The Prince George Citizen - Tuesday, 19,1991March - 5 C o m m e n ta ry

M ulroney sees support for C an ad a BAIE-COMEAU, Que. (CP) — don’t want to be a Canadian, are with a rendition of When Irish A referendum on Quebec’s fu­ “Yes" to renewed federalism sole plank in its platform was the Quebecers will see through theyou ready to tear up yourEyes Are Smiling as he and wife ture is expected in the fall ofcould put separatists out of busi­destruction of Canada. ‘‘specialists in division" and not Canadian flag and your Canadian Mila left the restaurant. 1992. The Allaire report, adoptedness. Mulroney’s remarks also ap­ give up their Canadian citizenshippassport and repudiate 123 years Mulroney, sounding as if theby Quebec Liberals, calls for the “ I know that will break a few peared to be aimed at Parti if asked to vote on it, Prime Min­ of history? referendum campaign had already referendum on approving a newmyths, shatter a few pretensions,”Quebecois backers and any pro­ ister Brian Mulroney said Friday. ‘‘I can tell you right now that ifbegun, engaged in some spirited deal involving massive transfer of he told reporters after an inter­vincial Liberals who might sup­ The real referendum questionthat question is put, the answer separatistto bashing and said he in­ powers from Ottawa to the pro­view on a local radio program. port sovereignty. won’t be about sovereignty-asso-that question is going to be no." tends to be front-and-centre vinces or, failing an agreement, ciation, Mulroney said during a Recent opinion polls indicateduring the debate. on sovereignty-association. “ You’ve got a great cottage in­ He dismissed the opinion polls visit to his home town and Char­more than two-thirds of Quebe­ “You can be certain that I’m But Mulroney said he expectsdustry going here. Might even putand the chances for a yes vote on levoix riding on the north shorecers of support some form ofgoing to be there as prime minis­ to be able to come to an agree­ a few boys out of work. I don’tsovereignty-association. know what they’d do because the St. Lawrence River. sovereignty. ter of Canada, very, very vigilantment with Quebec and other pro­ “ It will be a frosty day in July they’re specialists in division.” ‘‘It’s going to be a straightfor­ Mulroney still seems to be a to make sure that all of ourvinces on a new constitutional ar­ before (Quebecers) reject Canada. ward proposition: do you want favoriteto son in this logging town.democratic processes are re­ rangement. He singled out the Bloc Quebe- — I assure you of that as a son of be a Canadian, yes or no? If youSeveral patrons serenaded himspected and followed." He confidently predicted that acois in his criticisms, saying thethe north shore."

QUEBEC SOVEREIGNTY M any ideas prom oted for provincial border MONTREAL (CP) — As mo­ mentum towards Quebec If Quebec separates: Four ideas sovereignty picks up, a growing number of Quebecers are ped­ dling schemes of varying plausi­ Northern bility which would redraw the M ontreal province’s borders. o Q u eb ec Consider the possibilities: ■ A border post in downtown Montreal; ■ A Quebec let out at the waist to take in francophone parts of Ontario and New Brunswick: ■ Or a corridor cut through the middle of the province linking Ontario and New Brunswick. “What we want is that when M ontreal Quebec separates. . .Canada de­ Cree lands in the clare a minimum territory which At Confederation, Quebec Ottawa transferred more land to A long-standing dispute over north could remain businessman Quebec, expanding Quebec’s it needs to link Ontario and New covered all of Lower Canada. It Labrador was settled by the part of Canada Greg Gogan suggests territory to cover the Ungava Brunswick," says Ashley Sheltus. did not include Abitibi, the North Privy Council in London. Legal according to Cree Grand Chief creating a province in western district. The huge northern The corridor would form a new or what is now Labrador. documents dating back to 1763 Matthew Coon-Come. Quebec that would include the territory included much of what is had given Newfoundland the bilingual province, says Sheltus, today Labrador. western half of the island of 61, president of the English-rights coast of Labrador but the definitidn of coast was unclear. M ontreal. Equality party in the Eastern In 1927, the Privy Council Townships riding of Brome-Mis- decided the coast wasn't just a sisquoi, southeast of Montreal. thin strip of land along the water primarily English-speaking, some E xpan sion Corridor Most people dismiss such parti­ as Canada had contended. tion plans as unworkable. of the12,000 residents may look Instead, it stretched inland to plan to Canada if Quebec separates. "There are no solid grounds for cover the coastal watershed.

