Volume XI, Number 9, September 1993
The above headline appeared in the Victoria Times-Colonist newspaper of August 11, 1993, and reflects the Prime Minister's words on a Vancouver talk show that "None of us can be indifferent to the well-being of Ontario."
This issue celebrates the tenth anniversary of the Western Separatist Papers.
Upon looking over the issues of the past ten years, I am amazed by the number of people who contributed to them, in so many different ways, from Clyde Nunn in Northern B.C. and Dick Lewers on Vancouver Island, to Bill Hosford in Alberta, Wayne Ratzlaff in Saskatchewan and Fred Cameron in Manitoba. The efforts of the Victoria work party group are especially gratifying; with some members being active for the entire ten years of the paper’s existence.
In the pages of this modest newsletter is a history of the movement for western separation. Here is reflected the rise and fall of the various Western Canada Concept parties of each western province. We see the Pembina by-election, the Yukon by-election, and other elections as well. The tours of the West by Doug Christie are documented in these pages, as well as hundreds of public meetings, and many media appearances.
The "Letters to the Editor" section is also remarkable, being a compendium of reasons why there are Western separatists. I am grateful to letter writers such as Mike Walsh for their wonderful letters.
The most striking thing to become evident when reading the approximately 120 issues of the WSP, however, is that over these past ten years while the West has grown in awareness of the need for Independence, it has been weakened continually by federal encroachments into its economy, its freedom and the vitality of its people. Ten years ago there was much more hope within the people that change could happen easily. Many so-called dedicated separatists have fallen by the wayside since then, disappearing into their own personal concerns with the survival of themselves and their families. There was a lot more innocent disbelief in the evils of politicians, even as their sins were being itemized! Now people are, despite the triumph of last October’s No vote in the referendum, even more cynical about their effectiveness in politics. We are truly entering a new phase in the political life of Western Canada, and it isn’t clear how it will be characterized, but perhaps in ten years the WSP will be able to look back and see.
Thank you very much for all your support and encouragement during this decade.
Keltie Zubko
On the first page of the first little edition of the WSP, it was written that "The Western Separatist Papers, published monthly, is a newsletter dedicated to promoting Independence for Western Canada by education and the exchange of ideas to inspire the great action that will ultimately result in freedom and justice for Western Canadians." It was made clear that the term "separatism" referred to (still does refer to) political independence from Central Canada.
(This column highlighted some of the more ridiculous statements made by public figures, relating to Western Canada.)
From WSP, November 1986:
Liberal M.P. Sheila Copps responded to the statement made by author Peter Brimelow in Edmonton recently that official bilingualism in Canada has given Quebec and some Ontario residents the inside track in Ottawa at westerners’ expense, by saying that the regional language advantage is no more unfair than Albertans’ edge in becoming petrochemical engineers. The only difference is that it isn’t necessary to be a petrochemical engineer if you want to get ahead in the Canadian government or crown corporations.
Former Quebec Premier Rene Levesque commented in Edmonton recently that contrasted with Quebec separatists, "Western separatists don’t have the deep historical explanation that we have in Quebec. I think it’s a sort of backlash against Ottawa that comes up periodically." Mr. Levesque said that he senses no "real urge for western self-government of .. yearning for going out on your own."
From WSP, December 1986
From the PC Canada Fund’s "A Record of Accomplishments," a report sent to supporters of the Conservatives, to help solicit funds: "A calm and reasoned review of the achievements of the last two years shows dramatic progress for Canada. A brief look at our record in every major area shows why your continued support of PC Canada Fund is so important: .. NATIONAL UNITY Brian Mulroney’s dedication to cooperation with provincial governments contrasts sharply with the prior federal government’s confrontational style. Historic Energy Accords have been reached. Dramatic progress has been made towards a national consensus on the constitution."
From WSP, October 1988:
Headline: Mulroney promises Western voice will rise again.
In a speech to 1,100 people at a buffet in Regina then opposition leader Brian Mulroney is quoted by the Edmonton Journal of October 3, 1983 as saying that the Liberal government has neglected the West and that "I shall not rest until such time as Western Canada is back in the decision-making process of the country again" and that his first priority as prime minister would be to resurrect genuine co-operative federalism."
