4 - Wednesday, September 18, 1991 - North Shore News Interdependence its the way of the future FURTHER TO the discus- sion, started in the last col- umn, about Canada after Quebec... What happens in Canada is in- evitably part of an endless trend- line that weaves itself around the world and through time. We are history-of-the-moment, with the twist that in our era, more history happens faster tan ever before. (More people and countries than ever before, plus jets, television, faxes and satcl- lites.) The one thing we can expect be- tween now and the end of the century is more change than any of us has ever seen before, regardless of how old we are. His- tory is accelerating awesomely. Technology was probably the motor that always drove history, although in earlier years its impact might have been only roughly equal to that of mysticism, nature and xenophobia, taken together or separately. Today, there actually is a global reverberation to nearly everything that happens. Ideas develop in one country and spread at incredible speed through others until they become part of the background buzz of the whole planet. (Greenpeace is, in fact, an exam- ple of this.) The term ‘‘interdependence’’ is used all the time to suggest the degree to which the economies of every country in the world are tied into a global marketplace. A coup d'etat or putsch in one country registers immediately on the Dow Jones. In its peculiar way, in- terdependence has created a heightened role for every player in the amazing game of modern his- tory. For a moment or days or weeks, the eyes of at least a third of the world’s inhabitants can be ob Hunter | STRICTLY PERSONAL on a given scene. We're talking an audience of over a billion. The Gulf one week, Moscow another. This is (or ought to be) the big factor in any consideration of what will happen to Canada after Quebec finishes retribalizing itself. There is no such thing as ‘‘in- dependence’’ any mere. Quebec will not ‘“‘become independent,”’ any more than it ever was within Canada, or that Canada ever was. Already, a red-faced Robert Bourassa is having to back down on his pet James Bay hydro pro- ject because the mayor and gov- ernor of New York State are frowning in his direction. But it is precisely because true independence is impossible any more that Quebec can afford to **go it alone,”’ just as Latvia, Estonia, et alcan afford to, tiny and poverty-wracked as they are. Quebec will not, of course, **be alone.’’ Nobody she ever dealt with before will have gone away, including The Rest of Canada, Wall Street, Zurich, and the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Interdependence means that Fall is For Planting! ALL TREES & SHRUBS TERRA COTTA STAINED CEDAR PLASTIC 0 CONCRETE GARDEN ORNAMENTS 50 % OFF KING ALFRED DAFFODILS 25 LARGE BULBS FOR Maple A t}ecat Hurr everyone in the world, in a sense, has everyone else to lean on. When the message of ecology fi- nally clicks will be the day when everyone realizes that our political and economic systems are ecological sub-systems dependent on the biospheric whole. My prediction is that within my own lifetime (say 25 to 30 years), Canada will have evolved into at least a dozen countrics. I mean countries in the sense of having all the trappings of a fed- eral state such as Canada enjoys right now. The Yukon will be a country. Newfoundland will be a country. The N.W.T., for sure. Proud Alberta. Serious Saskatchewan. Manitoba, the Mother of Western rebellion. Even P.E.1., Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. On- tario will likely be two countries: Ontario and the city-state of Toronto. Where Labrador and the poten- tially 600-strong Indian nations fit is something involving too many fine-tuned factors to plunk into my general theory of where Canada is going. But British Columbia, I believe I can say with reasonable certain- ty, with about the same popula- tion of Costa Rica, Denmark, Isracl or Singapore, will be a high-tech post-European Pacific Rim nation, doing just fine, given the conditions. Modern science teaches us that change does not occur in a gradu- al Darwinian fashion. Pressure built up from within and without. Everything may be trembling from tension (as it is in Canada now), but it isn’t until the ground begins to move in one spot that it starts to move all over. When the transformation comes, it is a ‘‘self-structuring hi- erarchical leap,’’ meaning, as in the recent cases of the East Bloc POTS 30% « y — Sale ends Sept. 29/91 and the Soviet Union, that a whirlwind occurs. Perhaps it is more like crystals changing shape almost instantly. Canada is a country where the centralized services — from post to rail to air travel to the civil service, and most certainly Parliament — are failing us miserably, and sooner or later there must be a resolution of the conflict. Ottawa cannot let go, so everything else must pull away. When it comes, it will come fast. And it will all begin to un- ravel the day after Quebec leaves. If Quebec somehow doesn’t go, this prediction, and any bets J may have made on the side, are off. Otherwise, it stands. Clip this column and bug me about it 10 years from now. By then, I will either have proved to be a prophet — or a dipstick. But this is the way I think it’s going. Delbrook/Griffin Preschool accepting fall applications THE NEW Delbrook/Griffin preschool has just opened its doors to the public. Early Childhood Education Instructors offer a fun and highly stimulating environment in a facility that features a fully-enclosed outdoor playground area, gymnasium and pottery studio. The preschool, which has recently undergone major room renovations, also plans playground equipment addi- tions to appear by early November. were provided fo: ed women andthel children-last year: 2° W if Ip this F ‘ Reg. Price Reg. Price Reg. Price 488 The Delbrook/Griffin Preschool operates Monday through Friday with sessions for three- and four-year-olds. At present, several openings exist in the Tuesday/Thursday afternoon session for three- year-olds — but space is limited and will be filled quick- y. Contact recCentre Delbrook at 600 West Queens Rd., North Vancouver, or call 984-4181 for more information. Children registering for a three-year-old class must be three as of December 31, 1991. Open 9:50-6:00 p.m. 7 days a week Lynn Vatiey Road RY RS S PS West Vancouver North Vancouver 2558 Haywood 922-2613 -GARDEN CENTR 1343 Lynn Valley 985-1784 a