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PAGE SEVEN - -w_ WR TrHgE OPLE. of the United States,'in order form .a.more perfect union, establiah justice, insure domeet, tranquility, provide -for the common defense, promote th general. welfare, and 'secure the blessings of liberty i ourselvesanad our posterity, do ordain andi establish thi Constitution for the Îied States ofAmerica. Preamble to the United Sttes Constitutio te lie to )n j 1 i 4 444~~ 444 44' 44 '44.4 ~ 444 4~ 4 * 4 This is a colurnn about constitution building, something Canadians have been struggling with for decades.' 0f ail the. constitutions of ail the* countries in the, world, no otiier bas been more successtfjl than that of the. Unted States. Wbile ours is onldy eight years old and is the. subject of deriuion and conflict, thé Umited States Constitutioni has been the. subject -of great national pride and unity'for ahnost.two iiundred y.ars. We sbould learn fiom it. The. United States Constitution was written biy the. Constitutional Convention of 1787. Tii. thirteen colonies of Great Britain had won their war of independence only four years earlier. Tiiey were bound together only by their deter- mination to brSaý the, ties of an oppressive monarciiy and a Ibos agreement known as the. Articles of Confederation. These established only a 'league of friendship." Eaci stat. retained its "sovereignty, freedom and independence" and delegated to the. central goverriment only limited authorit i areas cf foreigri affaire. It had no power ta ta, ta. commnerce, or even ta enforce its own laws and treaties. 'Tii. status of the. individual -states was remarkably sirmilar ta what the. Parti Quebecois envisions as sovereignty association. 0, f particular interest ta, Canàdians is the. fact that it didn't work - big states wer. at odds with weaker ones; some states charged duties on trade with the. others; and many simply ignored the. decisions of the, central government. By 1787, the. Am4rican Union was falfing apart. In May of .1787, a Convention was convened in, Philadelpbia .'for the. sole'-and express purpose of revising the, Articles of Confedergtion"' but within days the. debegates bad g eneraily concluded that more radical change was needed. Thirs began the. writing of an entirely new constitution. Drafting the. American Constitution was no .asier than tiie CMadian one. The. American "pressure cocker" lasted for four, long hot months and it resulted i dozens cf *ccmpronses and trade-offs. *Scecy was an issue back thon too, and tii. need for frank discussion in- which positions could change won precedence over the need for public disclosure. Secrecy was maitaied better over the. fuil four months than aur first' rinister's could muster for 24 hours, but tiien, the. media scrum of television newscasters had not yet been invented. Unlike the. Canadian first niinist.rsthe vast najority of the, delegates' 9ta tiie American conttutional convention believed fervantly in the. rigiits cf tiie people ta decide on their constitution, fie flrst three words of the pr.amble, 'W. the, pIe," is tii. heart of tii. American Constitution. On f Meecii Lake's principle flaws was the. lack of public consultation. fiat eleven men siiould bave rewritton tiie 1political structure of aur country witiiout referring their deliberations ta the people would have l.ft the. framers cof the, American Constitution aghast. fias. tbrie provincial Pr]VEmiers wio came te, office aft.r Meecii taok it ta thip1ole They demand.d changes. At the last minute a federal parliamentary committee ais. ii.ld brief national ii.arings. Ail for nougiit. STo ensure that the Anierican conatitution had the support of the, People, it hadta b. ratified by stte conventions elected directlJr by the people for that individual purpos. - somnetbing akin ta a referendum. Tii. process cf Meecii Lake was a wrong - virtuaHlY. every premier wiil now admit- that. fie base cf discussion was to narrow. In the American experience, there were several delegates froni eacii ste witii a wid. range of background and exp.rience. fie result was a far broader range of ideam and compromises than would bave otiierwis. resulted. fley created entirely new concepts of government wbicii suited their new nation. Canada nieeds the sanie diversity of input ta, salve its bicultural/multicultural dilemma. On Junie 23 we may or may not have a constitutional agreement - that lies' in tiie hands cf the, legislature cf' Newfoundland. Wiiat'is certain is that Canada has a constitution which bas very little respect fromtiie people of the country. In a democracy, that is.unacceptable. Canada needs ta start over again. fromi scratch witii a specially convened constitutional convention of aur own witii dèlegates elect.d directly by the. people from ail walks of hf. (including po*ticians of ail stripes, municipal repres.ntatives, judgs and otiiers wiia are by tii.iîr positions excluded fro= Politica office.) This convention. siioul meet over a'period of at least several montha (penhiaps years) ta draft the, copoesý that will make tuis country work. And when te';% insied, tii. result must be approved by referendum by tii. people cf every region and cultural group. Sure tii«re wL_ -'_£l b otoesista l cntnubu!t" 125 YZARS AGO fimg the Thursday, June 8,1865 odition of the wHYIZY CHRONICLE " lie corner stan. of Ail Saints' Anglican Church wiIl b. laid on June 29. " The Chronicle is voecing its opposition to the construction of a toll gat. at Brock Street and the Third Concession by the. owners of Whitby Harbor.1 " The Whitby Infantry Company held its flrst rifle match for medals on June 5. *A school trustes bas written to, The Chronicle complaining about his fellow trustees h fail to attend meetings. 1> i/ 44 I "i Ij q Y, Y, 4~1 e ~44 f 'j, 4" 1? 'j, J) * 44 .4 1> 1 CANADIAI4 PACMCI RAILWAY ffTATION AT MJYKIL STATIONr C. 11913 Tis frame station waa built in 1884 for the Ontario and Quebec Railway, and demoisied in 1974. It was painted white until 1914 when the building was paite. red, the, celer usually assocated witii railway stations. whSw l vul.photo. 10 YTZARS AGO fiocm the. Wednesday June 11, 1980»edition ofthie *Replacement ofthe Brock Street CNR bridge ls four yeoes away, says the Durhami Région Public Works Départment. * lirty-twoyarcd Michael Ambler et Whitby is n c f the. youngest presidents of the. Canadie a=nitatioei Standards 'Association. *Durham Région Coecl is urging extension of GO Transit rail service east.cf Pickering. 25 TZARS AGO froni the !Thursday June 10, 1965 edition of the wHIiuY rWEEIKLY NEWS *Town Council bas approv.d debentures for'cosmtruction cf a libraiy at Hiilrest Public Sciiool. " Earl A. Finan, supervising principal cf Whitbyls sciioëîs sice 1951, is retining after 34 years of teacbing. " st. mares United Ciiurch iionored 85 Sunday Sciiocl teaciiers and offioers at an appreciation dimner. " Desmond Newman cf Whitby bas been named the. non-el.cted representatives of the. Town of Whitby ta the. new Oshiawa District Planning Board. m -- .. «ýý- --- -, - -7- NWF -