He said, "I speak of a future of new hope and opportunity ...of building bridges across Canada... We have begun the process of working hard in Western Canada."
As if it wasn’t also true of his own party, Mr. Mulroney linked the Liberals and New Democrats, saying "With their base in Quebec and Ontario, and help from their friends in the NDP, the Liberals know they don’t need Western Canada and they act... as if they don’t want Western Canada."
The article concludes by saying that the Saskatchewan audience wasn’t too enthusiastic about the speech, even when it dealt with the Crow rate. Apparently their enthusiasm was enough to get Mulroney elected with the biggest majority ever, less than one year after that speech.
Over the years, we have witnessed the courage of many men and women who have fought for the West, and many of them have been highlighted in these pages. There are many more, apart from the those mentioned here.
Russell Doern
The March 1987 edition of the Western Separatist Papers was dedicated to Russell Doern, broadcaster, writer, political activist who died that year. He fought for Western Canada during the 1983-84 Manitoba language crisis. His book, The Battle Over Bilingualism documents that struggle, and is a western Canadian classic.
Arch Dale, Western Canadian Cartoonist.
Through the years, the Western Separatist Papers has featured on its cover many cartoons that first appeared in the early part of the century on such publications as the Grain Growers Guide. Mr. Dale’s cartoons were said to be "a dynamic factor in the farmers’ battles against freight rates, injustices in the grain trade, high interest rates, high tariffs, and all their other oppressions."
Pat Burns Speaks Up for Western Canada
The outspoken Pat Burns hosted the Hotline radio talk show for many years on CJOR radio and then later on CKO. He gave Western Canadians a voice as no other by simply letting them talk
(From WSP, December 1986) The following editorial was aired on CJOR, Vancouver’s former Talk Radio station, on November 10th, 1986:
I see absolutely no hope for the West, as long as it remains part of Canada, at least in our lifetime. Now if you want to accuse me of promoting western separatism, that is your right.
The way this nation is politically constituted, there is no hope that the West will be anything but a milk cow for the East; or, to be much more blunt about it, a slave to the ambitions of federal politicians.
Please do not make the mistake of thinking that all we have to do to correct the situation is to change the party that forms the federal government. They are all the same. The Liberals stayed in office most of this century by pandering to Ontario and Quebec, and the Conservatives are doing exactly the same thing; if anything, even more blatantly than the Liberals. If you are an NDP supporter, do not make the fundamental mistake of thinking your party would be any different. It would not be.
The first law of nature is survival, and for a political party to survive in Canada it must sell its soul to Quebec and Ontario. The first, and indeed the only goal of a political party is to gain power. Once that is achieved, its only goal then, is to retain that power.
In Canada, it is impossible to succeed in either, without selling out to Quebec and Ontario; because those two provinces have more seats between them than all the rest of the provinces combined. Thus, if the NDP were to gain power, they would have to play the same shell game as the Liberals and Conservatives if they wanted to stay in office. It is a politically immutable law.
The Conservatives in Manitoba recently experienced the harsh truth of that statement. Despite the fact that the Winnipeg-based Bristol Aerospace put in a lower bid and had a track record to show they were superior, Canadair, in Montreal, ended up with the more-than-one-billion-dollar contract to service the CF-18 fighter planes Canada is buying from the United States.
Quebec was superior in only one aspect. It has 75 federal seats, Manitoba, 14. That, and that alone is what got the contract for Canadair. The poor dumb Conservatives in Manitoba are now trying to distance themselves from the Federal Conservatives, knowing full well that their political fortunes in that province have taken a nose-dive as the result of the Ottawa decision to give a Quebec-based company the contract. They are even talking of finding a new name for the party in Manitoba. Like most other Western Canadians, they refuse to face up to reality.
Reality says that in our political setup in Canada, the West will always get the short end of the stick, regardless of the name of the party in power in Ottawa.
If we had a system of checks and balances, such as they have in the United States, the situation would be vastly different. But we don’t and therefore, we must live with the reality as it is, and not delude ourselves into thinking it is something else.
It is not just the Canadair contract, it is everything the federal government does by way of contracts and grants. Everything.
When we ceased some years ago to be a colony of Great Britain, all we did was change masters. We are now a colony of Ontario and Quebec.
