Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 13, 1997, Winnipeg, Manitoba A16 saturday free Winnipeg Brian Cole 697704 september 1997 editorials Freedom Offrane Liberty of religion Equality of cml rights fuelling the Market classic Liberal economic theory holds that the Best Protection against artificially High prices for goods and services is Competition in the and on that there can be Little argue the problem is that it is the marketplace that determines the level of of sets the Price of the Good being that May help explain Why gasoline prices in Winnipeg Are higher than they need University of Manitoba economics Costas Nicolaou produced a study on gasoline prices 10 years ago among other highlighted the main reason Why Winni Eggers pay higher prices for gasoline than motorists South of the Border the differ ence in the nature of the two the Canadian Market is dominated by four major Oil which control most of the refineries and retail the american is much larger and features More than a dozen major Oil companies competing for Market the result is far More Competition in the Amer ican marketplace than there is in following on the logic of Nicolaus it is Clear that increased Competition in Canada would result in lower Gas the problem is the four majors dominate the Canadian Market to a degree that makes it if not for others to break Nico Laou says most Independent dealers Are Price Fol not Price they compete with the majors by offering better service or commodity Dis such a free bags of potato chips or soft they understand that an Independent dealer who did try to try to steal a significant chunk of Market share by dramatically undercutting the majors would soon find himself in a Gas Price War that he could not possibly Nicolaou suggests this problem could be addressed if the province bought a number of ser vice stations and leased them to Independent opera tors who would pump gasoline at a lower profit margin and increase Nicolaou says five strategically placed gasoline stations in financed solely with profits from the Sale of would be enough to bring the Price of gasoline Here More in line with the consumer affairs minister Michael Radcliffe says he opposes government imposed Price Regula he Hast offered his views on whether com petition in the marketplace should be or How it should be scottish parliament seven Hundred years to the Day after William Wallace annihilated an English army at the Bat the of Stirling scots voting in a referendum overwhelmingly approved the creation of their own somewhat less they voted in the same referendum to give that parliament the Power to Levy the referendum was part of British prime minis ter Tony Blairs policy of the devolution of Power from the Central government in Westminster to Scotland to a lesser Blairs critics argue strongly that devolution radically alters the nature of the United kingdom will propel Scotland along the Road to full ind Epen the first is certainly and obviously but that might not be so very unfortunate a certainly the Powers that will be Given to Scotland new parliament Are nothing extraordinary by the standards of the Canadian which is still Galu Phing along in its own Peculiar it could be equally argued that Britain hugely centralized system was overdue for it is the second possibility that most intrigues oth particularly canadians who see an analogy with the Quebec although the similarities May be More seeming than scottish nationalists do see the referendum result As a Victory in the Politi Cal War for the Battle of Stirling Bridge was seen As a great Victory in the cause of scottish but that War ultimately ended in although devolution of Power has not proved in Canada to be the answer to Quebec in where it is radically it May prove to be nationalism is spurred on by emotions but reined it by such As who gets to raise the water and by More abstract conditions such As Mutual scots May like to believe to turn Samuel Johnson on his head that the noblest Prospect that a scotsman will Ever see is the High Road leading out of but whether they ultimately decide to leave or to stay hinge on How they feel they Are being treated by the in there does seem to be an analogy to Winnipeg free press Winnipeg free press est i97f Winnipeg Tribune St 1990 Rudy publisher email . Ca Nicholas editor Brian Cole editorial Page editor directors Harry Brown circulation sales and marketing Laurie advertising Verne Kalichuk human resources Perry Nixdorf technology Glenn Williams finance and administration uneasy lies the Crown f t that will Canada look like if the United King Dom As it is now called ceases to be a kingdom and becomes a Republic the Complex events and emotions that have resulted from the death of Princess of have left the dissolution of the monarchy More of a possibility than at any time since the abdication of Edward that in this Are not part of the discussion which is raging in Britain is frustrating in More ways than it is frustrating simply because there is an argument going on which could affect our political future in which we have no part because there is really no Way in which we can have a part in and do not think for a moment that the ending of the monarchy would not affect our political it would As surely As the Patria Tion of the Constitution and the creation of a supreme court has affected there is a of in which Canada is already a re pub the position of Queen of Canada is entirely symbolic and whereas it is Possi ble to see the Queens position in the United kingdom As still hav ing some of the functions of a head of in Canada the Only Nicholas Hirst True role of the Monarch is to pro vide a tie to the Commonwealth and to Canadas former status As a Colony of whether most canadians wish to be reminded of that former status is a moot the importance of the Queen As this coun try Sovereign is that it is the position of the monarchy and the ties with Britain that Many commentators believe make us Dif Ferent from the United when the British who lived in what is now the overthrew British the monarchists came in that historical fact lies much of the political make up of our parliamentary system is based on More importantly the Way we conduct our political our belief in order and Good our desire for a More cooperative and consultative Rule than the individualism of the All Stem from the Days of the american Revo but to All intents and Pur Canada does not act As a the last vestiges of monarchy were shaken