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¢ -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Wednesday, July 4, 19%0 Th P EDITORIA BUSINESS OFFICE AE (0) ery ar Publisher - J. Peter Hvidsten Oifios Manager - Gayle Staplay Editor - John B. McClelland Accounting - Judy Ashby 235 QUEEN STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO News/Features - Julia Ashton Soy Department - Louise Hope PHONE 985-7383 FAX 985-3708 News/Features - Kelly Story Retail Sales - Kathy Dudley, Linda Ruhl, Tracy O'Neil The Port Perry Star is authorized as second dass mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, for cash payment of postage. PRODUCTION ADVERTISING Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 Annabell Harrison Advertising Co-ordinator - Valerie Ellis Subscription Rate: In Canada $20.00 per year Trudy Empringham Advertising Sales Representative - Anna Gouldburm Elsewhere $60.00 per year. Single Copy 50¢ Darlene Hiozan Editorial Comment EH, CANADA Was it just our imagination, or did the Canada Days festiv- ities seem a little more subdued than in previous years. Oh, sure, lots of people were out and about on July 1. And at a glance, they seemed to be enjoying themselves, much as they do on any weekend when the weather finally begins to feel like summer. There were the usual long lines of traffic (that never gets better, does it) There were fichics in the parks, and as usual, in front of Toronto's City Hall. A lot of people carried Canadian flags, big ones and little ones. And that's always nice to see. In most Canadian communities, from the largest cities, to small towns like Port Perry, there were firework displays as night fell on the 123rd birthday of this nation. In Port Perry, the crowds seemed larger than ever before. You had to get to the lakefront early to find a spot to pitch your lawn chair. A lot of people watched from their boats, moored on Lake Scugog. More than one person noted how serene the lake looked that night as the lights from hundreds of boats twinkled in the darkness and reflected off the still waters. But on this July 1, 1990, the mood seemed less than' boisterous. And in the province of Quebec, home to about eight million Canadians, the silence was deafening, a direct contrast to the previous week when St. Jean Baptiste was cel- ebrated with song and dance, speeches, huge parades, and a sea of blue and white flags unfurled and waved in an out- pouring of national sentiment for "le Quebec libre." Perhaps it was these images from Quebec that damp- ened the mood of Canadians elsewhere on July 1. it was dis- turbing to learn that many July 1 functions were cancelled in Quebec by municipal officials, as a protest over the dashed Meech Accord. And it was disturbing as well to learn that the Mayor of Hull, Quebec, said he would be elsewhere when Queen Eliza- 'beth paid a quick visit to this city. And certainly a lot of Canadians felt uneasy and angry at the TV images of a few hot-heads burning the Canadian flag, dragging it through mud under the wheels of a car. With the death of Meech, some 'Canadians no doubt are wondering what Prime Minister Mulroney means when he says he wants to do something to bring Quebec into the Con- stitution, and Premier Bourassa says he won't sit around the table to negotiate again. And what is Ontario Premier David Peterson's agenda for relations with Quebec? He has been accused by some of "appeasement," a word with an especially ugly historical connotation. But what does our Premier have in mind? We already know he tossed six Ontario Senate seats onto the Meech poker table, and the Prime Minister rolled the dice. Perhaps, other Canadians felt upset at the number of Quebec MPs quitting their party to sit as independents in the House of Commons, drawing their full MP salaries and bene- fits, while working, along with Lucien Bouchard to further the cause of Quebec independence. They wonder how it is that their tax dollars, via the federal treasury, can continue to pay the salaries of those who would divide the country. Still others, perhaps wondered at the not-so-thinly veiled threats from a handful of Quebec MPs who suggested they might work against the Hibernia oll project, as a way of "get- ting back" at Newfoundland for Clyde Wells' staunch o Si- tion to the Meech Accord. This is the hardly the stuff that brings people together. And what of Mr. Wells. If ever a politician had his arms twisted and his thumbs bent back (behind closed doors, no less) it was Clyde Wells. There are so many mixed signals and images in conflict emanating for all corners of Canada right now, that