The Gazette from Montreal, Quebec, Canada • 11

B5 Cr it THE GAZETTE, MONTREAL, SATURDAY, JUNE 10, 1995 iues Yes side 8 boost for now letting Oumotit on board Mario Dumont's problem in the referendum was that there were only two sides. There will be no box on the ballot paper marked "Neither of the above," no offi- cial campaign umbrella committee for the Maybe promise that if Quebec votes for sovereignty in a referendum this fall, Parizeau will offer the rest of Canada a much-watered-down version of the parliamentary union on which Dumont had previously insisted. But Quebec's sovereignty would not depend upon reaching a deal on union. And it would be left up to Parizeau alone, who has little enthusiasm for the union, to decide whether to ac for Parizeau: it commits the parties and their leaders in writing to a referendum "in the fall of 1995." Bouchard, for one, has said the referendum should be held only if the sovereignists are sure of winning. Parizeau may find it useful later this year to pull out that piece of paper if Bouchard shows signs of losing his nerve.

And though Dumont now may be in the bag after yesterday's DON MACPHERSON QUEBEC AFFAIRS option. So sooner or later, the leader and only elected member of the third party in the National Assembly, the Action Democratique du Quebec, had to come down off the fence. Either he had to crawl back to the side of the Liberal Party he left in 1 992 and lose all credibility, or he had to take the logical final step on the path he has followed since he sided with the sovereignists against his former party in the Charlottctown referendum. In addition, only the sovereignists even seemed interested in negotiating with him. So the onlv bareainina Dower he had was time ores- to Canada even though it would have only one-third of Canada's population and economic output.

In the meantime, the agreement may make life more complicated for Parizeau. By bringing another party leader into the sovereignist camp, it increases the chances of contradiction and dissension. Parizeau hopes the agreement will help create an im-' pression of a broadening, non-partisan "rainbow coalition," a phrase his speechwriter Lisee has borrowed from Jesse Jackson's American presidential campaign. And Parizeau hopes the 25-year-old Dumont will help bring out the youth vote for sovereignty. But Dumont is Quebec's oldest 25-year-old and young voters may have trouble identifying with him for any reason other than age; he was photographed for a recent cover story in L'Actualite magazine wearing cufflinks.

Yesterday, Dumont looked like the '90s version of Rodrigue Biron, the Union Nationale leader who sided with the sovereignists in the 1 980 referendum. Biron wasn't able to bring most of his party's sup-' porters with him, and the sovereignists lost the referendum. But Biron went on to join the PQ and become a cabinet minister while his former party died, a victim of the referendum polarization. Something similar may be the best that Dumont can hope for out of yesterday's agreement. sure Premier Parizeau's desire to bring Dumont in cept a new "partnership" with Canada or to break off negotiations and declare sovereignty.

The winners in yesterday's deal are Parizeau and, to a lesser degree, Jean-Francois Usee, his speechwriter who negotiated it on behalf of the Parti Quebecois. Lisee was identified with the pre-referendum hearings earlier this year and had fallen out of favor for the hearings' failure to generate momentum in favor of sovereignty. But the deal he negotiated may give the sovereignists a badly needed boost, at least to their always-fragile morale. And not only did Lisee achieve his primary objective of delivering Dumont, it even includes a bonus agreement (assuming the three parties ratify it tomorrow), a sovereignty referendum victory still isn't. The agreement dresses up sovereignty with a proposal for what it calls a new political as well as economic "Partnership" with a capital between a sovereign Quebec and what would be left of Canada.

