Zurich Citizens News, 1981-04-30, Page 4Ligh
at the end of the tunnel
Miscellaneous
Rumblings
By
ROB CHESTER
At one time during the Commons debate on the
constitution, I felt well informed and supportive of the
goals of a Canadian constitution.
As the debate dragged out, the necessity for a con-
stitution became less and less clear.
If the governments of this country are functioning
well, (and co-operating with each other) there is no
reason to patriate the constitution.
It would be nice to have the constitution in Canada,
it would reassure our own self-determination, but
simply having a piece of paper in a musty vault in Ot-
tawa will have no concrete effect on the country. It
will not generate any jobs, halt the recession, cure
acid rain or solve any of the other problems of modern
life.
It has though, been a Canadian dream to patriate
the constitution and countless federal -provincial con-
ferences over the years have debated the problem. The
question is, why is it necessary to have the constitution
back in Canada this year, or next, or five years hence?
(Other than pride' or the prime minister's attempts to
carve himself a niche in the history books.)
I don't have an answer. I suspect it has something to
do with making it easier to amend the constitution
without having to go through the British parliament.
The basis of provincial opposition to the propsed
constitution is directed against the amending formula
— the procedures and the consent needed, whereby the
constitution can be changed. •
After almost two weeks of Conservative delaying
tactics, the Liberal government was forced into a deal
to get passage of the proposal.
This was with eight of the ten provincial
governiken sed to it.
Prolec ing ahead, if the constitution does come to
Canada, what kind of amendments do the Liberal
government's strategists have in mind? For any kind
of amendment, somebody has to give up some right,
privilege, or income. Given the government's uni•
latera) stance, you can bet who won't be giving
anything up.
Seeing the spirit of co-operation —i.e. a complete
lack — the provinces have shown, you can easily im-
agine the fireworks when an amendment is proposed.
No matter which side of the issue you are on, the
costs of the continued wrangling are objectionable.
The latest expense is a series of full page ads in the
daily newspapers. They promote the proposal agreed
to by the eight provincial governments. Ontario and
New Brunswick did not support it.
Even though the federal government doesn't sup-
port the scheme, and the Ontario government doesn't
support it, all of us have to pay for these ads. Think
about that the next time you fill your car's tank with
Alberta gasoline.
The eight premiers must be expecting some sort of
plebiscite on the issue. Other attempts to influence
public opinion have resulted in a series of polls. The
Conservatives claim thepublic is against unilateral ac-
tion on the constitution. The Liberals claim Canadians
want a charter of rights and want the constitution to be
patriated.
No one ever asked me. Which is probably a good
thing. I would not answer "No opinion", but I certainly
couldn't answer conclusively one way or the other.
We elect and pay politicians to represent us in
these issues.
This is not a copping -out on my responsibility as
citizen. I respect the men we've voted into office and I
feel they must have a better grasp of the situation than
I do. They are in a much better situation to make an in-
formed decision. It would be, and is, a full-time job to
keep abreast of all the information pertinent to the
constitution.
The problem of patriating the constitution is not a
new one. We may have the documents home by July,
but it would be simplistic to think we will live happily
ever after.
The constitution is the backbone and guiding force
of a nation. We have one now, and it has worked
reasonably well for 114 years. The new document must.
satisfy us for many more years to come.
There are no easy, short-term solutions.
Under the current situation, the constitution can-
not be brought home without angering somebody.
The prime minister's attitude to his PET project
is that it is valuable in the long run and it doesn't
matter who is hurt in the patriation process.
Since this is the way the constitution will probably
go through, we all better hope he is right.
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