sn THE NUMBERS are eloquent and stark and unarguable. Thirty-four per cent of Quebecers would separate from Canada tomorrow if they had a chance. That’s up by nearly double from the percentage favoring separatism when Rene Levesque was elected in 1977. Amazing. But what is more amazing is that 36 per cent of Brit- ish Columbians would happily wave adieu! . Without twisting the truth too much, one could suggest there are more Quebec separatists in B.C. than in Quebec. Two per cent more. no wc te a rrr The fact is, Quebec has been doing her The Van Doos? A few terrorists are one thing. Hundreds of thousands of mar- chers, strikers, protesters and elected officials are another. It could have led to some sort of ear- ly-Canadian version of Tiananmen Square. The Quebec nationalists owed one to the English left for support- ing peaceful separation. The alter- _ native, after all, was civil war. But later, when the English- carers own thing all along. She has becomeade_ | facto separate state already. Few people who have visited Quebec in the last couple of years will argue with that.”’ Well, well, weil. Just as I suspected. The separatist tide is coming in again, rising higher than ever. . The comparison with a dying marriage is unavoidable. Al- though, if one is to seek a deeper metaphor, we are looking back, historically, at a rape on the Plains of Abraham, and centuries of po- litical bondage. It is only natural that the victim should want her freedom. There never was any true love. We are talking a history of naked power struggles between relentless leftists in English Canada and Quebec na- tionalists. In the early days of the contem- ° porary separatist movement, the Canadian ieft was vociferous and unanimous: if Quebec wanted to separate, let Quebec do so, as long as it was done bioodlessly and democratically. That support was critical at a time when there were minds high up in government weighing the op- tions. If it cdme dowr to the crunch, could a Canadian prime minister send in the army against masses of Peaquistes in the streets? And which part of the army? "Robert Rei speaking left sounded the trumpet 77 cry against free trade, Quebecers, Pequistes most noticeably, did not rally. They put their hands in their pockets, and looked the other way. Free trade seemed pretty good to Quebec Liberals and the Parti Quebecois alike. it is because French-Canadian entrepreneurs are looking to the vast marketplaces of the European %conomic Community and the United States, rather than fretting about scrambling for a bigger slice of the paltry English Canada mar- ket. Whatever else may be said about it, free trade certainly fits in with any long-term economic strategy for an independent Quebec. But what is new here? The fact is, Quebec has been do- ing her own thing all along. She has become a de facto separate state already. Few people who have visited Quebec in the last couple of years will argue with that. The banning of English signs on the outdoor face of Quebec liter- ally forces one of the two official Canadian languages underground. It is provocative in the extreme. David Walsoft: are pleased to announce the opening of their new of- fice and would like the opportunity to meet with you. To do so they are offering a special office opening fee . of $49.95 for a single Will and $80.00 for a couple.* This offer is good until September 30, 1989. Reid & Walsoff ask that you cail their office to arrange an appointment io meet with them to discuss your Will. Should you not be able to attend their office during regular business hours, they would be pleased to meet with you at a mutually convenient time. * The tin of Reid & Walsotf reserves the right to change this fee. if, after consultation with you. they conclude that your circumstances require complicated estate planning. REID & WALSOFF BARRISTERS & SOLICITORS #233-1433 Lonsdale Avenue North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 2H9 984-HELP (984-4357) To me, there has always been a parallel between Canada and In- dia. Both countries were sub-em- pires shrugged off by the faltering British. Both had been ‘‘unified’’ by force, changing a jigsaw puzzle of tribes and federations into a single, modern nation-state with its cen- tralized bureaucratic control ap- paratus. The British Empire broke apart because it had been imposed militarily to suit the political needs of a distant, central Crown. Once the centre weakened, the natural centrifugal forces of local history, customs, languages and bloodlines asserted themselves. The Dominion of Canada, in- heritor of the decaying Empire’s biggest loose tooth of territory, is probably weaker now than at any time in living memory. The Supreme Court has stolen Parliament’s moral thunder. The media intrude and interfere at every turn. The provinces routinely widdle on Ottawa’s Guecis. The national debt is staggering. In the midst of this chacs, Quebec has been grabbing such choice “‘loot”’ as the space pro- gram while stomping with impuni- ty on the linguistic faces of its English minority. Worst of all, thanks to bloc _ voting ty Quebecers favoring one of their own, it looks like you have to be a Quebecer to get elected prime minister of Canada any longer. If we said adieu to Quebec, Brian Mulroney would disappear too, I’m sure you realize. I think that’s what a lot of this is about. Things are out of political balance. The Canadian federal en- tity isn’t fair any longer. 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