I Don't Want To Hear About The Constitution

And neither do I, when coming from the state apparatus of constitutional lawyers, provincial ministers, political parties, and self-serving bureaucrats. I think constitutional reform is another good example of something that would benefit from a citizen's assembly fresh look. I tend to look at the Constitution as a "reference" similar to other good books like the Bible, etc... And the Bible is something that you don't need to revise. Its interpretation and adaptation to our times is a function that would be best accomplished by the People for the People.

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"We are all in this together somehow, some more than others somehow"

First, Quebec wasn`t left out- They walked out! Levesque never had any intention of signing a constitution! He was only in it to try to wrestle more power away from the federal government, and he was willing to align himself with other premiers to accomplish this. But levesque was humuliated when Trudeau outsmarted him. See, This coalition of premiers, called 'The gang of 8' vowed not to have any referendums on anything because obviously the Canadian general public had a more pan-Canadian vision of equal provinces as opposed to provincial autonomy, which would inevitably mean that certain standards would be greater in some provinces than others. And of course, this was the real threat to Canadian unity! But Trudeau and Levesque got into a minor squabble, and Levesque was getting rather emotional as usual on certain issues. Trudeau said that Quebeckers and Canadians wouldn`t agree with Levesque`s proposals. And Levesque insisted that they would. Trudeau then said to Levesque, " Ok, let`s have a referendum." And Levesque chomped on it, hook, line, and sinker! After that, the remainder of the power grabbing 'Gang of 8' now felt that they could not trust Levesque, since Levesque broke ranks with them. Needless to say, the provinces did gain some more powers, but not to the point that Levesque and the others were looking for. So like a spoiled child, Levesque walked out on the final agreement, stating that this could have 'serious consequences.' Secondly, 'western alienation' is another tool of divide and conquer. It is a false cry of convenience when certain premiers such as Ralph Klein or then premier Peter Lougheed don`t get it all their way. And 'western alienation' had some good friends in Texas, if you know what I mean!Most Canadians from coast to coast to coast that I talk to, be they Albertans, Quebeckers, or no-name brands are proud to be Canadian! And the 1995 referendum saw the mysterious omission of many 'no' votes. Jean Charest is not a separatist premier, yet the feds treat him as such. Why? It set precedents to divide, conquer, and sell out the country to corporate-US interests. Such division will prevent future governments from uniting and building a strong, prosperous Canada! This Balkanization will turn us into a third world country, even though we have the ability to have in all provinces and territories even a higher standard of living for all!! As for preserving french and aboriginal cultures, Canada has done rather well in this area! Quebec on her own would be at the mercy of an english Norht America. Aboriginal culture thrives in Canada, and although Canada is not innocent of wrong doing against aboriginals, they have flourished better here than south of the border. Funny thing, too, is that the Oka and Ipperwash tragedies both occurred under pro-American, por-corporate Conservative governments! Bill Davis, the 'red tory', was not the only one who agreed with the charter in the end. He merely came to advise Trudeau that he could have a formidable charter, if he only accepted the notwithstanding clause. Trudeau reluctantly agreed, thinking that it was better for the country to have a good, yet imperfect charter, as opposed to no charter at all. Think of how much more by stealth Canada could be disintegrated by corporate-US interests if we were still under the BNA act! And while no constitution is perfect, Our Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a great one! The failure of Meech and Charlottetown was fortunate for Canada, because this was Mulroney`s other attempt to break up and destroy Canada.( Aside from the FTA and NAFTA.) And it is quite curious that later on, that a Quebec premier was all for trampling the language rights of francophones in Alberta!!!

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Dave Ruston

Different opinions make for different memories. Link : <a>La Nuit des Longs couteaux</a> http://www.republiquelibre.org/cousture/COUTEAU.HTM

So 50%+1 is enough to separate, after however many "NO" votes, but 90% of the country is not enough to amend the constitution.

I`m not skewing anything. Levesque walked because he had no intention of signing on or compromising on anything. Even the notwithstanding clause was not enough for him. If he never planned on signing, he should have never showed up in the first place. And i`m well aware of Canadian history to understand why French Canadians had a beef with english Canada. Je comprends 'Je me souviens.' But it seems that when we are fortunate enough to work past the old animosities, and come together, some loser in the government ( be it in Quebec or Ottawa) has to try again to inflame the old battle. And there really is no need for it!

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Dave Ruston

Levesque never would have agreed to a federalist constitution true, but Trudeau should not have let it go at that and should have waited until the PQ was out office (which happened a few years afterwards) before signing the Constitution! We are currently in a great position to change the constitution to better reflect Canadian values and make Canada function properly, Jean Charest has ousted the seperatists and chances are that Charest will soon push for constitutional talks anyway.

Look, the reality will soon become clear. We will have 3 options a head of us: No. 1 Harper's vision of a Belgian Canada (which will bassically mean full devolution of Confederation), No. 2 The actual devolution of Confederation, whcih can happen if the Bloc continues to dominate Quebec's position on Parliament Hill or if the PQ is able to retake power in Quebec, or No. 3 (and my personal favourite) continued national unity. But that can only happen when every province is on an equal footing and the government respects the different needs and desires of each region.

Much of Ralph Klien's alleged western alienation is a crock, but the west does have legitimate greviances. Part of it being that governments made up almost entirely of Ontarians and Quebeckers have rarely taken their interests and concers seriously. Like for example the way that Trudeau implemented the NEP, or what happened during the Charlottetown talks. A Triple E Senate, with slightly reduced powers will create a better and legitimate democratic system of government checks and balances and will give the western provinces an equal voice with every other province on most matters. That's the spirit of cooperation which Canada was built on, a centralized national system is what Canada is and always shall be, but balancing cooperation and compromise with national unity is what has made Canada, Canada.

Doesn't matter how far back you look, to Laffontaine and Baldwin, to Macdonald and Cartier, or even to Borden and Bourassa.

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Vive le Canada

By the way Dave just because you watched the CBC docu-drama Trudeau, doesn't make you an expert on what happened in 1981!!!!!!! I watched the movie to and it was good don't get me wrong, but it was obviously slainted in favour of Trudeau, who was not a perfect Prime Minister!


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Vive le Canada

It's a matter of choices, we either compromise like most of our national founding fathers did and keep Canada united or we don't and allow Canada to fall. Besides that a new constitution would permanently prevent any future neo-liberal government from privatizing certain services and corporations that benefit our people!!!!!

Trudeau's constitution is a joke!!!!

What Constitution do you refer to? The left over British rag or the one the people of Canada are entitled to remake in our own vision, not the Governments. If you enjoy Socialism carry on .Sirgalahad.

Obviously I was referring to our own, Canada's. We are not a socialist country, contrary to popular belief on the Far Right, we only have a history and heritage of balancing cooperative communal efforts with private endevour and private enterprise. Really the founding principles of Canadian Conservatism! We need to change our Constitution, or atleast talk about doing it to end the separation issue in Quebec, place Aboriginals on a better footing, heal east-west tensions, and a reformed constitution can have added benefits we can protect Universal Health Care forever, as well as our natural resources and cultural institutions put at risk by NAFTA.