How long Western Canadians will put up with this colonialism, is hard to say. Perhaps, a new generation of Western Canadians with more pride in themselves as a free-born people will have the courage to do what this generation is too weak to face up to.
Helmcken Predicts B.C. Losses in Union With Canada
From WSP, February 1985 One of the most prophetic speeches of Western Canadian history was made during the legislative debates when B.C. entered Confederation. It was made by Dr. John Sebastian Helmcken and accurately predicts the position of the West in Canada today, from his vantage point on March 9, 1871! Excerpts from it are printed below:
British Columbians had no choice upon joining Confederation! Dr. Helmcken said: "All we have to do is to agree to a series of Resolutions. It is not pretended that it is the voice of the people, or the voice of this Council. It is well understood that it is a Government measure. And we all know what that means - it means that this series of Resolutions is to be passed - And we have it from the Governor that he desires to send these Resolutions to Canada; they will not go, they are not intended to go, as the opinion of the people."
Confederation brought with it the restrictive trade practices that have penalized the West for over 100 years. Dr. Helmcken warned B.C.: "I feel perfectly sure, Sir, that if Confederation should come, bringing with it the Tariff of Canada, not only will the farmers be mined, but our independence will be taken away; it will deprive our local industries of the protection now afforded them; and will inflict other burdens upon them; it will not free trade and commerce from the shackles which now bind them, and will deprive the Government of the power of regulating and encouraging those interests upon which the prosperity of the Colony depends."
In reference to the arguments that B.C. (or the West as a whole) is too small to look after itself, Dr. Helmcken said: "I shall not go into the question of Canada being able to defend this Colony; I do not believe, Sir, that Canada is able to defend itself. Confederation would make the Dominion territorially greater, but would in case of war, be a source of weakness. It is people, not territory, that makes a country strong and powerful. To be strong, the union must be of people and in my opinion that condition is wanting."
Almost all the arguments for separation are covered in the following excerpts which he at that time made against Confederation:
"Canada will take no coal nor lumber from us, and will not increase our trade at all; but they will take our money, and much of that money derived from the very fact that we have to pay more for Canadian manufactures than the Eastern Provinces, or rather we are obliged to pay duties upon foreign articles, simply because we cannot obtain Canadian, and yet we are told that confederation will reduce our taxation..."
"It would be absurd for us to sacrifice our interests in order that laws may be made for us by a people who know little of our condition and wants, and who in fact must necessarily legislate for the greater number - the people of the Atlantic Provinces. It is dangerous to place ourselves at the disposal of superior numbers."
"I believe, Sir, we are quite capable of making laws for ourselves."
"If we are united, or rather absorbed, everything will centralize in Canada, and the whole country will be tributary to Canada. The number of Representatives sent to Ottawa from other places would overwhelm the number sent from British Columbia. Even in the matter of appropriations, where the scramble always is, this Colony would be overborne: we should be laughed at by the victors for our pretensions."
"If we are Confederated with Canada we become its tributary, and in all that concerns us chiefly Canada has to act for us. In all our chief concerns, commerce, shipping, and mercantile laws, agriculture, trade, navigation, fisheries, currency, banking - Canada rules. She may tax us to any extent, and in any manner she pleases, so that it is quite possible we may have export duties on gold and coal."
"All such things as require money for their performance are left for the Colony to provide; those that require intellect are supplied by Canada... Cannot we pay our Colonial intellect to do our business well, instead of theirs to do it badly?"
"Confederation will ruin the farmer, and destroy at once the greatest inducement to immigration; will ruin the brewer and the fisheries; do no good to commerce; afford no larger market for lumber, coal, or anything else; in fact do a great deal of harm and no good, save that which is problematical and fanciful."
This featured articles appearing in the mainstream media that sounded like they were written by separatists. An example of this appeared in the WSP of September 1987. This article originally appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press of August 8, 1987.
The impressive figures contained in the federal government’s background paper on western diversification indicate that, while Ottawa may have established a diversification fund and office for political reasons there are solid economic reasons why any federal government should take care of the West in its own self-interest. The figures are the same ones that have been used by western Canadian organizations in attempts to persuade Ottawa of the importance of the western region, but carry more weight in a federal document.
