Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 18, 1997, Winnipeg, Manitoba Sunday life g 2 sunday free press Winnipeg. May 18. 1997 forum editor Brian Cole / 697-7044 Freedom of Trade in Liberty of religion in Equality of civil rights editorial the Blessing of the flood the flood catastrophe is behind us. Now we can turn our attention once again to the wider world. While residents of Winnipeg and the red River Valley were preoccupied with fighting off the flood the rest of the world was carrying on As usual. We were scarcely noticing but during the red River flood of the Century which filled our Field of vision the peruvian army stormed the japanese ambassadors residence in Lima killing 14 guerrillas and releasing 71 hostages the British labour party won an election and took Power at Westminster ending 18 years of conservative Rule the worlds greatest Gold Deposit located in Indonesia and owned by a Calgary company proved to be a hoax and Zaire dictator Mobutu sese seko lost his throne to a rebel army. These events should perhaps have been postponed until we could pay proper attention to them but they were not. Lawn signs now As we raise our eyes from the sandbag dikes and the flooded Fields we find a Forest of candidates Lawn signs sprouting by the roadsides and in the residential districts. The Canadian forces have reduced their flood control work in Manitoba and fleets of military vehicles have been loaded on trains to return to Camp Petawawa and Camp Gagetown. The War rooms charting Dike construction and evacuation have been scaled Down. While the armed forces move out the election specialists Are moving in. New War rooms have been set up but now the coloured plastic pins on the maps show which polls have been canvassed and which houses have Lawn signs. The Campaign got off to a slow Start this Long weekend. Winni Eggers with cottages to open were opening them. The Victoria Day Long weekend falling a few Days Early this year was unseasonably Cool but not so much so that summer Camps could not be aired out and dusted off As usual. Parliamentary candidates in Winnipeg found plenty of voters to talk to and give leaflets to but the Public a thoughts were already turning to summer and the projects in cottage country a Dock repairs Clearing away the Winters Deadfall. Last week it was too soon to have an election while the flood was still upon us. Now with the summer cottages open it is almost too late. Compassionate the flood showed Manitoban that their Neighbours Are generous Public spirited people and that their cities their province and their country Are Well organized dependable and competent in a time of emergency. The flood of Cash and kind donations for victims of the water showed us that we live in an especially compassionate compartment of a Loving universe. The flood has inflicted severe damage on the houses and belongings of a few Hundred Manitoban and they deserve help. The same flood however silenced for awhile the cabbiness that sometimes sours our Public conversation. It was hard to fret about minor irritations while a glacial Lake was threatening to engulf the whole Community. The flood and the Volunteer Effort it evoked reminded Manitoban of the strength and the blessings of a peaceable Well ordered civic minded polity. The election however is not about that. The election recalls us to the world of High policy moved in its worst moments by greed envy mistrust betrayal fear and anger. Someone wants to break up Canada someone else wants to Cut government programs and someone else wants to cling to Power. Manitoban were recently reminded that communal life does not have to be like that when a Community has a real problem to solve through co operative Effort but since most of Canada has not the Blessing of a real unifying Challenge like a red River flood squabbling and ill nature can prevail. This election could be turned to Good account if Manitoban could somehow teach its lesson to their Neighbours and share the Blessing of the holds key to Unity great _ debate National Unity is the one election Issue All of our Federal politicians with the exception of Preston Manning would prefer to leave on the Back Burner. It is the one Issue voters should insist be debated fully before the Campaign ends. The liberals and conservatives done to want to debate it because they have nothing to offer except the policies of appeasement that have failed in the past. The new democratic party supports distinct society but has no idea what it Means. Only the Reform party a National Unity plan makes any sense. This is unfortunate because the Reform party does not appear to be even close to achieving Power. If reforms policies Are not put in place there is a very Good Chance that Quebec will continue to hold referendums until the yes Side wins. Canada will then have to Deal with an actual breakup of the country. Reform proposes to Deal with Quebec a ambitions by treating All provinces equally but including within provincial Powers the ability to control culture and language. Reform would also establish a set of Tough conditions applicable to All provinces which would have to be met before a province could break away from the country. The liberals for All their talk about a plan by and the conservatives tremble at the thought of telling Quebec in Blunt language the Cost and consequences of separation. Both prefer to talk grandly about a unified Canada All the while delivering a message that says a keep asking for More. There is no limit to what we will concede to keep the country both Jean Chretien and Jean Charest want to offer Quebec a distinct society status entrenched in the Constitution. This is not enough to satisfy Quebec and it is completely unsaleable in the West where or. Chretien has Given the Power of veto Over constitutional