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Clinton News-Record, 1981-10-14, Page 34111 Avery dry subject Mernber of Parliarnent expls Constitution • • BY MURRAY CARDIFF, M.P. (HURON -BRUCE) At a time when Canadians are largely preoccupied with economic problems that deeply affect their personal lives, it is easy to understand why the details of the Constitutional struggle are hazy to us and seem of secondary importance. Constitution -making is a dry subject when it consists so largely of a war of words, espcially unfamiliar words about whose meaning we can not easily agree. What makes this war of words important, however, is that it is an attempt to decide our future together without resorting to a more violent kind of war. Canadians have lived together so successfully over 114 years that we too easily forget that civil war and violence is the alternative to the rule of law which regulates our wars of words. .All we need to do is look at the violence of the world around us to be reminded that nothing is more important to the life of a nation than the ability to live under the rule of law. Constitutions are important because they set the framework for the kind of law we will be ruled by. If we want a peaceful life together, we must be sure that the means by which we change the law are fair to others, for no matter how good our aims are, if we achieve then by unfair means we can be sure that those who feel cheated will remain resentfuL The willingness to live by the law will have been weakened by our action, and good intentions may bring evil. This seems to be a part of what the Supreme Court was saying in last week's judgement. It recognized a distinction between the ends which the government is trying to achieve with the Trudeau con- stitutional package and the means by which it is trying to. achieve it. The Court said, in effect, "We have no business asking whether the ends are good or bad, for that is a political matter." But then they went on to say that the Court does have the duty to ensure that the means by which the government tries to accomplish its ends are just. • In medieval times, the question of who was right and who was wrong was sometimes decided by a battle. Whoever won was considered to have been proved right. This is the principle that Might is Right. Today we pride ourselves on having a more developed concept of justice than that. We have achieved it, however, partly by learning to make distinctions that tie courts of law up into knots on occasion, as they have in this present constitutional struggle. The principle distinction which the court had to make was between a law and a convention. The Court said in effect that if a law is broken, the injured party can be given redress in the courts and the guilty party can be penalized in the courts. But there are many aspects of our constitution which are not written up as law. They are settled ways ofdoing things called con- ventions. Conventions can change, of course, just as a law can change, but the Court did say that we presently have a constitutional convention in Canada prohibiting the federal government from changing the powers of the provincial governments without their consent. The Court refused to decide, on this occasion, how many provinces would have to give their consent to a change in the balance of federal and provincial powers, but it left open the door to making that decision later. What it said on this occasion is that while no law prohibits the federal government from trying to change the constitution in the way it proposes to do, the present con- vention about constitutional change does. Some judges in the Supreme Court pointed out that sonde conventions are more important than laws, but the dif- ference is that conventions can not be enforced by the Courts. When a convention is broken, the injured party cannot go to Court .to have the injury corrected. This raises a question about how an injured party such as a province can obtain justice when the convention is broken. Too often in human affairs, the answer is that correction of such injuries is sought through violence, through civil war. Canadians are not accustomed to thinking of the possibility of civil war, and one main reason is that our historical conventions have worked very well in comparison with those of many other countries. Yet violence is so much a part of the human condition that we must always be aware of it and be careful to maintain both the rules by which we govern our - sieves and respect for those rules. To break a convention not only breaks the constitutional rules, as the Court said, but it also undermines respect for the very principle of living by rules. When we see the violence in the world around us, we do well to devote ourselves to maintaining respect for the overriding , principle of going by the rules, for we de not know to what catastrophe we might be led if we stop living by the historically agreed rules. That, in my view, is why the constitutional struggle is of very great importance. The real constitutional debate does not centre on the question of whether to patriate the constitution, that is, to bring home to Canada a constitution that is presently in Britain Everyone, or almost everyone, agrees that we should patriate the Constitution. Britain wanted us to do it in 1931, at the time of the famous Statute of Westminster which said that all countries of the Commonwealth were free and equal nations. Canada asked Britain on that occasion to keep the Constitution of Canada as a series of British statutes because we could not agree among our- selves on any other way of being able to make future changes. Since 1931, we have agreed among ourselves on a number of changes in the Constitution, but we have continued to get them enacted by making a request to Britain to change their statutes relating to us. In other words, we all agree that we would like