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in Quebec over the issue of indepen–
dence before the next provincial
election in 1980. If Quebec's voters
give him the mandate he is looking
for-by voting for the P.Q. program
of political sovereignty coupled with
economic association with the rest
of Canada-Lévesque has promised
to negotiate with federal authorities
in Ottawa for Quebec's hopefully
peaceful exit.
Mr. Trudeau has vowed, on the
other hand, never to be the one to
negotiate Canada's division.
How Much Reform?
The separatism issue is a major fac–
tor in Canada's gloomy economic
picture. Money, which is a political
coward, is leaving the country, espe–
cially from Quebec. Foreign invest–
ors are holding off on Ja rge
commitments.
To be sure, not all of Canada's
economic and política! problems can
be pinned to the Quebec impasse.
The booming mineral-rich provinces
ofWestern Canadaand theeconomi–
cally stagnant Maritimes along the
Atlantic seaboard are both dissat–
isfied with tbe concentration ofpoliti–
cal power in the hands ofthe central
government in Ottawa. These areas
have also long complained of what
they consider discriminatory tariffs
and freight rates designed to favor
the industrial heartland of Ontario
and Quebec.
Western premiers have repeat–
edly called for a restructuring of
Ca nada's Senate and Supreme
Court to better reflect the country's
current demographic ba lance. which
has shifted westward .
Yet Canada's regional ditfer–
ences, while sharp, do not appear to
be unbridgeable. In a meeting last
year, for example, the premiers of
Canada's four western provinces,
while outlining their grievances with
the current federal system, never–
theless stressed that "the values,
benefits and potentials of con–
federation far outweigh the current
disadvantages."
ln other words, they pledged to
work within the system. At the same
time, they "fi rmly rejected" the in–
dependen! a ims of the current Que–
bec government.
The
PLAIN TRUTH May 1978
Thus the unity crisis in Canada is,
in its final analysis, primarily one of
confiicting nationalisms and cur–
rently revolves around two ditferent
perceptions of the future role in
North America to be played by
Canada's French-speaking popu–
lation, most of whom are concen–
trated in
La Be/le Province
of
Quebec. Furthermore, the two cur–
rent standard-bearers of the
struggle-T rudeau and Lévesque–
are both
Québécois.
Two Mutually Exclusive Viewpoints
During the ten years he has been in
office, Mr. Trudeau has vigorously
pursued a policy of bilingualism
and multiculturalism in order to
open up to French-speaking Cana–
dians (so-called "francophones")
throughout the nation greater op–
portunities for advancement.
"I've been fighting separatism
since my teens," says Trudeau. "I'm
a federalist because l'm convinced
that it is in the greatest interest of
Quebeckers- particularly the 4.8
million who speak French as their
mother tongue- to be part of a
large, stable, prosperous, advanced,
developed and just country. They
have a much greater chance of pre–
serving their language, their culture
and their economy in Canada than
they do in a small French state sur–
rounded by vast, powerful English–
speaking North America. A separate
Quebec would turn inward on it–
self."
The prime minister admits tha t
his program has not always been
well-received by the predominately
Engl ish-speaking majority of 17 mil–
lion, many of whom hav.e resented
the extension of bilingua l signs
(even bilingual labels on canned
goods) into areas of exclusive or
predominan! anglophone culture.
French and English now have
equa l status throughout all areas of
the federal government. A French
Canadian can be served by the fed–
eral government in his native
tongue-theoretically, at least- re–
gardless of where he happens to
live. (Over one mi ll ion French–
speaking Canadians live outside
Quebec, primarily in Ontario, New
Brunswick and Manitoba.)
Quebec's René Lévesque
WILL
QUEBEC
StCEDE?
BEHIND
CANADA'S
UNITY
CRISIS
by
Gene H. Hogberg
7