser vants who live in the conclusion is unassailable achieve ment of sovereignty and adaptation to our new status would require financial sacrifices from All for Many withdrawal from the Federal system would create enormous disrupt we could probably fill All the pages of this newspaper with descriptions of All the agreements that would have to be the assets and liabilities to be the treaties to be the harmonization of tax the regu lations to be the courts to be the Laws to be the native land claims to be the new departments and agencies to be set the civil servants to be it is not irrational to foresee that a reorganization of this scope rebuilding everything that now exists would monopolize our priorities and most of our Energy for the next five or six in today evolving where changes Are coming with a Speed unprecedented in our can we allow ourselves to devote our efforts to a disruption of our governmental Struc Tures once everything has been Reorg we run the risk of lagging far behind those countries that have focused on adapting to the new Economy and have plunged wholeheartedly into the knowl Edge in the cold Light of the proposal for sovereignty and partnership is basically no More than a quest for constitutional it is fundamentally an attempt to achieve the reforms distinct Sci increased Powers that Quebec politicians were unable to obtain in pre Vious constitutional in our the Price is too the risk is too great for us to underwrite if que Bec were a backward or impoverished we might say go take the we have nothing to lose but that is not the even if we Are Only a we Are better off and better organized than most Sovereign we have More to lose than to therefore we say thank especially since the sovereignty partnership plan is a one Way Parizeau and Bouchard have been unequivocal on that it is a one Way ticket to Sov once the mandate has been we must collectively Bear the con sequences even if the partnership does not suit even if the waking next morn ing is More painful than the party the night Gilbert Lacasse is president and pub Lisher Ofle letters to the editor Manitoba needs a United Canada Jean Chretien said it Best As quoted in the Globe and mail last Canada out Side he is not a this is the great fact being Over looked by most of us in English Canada and especially Here in Man this fact undermines both Lucien Bouchard Call for negotiations with Canada and the notion of a United English Canada waiting out an intransigent Quebec which would return on its Knees a fundamental question on tues Day morning following a yes vote May Well be can Ontario and reach a workable agreement for a new confederation of English speaking provinces will the two wealthy far Western provinces agree to an arrangement with an Ontario which would com prise half the population and therefore political Power of the new federation will Ontario and the far West be Able to agree on a framework for future relations with an Independent Quebec As i write this the great Divide in English Canada is Evi on the one hand some Provin Cial Legislatures new Nova Scotia Are mov ing to express a desire to accommodate Quebec aspirations within in the West particularly Alberta and British will have none of this is simple and Clear confirmation of the fact that Canadas regional differences Are vastly More Complex than the fight Between the two solitudes of English and French what about the historic Western grievances towards the Golden Trian Gle of Southern Ontario i after a yes there May not be a nation for Quebec to negotiate in the Manitoban could really be caught in the doughnut Hole Between an Ontario More will ing to Deal with Quebec remember Ontario lonely support of the Charlottetown constitutional Accord and the wealthy far West Ern provinces which May Well be disinclined to be drawn into a new arrangement with Ontario or que Bec and be tempted to go it As the federation then disinter where will Manitoba inter est lie what about the of our provincial budget provided by fed eral Transfer payments who will want to continue to Send us these equalization will Ontario if where will we find the Money to operate our hospitals and following the referendum and by the Grace of god Canada finds yet one More Opportunity to save let All of us Manitoban remember that our own self inter est lies in an undivided nation and that this nation May not be Possi ble without Perrin Winnipeg whats wrong with sovereignty unlike British Columbia a state dressed in the clothing of a having Noth How to reach us the free press welcomes letters from letters must be signed and should include a dearly printed address and Telephone names will be published but not All letters May be edited for style and Short letters Are less Likely to be please address tetters to letters to the Winnipeg free 1355 Mountain Winnipeg r2x letters can be sent to our fax number letters May be submitted through the internet at letters sent via the internet obviously cannot be but must include Home address and Telephone ing to on the Day of the decide to discard its 128yearold now Unwar ably and put on a spanking new birthday suit whats wrong with that oui shall Dale Hibbard