4 — Wednesday, January 2, 1991 - North Shore News Bob’s recipe for Canada THE PHONE rang. It was an invitation to have dinner with Keith Spicer, head oi the.citizen’s task force on na- tional unity, or whatever it’s called. No, it wasn’t a joke. This was the way the task force was going to operate. Talking to ordinary Canadians like me in the privacy of people’s homes, rather than huge rented halls, where everyone is inclined to put on an act. Okay. Here’s my recipe for Canada, | joked: Cut it up into Pieces and sell them to Poland. Everybody gets their share of the proceeds and we all take a lifelong holiday in Florida or Hawaii, right? On second thought, isn’t this what Brian Mulroney is close to achieving? Except that he’s selling the pieces to his current buddy in the Whitc House. I have to admit there are mo- ments when I seriously suspect that Mulroney’s hidden agenda all along has been the dismember- ment of Canada and its sale to the U.S. Either that or the man’s level of incompetence is beyond measurement. In any event, I decided to ac- cept the invitation and go give Mr. Spicer my considered opi- nions on what to do with Canada, net that there’s a chance of them being ected on. I should mention first off that I have been selling stories tc maga- zines for over a decade predicting the inevitable breaking-up of Canada. Inevitable for a number of reasons, not least among them be- ing the drift of the world into a new era wherein al! the major systems are so integrated and in- terchangeable that we al! need a recognizable identity more than ever. Thus, the growth of regionalism and narrow national- ism. It is no coincidence that the U.S.S.R. and Canada, the world’s two biggest countries, should be disintegrating at the same time. We are simply too large and diverse for the centre, be it Moscow or Oitawa, to hold. In any event, Canada is a flaw- ed and imperfect democracy. Cen- tral Canada has too long domi- nated the Maritimes and the West, and the native people have been oppressed since the arrival of the first European invaders. The rejection of *‘English Canada”’ by Quebecers is based on centuries of legitimate griev- ances, even if the grievances hav. been turned around in our time, courtesy of Pierre Trudeau and Mulroney. The feceration needs a shake- up. Needs it badly. The only common denominator in the land any longer is a pervasive sense of alienation. Ottawa feels alienated from ev- erywhere else. Newfoundland feels alienated . from the other Maritimes pro- vinces. The Northwest Territories are definitely alienated from the south. The West's alienation knows no bounds. And get this, even Toronto feels so alienated from the rest of the country these days that I have heard serious talk about Toronto separating and forming its own nation-state, like Singapore. There is only one workable solution that I can see. We should adopt an entirely ew federal model, based on the Swiss republican system, which is a confederation of 23 states, call- ed cantons, three of which are subdivided into half-cantons, purely for administrative pur- poses. Each canton sends two repre- sentatives to the Council of States, which has 46 members. The se- cond house of the Federal Assembly is called the National Bob Munter STRICTLY PERSONAL. Council, consisting of 200 members. The cantons, in effect, enjoy sovereignty-association, surrender- ing only a few specific functions to the confederation, such as defenze. Ali major decisions involving constitutional amendments and federal legislation are made on the basis of referenda, which can be initiated by a petition of 50,000 voters. All this makes for political stability that is quite legendary. But what is really brilliant about the arrangement is the way the Swiss go about selecting their president. He or she is voted into office by the members of the federal council for a one-year term, and may not be re-elected. The result is that on a given day, the average Swiss could probably not be able to zemember the name of the current president of Switzerland. Dwell on the beauty of such a system. By contrast, think of the incredible waste of time, resources and energy that takes place in Canada because of the whims, fantasies and biases of our various prime ministers, each of whom turns ittto a raging megalomaniac, addicted to power, before he is finally dumped. Canada is basically an oligar- chy, ruled by a relative handful of men and a few women who issue orders-in-council from behind the closed doors of Cabinet. They are not truly accountable to parliament, and all must bend to the will of an all-powerful par- ty leader who reigns as king dur- ing his tenure. The damage that has been done to this country over the years by various power-addled prime ministers, bent on one thing only, namely a continuation of their domination, is probably beyond calculation. In any event, thanks to the hubris of the present occu- pant, the country is on the edge of self-destruction. A move to a Swiss-style system would give each of the provinces the very thing that Quebec has been demanding. Instead of cantons, we would have provinces, but they would be closer to actual states. This would give every Canadian the true equality none of us enjoys at the moment. And while we were at it, we could give the Northwest Ter- ritories the same privileges. The Yukon, as well. And finally, we could welcome the 600-odd Indian reserves into the fold as a single province in their own right, linked by modern electronic communications, with each of the reserves acquiring the equivalent status of municipalities within the Indian province-state, together sending their own repre- sentatives to the national council. Over to you Mr. Spicer. KIDS’ STUFF THURSDAY Jan. 3--Festive children’s program. 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tobogganing at Seymour Mnt., skating at Robson Square, Kpwiing, videos, swimming & more. Hosted by Lonsdale recCentre. Reg. & Info: 987-play. eee Jan. 3--Ongoing every Thursdays. ST. David's United Church Youth Choir for boys and girls 6-15 yrs. New members welcome. Info: 922-2968 or 922-3961. Jan. 3--Ongoing. N. Van Youth Band THE NORBURN SENATE practice for 9-13 yr. old N. Shore music students. Tues./Thurs. at Highlands School. Info: Diane at 984-9969. eee Jan. 3--Ongoing. Seymour Area Youth Services Society (SAYSS). Community youth programs and events. Info: Nurishah ut 986-9055 or Susan at 929-5519, FRIDAY Jan. 4--Festive children's program. 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tobogganing at More Kids’ Stuff page 9 6-7:30 p.m. on- CANADIAN CLOSET My Free home estimates 986-4263 1385 Crown St., PARTICIPACTION Nan, HAS APPOINTED LIBERAL SAVINGS TO DEFEAT G.S.T. IMPACT ON OUR LIGHTING PRICES. EXAMPLES: 1990 PRICE NOW $3 49” Paine Brass Fixtures Polished Brass Fixtures With Bevelled Glass $ Bevelled Glass 1990 PRICE *99° STOREWIDE SALES NOW AT...