Western Canada, for example, generates $11 billion in agricultural cash receipts, over half of such national receipts. It produces 95 per cent of Canada’s wheat sales, 93 per cent of its barley, 100 per cent of its canola, 60 per cent of its cattle and 40 per cent of its hogs. About 60 per cent of 1986 Canadian agricultural exports were grains, oilseeds or their products.
The West accounts for 99 per cent of Canada’s crude oil, natural gas production. In 1985, such production represented 8.4 per cent of Canada’s gross national product. In the same year exports of western crude oil, natural gas and liquid petroleum gas contributed $8 billion, or 71 per cent of Canada’s positive energy trade balance of $11.1 billion.
The forest industry in the West in 1985 shipped $10 billion worth of products, a full 30 per cent of Canada’s total production of $30 billion. Western Canadian production accounted for 72 per cent of all Canadian lumber, 53 per cent of market pulp, 19 per cent of news-print and 85 per cent of plywood. The industry provided direct employment for more than 100,000 Canadians and indirect employment for another 20,000
Western Canadian mines and processing accounted for 40 per cent of all Canada’s copper, nickel, zinc, gold, silver, uranium, coal, sulphur and potash. The mining of western coal alone provided 8,000 jobs. The three western provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan are responsible for producing 90 per cent of all Canada’s coal, both low-cost thermal coal for electrical power and high-grade metallurgical coal for steel makers.
Western Canadian fisheries account for 30 per cent of the entire Canadian market, a market that includes $49 million worth of product from prairie freshwater fishing operations. Canada’s busiest seaport is Vancouver.
In total, Western Canada contributes 30 per cent to Canada’s gross national product. Its resource wealth is matched by poverty when it comes to manufacturing. The West has 10 per cent of its population employed in manufacturing, compared to the national average of 17 per cent. The West produces only 16 per cent of Canada’s manufactured goods, half its contribution to the GNP.
One of the problems is transportation. Transportation costs account for 31 per cent of the value of tradeable goods in the West, as against 14 per cent in the East.
Another problem is government policy. The federal government paper states of defence purchases: "Western Canadian companies are becoming increasingly competitive for defence spending." It cites a British Columbia firm’s participation in the rebuilding of the Northern Warning System, a Saskatchewan firm’s part in the new navy frigate program and a Winnipeg company’s contract to manufacture helicopter wire strike protection devices.
Understandably in a federal paper, there is no mention of the CF-18 maintenance work, except for the small part played by Northwest industries of Edmonton. There is no advertising of the fact that being competitive does not always work.
Nevertheless, the federal government paper has listed, in an impressive manner, why Canadians living in the West have every reason to want a bigger part in national decisions and in the formation of national policies that affect the economics of their region.
The paper also should tell Ottawa why Canada has many reasons for including Western Canadians and their concerns, in future policies. The West has quite a few marbles in the Canadian game.
[end of article]
(This appeared in the July/August 1990 issue of WSP.)
Former Member of Parliament and Minister of Trade in the Mulroney Government, Pat Carney speaking on the CBC’s Journal program, said:
"The issue that you see reflected in Western Canada is the fact that Westerners simply don’t feel that their priorities have been addressed, either in this round of the past rounds of constitutional debate.
"What’s going to happen is the West has grown up, and it’s saying, we are not going to listen to this any more. I mean, over and over again people tell me - and it’s not my view, but people tell me - we don’t care if Quebec leaves. I mean we don’t care if Ontario leaves. We don’t care if they all leave. We’d just like to get on with our own agenda...
"I think that the difference between 1980 and 1990 is that young people are not seeing their future in this attic of North America, which is forever internally squabbling about anglophone rights and francophones rights. I think there’s an impatience in Western Canada with the amount of energy that this endless debate is taking up.
"We want a debate on the fact that Confederation hasn’t been working for us for some time, and we want some of our issues on the agenda...
"One example, in the case of myself as a British Colombian, is the total obsession with Ottawa and the federal government, with the French language and not the English language.
"We are a bilingual country; we have two official languages. And yet in 10 years of trying to get Ottawa and the cabinet and the prime minister to pay attention to the fact that English as a second language is a big problem in Vancouver [we] never got any results.
"You know, we have a situation in Vancouver where a majority of the school children do not speak English as their first language, or French, for that matter ... And so there is a real desperate need for funding for English language instruction, and yet given this real need, and this real problem, I could never get the slightest attention in Ottawa to the fact that if we had two official languages, maybe there could be federal funding for English, as well as federal funding for French, in this region.