the 'Constitution home, but we can't agree on how we would'maintain the ability to change it if we brought it home. That is what the debate is all about. Prince Edward Island, for example, is very small, with a population not much more than the population of Huron -Bruce. Yet it only agreed to join Confederation if it was allowed to make its own laws within such areas as education, property law, tran- sportation, etc. These rights were given in the British North America Act. The provinces were also given owner- ship of the resources located in them. There may be good reasons why a populous province like Ontario would want to say to a smaller province like Alberta that we would like to• share the wealth of their resources, but Albertans will ask Ontario: "When did you ever share your gold or silver or hydro power with ug at less than the going price?" A good An- tention, such as sharing wealth equally among _. all provinces, cannot be ac- complished simply by taking from Alberta the power to control its own resources which we have always claimed for our- selves. That is breaking the rules. The Supreme Court has said that the federal government's proposed package would alter provincial powers. Eight of the provinces object to this. The federal government knows it cannot change the balance of powers itself, for we agreed to leave that power with the British parliament. But the federal government insists that it can ask Britain to change the. balance oto powers, whether the provinces like it or not. • The Supreme Court has said, yes, the federal government can ask Britain to do this legally because there is no law on the books against asking such a question. On the other hand, it is saying, while it is legal to ask Britain this favour, the whole historical , agreement by which we live together as a federation of provinces with distinct powers would be shattered if Britain did what the federal government is asking it to do. The Court faces a dilemma because, as a Canadian court, it cannot tell Britain what • it can or cannot do. Thus, it is saying in effect that while it has no power to prevent the federal government from asking Britain for a favour, the favour it is asking is unconstitutional. It is unconstitutional, however, in a way that the courts of Canada cannot correct because it is a convention, not a law, that is being broken. Not the courts, it is saying, but the voters, should punish the government if they believe strongly enough that the gover- nment has broken the constitutional rules. In one sense, then, the Supreme Court has issued a challenge to Canadians. It has said, in effect, if you want the Constitution home so you can govern yourselves without the British guardian, then you will have to take the burden of responsibility .for governing upon your own shoulders. Like a grown child who wishes to be free of parental guidance, Canada is being challenged by the Court to accept responsiblity along with its. freedom. We have never before had to face this test of maturity. We have been like heirs whose money was tied up in a trust so that we could not squander it. Now, if we bring the Constitution home, we would be like heirs who have the power to conserve or to squander our wealth. In effect, the Court is saying, the law does not protect us from our own foolishness. If we break the rules of behaviour, the Court can not easily help us. Those powerful con- ventions by which we regulate our political behaviour, are in our keeping. The Court has said that the Trudeau package would break therule of constitutional convention, but that the government is legally free to ask Britain to do so. Canada will have to bear the respon- sibility if that should happen because the Court does not have the power to enforce conventions. Our right to choose our government means that we, as voters, must enforce these constitutional rules and punish a government that breaks them, or else live with the consequences. This is a very important judgement by the Court. We can expect in coming months to see a continuing political struggle, another war of words. In finding our way among these conflicting armies of words; we . shall find ourselves facing a powerful test of what it means to govern -'ourselves with responsible freedom. This the reason why all those pupils were looking so hungry on page one. They were waitng for a taste of homemade bread they had prepared as part of their old-fashioned, pioneer thanksgiving celebrations last Friday. Bonnie Lockwood and Debbie Heslinga, grade two teachers, prepared the tasty jam covered slices for the students. (James Fitzgerald photo) workshop on handling children attracts moms, and kids By Elaine Townshend "We've learned we're not alone, - and we've been able to share our problems," explains one young mother taking part in an eight-week program in Clinton sponsored by Family and Children's Services. The idea began when F.C.S. staff noticed similar questions coming from individual parents. "Mothers are wanting to know what to do 'when my child does this'," Sheila McCaffery of F.C.S. notes. "Family and Children's Services can deliver our service more effectively with a group than in- dividually ... We feel there is a great ad- vantage in sharing." Co-worker Ann Miller adds, "It is more efficient for us to meet with a group, such as this, than for one social worker to meet with ten families individually." Fortune acclaimed to post HENSALL Gerry Fortune of RR1 Wingham was returned by acclamation as the Huron Federation of Agriculture's president for a one-year term. The election of the Huron Federation ex- ecutive took place at the annual meeting here on October 8. Tony McQuail was acclaimed as the first vice-president, and following a nomination speech citing his concern for the family farm and especially the young farmer, Mc - Quail received a motion of support from those in attendance. Jim McIntosh was