partitioning Quebec,” scoffs Ber­ “I think there is a possibility DOUG SEPHTON, Montreal Gazette nard Landry, president of the that part of the Pontiac would be Parti Quebecois’ executive com­ interested in forming another as­ mittee. sociation with Canada," says example, all the West Island an­ Landry, who was a PQ cabinet Shawville Mayor Albert Arm­ glophone Montreal. We’d have to minister before Premier Robert strong. agree to this region joining up Bourassa’s Liberals came to Last November, Quebec archi­ with Ontario." power in 1985, insists inter­ tect A. Richard Cote suggested to In fact, creation of a province Quebec architect Ashley Sheltus, national law “ stipulates that when the Belanger-Campeau commis­ in western Quebec, including the A. Richard Cote told president of the a country secedes, it secedes with sion that a sovereign Quebec western half of the Island of Mon­ the Belanger-Campeau Equality party In the all that it has." should be fattened to include fran­treal, is the pet project of former After Confederation, the commission a sovereign Eastern Townships riding of Yet Sheltus is just one geo­ cophone parts of Ontario and NewMontreal businessman Greg Canadian government took over Quebec should be fattened to Brome-Mlsslsquol says a graphical revisionist who is taking the territory that had been Brunswick. Gogan. Include francophone parts ofcorridor between Ontario and pencil and ruler to the province’sgranted by England to the By the same token, suggested Gogan, who is starting up aOntario and New Brunswick. New Brunswick would form a map. Hudson’s Bay Company and Cote, anglophone areas of Quebecnew federal political party called new bilingual province. In western Quebec near Ottawa, began distributing it to the should be allowed to hook upOption Canada, says the new bil­ the area known as the Outaouais,provinces. In 1898, Ottawa politically with English Canada. ingual province would embrace Sylvie Caron -- (CP) transferred the Abitibi region to 26.000 residents work for the fed­ about 1.7 million people. Quebec. “ This is extremely dangerous,” traditional dividing line between pooh-poohs “the right of (Mon­ eral government and another shot back a disbelieving Jacques Approximately 60 per centFrench east-end Montreal and thetreal suburb) Pointe-Claire to use 15.000 work for private busi­ Brassard, a PQ member of the would be non-francophone. more anglophone west end. the UN charter to become a nesses in Ontario. called the Pontiac, where aboutlegislature on the commission. He says the border could run The PQ’s Landry, however,sovereign state. And in the Outaouaisarea seven of the20 municipalities are “ Quebec would risk losing, for down St Lawrence Blvd., the Native leader disputes Quebec's ownership Bent on their own self-determi­ “ We will never want to kill the without the consent of that pro­over natural resources extracted MONTREAL (CP) — Matthew “ When the English Parliament nation, the Cree have no abidingrelationship we have with Cana­vince," said Landry. “When we from Indian lands. Coon-Come traces an imaginary made the decision to transfer the love for Ottawa. But Quebec’s da," says Konrad Sioui, Quebec are no longer a province, nothing Sioui calls that kind of agree­ line with his finger on a map ofland to Canada, it made it to Ca­ plans for the second phase of theregional chief of the assembly. ment “ a real and functioning third Quebec. nada and not to Quebec," Coon- can modify the borders of a Come said at the Cree grand mammoth James Bay hydroelec­ “We will never want to aban­ sovereign state of Quebec." order of government.” Stretching from the Ontario side council office in Montreal. tric project — bitterly opposed bydon that to sign a blank cheque to of James Bay, the line runs And he disputes Cree title to Failing that, many native the Cree — may make Ottawa the someone who will give us smoke through northern Quebec to the“Therefore, what was called the land: “They do not own theleaders say Quebec should be pre­ lesser evil. remote border with Labrador. Rupert’s Land is federal responsi­ and mirrors." land. They have certain rightspared to leave Canada with the “I think Hydro-Quebec and In the event of a referendum on real estate it had going into Con­ “ If Quebec separates, we could bility," he says, making a steeple over the land. But Quebec owns Quebec are making a major politi­ Quebec sovereignty, Sioui says, federation. build a road through Quebec con­with his fingers. “That’s on the every part of Quebec.” cal blunder trying to achieve thethe province’s 11 First Nations necting Ontario with Newfound­table." “ If we’re going to talk about development of northern Quebecwill hold a referendum of their Between them, Abenaki, Algon­ land," quips Coon-Come, the In the 17th century, what was quin, Attikamek, Cree, Huron- what Quebec came in with, we’re and independence at the same own. going to end up with the SL La­ easy-going grand chief of10,000 called Rupert’s Land, the entire Wendat, Inuit, Micmac, Mohawk, time," said Robert Mainville, a Those arguments don’t sit well wrence River valley," Coon- Cree living in northern Quebec. drainage