in a real with the Patria Tion of the in that the True Sovereign body ceased to be the Queen or her House of but the supreme the arbiter of our Laws became a written Constitution and a Legal authority to interpret the Alle Giance to the in All but a sentimental was and the sentimental attachment remains we have no part in any argument Over the future of the monarchy in England because we Irrel Evant to that the Queen of Canada reflects a Dif Ferent political fact in Canada than the Queen of England and Scotland and Northern Ireland represents in the United King in the monarchy has existed As a Symbol of class and in Canada the Monar Chy is the Symbol of ties to what is happening in Britain now is an emotionally charged referendum on the pre sent Royal family ability to be a Symbol of anything that the British might if the British decide that they do not want the How can we want them if what they represent to us is a link to Britain and Britain is no longer a country that wants a Royal then what do we do what i am suggesting Here is that the very fact that Britain is debating the dissolution of the that we Are left in a vacuum watching that says volumes about the fix we have put ourselves there Are Many ways Canada can define itself without the need of the the maturing of the Canadian rep resented in its even the continuing and seemingly endless debates Over the position of Quebec within Are All not Only of who we but of what this nation there is still a in which the Royal family pro Vides a kind of invisible glue a connection to a past that some in this country hold very now that the glue is weaken ing in All kinds of perhaps we should be searching for a constitutional answer to the end of monarchy a constitutional answer which is made in Canada and not by a debate being held Nicholas Hirst is the editor of the free his column appears keeping an open mind on Unity 1997 Winnipeg Day sign of t pub shed seven Days 9 week it l maj Stein h2x a member of the Volta to press goods a vol 125 no 245 its been a Little Over 10 years since the late Robert Bourassa stood up at a press Confer ence in Ottawa and proclaimed Canada is one of the greatest countries in the the former Quebec Premier made the remarks after formally putting his signature to a Deal cobbled together by former prime minister Brian Mulroney and the other nine premiers known As the Meech Lake j remember the press Confer ence in because i had the Opportunity to cover the Story for the free it was an historic at the it was thought Robert Bourassaw signature would bring to an end decades of squabbling Over the constitutional differences Between Quebec and the rest of i remember the Day for the Quebec premiers obvious Joy at having helped achieve something that Only a few months earlier was thought to be impossible bring Quebec into Canadas constitutional but i also remember it for something something that May have had More of an Impact on my thinking about Meech Quebec and Canada Over the years than anything else the reaction of one of my i happened to be sitting next to a Quebec television reporter a Man in his late 20s or Early 30s with Reddish hair during Bourassaw remarks to the Media at one the a Broad smile on his leapt to his feet and joined with others in showering the Premier with applause As be spoke about the significance of signing the i remember being taken Aback by the reporters obvious show of journalists Are supposed to aloof about things like this were there to cover the not show or approval or disapproval of the reason for his reaction to Bourassaw speech was quite we Are proud to be he but we Are and we Are proud to be i want at All certain about what to make of his partly because i was not at All certain at the time of what to make of the Meech Lake having grown up in the so called one Canada Era of Pierre i believed it was important to have a Strong Federal government that served All canadians and that a citizens Pri Mary loyalty was to not to this concept was challenged by the accords Promise that Quebec would be responsible for preserving and promoting its distinct to the extent that i had any position on the Accord at the i would have to say i was in the Camp of the Meech Lake and yet there was something about the reaction from my Quebec colleague that Day that gave me i could it help thinking that his display of emotion was an indication the Accord represented More than a shuffling of political Power from Ottawa to Quebec it represented something that made him feel comfortable with his status As a que Becer and a the Point of the Story is As some May to argue that we should let emotion Rule Over Rea son in our deliberations Over National it to Point out that we must always keep an open mind about that we must constantly reexamine our own ideas and preconceived notions about the nature of our country and its it was after this Brief conversation with this Canadian from Quebec that i began to reexamine my own position on Quebec and its place within a process which Over the years has led me to conclude that there is no right or wrong answer to the National Unity just differences in that is something the nine pre Miers meeting in Calgary this weekend should keep in mind As they talk about the Canadas National Unity prob Lem is not one of but of too Many canadians see the constitutional debate As some kind of proxy a Battle of wills Between us anglophones and them the premiers can play a role in changing this Premier Gary for exam could Lead a wide ranging discussion in Manitoba about the too often Fil Mon Speaks Only in terms of partisan arguments and government positions rarely allowing anyone to get a glimpse of How he feels about a subject or it is often for exam that he personally supported Meech Lake and campaigned on behalf of the Charlottetown it might be useful if the Premier put his governments position aside for a moment and simply talked to his constituents about Why he Felt comfortable with those an informal discussion of that kind could serve As a kind of starting Point for a broader Dis Cussion and reexamination of the issues surrounding Quebec constitutional it might even Lead to the development of a constitutional proposal one similar to the Canada clause contained in the Charlottetown Accord that enables All of us once recognize Canada is one of the greatest countries in the world Brian Cole is the free press editorial Page his Plum appears 00 fumed should say what he feels about ;