“It's a defeat for the elites of this country — the elites of big business, the elites of big labor, the elites of big bucks behind advertising, the big celebrities who were paraded in front of us."’ | THE WINNIPEG broadcast executive, who counts Van- a couver’s U-TV among his assets, echoed a theme that only caught steam in the dying days of the referendum cam- a paign. It was first voiced by Joe Schlesinger on CBC, who com- mented that the massive expen- a diture of tax dollars by the gov- § ernments, the impassioned en- B dorsement by bankers and well- S heeled leaders from all sectors, ma had become the Yes campaign's @ principal problem. it was not a struggle between Yes and No — the debate was be- tween the ‘‘ins’’ and the ‘‘outs.”* f Those who were profiting im- mensely, and perhaps even in- decently, from Canada the way it Nis, were seen to be on the Yes side. The majority felt that there was a party going on, but that ‘they were on the wrong side of the i fence. ” We have participated in what = will be viewed by political scien- m tists around the world as a monumental event. It may have been the greatest repudiation of political leadership in democratic history. . _Is this hyperbole on my part? Critics can likely cite plebiscite defeats and election reverses in other nations, but surely not as remarkable as this one. ’ The prime minister, the two major opposition party leaders, 10 preiniers, two territorial leaders, and three leaders of aboriginal peoples came to a unanimous agreement. «With an open cheque book and a mind-numbing blitz of pro- _ paganda, they pushed their point of view. . They were defeated on simple ‘ majority. They were defeated in six of 10 provinces. Even Fortress Ontario was a 50-50 squeaker. We were accused by the leaders of *‘misunderstanding’’ the agreement. Yet they had sa _ misread and misunderstood the public mood, their negligence and ignorance was a colossal breach of faith. Canada’s standard of living has appreciably dropped during the past decade. Families have less expendable income. Unemploy- ment is high, government taxes are at a saturation point, and most of Canada is still enduring ; an ugly recession. In the face of this, every time Gary Bannerman OPEN LINES we turned on the television, there was another group of handsomely well paid individuals charging back and forth across the country attempting to save Canada. Keith Spicer’s extravagance made the news, but it was just one of an endless string of commis- sions and task forces. Politicians, in first-class splen- dor — were on a non-stop car- nival back and forth across Canada. Ministers were housed in opulent hotel suites, Native Indians were handed $9 million to help them press their argument. On the night of the referendum, B.C. native leaders caucused at the Four Seasons Hotel. I don’t know who paid, but [ can guess. The standard of living of politi- cians has not dropped. Their perks have been increased. Wages, expense allowances, travel sub- sidies, staff allotments, their pen- sion plan, joyrides around the world and a catalogue full of other goodies have relentlessly ex- panded. Since 1990, the special expen- ditures of the federal government on constitutional matters have totalled $310 million. This includes the public rela- tions orgasm of the past few weeks. It does not include the in- vestment by the provinces, nor the cost of staff and resources ex- tracted from all other federal gov- - SARPET CLEANING “Introductory Offer’ Have your living and dining room professionally steam-cleaned with our TRUCK MOUNT SYSTEM Since SUCSESS [4 SRARPET GLEAMING 1976 *49%2 Call for details 986-6588 * Some restrictions may apply — lazy Asper ernment departmental budgets. This is how the gross estimate of $500 million is arrived at. How useful it would be if a SWAT team of chartered accoun- tants could analyse this entire in- vestment, They would not just look at the names associated with task forces, commissions and studies, but also the selection of accountants, law- yers, polling firms, advertising agencies, creative houses, printing companies, hotels, catering firms and office equipment suppliers. Without doubt they would come across hundreds of clear patronage appointments, but the true stench would come if they went further. What — if any — budget con- trols exist? We know that Keith Spicer thumbed his nose at any restraints. Did everyone else? Spicer is still on the federal dole as chairman of the CRTC. How were the beneficiaries chosen? Had they been pre- cleared of some sort of patronage list? Contsacts running into the millions of doliars were handed around like prizes in a lottery. There was no tendering. I chuckled one night when I heard that Jerry Lampert had been retained to run the Yes cam- paign in B.C. Lampert has a dazzling track record: his most recent proteges have been Brian Mulroney and Bill Vander Zatm. As Lampert’s clients steadily sink into oblivion, he has always managed to find another hand- Sunday, Nov. 1, 1992 - North Shore News - 9 Canada’s Bastille Day revolt somely well-paying government assignment. The Yes campaign is just his latest triumph. i'm sure there will be others. In the wake of the referendum, it kas been an amusing week. Pol- iticians have tripped over each other to say that they interpreted the results to mean that the public wants them to concentrate on the economy, not the Constitution. “*] will abide by the wishes of voters,’’ said Premier Mike Har- court. (Damn decent of him, don’t you think?) Harcourt and all the others that were so thoroughly condemned by the referendum vote will now get busy trying to find a new common ground with the voter. The biggest issue in Canada to- day, through the eyes of most pol- iticians, is damage control; saving their own bacon, not yours. There has been another recur- ring theme from this crowd. They take great pains to explain that a referendum vote cannot be con- strued as a reflection of the elected leaders. This may be so. But the best way to prove that point would be to call an election. Many of them. There is no government in Canada today that is not a lame duck, after Monday’s vote. In very gentle Canadian terms — a democratic revolt — Oct. 26 will come to be seen as our Bastille Day. OUR A Place To Go When | You're Pregnant And | Need Support: | BIRTHRIGHT | Call 987-7313 » Free Pregnancy Test » 229 Lonsdale in Vancouver Call 5 Norin Vancouver 687-7223 4 Invest $10,913 today and receive $23,75C in 10 years. 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