"It’s that kind of inbred bias, it’s that kind of deafness to really important regional needs, which finally makes you realize they’re not listening and they’re never going to listen."
Such comments, made by a person in Ms. Carney’s position, would have been unthinkable even a short while ago, but it appears that the fallout from the Meech Lake "crisis" has been to open the mouths of many Westerners that would previously have been kept shut. The big question that follows from Ms. Carney’s remarks is then what should the West do, in the face of such unchangeable deafness? We all know what Ms. Carney became, i.e. a Senator.
Throughout the WSP’s ten years, we have tried to point out the dangers in various pieces of legislation and policies of the federal government. For example, the following editorial about the new Official Languages Act appeared in August 1988:
It was, said the Prime Minister, "a significant day for the unity of Canada." This, after firing one of the nine Toronto MPs who dared raise his head against Bill C-72 in its final reading in the House. We all know what happens to those who stick out, especially in the Canadian political system.
And when this happened, where was the public outcry? The talk shows were vociferously concerned with the issue, a typical vent for excess steam., until something else came along. The editorial pages concentrated their ink on the wayward MacKenzie and his eight brave fellows, making them out to be recalcitrant idiots to have voted according to the wishes of their electors. Some people gathered on Parliament Hill futile protest.
So once more, mid-summer saw an important change made in Canada, just like last summer when the productive Tory government gave us war crimes legislation. Pat Crofton, MP for Saanich bragged in his recent mailout that the Tories have passed 14% more legislation than the previous government. Thank you, Mr. Crofton for voting for Bill C-72 to help the government be so "productive", as it wends its destructive path through our lives, creating laws we don’t need or want.
Following the passage of Bill C-72, statements form MPs appeared in the media, justifying their votes in favour of broadened bilingualism. The onetime leader of the dinosaur pack, Stan Graham, described the Prime Minister’s eloquent talk to the caucus before the vote, in which his most moving point was that the Tories would be in the wilderness a long, long time, without the swift passage of Bill C-72 to appease Quebec.
This is a little lesson for all potential MPs, heading idealistically to Ottawa, with dreams of getting into the system to change the West’s position from there. It won’t work. If there is no intention of leaving Canada there can be no possible change in status for the West. Episodes like this drive the point home...to those who are watching.
It was, said the Prime Minister, "a significant day for the unity of Canada." But not the way he thought.
The WSP also fought against the GST. In May 1989, the editor wrote about being in Hungary during the first of the massive rallies for democracy, and wrote: "How ironic that as these Eastern Europeans slowly, painfully shrug off the fetters of totalitarianism, the west is blindly donning them: Over and over again ordinary Hungarians told us of the things that have made their lives intolerable, for example, a year ago a value-added tax was imposed...."
Many articles discussing the GST were published.
At times we‘ve come across articles that have epitomized the difficulties in the Canadian system. One such article was published in the Toronto Sunday Star of April 17,1988, page F2, providing insight into why the country will never be "one."
When Metro flexes a muscle the rest of the country moves.
Imagine that New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit and half of Boston were suddenly combined into one great urban centre.
A monstrous city, to be sure. Bigger than many countries. It would clearly dominate the U.S. marketplace as a whole.
But no more than Greater Toronto dominates the retail market in Canada.
Consider another analogy offered by Leonard Kubas, who heads up his own marketing research company: A cash register rings once in Toronto for every six times a cash register is heard somewhere else in the country.
"You don’t have to be a national retailer to succeed," says Kubas. "Before you go putting stores in the West Edmonton Mall, make sure you’ve got enough stores in Metro Toronto."
Canadian retail trade, including automobiles, totaled $153.7 billion last year, of which $22.9 billion was spent in the Toronto census Metropolitan Area., or C.M.A.
(The Toronto C.M.A. includes Metro Toronto, counties Peel, Halton, and York, and half of Durham - excluding Oshawa and Whitby.)
And Toronto’s share of national trade is growing.
From 1981 to 1987, retail sales in Canada expanded by 63 per cent. In Greater Toronto, the growth was 91 per cent.
Population is obviously a key factor in all this. The three fastest growing communities in the country just happen to be on the outskirts of Metro.
