4 ~ Wednesday, June 24, 1992 - North Shore News Triple-E Senate would curb east’s hegemony J. PATRICK O’Caliaghan used to be a newspaper publisher in both Edmonton and Calgary. He's retired now, but recently he «vrote an article that showed up across Canada explaining Alberta’s demands for Senate reform, all of which I totally agree with. He insists that unless Alberta gets at the very least some kind of Bob protection — along with the seven other provinces and territories — from Ottawa's rapaciousness, it wilt not sign any constitutional package, There are only three provinces that contribute more to the federal coffers than they receive in federal payments, O’Callaghan notes, and those are British Columbia, * Alberta and Ontario. Over the last 25 years, it was Alberta that carried the main - burden, handing over more than $100 billion net, while B.C. kicked in $3.7 billion, and Ontario $14.7 billion. Quebec, by the way, pocketed $91.4 billion, ‘‘and,’’ writes O'Callaghan, ‘‘like Oliver Twist, asked for more.” ~ In the see-saw struggle fF... power between the prov’...es and Ottawa, the issue of ar. elected Senate has emerged as a road- block precisely because it offers a means to fundamentally change the way the country is run. The true purpose of a Triple-E Senate is really nothing less than a revolution. The stranglehold of the On- tario-Quebec axis in the Senate has to be broken as a way of softening the centralizing control economy instincts of the mandarin oligarchy in Ottawa. An elected, regionally repre- sentative: Senate could be used to curb the increasingly more con- centrated imperial might of the prime minister’s office, which routinely does end-runs around Parliament. Our prime ministers are becom- ing more like American presidents as they assemble a Praetorian Guard of spin-doctors, pollsters “Ice Cream Parlor” ice cream maker. Electric.or hand crank 7] option with no salt or ice needed. Manufacturer's original retail price, 28.98. 24-piece “picnic ball” set with 4 complete place settings, 2 bowls and salt & pepper shaker. Manufacturer's original retail price, 12.98. ] Field Gear Food Carry. Compact, fridge-shaped cooler complete ) with shelves, ice tray & reusable ice pack. Manufacturer's 69 original retail price, 149.98. Gastowrs GRA) PRIX SPECIAL Sunday we'll be open from 12:00 noon to 5 p.m., so come down, check out the additional - percentage off clearances in our Downtown Store, watch the Gastown Grand Prix bike race & enjoy a hotdog & pop for only 2.00. Be sure to visit our “40 & growing” Outlet Centres. They’re your chance to save big on fashions & housewares through- out the store. Quantities are limited. Personal shopping only, no phone orders please. Y hour complimentary parking with validated ticket. Store Hours: Monday - Thursday & Saturday, 10:00 a.ni. - 6:00 p.m., Friday 10:00 a.m. - 8.00 p.m. Sundays & Holidays 12:00 noon ~ 5:00 p.m. 101 West Hastings St. STRICTLY PERSONAL and operatives to protect themselves not just from assassins but from outraged voters and every person they ever made a promise to. Precisely because we do not have an elected Senate, there is no check on the president/PM's vast- ly magnified powers. This is due, in part, to the tendency of television to over- simplify issues and focus on fa- miliar faces, but an ongoing part of the dilemma — the so-called “‘scructural’’ part — is the fact that the rules by which Canada is run were designed to put the finishing touches on an empire over a century ago. In the modern world of mass communications and near-instan- taneous transportation — and especially in the post-Cold War period — there does not need to be an imperial Rome to defend the borders and collect taxes. The House of Commons has become almost irrelevant. Ask any federal politician pri- vately how useful he feels in Or- tawa (try Ian Waddell, for in- stance), and he’ll admit to a sense of overwhelming futility. Futility at the centre. Long- simmering fury at the periphery. The fury, in Alberta particular- _ ly, grows out of lingering bit- terness over the theft of billions of dollars of oi! money by Ottawa under the Trudeau government’s National Energy Policy, which forced the province to sell oil to Eastern Canada at 43% of the go- ing world price. O'Callaghan writes: ‘‘When the Clark government fell, Trudeau imposed an energy ‘agreement’ on Alberta that was both humiliating and insulting, totally destroying the autonomy of a constitutionally elected provincial government.’’ Thus, the constitutional chickens are coming home to roost. If any province has a right to feel embittered toward Ottawa, it is Alberta. And not just toward Ottawa, of course, but toward Montreal and Toronto every bit as much. Whenever it comes to the special interests of Ontario and Quebec, Members of Parliament from those two provinces close ranks, generally regardless of par- ty. affiliation, to make sure Ot- tawa does the Right Thing. The Right Thing invariably pro- tects or creates jobs in the two huge founding solitudes. , It’s interesting to note that arti- cles floating the idea of Ontario or Toronto heading out on their own have beén appearing in various usually totally bland Toronto-area publications. it’s the beginning of the sort of feelings you could find in the North Shore back in the early "80s, when polls showed that 15% of the population was willing to take B.C. out of Confederation “if Quebec goes.’’, Ontarians are actually starting to wake up and sniff the possibilities of life after Canada. The danger for Canada is that so many rather fundamental power struggles — between Quebec and The Rest, between the provinces and Ottawa, between natives and the Indian Act — are coming to a head at once. The issues are basic enough that in other parts of the world any one of them might be enough to trigger insurrections, rebellions, even civil wars. I found one outstanding irony in O’Callaghan’s think-piece. He complains at one point about aboriginals being offered self-government “‘without defin- ing it.’” And yet later he says: ‘It is sad that we have come to this. We have spent.the years since 1867 trying to define who we are.”? I see. It’s OK for ‘‘us’’ to take 125 years to define ourselves, but the natives have to do it im- mediately — even before getting the right to give it a try in the first place. | LOOKS LIKE A GREAT SUMMER COMING UP FOR YOUR KIDS! _ “BUT WILL IT IN THEIR CLASSROOMS? * There will be 94 fewer teachers in North Vancouver School District. This means larger class sizes for your children. = BE A GREAT FALL * The equivalent of 7 positions will be gone from special education. This means children with special needs will get less help. * 2 out of the 4 staff for diagnostic centres will be gone. This means there will be only 2 teachers to provide intensive help for all children with behavioural disorders. * 3 ESL positions will be cut. This means students with English as a second language will get less help. INSIST THAT BUDGET CUTS DO NOT THREATEN DIRECT SERVICES TO YOUR CHILDREN. ke CALL THE SCHOOL BOARD OFFICE ABOUT ITS PRIORITIES PHONE 987-8141 * ASK YOUR MLA TO TAKE ACTION FOR ADEQUATE FUNDING DAVID SCHRECK NORTH VAN-LONSDALE 986-2254 DAN JARViS NORTH VAN-SEYMOUR 984-2692 JEREMY DALTON WEST VAN-CAPILANO 925-1611 Sponsored by the North Vancouver Teachers’ Association