lets join the the optimum result for Canada in the upcoming referendum is a majority oui we should not tremble at this Prospect we should grasp the the Dis Tinct possibility that such an out come would Lead to a More prosperous and Independent future for All of our present claim to sovereignty is tenuous at a comfortable when Over 80 per cent of a country external Trade is trans acted with a nation More than ten times As wealthy and How can any reasonable citizen boast that his country is truly Sov Ereign from to sub to our Southern neighbor makes it Clear who is in matters Are not improve As we shed our National sym values and corporations in order to Harmo Nize our nation with bit Ter and enervating struggles with Quebec do Little to impede this As each province jumps merrily into the and tries to aggrandize its own Little kingdom at the same if we reach some sort of accommodation with the focus of our resources and political Energy can once again be directed towards the creation of a Strong and Independent from my our salvation demands that we set Quebec that we reach a Strong Mutual and that we then strive to preserve and promote that wonderful Canadian spirit of honest laughter and sensible com the autre chose Star ing us in the face is to negotiate sovereignty association with the United states of so that we gain some Access and influence the levers of Power to which we currently As our a group of people hold up no signs in Ottawa As they Board buses to take them to a rally in Montreal Best and brightest head South in search of Mcintosh Winnipeg where is the backup plan the situation in Quebec should cause serious concern and unrest in the Western it seems that the separatists Are actually wolves in sheets they want to make Quebec a nation in but the fear of not gaining the necessary support under this crawl under the Guise of moderates negotiating an economic and political in their dreams they believe the rest of Canada will be forced to negotiate with and meet their it is very important to maintain Canada As a country comprised of the provinces and territories As we now know but we should not stick our Heads in the Sand and be oblivious to the reality that there could be a majority of the Quebec population which wants to break away from Canada and form its own although this act would break apart the rest of we should be considering a contingency if Quebec secede from conf Der in particular the provinces of and possibly Manitoba might form a territory which would comprise a population More or less equal to that of or that of this territory would set aside the Borders which now Divide the and be governed by a Central under which regional governments would fun the provincial governments would be in favor of two Levels of although this territory is Large in land with a population of about seven we Are Over governed under the present Many advantages could be realized from this restructured Cana although none greater then to have Canada remain As a unified we should not be sitting on our hands while a group of anti canadians living within Canadian Borders want to hasten the demise of this we got caught once which allowed a separatist group to become the her majesty Loyal official opposition in the Canadian parliament let us not get caught should they West Ern Canada must look at the needs of Steven Powers forget lets build Canada i have been following with great interest the spectacle of Quebec rhetoric on separation and Call to referendum i am extremely disturbed by the so called boredom and utter complacency by most Canadian citizens outside most people do not seem to realize that the threats of separation and the destruction of Canada Are real and that the con sequences could be not Only for Quebec but for the rest of this great treasonous activities of the likes of Mario Jaques Parizeau and most of All Lucien Bouchard the turncoat federalist would not be tolerated in any other country the world these individuals and their Fol Lowers have Cost us billions of Dol Lars besides needless misery and lost opportunities never to be it is frightening to think what might happen to Canada if Quebec it will truly be the begin Ning of the other cracks will Widen As separatists in Western Canada May decide to rekindle old flames and gain momentum in their dreams of while the remaining provinces would surely be swallowed up by the giant to the South of Why should we Trust our politicians the ones that encourage indifference in English speaking Canada to the question of Quebec separation for fear that we May upset and inflame the separatists of have we forgotten that Only three years when we voted on the Charlottetown Accord How wrong the politicians in fact every element in what could be considered the Canadian Stab is it possible that they might be wrong again i think the time has come once and for All to Lance that festering boil Quebec on the behind of this it is time for citizens of this great country to demonstrate True patriotic spirit and sincerely pro claim 0 Canada we stand on guard for Winnipeg doonesbury by Garry Trudeau 50 what to quite i cant a51 5o who 5uyon Fez Jinp of 5houu act Atyim ;