Native Leader Disputes Quebec's Ownership
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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.