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6 - Orono Weekly Times 1937 - 2012 · Celebrating 75 Years Wednesday, October 10, 2012 From The House At The Centre Of The Universe The `Rumble in the Jungle' by: Tracy Tonkinson If you're old enough to remember the great Heavyweight world champion boxers Muhammad Ali, and George Foreman before he became a shill for his famous Foreman grill, then you may also remember an event from history that went down on October 30, 1974, in the Mai 20 Stadium in Kinshasa, Zaire, now called the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It was the biggest sporting event of the decade and was styled the `rumble in the jungle' by the press of the day. Two heavyweights sweating and slugging it out to the point of exhaustion until one stopped the other with a knockout blow. During October 12-14, this year, there may well be another rumble in the jungle as the Francophonie summit takes place in the DRC. Thanks to a concession made by former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in the 1980s, there will be, not one Canadian representative at the summit, but three. Not only will New Brunswick take a seat at the table along side Prime Minister Stephen Harper, but so will the new Premier of Quebec, Pauline Marois. It will be the first time that Harper and Marois will have met since Marois was elected to the premiership of Quebec in September and at her first cabinet meeting swept away the hated tuition fee hikes introduced by Jean Charest that produced days of rioting and student unrest in her province. Her next act was to take down the Canadian flags flying over the Quebec legislature and replace them with the Fleur-de-lis, but has reversed herself on that extended digit to the rest of Canada, for the time being at least. Shortly after her swearing in Marois declared Quebec on her watch would be, "A normal country that makes all its laws, decides for itself how to use its taxes and speaks with its own voice in the world." Back to the same old battles it would seem. The Harper government's response to this apparent reengagement of potential hostilities was given through Christian Paradis, the Government's Quebec lieutenant. "We have no mandate to dismantle the federation, so we're not going to start improvising on all sorts of fronts," Paradis said. If the stage is about to be set for another go around the Quebec sovereignty tree, Marois might like to take a couple of things into account. First of all the Parti Québécois won only 54 seats in the National Assembly of the 125 seats available. Add to that the fact that none of the opposition parties have any interest in helping Marois in her quixotic quest, and her boast that, "What we will do in the context of a minority government is protect every shred of sovereignty already in our hands and acquire new ones," seems to have a hollow ring. This time around the Parti Quebecois' Canadian opposition is lead by a man who, while still not trusted in his homeland, was recently judged to be a worthy recipient of the World Statesman Award, given by the New York-based Appeal of Conscience Foundation, and presented to the Prime Minister by former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Rabbi Arthur Schneier. Some might cynically suggest that this accolade was driven by Harper's recent decision to cut off all diplomatic ties with Iran, putting him firmly in the friends with benefits column for Israel, but whatever the criteria it adds heft to Harpers resume and in terms of a fight with Premier Marois makes him something of a heavyweight. On the surface at least then, it would seem to be a mismatch. It is to be hoped that all Canadian representatives, while they are in the Democratic Republic of Congo, equit themselves with dignity and statesmanship and resist any temptation to resume the family squabble in full view of the rest of the world attending the summit. But it is an even bet that once Harper and Marois are back on Canadian soil the kid gloves will be off and the boxing gloves back on. For the record, the original rumble in the jungle went eight rounds before George Foreman succumbed to a bone crunching knock out punch from Muhammad Ali and hit the canvass for a count of ten. As far as one more sovereignty fight goes, don't count on a knock out punch to Quebec sovereignty if the bell should ring to announce another bout of hostilities.