For immediate release: March 27, 1998
Honourable Preston Manning
Leader of the Opposition
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
Dear Sir:
Western Canadians sent you to Ottawa because of your promise to represent their interests in a system where the rights and freedoms of the west have always been secondary to those of Quebec and Ontario. You sought to give Westerners a voice, "the West wants in" as you so eloquently put it.
If you still believe that consulting every citizen of the West is important, I urge you to consult with those in Western Canada to get their input on the special question of whether Quebec should have the right to choose their own destiny.
If you support the Supreme Court having the power to decide the destiny of Quebec, you will be acting in a manner prejudicial to every thinking Western Canadian.
All I ask for myself, my family, my fellow Western Canadians, is that you listen to the wishes of Western Canada and consult us, not just on election day but every day on those issues that concern us all. How can you go wrong by listening to the people? Set a precedent so that for once, the West would have sent representatives to Ottawa that listen.
There is no such thing as a bad or wrong answer if the people are consulted in a democratic fashion. Therefore I urge you to distribute the following petition so that Western Canadians can speak for themselves and tell their fellow Canadians and those in Quebec their wishes. You can courageously serve democracy and so true leadership by so doing.
Without consulting your people, why give the Supreme Court a free hand? We urge you to consult Western Canadians by circulating the attached petition. It can only give you support in Quebec and in the West. In your heart and in your prayers, you must know that this is the correct thing to do.
Douglas Christie,
Leader
Western Canada Concept
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Declaration of support for Quebec's Right to Self-Determination
To: The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
Prime Minister Lucien Bouchard
Prime Minister Jean Chretien
We, the undersigned, believing in the right of each individual citizen to choose their political destiny in their province for themselves,
Hereby declare our support for the sovereign right of the People of Quebec in their own referendum to choose if they wish to remain in Canada or not. Our belief in democracy affirms that no court can impose conditions on the democratically expressed will of the people of Quebec. Furthermore, they and they alone, should be allowed to chose by simple majority the political association of which they wish to be a part. We believe that recent attempts by the federal government to have the federally-appointed Supreme Court rule in their favor is an insult to all of us who believe the people, not the courts, should decide our political destiny.
If it is the will of the majority of the people of Quebec, let Quebec Go!
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Please mail or fax this form to: Western Canada Concept, P.O. Box 40143, Victoria, B.C. V8W 3N3, Fax: 250-479-3294; Visit the Western Canada Concept on the Internet at: http://www.westcan.org/
To interview Douglas Christie:
Tel: (250) 385-1022
Fax (250) 479-3294