HOW TO FIX CANADA //

Canada now and in the future -- if there is a future.

There are certain steps that usually occur in all separations. The handwriting is usually on the wall for a long time before the separation occurs. The dissatisfaction is loud and clear or muted but always present. Sometimes the separation may be delayed with wads of money and allowances to the dissatisfied parties. (Quebec receives $5.5 billion annually in "equalization" payments + + + ) This sidesteps the inevitable and may actually hide the reasons for the required fundamental changes. If the separatists are not protesting loud enough and everything appears relatively peaceful, there is no need to bring about fundamental changes. These changes can then be endlessly delayed. The Canadian Government has played this game for 40 years.

This is sad but it has happened in Canada. The Quebecois separatists have been protesting for about forty years. They want to separate from Canada and have their own sovereign country. They already have unilingual French unlike the English-speaking provinces who have to contend with forced English-French bilingualism, which should be a provincial issue. Quebec has its own Quebec Provincial Police. They have their own Quebec Pension Plan which unlike the Canada Pension Plan is not broke. They have their own tax system. They have their own Immigration Department -- they get to pick the immigrants they like -- not so in the other provinces. They have their own separatist representatives in the federal government called the Bloc Quebecois. Almost all the major prime ministers in Canada for the past century have lived in Quebec. The prime minister has called the federal treatment of Quebec, tough love. There are several other provinces that would like some of that tough love.

The separatists in Quebec have already had two referendums on this issue and came within 1% of 50%+1 in the last referendum. They refused to sign on to the so-called Canadian Charter of Rights (1982). And now with the new premier of the province, they are agitating full time again. Sooner or later they will have referendum III.

It should be obvious to even a blind man that Quebec has received abject favoritism from the federal government because of this separatist issue. It should also be obvious that all this favoritism has not worked.

And to make matters worse for Canada, all this favoritism for Quebec and the lack of favoritism for Alberta and British Columbia has now brought about strong separatist feelings in both of these western provinces. It is called western alienation. If these feelings of alienation increase, these provinces, which are self-supporting and not waiting for equalization payments from Ottawa, could have their own separatist movement in the near future.

Therefore in order to allay these separatist causes, something else should be tried. Quebec separatism and western alienation should cause the federal government to rethink the whole confederation issue. Unfortunately the political elites in Ottawa are scared stiff of any changes. It might interfere with their cushy jobs and their vast travel plans. These travel plans are so secret that Canadians are not allowed to look at them, not even through the Access to Information Act.

Here is the plan that might save Canada if we have the guts to pull it off.
1. Canadians need a Confederation for Tomorrow Conference and soon. The Liberals will delay this forever because of what happened to Mulroney at Meeche and Charlottetown when he and Joe Clark attempted to amend the constitution.
2. This constitutional conference should be held in a small town in a remote place in the West -- away from the central-Canada pressures and away from the have-not Atlantic provinces.
3. It should run on the belief that nothing is sacred and their main task is to keep Canada united.
4. Special-interest groups, lobby groups, unionists and federal bureaucrats should have no input.
5. It should come up with a constitution for Canada and Canadians -- not a Charter for the world.
6. The present Charter -- which Quebec refused to sign and which gives special rights to special people -- should be abandoned.
7. All Canadians -- not "everyone" in the world -- should be equal before the law and their governments.
8. All aboriginals should be recognized as Canadians.
9. Canadians should have property rights anywhere in Canada and should not be deprived of property without proper and legal compensation.
10. Canadians may sell their property to anyone they please whenever they please.
11. Supreme Court judges should be questioned by provincial appointees about their competence and prejudices.
12. Supreme Court decisions should be based on common law and case law -- not the abandoned Charter, which gave special-interest groups, special rights.
13. All immigration, as in Quebec, should be a provincial issue.
14. The Canadian Senate should be a triple E Senate -- equal, 2 from each province, effective, and elected.
15. All Canadians should vote for the prime minister of Canada -- not just his friends in his political party.
16. All Canadians should be required to vote.
17. The "first past the post" voting system should be abandoned in favor of a "proportional representation" system. With this system the majority of Canadians would be represented in parliament -- not the Liberals who only represent one in four Canadians.
18. Special treatment for special provinces should be abandoned.
19. The GST should be cancelled.
20. All taxes should be collected by provincial governments who will then send a cheque to Ottawa to support the much-reduced Ottawa government.
21. Canadians should have recall of useless politicians and the prime minister if enough signatures can be achieved.
22. Approximately 90% of federal bureaucracies should be abandoned or downloaded to provincial governments.
23. Canadians should have binding referendums when a specified number of signatures is achieved.
24. An issue on a referendum that fails should not be allowed on another referendum for 10 years.
25. The National debt should be reduced to zero.
26. The Canadian dollar should be on par with the US Dollar.
27. Politicians whose conduct is under investigation should be sent subpoenas -- not an invitation as Chretien received from the APEC inquiry.
28. Illegal immigrants should be kept in custody until they are deported.
29. New immigrants who are convicted of any criminal offence should be deported on completion of their sentence. Illegal immigrants who have been deported and return again, should receive a mandatory 10 years in prison.
30. All elections should be by date.
31. The prime minister should only be allowed one term in office.
32. This new Canadian Constitution should be put to all Canadians in the form of a referendum question.
33. Canadians need to know about the vast number of taxpayer funded travels of politicians and bureaucrats outside Canada -- information that is now denied.
34. A simple and easy amendment formula should be worked out -- 3 provinces -- 25% of Canadians -- which cannot be blocked by federal politicians opposed to changes.

Unfortunately the Liberals in Ottawa have a huge majority and four years to go. They may believe they have the divine rights of kings. They may be right because Canadians have never complained. Time for a change.