In a brief news conference held by the three leaders yesterday, Parizeau said that after a referendum vote in favor of sovereignty, Quebec would propose this new Partnership to the rest of Canada "in good faith." But the tone of his voice suggested that he didn't expect the rest of Canada to agree to, among other things, a joint council of ministers with some decision-making powers in which Quebec would be equal to the sovereignist camp before the summer to give the sovereignists time to adjust their plans for a fall referendum campaign accordingly. Yesterday, Dumont signified that he'd made his choice, by appearing in public with Parizeau and Bloc Quebefcois leader Lucien Bouchard to announce a tentative agreement on the sovereignist proposal in the referendum. The agreement doesn't give Dumont much, only a Ul anus UTJ Bikt Ontario Premier-designate certainly isn 't a Red Tory, either very return from a visit to the queen city of Ontario leaves one mourning, just a bit, the lot of our own shabby, love- able metropolis. Despite a tough recession, Toronto vibrates with energy and ambition. While Montreal struggles through what may be its last days with I ssriT' 1 it ts v.

i the Expos, Torontonians are adding a major league basketball franchise and are in line for that ultimate mark of world-class arrival a club in the National Football League. On the subway, half the faces belong to minorities, who have added so much to the zest and breadth of the city. One can only shake one's head when listening to Montrealers put down Toronto as an Anglo-Saxon, white-bread town where they roll up the sidewalks at night. How did they miss its becoming one of the great multi-ethnic cities of WILLIAM JOHNSON NATIONAL AFFAIRS Trudeau's legacy Canadians still disagree about former PM's impact OTTAWA Was Pierre Trudeau a "nation maker or nation breaker?" That question was debated Monday at the annual conr ference of the Canadian Political Science Association. The session, I've been told, was well attended, not just by political scientists, but by historians and others attending the Learned Societies meetings in Montreal.

Trudeau's historic role is of more than academic interest. Those who wish to reshape this country by the Meech Lake or Charlottctown accords, or by the secession of Quebec invariably attack Trudeau, sooner or later, because they invariably find Trudeau blocking their path. "He haunts us still," Christina McCall and Stephen Clarkson began their biography of the man. He haunts some more than others, especially those like Robert Bourassa and Claude Ryan, who seek a "third way" between classic federalism and secession. CP the world? It's a big, rugged, lively place, Ontario i is, far more interesting than most Que-becers realize.

If nothing else, Michael Harris's triumph this week should focus attention on the province. Here are a few thoughts from a reporter who spent six years of his life covering Ontario from the press gallery at Queen's Park. Relax, he's not a fascist, but he's no Red Tory', either. There's a doggedness and clarity of purpose to Harris that reminds one of Margaret Thatcher in first bloom. Things will never be quite the same.

This is good news for Jean Charest. evidence that Ontario Tories (who tend to be (he same people provincially and federally) are alive and kicking. Harris himself, a rough, unilingual diamond, poses no threat to Charest's national leadership, although Charest will have to dance smartly rightward to stay with Ontario Premier-designate Mike Harris watches as his wife, Janet, gives a thumbs-up sign on election night in North Bay. We should expect a vigorous campaign by Ontario against interprovin-cial trade barriers. The chief offender, of course, is Quebec.

In general, the rest of Canada should expect Ontario to act more narrowly in its own interests. In Rae's words, the province is getting sick ii of being seen as the big guy at the end of rthe trend in the country's most impor tant constituency. The election of Harris indicates that Canadian voters are looking for real try in the sacred name of "employment equity," had broad support. The Left remains its own worst enemy, unhappy with the disciplines of power. A gutsy move by Rae to cut back public-sector wages won him the undying enmity of labor leaders and academic ideologues.

They sat and watched the advance of Harris's Goths and Visigoths rather than work for the NDP's re-election. Now, virginity recovered, they can count on decades of free shouting from the opposition benches. What does all this mean for Quebec? If Harris keeps his promises, Ontario is in for a whirlwind of tax and spending cuts, privatizations (Ontario Hydro and the Liquor Control Board) and swift progress toward a balanced budget. Unless Quebec follows suit, it will be the single one of Canada's 1 1 major governments still complacent about deficits and play-money projections. The effect on our credit rating could be unpleasant.