acclaimed as the se- cond vice-president for the coming year. A change was made in the constitution regarding the directors -at -large. Previously three were elected, but because of interest in the position, the number was increased to six. At the meeting, 50 persons were nominated for the position of director -at - large and after many declines to stand, the Turn to page 16 • . Children's Fruit and Vegetable Display Harvest ©f Savings Categories —KINDERGARTEN CLASS FRUIT AND VEGETABLE TOY GRADES ONE TO FOUR FRUIT ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE ANIMAL GRADES FIVE TO EIGHT FRUIT ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE ANIMAL OPEN TO ALL AGES 1. BIGGEST PUMPKIN 2. BIGGEST SQUASH Please have a sealed envelope containing your name and phone number taped to your entry. Entries close at 10A.M. AT THE TOWN HALL Sat., Oct. 17th Entries will be disposed, of if not picked up by 4 p.rp. Every Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., 13 to 17 mothers and their children from throughout Huron County • meet in Ontario Street United Church. Mothers gather for group discussions with social workers, while thechildren enjoy a fun and educational program headed by Elaine Ayrs, a volunteer with F.C.S. Elaine is -assisted by two lacijes from the community and six {ISS students. Volunteer drivers are available' for mothers who need transportation. Initially, the program was intended for mothers, foster mothers and single parents who had contacted Family and Children's Services, but the first mothers brought friends from their communities. "The mothers are doing the hard work," contends Sheila McCaffery. They laid most of the ground rules, such as how many people the program could ac- commodate, and chose the topics for discussion. By the second week, the workshop was filled to capacity. Topics include: the defiant child; the sensitive child; single parents; how in- dividual children in a family respond in different ways to the parent; how the parent's behaviour is closely tied to the child's behaviour; the child who refuses to take responsiblity for his or her own behaviour; the child who behaves for other people but not for the parent; the older dominating child; and how mothers can set up time for themselves when the child is in the home and when the child is away from the home. The benefits of the workshops are best expressed by the mothers themselves; Susan Walker of Seaforth says, "We've learned new parenting techniques that we would not have access to otherwise." Florence Cartwright, Londesboro adds, "You find out different behaviour problems that other children have as well as your own." "I've enjoyed meeting people ... It's a morning out," notes Blanche Coady of Seaforth. Sandra Neil, Seaforth, explains: "I'm not a mother yet, but I hope I can use what I've learned here when I have children." Geraldine Calhoun, Seaforth, thanks Sheila and Ann for making the program successful. "I think it's a beautiful idea, she says. "I've met a lot of new people ... I've learned a lot and I've enjoyed it very much." Sheila sums up the -course: "It's an organized break - a time for the child to get away from the parent and the parent from the child. It's a time for sharing the dif- ficult times and the good times. We don't just talk about the problems, we talk about the joys of being a parent, too." "A lasting thing seems to be developing," she notes. "The mothers are wanting to contact each other between workshops and after the program ends." While the mothers enjoy their discussions, the children - aged 11 to five years - take part in child-care programs, designed by. Elaine Ayrs, with fun and learning in mind. The program introduces the children to educational toys and arts and crafts that many children do not have access to until they attend kindergarten or nursery school. Every week has a theme. One week, for example, the theme will be 'observation', and the children and their helpers will make mobiles. For Thanksgiving, they will fill baskets with things they can gather outside, such as chestnuts. "They like to make things that they can take home," says Elaine. "And we teach them how to make things from cardboard boxes and empty margarine containers - things they can find at home." "We also try to teach them how to get along with each other and with large groups of children to help prepare them for kindergarten or nursery school," she concludes. Six Grade 13 students volunteered to help. They will be evaluated by F.C.S. staff as part of their Family Studies course at CHSS. Brenda Millar and Helene Tiesma give similar reasons for becoming involved. "I like kids and the interaction with kids that this program gives me," says Brenda. And Helene explains, "I love kids ... I plan a career in day care work." Sheila McAffery sums up the role -of F.C.S. by explaining that' the focus of Family and Children's Service is, as the name implies, service to the whole family. "One of our jobs is to supply in- formation," she says. "We try to help families become happier families." Ann Miller adds, "In the past, we were called in on a crisis basis ... Now prevention is a large part of our work." The Clinton workshop for mothers and children sponsored by Family and Children's Services is not the first of its kind in Huron County. A pilot project was held in Goderich last spring and created a great deal of interest throughout the county. The success of the spring session led to the fall workshop which started in Clinton on September 17 and ends November 5. The obvious success of the second workshop points strongly to a similar program in the future. SHOP THE TRIANGLE DISCOUNT IN YOUR TOWN FOR PRICES THAT WON'T SCARE YOU TO DEATH. CURAID ABSORBENT COTTON BALLS LOTTARIO...NOW AVAILABLE AT OUR GO ::: (SEE BACK COVER OF SPECIAL BOOKLET IN THIS WEEK'S PAPER) 3.11 ALBERT ST. CLINTON Qualloy Service Since 1933 ,111111,