changes. Polls indicate that or. Manning has the Canadian Public on his Side. An end ironic research poll published in the May 12 Issue of Western report shows that a majority of All canadians prefers to Deal with Quebec by establishing Tough Fred Cleversey conditions for separation rather than by making new offers to the province to stay. While people in Quebec favoured new offers by 62 per cent Over 26 per cent for Tough conditions canadians outside Quebec said they were 71 per cent in favour of Tough conditions and Only 18 per cent were supportive of new offers. Nationally 60 per cent of canadians supported Tough conditions and Only 19 per cent favoured new offers. The appearance of a quietly confident gibes Dueppe the Leader of the bloc quebecois on the National leaders debate showed us the face of a Force determined to destroy Canada. No one disputed or. Do Ceppe a Assumption that another referendum would be held and if it failed another would follow until a yes vote was obtained. How does Canada Deal with Quebec appeasement kind words and the outpouring of love in the past has done nothing to diminish the determination of the separatists. What does distinct society mean the prime minister says it confers no special Powers or privileges yet he voted with the separatists against an amendment that would have put his interpretation into Law. Jean Charest says distinct society is not about Power privilege or Money yet he ducked that same vote. Will Tough love work consider the appearance in the election Campaign this past week by the avowed separatist and former Quebec Premier Jacques Parizeau. He let it slip that he could have translated a yes vote into an immediate declaration of Independence. Bloc quebecois support dropped dramatically. Someone finally had told the Ordinary people of Quebec that they were not voting for a better Deal with Canada but separation from Canada. Fred Cleversey is a Winnipeg needs conciliators who insane Canada even finding the words to talk about the troubled relationship Between Canada and Quebec is no easy task. As with any Long term feud our language has become tainted by unresolved anger and frustration. Mention a distinct society and politicians of All stripes Scurry for cover shuddering at memories of the failure of the Meech Lake Accord in 1990. Perhaps that a Why Federal leaders have resorted in this election Campaign to such veiled Lingo As plan a and plan b when it comes to discussing what is carefully called a National their jargon has guaranteed that the average voter listening to the six of clock news while scrubbing dishes boiling pasta and appeasing a hungry toddler will be hard pressed to grasp let alone care about politicians latest skirmish Over Quebec. Basically plan a is supposed to be a strategy for convincing Quebec to stick with Canada while plan b a the so called Quot Tough love approach a is a plan for dumping them if they decide to dump us. It includes asking the supreme court of Canada to Rule on whether Quebec secession is Legal which of course it Isnit. Tory Leader Jean Charest is Busy attacking Liberal Leader Jean Chretien for plan a new Democrat Leader Alexa Mcdonough Isnit really on the map while Reform Leader Preston Manning plans to give every province More Power and Tell Quebec to like it or Lump it. Bloc quebecois Leader gibes Dueppe is gleefully hoping to use the sorry mess As proof that staying in Canada is a lost cause. But Back to How to talk about All of this. The Oxford dictionary defines a a distinct As a not identical a a individual a and Quot different inking or the emphasis is on differences. By contrast the definition of the word a a Unity focuses on similarities a being one and a being formed of parts that constitute a All the political rhetoric these Days is about National Unity which might at first sound hopeful. But Are politicians Busy finding new ways to achieve Harmony no. They re plotting what to do when the unthinkable Ruth Teichroeb happens. Its a lot like parents telling their kids that everything is Fine while filing for separation and div vying up the household. The reality is that we can to just sweep our differences under the Rug and have a Hope of sorting this out. Quebec has always been a distinct society within Canada with a different language Justice system and culture. It already has special status in Many areas including immigration. Manitoba May have helped kill Meech Lake but the essence of the Accord has come Back to life. The Challenge now is to find a Way to validate what already exists. Resolving this impasse will demand give and take on both sides. Westerners who oppose distinct society status for Quebec will have to bite their tongues. Quebe cers wont be Able to have everything separatists have dangled before them. Clarifying what rules would apply should Quebec secede a As in plan b a is an interesting exercise but contributes nothing to this goal. The problem with a a Tough love strategy is that its More Likely to cause irreparable damage especially when relationships Are already badly frayed than provide any answers. The problem with another Quebec referendum is that the stakes Are too High. A is the Public willing to tackle this again polls show that a majority of Quebe cers still wants to remain within Canada. Most canadians Are weary of constitutional bickering yet done to want to witness the breakup of the country. That leaves us Little Choice but to Wade in and Hope for the Best. What is discouraging is that none of our Federal leaders have articulated the vision needed for charting this unknown territory. We need creative conciliators rather than blustering Winner take All combatants. We need to understand and respect our differences before we can move on. Ruth Teichroeb covers social affairs for the free press ;