Other factors include:
A higher percentage of working women in Toronto’s labor force than in any other Canadian city, with the exception of Edmonton and Calgary, whose average populations are younger than Toronto’s on the average.
On a per capita basis, more people in Toronto are working than anywhere else.
And, since the average size of Toronto households tends to be smaller, all this combines to boost average household income.
The implications for marketers are many.
"Not only are you looking at regional markets," says Kubas. "Toronto is considered a market on its own."
In term of population and spending power, Greater Toronto equals the four Atlantic provinces and Saskatchewan combined.
Quaint Churches
But the travel business and most beer commercials leave a somewhat difference impression.
As Kubas puts it: "The image one gets of Canada is tundra, quaint churches in Quebec, mines in Northern Ontario, wheat fields in Saskatchewan, then cattle ranches.
"That’s b.s," he says. "The reality of Canada is Yonge and Bloor, Rue St. Catherine and Robson Strasse."
Combined, the three markets of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver account for more than one-third of Canada’s population and retail trade.
Throw in the rest of Canada’s major cities, and the country is essentially filled with urban-dwellers.
In terms of advertising, this has generally meant that decisions are made in Toronto based on assumptions about the local market, and by extension applicable to all other English-speaking markets in the country
Or: If it sings in Metro, it must sound pretty good in Regina.
Regina, of course, hates Toronto for precisely this reason, but Metro’s sheer weight in the national market makes it largely unavoidable.
Yet Kubas reckons that the cleverest of marketers are now exploiting the divisions and anomalies within the Toronto market itself, almost a neighborhood by neighborhood assault on our pocketbooks.
"Toronto is not a homogeneous market," Kubas notes. "It’s got a lot to do with ethnics and the rich people in Rosedale and Forest Hill."
Hence the beginnings of so-called "micro-marketing," catering to smaller groups at least in the context of Toronto.
"There are more people at Yonge and Eglinton than there are in Prince Edward Island," says. Kubas. "But to us, it’s just a little part of Toronto."
Will the groans in Regina never cease?
(Editor’s Note: In 1988 we answered with "No, not until we’re independent." Today we should note that things have changed a lot over the past few years for Toronto, with its economic recession making it feel what the rest of the country has felt for many years.)
The WSP was originally started to publish the "papers" that were researched and presented by the Victoria Study Group, a small group of people formed in 1983 to study Western Canada’s position in Canada. This was why the name of newsletter was "The Western Separatist Papers." The WSP also had other regular features, for example "The Cost of Confederation" which delved into the economics of Western Canada’s association with the rest of Canada, and "Freedom’s Voice" which tried to provide some inspiration, by quoting from great people of the past. Doug Christie always wrote a column, commenting about current events, entitled "A Separatist Speaks."
By Douglas Christie
Seldom is it possible in one simple graphic demonstration to show the meaning of a complex idea. The idea of Western Canadian independence which I have advocated since 1975 is a complex one. It has social, environmental, political, ethnic and economic dimensions. The most important reality is the economic nature of confederation. You can imagine how delighted I was when I saw a single graph which made the economic case crystal clear.
This graph shows two related phenomena. First, it shows the interprovincial trade patterns of Canada by province. Second, it shows the international trade pattern, again by province.
The interprovincial trade pattern is very significant. This shows which provinces are net exporters to other provinces in Canada. You can see by this simple bar graph that Ontario is the leader by an enormous margin in surplus of interprovincial trade. Quebec is a distant second. Most other provinces are in a deficit position.
Particularly noticeable in terms of deficit of interprovincial trade are B.C., Alberta, and Saskatchewan. They are the major importers of interprovincial trade and hence are in a negative position. The conclusion from this is obvious. Ontario and to a much lesser extent, Quebec, draw benefits from the interprovincial trade of goods. The rest of the country is tributary to Quebec and Ontario. A trade surplus means jobs, surplus revenues, and a growing infrastructure. A trade deficit is an indicator of the reverse.
Looking next at international trade, we see Canada as a net loser or in a deficit position of imports over exports. We see provincially Ontario is a massive international importer as is Quebec. But they have offset this with their trade surplus to the captive tributary provinces. The major producers of positive balance in international trade are three provinces. B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan. With fishery, forestry, mining, agriculture and petroleum, we are the area of the country which keeps the rest of Canada afloat.