I people as their leaders, rather than too- obvious politicians; in a phrase, people the bar, always ready to pick up the tab. Unity: Rae was very good here. He knew the dossier intimately and could speak directly to Quebecers in good French. Harris is a relative innocent, but Queen's Park insiders point to private sessions with Jean Charest, Daniel Johnson and Robert Bourassa in which he has done a lot of listening. He will, they say, chant the mantra faithfully (Ontarians like and respect Quebecers and want them to remain in Canada).

When he has to do some naysaying, the words will be clear but not offensive. Above all, they say, Harris knows when to keep his mouth shut. Let's hope. NORMAN WEBSTER capita debt load of Canada's richest province in just four fiscal years, a wildly irresponsible performance. Ontario's voters applauded a tough federal budget this spring; this week, they dropped the second shoe.

Canadians are becoming less tolerant of social engineering by governments. Harris's plan to reform and trim welfare payments is supported by resentful workers as well as muttering millionaires. His promise to scrap the NDP's U.S.-style racialgenderdisability quota system, about to enmesh Ontario indus who ve got a lite. Examples include the beery populist Ralph Klein, former golf pro Harris and Prime Minister Chretien, still passing successfully as a little euv from vou-know-where desnite three I decades in Ottawa. The message about debt and its near- deathgrip on the treasury really is getting through, thank God.

Bob Rae's government more than doubled the per- Most of those speaking at Monday's session were critical of Trudeau, though for different reasons. Michael Behiels of the University of Ottawa's Department of History opened the session with a survey of Trudeau's many critics. "Nowhere in contemporary Canadian history is the dynamic of mythmaking and historical revisionism more visible than in the debate surrounding former prime minister P.E. Trudeau's legacy," Behiels said. Lightning rod "Out of office for barely a decade, Trudeau has become the central lightning rod in Canadian contempt rary historiography.

His overwhelming presence is felt keenly at the heart of virtually every debate concerning our recent past, our present, and our future." Some critics reviewed by Behiels are on the right. Joe Armstrong, author of Farewell the Peaceful Kingdom. The Seduction and Rape of Canada condemns Trudeau for imposing the Official Languages Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. William Gairdner, in Constitutional Crack-up: Cana-; da and the Coming Showdown with Quebec, claims that Trudeau brought the country to the verge of bankruptcy and crack-up. On the left, McCall and Clarkson fault Trudeau for not sufficiently resisting American hegemony.

Sociologist John F. Conway, in Debts to Pay: English; Canada and Quebec from the Conquest to the Referendum, and political scientist Philip Resnick, in To-; ward a Canada-Quebec Union, both condemn Trudeau for refusing to accept special status for Quebec. Of Trudeau's Quebec-based detractors, Behiels gave a partial list, including Guy Laiorest, Louis Balthazar," Alain-G. Gagnon, Daniel Latouche, Gil Remillard, Pierre Fournier and Christian Dufour. There are, of course, many more.

Zeal and rectitude "They have declared, with the zeal and rectitude that characterizes dogmatic religious cults, that the Trudeau-inspired and politically illegitimate Constitution Act, 1982, with its homogenizing Charter of Rights and Freedoms, permanently destroyed their dream of a bi-national Canada," Behiels said. His paper reached its best in his discussion of the "Conquest" cult among nationalist academics. After World War II, historians Guy Fregault, Maurice Seguin and Michel Brunet explained all the problems of French Canadians by the Conquest two centuries earlier. Because of the Conquest, the poverty and subordinate position of French Canadians in industry and the economy were inevitable. Their thesis fell into disrepute among historians after the Quiet Revolution proved that neither the Conquest nor the federation kept French Canadians subordinate once they decided to reform their institutions.

But the Conquest theory was recently revived by Christian Dufour, Guy Laforest, Jacques Dufresne and others under a new scenario: they declare that the patriation of the constitution in 1982, without the approval of the National Assembly, was the new Con Bourque should press premier to live up to rhetoric MARCO M. GENONI May 29, in a luncheon speech to the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, Premier Parizeau gave message of hope to the entire Greater Montreal business community. This message was well received by an audience eager to hear the premier (make commitments confirming the role of Greater Montreal as the province's metropolis, economic heart, and gateway to the world. The premier did not beat around the ibush: "Si nous ne reussissons pas a faire treal, and Premier Parizeau himself, claim that they are determined to set in motion effective solutions for the region. The premier has made solemn promises to that effect.