it is little wonder that many average Canadians are confused, and yes, a bit frightened at the course their country is taking. Sure, they want the nation to stay together, but they won- der deep in their hearts if the point of no return has not been crossed. They don't have much faith in Brian Mulroney's ability in a dice game. And they really wonder if Jean Chretien can Tum to Page 10 " We vsUALLY SUMMER AT THE LAKE - ... BUy WE GOT so mucH MEeecH i + WMYcowsnvrnion can'y rake ir! "How come bitchers "n moaners get all the action?" emment (Pal Brian again), or from hydro-electric power sales to the north-eastern United States. Interestingly, a lot of that power actually comes from Labrador (part of Clyde Wells' New- foundland) at dirt cheap rates. Given the tradi- NOTE: Random Jottings will return to-this spot, but for this week we invite fe to enjoy the no- nonsense views of good friend and colleague John James, Editor/Publisher of the Amherst- burg Echo. * * * Maybe it's the weather turning us grouchy, but it seems as though the entire governing process of this country is embroiled in a nasty abit of bending over backwards any time anybody with a full-blown persecution complex pops up in the press to bitch about the way things are. The perfect example is Quebec. For a bunch of folks who Yost the war' back in the formative days of this nation, they have done awfully well in recent years. Forget those bleeding hearts who suggest that English Canada is being unfair, or narrow- fdted with regard to our French-Canadian ends. Imagine the status of English language rights in Canada today, if the French had beaten the British? Consider what Bourassa has done to English minority rights in Quebec as the only hint you need. : Canada - the nation - is now a couple of weeks beyond Brian Mulroney's self-created "Nightmare". Is anyone surprised the world didn't abruptly end, as our prime minister had darkly prophesized? Biggest reaction we've seen from Quebec so far is a collective: "Merde, dose buggairs didn't fall for itl" Will Quebec eventually rally its forces and take a walk? You can bet your butt they won't... just as soon as they figure out that doing so would involve a lot of hard work. Of course, now that the country is "in a crisis" Mulroney is apt to give them more money, AND send along enough people to do the work too. More desperate attempts to buy loyalty are apt to surface since that's the only sort of loyalty he understands. There still isn't a great deal to worry about. All that talk about Qu 's current economic pros- perity making it possible for them to "go it alone" makes us chuckle. Where's the economic prosperity coming | from? Mostly from hand-outs via the federal gov- - nomic diversity to tional Quebec work ethic, and the constant prob- lems of labour unrest in the province, this is the petisat kind of business for them. The only work nvolved is connecting the two ends of the exten- sion cord. That deal was cut back in the days when Christ was a pup. There were tons of advertise- ments for electric er, encouraging prolific us- age with snappy lines such as: "Only pennies a ay." Labrador cranks out the juice, and because the deal (referred to as "The First Newfie Joke") runs for des to come, down the pipe it goes to Quebec at rates which would embarrass your Grandmother. Mr. Bourassa simply resells and redirects the power to New England, at a tasty markup of roughly 50 times the price Quebec pays Newfoundland. Say, you don't suppose Clyde Wells had this in the back of his mind during the Meech Lake negotiations? We're talking about saving enough money to cover the Yi ploy ent cheques for the entire province, if Wells could wriggle out of the current contract. How or why Mulroney and the premiers failed to employ that scenario to effectively placate Wells during the Meech Lake negotiations is ei- ther a puzzle, or quite possibly a tribute to the strong moral character of the man from New- foundland. Personally we believe it could be pre- cisely that, and admit to profoundly admiring Clyde Wells. Sadly, the moral standards of to- day's society are In such sorry Shape, many peo- ple think the word "dumb" would fit this scenario Zhey than "strong moral character". More's the pity. In 'money talks'terms most of Quebec's finan- cial clout is held within the Caisse Populaire barving Songlomeris, owned by the govern- ment. Quebec doesn't really have a lot of access to outside funding, nor much in the way of eco- help them in the event the big boys start playing heavy duty financial games similar to what happened in the early Eightios. TURN TO PAGE 8 |