These realities have never changed in the period of my life of the almost 20 years I have advocated independence for the West. When seen with the political power Ontario and Quebec possess by virtue of their population in the House of Commons (where they hold between them over 65% of the seats) this situation of advantage to themselves will never change as long as Canada exists. But that won’t be long.
One also has to realize that the West, particularly B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan are the only part of the country that could prosper on its own. Ontario needs Canada to survive. The West needs independence to prosper. The con game of confederation has gone on to the point of absurdity. Canada is on its way to bankruptcy and high taxes.
This brings me to the logical question of what to do in the coming election. There is going to be a major upheaval but only if Quebec votes Bloc Quebecois and the West votes Reform or COR. These two options are merely stepping stones to the break up and formation of new countries. This is happening all over the world. The internationalists can’t stop it. The era of big 19th century empires is gradually drawing to a close and smaller ethnically homogeneous nations are emerging.
But this election is just the prelude to an Italian style of parliament - fragmented, divided, confused and ineffectual. The Ottawa regime is such a failure but people have to see this very clearly before they accept change. They will see it after the next election as the divisions become clearer.
They are not prepared now to vote in a rational manner for a party that stands for independence of the west while an orderly progression in that direction is peacefully possible. No, their nature is to cling to the wreck of the Titanic for fear of the water, even when a lifeboat is at hand. But as surely as the Titanic sank, so will Canada.
The present election is not one we can win, as a party. The present election is one in which we can’t lose as a movement. We should throw all our support behind the Reform Party, not because Preston Manning is an honest reformer. He isn’t. Not because Reform is really possible. It isn’t. Not because that party isn’t riddled with power-hungry sycophants whose goal to a large extent is a trip to the trough. It is. But it is still the best alternative outside of the three parties already there. COR, if they have a candidate would also be a place to put a ballot mark.
There is an important principle at stake. Don’t muddy the waters. Most Canadians in the West are cautious reformers. They don’t want to be radical separatists, even though if confronted with the realities, they will concede the need for this end. They must be gradually educated and gradually moved to the idea of a new nation. They will only accept it when all else fails. So let them see that even with all the power that the people e of the west can give them, Reform will fail. Let them not be able to say people never gave Reform a chance.
The eastern media are going to give all credibility to the Liberals, Conservatives or NDP For this reason also, Reform should be promoted to the end that their power (that of the eastern media) is broken.
In a way, I am very disappointed and sorry that I will not myself be running in this federal election. I do not believe it would serve any useful purpose. We have no chance of getting elected although we might reach a few people at all-candidates meetings. Politics has to be more than publicity gimmicks and clichés. If ideas don’t’ have strength and people don’t have strength then
politics is just a series of pointless exchanges of lies and false promises.
This is not to say I am despondent or unsure of the inevitability of Independence. The collapse of Canada is certain, and it is not something I can cause or delay. It is not my fault or my responsibility. The country is morally, spiritually, economically and socially bankrupt. It has no vision. We can present the only true vision for the West better when the noise dies down from the election and the people see the inevitable chaos it will present. We have to step back temporarily from the electoral process but not from the political process. That process is primarily educational and spiritual. This is being done even as you read.
We must go on to grow and develop our concept of Western Canada in a constructive, imaginative and effective way. The importance of our message will not be diminished by this election but will only be increased by its result.
There are some who want to start or support other parties. This is foolish. The National Party of Mel Hurtig is about as honest and consistent as he is. The Canada Party is basically a new manifestation of frustration. There is nothing to be gained by such fragmentation.
There is only one significant question - Canada or Independence. The rest is mere quibbling over policies and short term goals. When the people have come to realize that Canada is finished we will be a long way ahead of them with the powerful answers they need to their confused empty uncertainty.
The election after this one will be the one where we can show more clearly that Independence is the option that makes sense. We will have to keep our efforts alive in the meantime.
For ten years Keltie Zubko has published these Separatist Papers. When I look back on them, I see the consistency, the prophetic clarity of the message for independence. The things which were written about have continued to occur. We need to realize that time and perseverance will see the emergence of the truth, and politics is sometimes a waiting game.
The movement for western Canadian independence will succeed.