But these commitments are still very vague. It is up to our municipal representatives to focus the debate on Montreal's most urgent priorities. Present path can lead nowhere It is crucial that we prevent current plans to develop a new fiscal deal for Montreal from continuing on their present path, which can lead nowhere. The government's current approach minimizes the importance of matters of vital concern to Montreal, and must not be applied to the search for solutions to the many issues of key importance to the region, whether they involve labor relations, taxation, financing, or support for activities specific to a metropolis. The Montreal business community is ready to do everything within its power to support this endeavor.

If all of the players take speedy action, it is not inconceivable that concrete steps could be taken in the areas of major concern to our region before the referendum on the future of Quebec is held. Marco M. Genoni is president of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan non-governmental organizations. Greater Montreal is the source of 86 per cent of the province's cultural production. All of which means that Premier Parizeau had good reason when he declared that Montreal is in a class of its own.

Montreal's uniqueness Mr. Parizeau not only acknowledged the importance of Montreal, he also stressed its uniqueness: "Ce n'est pas le gouvernement du Quebec qui s'oppose au concept de statut particulier ou de societe distincte. Je pense qu'a plusieurs egards nous devons concretises ensemble, la specificite mon-trealaise." Of course, these declarations are encouraging to Montrealers and give new hope to those who believe that Quebec must have a strong metropolis to create jobs and to reduce the pitifully high number of Quebec households that rely on social assistance for survival. Still, the most well-intentioned declarations are not enough. There is an urgent need to take effective action to give Montreal the special status it needs.

The Board of Trade is in complete agreement with Mr. Parizeau when he says that Montreal's specificity must be reflected in the organization of public powers and the treatment accorded Montreal by the Quebec government. The premier also spoke about the new fiscal deal that was promised to Montreal so long ago. Unfortunately, this issue, so vital to our region, is now being accorded the same level of importance as requests from any other of the province's 31 central cities. If we really believe in the specificity of Greater Montreal, we must act quickly to develop solutions that take into account the fact that Montreal is indeed the metropolis of Quebec and the province's only real gateway to the rest of the world.

We must, for example, obtain a firm commitment from our political leaders that the metropolis will not be weakened by the transfer of its provincial-government offices to the capital. The metropolis is now in a position of strength. The premier has just made a public commitment. It is now up to the region's elected representatives to do their part. That is why the Board of Trade strongly urges Pierre Bourque, as mayor of the largest municipality in the region, to take charge of the situation and work to achieve the consensus needed to convince the government of Quebec that it must take immediate action.

This is the very essence of the challenge that the region's mayors must tackle. A number of their provincial counterparts, including Camille Laurin, chairman of the Comit d'initiatives et d'action de la grande region de Mon redecoller 1 economic de Montreal, nous ne reussirons pas a faire redecoller l'economie du Quebec." This is a very clear view of today's reality, and one that we subscribe to fully. It must be remembered that: Almost half of the population of Quebec lives in Greater Montreal More than half of the province's eco- Inomic activity takes place here. More than 90 per cent of the research land development carried out in Quebec is in tne Montreal area. Almost all of the province's head of quest.

fices are concentrated in this area. There is another strain of opposition to Trudeau International activities constitute a natural extension of Greater Montreal's role as the province's metroDolis. Mon that Behiels did not mention: it is that of the communitarians, such as Charles Taylor, Gordon Robertson and Roger Tasse, who claim to improve liberalism by the acceptance of nationalism and collective rights. I treal is home to some 40 international Secretariats, 100 consulates and diplo will discuss their currently very influential views on another day. matic missions, and 40 international i.