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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, May 16, 1980
Page 9
Whichever way the referendum turns out--"Oui" or "Non"--little good will
come of it.
If "Yes" wins, it will only lead to an impasse, because no one in English
speaking Canada has a mandate to negotiate "sovereignty-association" with
Quebec. In fact, both federal officials and leading premiers of Western
Canada have most emphatically said they won't do such a thing. Quebec
is a net beneficiary in its economic relationships with the rest of
Canada. "No united Canada, no preferential treatment for Quebec" is the
widespread mood. Alberta for one, is not likely to continue selling low
price subsidized oil to those no longer part of the federation. Thus, the
very idea of "sovereign association" seems flawed from the beginning.
On the other hand, if "No" is victorious, especially just by a whisper,
it could only lead to frustration and eventually violence. As an English
speaking farmer in the Eastern Townships of Quebec said, "If some group
wants a country, there's no limit to what they'll do to get it." Certain
ly, a defeated PQ would place the blame on the 30% anglophone (English
speaking) minority of Quebec, who most certainly will vote overwhelmingly
in the negative. Levesque has already referred to the anglophones as
"Westmount Rhodesians" (Westmount is the primary anglophone district in
Montreal)--a snide comparison to white Rhodesians who, like the English in
Quebec, dominate the economy.
Thus, there is the making of ugly civil strife. Canada could be faced
with its own minority-within-a-minority problem such as in Ireland.
(Catholics being a minority in Northern Ireland whereas Protestants
comprise a minority within Ireland as a whole, and thus culturally ally
·themselves with the majority in the British Isles.) Quebec is not just
a "French place"--just as not all Canada is English-speaking.
Thus May 20 is a critical day in Canada's history. It could be the
beginningc:>f�he end for Canada--or, as independent minded Quebecois see
it, the beginning of their much cherished nation. There is no doubt that
momentum is on the side of the PQ supporters. Referendum victory or not,
Quebec is very likely on an irreversible course toward independence.
Psychologically, the edge must go toward the independentiste. Said the
columnist in the Montreal Gazette: "Passion for Canada, the kind of
passion that is easily aroused here for Quebec, is not very evident here
or elsewhere...Ardent Canadians deplore the lack of commitment to Canada
in Quebec. But ardent Canadians are not that easy to find in the rest of
the country either."
The eventual impact upon the United States of a severed Canada will be
enormous--economically and even militarily. A future PLAIN TRUTH article
will examine this crisis further.
--Gene H. Hogberg, News Bureau