4 ~ Friday, April 24, 1987 - North Shore News a IT IS quiie amazing to see the way in which separatism and the Senate have become tangled as issues. In fact, I am beginning to see the Senate as Canada’s ultimate salvation if it wants to remain one nation. There are really only two good, rational reasons, for kceping Canada intact, in my humble view. The first is a simple securi- ty issue. Not military security, silly. On its own, Richard Rohmer fantasies aside, Canada couldn’t defend itself for a week. I refer to last-ditch economic security. During the Great Depression, the provincial gov- ernments went broke. It was the feds who held things together, to the feeble extent that they did at pall. : But in fact things could have been worse. There are plenty of countries where they still are, need I point out? / Size offers that kind of security . to a certain extent. The other reason? Under the haphazard Canadian federal system, power is rather nicely divided between Ottawa and the provincial capitals. A division of power above means more freedom for those of us below, as I see it. So, it’s good news for the in- dividual. It really does matter whether something is a federal or provincial responsibility. In fact, in Canada, that’s damn near all / that matters! From an administrative point i of view, of course, it’s a nightmare. Yet, playing Rome to the Ca- nadian empire, Ottawa would Bob Hunter @ strictly personal @ have turned this country into one big post office a long time ago if it hadn’t been for the intran- sigence of provincial premiers and cabinets. The reason that constitution of ours is so important is that the sules of the Canadian political game were sent out on one document, the British North America Act. It has been tinkered with outrageously in the process of becoming the Charter of Rights, as Doug Collins will verify. But it legitimizes a political en- tity that would otherwise long since have been absorbed by the Americans, for better or worse. The real reason Bill Vander Zalm, for one, opposed the en- trenchment of the native Indian right to self-government, is that he and his cohorts saw a threat to their own hegemony potentially as irritating as they already are themselves to Ottawa. There should be no doubt about it: The native position was a manoeuver in the direction of Balkanization. In a sense, they were asking for a degree of sovereignty-association. Certainly not as much as the provinces (especially Quebec) already enjoy in the federal context. When I was young, I thought the Canadian political scene was duil because it was so slow. It ain’t either now. By the next fed- eral election we will apparently experience another swing of the pendulum, with unforeseeable effects. : What I see coming is a point where an elected senate could become the one solution to a crumbling Canadian state. Don’t forget that the Parti Quebecoise hasn’t gone away. It CHILD EXPERT Dr. Benjamin Spock will be among participants in North America’s largest peace walk in Vancouver. The walk, sponsored by End the Arms Race, ‘takes place Saturday, is still the Opposition in Quebec, and after Mulroney falls there won't be any Conservative side to take over from the Liberals when their turn comes to stumble off- stage. As for the West, the talk of separatism only went away for a very short time, didn’t it? About a year, I’d say — before the Tories began to let it all hang out that they had opted to become a party of the Ontario-Quebec axis, after all. The backroom boys got out their texts on realpolitik and took all the new backbenchers and ex- plained to them: the facts of Ca- nadian political life, namely that Toronto and Montreal each have more people than all of British Columbia. Under our federal voting system, the deck is stacked, n’est ce pas? Come on, don’t be fools! It isn’t just cynicism that drags any national party into servicing the central bloc of voters, it’s survival training. Look at the pirouettes the NDP is doing, merely sniffing the aphrodisiac of power. The game is rigged, absolutely no doubt about it. For years I have thought it quite intellectually dishonest not to weigh the actual benefits of remaining within the Canadian federal system against the perils and possibilities of going out on our own. That Canada has lasted this long is a vagary of history more ‘than any law of nature. There is nothing inevitable about it holding together forever. Public opinion changes. And _ rather quickly these days. Further elucidation forthcom- April 25. The group is a coalition of church, labor and community groups. Organizers say anyone interested in taking part in the walk, now an annual event, should go to Kit- silano Beach at noon sharp. PROBLEM: THEFT FROM CARS SOLUTION: AUTO MARK SATURDAY, APRIL 25th 10:00 A.M. - 2:00 P.M. LOCATION: NORTHWEST PARKING LOT LYNN VALLEY CENTRE . North Vancouver 2 ° will be marking the i radio/stereo and f other easily removable contents with your s driver’s licence number. Lynn VaLley Centre 1199 LYNN VALLEY ROAD AND MOUNTAIN HIGHWAY TRANSPORTATION NEEDS Study supported NORTH VANCOUVER City Council followed the lead of Richmond Council Tuesday and supported a call for a study of future Lower Mainland transpor- tation needs. “ft chink the study is timely,’ Ald. Dana Taylor said of the pro- Britain posal. ‘‘And we should be willing to participate in it if we stand to benefit from it. “We all know the Chamber of Commerce and other groups are always addressing the issue,’’ said Taylor. ‘‘There’s a third (bridge) crossing from way back.”’ {8 DAYS Ireland Tour AUGUST 20-SEPT. 6 BCAA brings you the best of Britain & Ireland-all the famous sights at a leisurely pace with the {uxury of worry-free coach travel. Your itinerary includes: * Round trip airfare ¢ London~2 nights e Yorkshire—the Bronte country e Edinburgh—3 nights, with excursion to Perth e Bath, and the Cotswolds « Llangollen, North Wales— 2 nights ¢ Ireland—Cork and Killarney © Ring of Kerry excursion ~ e Dublin—2 nights # Many additional features Contact your BCAA Travel Agent for details. ___BCAATravel West Vancouver 908 South Mall Park Royal Shopping Centre 922-3361 & °138/mo.* “ \ NEW 1987 PONY LX | NO DOWN PAYMENT? . NEW 1987 EXCEL LX [N Rt | O PAYMENTS ‘TIL OCTOBE NEW 1987 STELLAR CL * On approved credit. Some conditions apply. ** Prices & payments reflect rebates. Freight, prep, options & taxes extra. Jatlow 7 1695 Marine Drive aa North Vancouver HYLWNoOFI