system of Hudson Bay, Montagnais and Naskapi natives Montreal lawyer with an extensivewith Quebec nationalists. Come says, gesturing to a map on Coon-Come jokes about a high­was granted to the Hudson’s Bay living in Quebec lay claim to background in native law. Bernard Landry, president of the wall. way running through Cree land toCo. by King Charles II of Eng­ about 85 per cent of the province. keep Canada geographically in­ land. Britain transferred the land “ It’s really asking for trouble." the Parti Quebecois’s executive Gazing out his high-rise office tact But the 34-year-old chiefto Canada in 1870 and Quebec’s The Assembly of First Nations committee, says the notion that Both Coon-Come and Sioui saywindow overlooking downtown from Mistassini in north-central share of the sprawling area was of Quebec and Labrador says northern Quebec belongs to thethey could live with a sovereignMontreal, the Cree chief adds Quebec is serious when he says givena to the province in 1889 andQuebec’s 50,000 natives are in no federal government is “ absurd." Quebec but with certain condi­with a smile: “And then they’re huge chunk of Quebec does not1912, under the Boundary Exten­hurry to part company with Ot­“ First of all, nothing can mod­tions — self-determination, settle­ going to have to deal with our belong to the province. sion Acts. tawa. ify the borders of a provincement of land claims and royalties Mohawk brothers." G o v't has no plans to scrap bilingualism guage guarantees, currently under policy, overall it has been benefi­cently approached his party about, ; by JULIAN BELTRAME reiterated the government’s com­ up the controversial idea at the cial to Canada. abolishing the parliamentary com- Southam News mitment to bilingualism. Meech Lake meeting, said in an the Charter of Rights, would re­ interview recently he believed thevert to the provinces, while the“ I’ve always thought that bilin­mittee on official languages. Tory !. OTTAWA — Official bilingu­ “ It is not an open question for this govemmenL” Clark said. government “sent up a trial bal­ federal government would con­gualism was an advantage to any House leader Harvie Andre denied alism will not be dismantled to loon” with the leaked television country, so I would have to reflect accommodate Quebec’s demands “ The commitment to official bil­ tinue to offer services in both of­ Nystrom’s charge. report. long on any proposal (to change ingualism is clear, constant and ficial languages. Provinces would “I still have some concern,” 'for control over language and cul­ it). But I haven’t received any.” ture, said Prime Minister Brian continues.” “ I think it’s the toughest nut tono longer be required to offer Nystrom said. “ I think if you kill crack,” he added of the language But opposition MPs were not "Mulroney. The proposal was discussed at minority language education, al­ official bilingualism, you will tear proposal contained in his paper satisfied with the assurances, say­ . “That (proposal) has neverlength during a meeting of the though they may want to. this country apart.” The Community of the Canadas. ing the prime minister should set 'come before us,” Mulroney saidprime minister’s top constitutional He predicted the proposal bottom-line conditions for future But the sovereignist Bloc . in his Baie Comeau riding whenadvisers and 20 academics at “ But the question people havewould meet great opposition be­ Meech Lake on March 5. constitutional negotiations. Quebecois welcomed the proposal , asked about a television report to ask themselves is if there will cause it runs contrary to the to scrap bilingualism. that the20 -year-old policy may be Also proposed was a schemebe more or less French under this“Pierre Trudeau vision of the “The prime minister should system. I don’t think much will start from certain premises and scrapped as pari of reshaping thefor a massive transfer of federal country,” but added that Quebec change. Quebec will never be able one should be that the issue of the“ Some people have lived in a' ’ Constitution. powers to the provinces and for is unlikely to remain part of Ca­ convening a two-stage constituentto be rid of English because it’s bilingual nature of Canada is not dream world for years, maybe it’s, “It’s never come forward nada unless it receives control assembly representing Ottawa, the too important for international for sale,” said deputy Liberal time that they wake up,” said BQ • directly or indirectly before the over language and culture. \ government of Canada.” provinces and territories to ham­commerce and North America, leader Sheila Copps. House leader Jean Lapierre.. whereas some of the other pro­ In the Commons, External Af­mer out a new constitutional deal. Visiting his riding in Quebec, NDP constitutional critic Lome “ There’s an English Canada and fairs Minister Joe Clark and Queen’s University Prof. vinces could get rid of French.” Mulroney said that despite someNystrom also was skeptical and a French Quebec, this is the real­ Youth Minister Marcel Danis alsoThomas Courchene. who broughtCourchene explained that lan­problems with the bilingualismjauk^a^overnn^ ity.”______