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TERRACE. tom: “The final report

of the Citizens' Forum ‘on
Canada’s Future, released last
Thursday, calls on the country
to re-examine many of its ‘basic
policies, including: bilingualism’
and multicultyratiem, - .
‘At the same. time, ° forum :
chairman Keith Spicer warned
that sweeping criticisms “are

. dangerous’ to’ national. ‘unity.
'- “Ttis unhealthy for a country.

to have so much cynicism and
distrust between the citizens and

those who" govern them,” said

aed ie bier athe hd taal Sheek LE ood lakh orig Stor erg nt
Te Pe ia Re i ire a i ai dah ie hei

?

Spicer at the time of the report's
release..
He also said that many Cana-

dians will. feel the Prime .

Minister is treated too softly in
the report, and talks of a “fury
in the land against the Prime
Minister." | «

Discussions with: some
300,000 Canadians were con-
sidered - by the 12-member
forum in writing their final con-
clusions although much of the
hostility : toward Ottawa is not
mentioned. ;

Forum sessions took place i in
various northwest locations this
spring. | “

The report. —: budgeted at

$27.4 million, nearly three times

as much as originally expected.

-— recommends Quebec remain.

within Canada but with some:
special ‘constitutional -ar-:
rangments.: tO. preserve ‘its
culture, ‘and that aboriginal
peoples be given. self-
government and fair land d claims

; settlements.

ER ment cay ed EET RMT i eS gee ne oe ety

Pan ener ee

It also suggests a review of of-
ficial bilingualism, and cuts in
multiculturalism payments, ex-

’ cept for programs to orient im-.

migrants, reduce discrimination

-and promote equality.

Senate must be reformed or

- abolished, the Teport says, and
MPs must be given more free.

yotes in Parliament.

Although the report makes
no mention of. public involve-
ment in a.new constitutional
deal, Spicer recommends j in his

Pe me a

pal AL ere

forward that Canadians have
the opportunity to approve any
new constitution.

SA. political system at least
partly designed ‘by the people
and broadly approved by them
will be far easier to trust, as will

. the politicians. representing us
“within it,’ he writes.

Two of the forum's 12 com-
missioners have questioned the
validity of the forum Process
which began last year.

‘Robert Normand, publisher
of Quebec City’s newspaper Le

~ Terrace Standard, Wothestay, duty 3, 1981 ~

picer f war ns

recs : oye ai, vipa
BRON ag ga ag aay ys aes, TR Pere eak patente ar a

= Page AS

Solei!, called {t' an’ ade.
ministrative shambles’’:: that
trivializes many. problems,. ‘par ©
ticularly Quebso's. relationship .
with the rest of Canada.

Richard Cashin, a. News,
foundland . labour ; ‘leader, is”

worried the. report, does: ROt-ac-
__curately ‘eflect the’ opinions of

Canadians.

The forum, has been plagued. i

by squabbles and administrative } 1
controversies since; the , Prime
minister set it up Noy.

-] of discussion and debate at

Major
points

Here are some of the
highlights from: the conclu-
sions of the Citizen’s Forum
on Canada’s Future final,
repoit: ©

It was released last Thurs-
day after nearly eight months

‘Jocal levels acrass the coun-
try.

° ‘Self-government for
aboriginal peoples and fair
treatment . Of native land.
claims ‘are recommended by’
‘the report. ‘
© It also urges Canadians to
recognize Quebec as being

the Canadian family, -
© It advises the government.

ingualism-to ensure it’s fair,
‘and “ta: cut payments for
toulticulturalism, ‘except for
programs for immigrant.
orientation, the promotion

of discrimination,
* The senate must be |:
reformied or ‘abolished, the
repart continues, and MPs
should be allowed more free
votes. in Parliament.

*In his forward to the
report, forum chairman.
Keith Spicer calls on the
government to listen to the.
people's, demands. for a con-
stitutional, assembly. and ia; i

om Quebenray

greater say in government..

unique but still a’ province in, aa

to review official bil- be .

of equality and the reduction C

The following és @ partial text
of. chairman Keith Spicer’s
foreword to the report of the
Citizens’. Forum on Canada’s
Future:

Seen from: abroad. by both
foreigners . and Canadians,
Canada-looks-like paradise.

Yet seen from within, Canada
looks to Canadians: like. a
pessimist’s nightmare of Hell,

Let's be honest: we're all a bit
guilty of running down Canada.
Dumping on this sprawling, °
fragile nation without rationali-

ty is our homegrown idea of .

flagwaving. The only excep-
tions? Recent immigrants who .
haven't yet gat the hang of it,

This whole report is...the -
hard-negotiated consensus of
citizens of 10 radically. different
backgrounds ‘and corivictions,
who all thought it’s worth strug-
gling to find a consensus on
some basics, °°

If ‘this: reflects: the: kind of:
minimum agreement: politicians

. Will have to hammer out to keep

a.country, perhaps we have sent
a message of realistic. hope to
Canadians.

A word first on the central
issue of reconciling our. two.
main communities, the English-.
speaking and the French-
speaking, the latter about 90 per
cent anchored in Quebec.

Personally I have sensed dur-

- ing’ this last spring that partly in
_ Tesponse to deep-seated issues,.

partly through finally facing the’

. tisk of Quebec's independence a

more thoughtful and. heartfelt
English-speaking sense of com-

. munity is in the making’ and
» growing-quickly, :

Some of. it is frightened and
confused; some. of it-angry. But
mainly'I see the people's conti-

oo mung dlalogue generating anew
So potential; for English-speakers’
_ | self-confidence. and ‘among
“ other

*, -feanker,
re Qube

enefits, @ possibly
yet open, dialogue with

dere can: channel this into
constructive ‘positions . which
V "as" well: as: Boatiah-

vt

speaking Canadians, can relate
to.

On the French-speaking side,
there is both great confidence in
Quebec — shaded by more cau-

tion and open-mindedness than .

many outsiders think —- and

great worry... among French-,

speaking communities living -
elsewhere in Canada. —

A culturally strong Quebec i is -
not some new demand, as some
.think, nor does it contradict
federal official bilingualism.
Quebec and federal bilingualism
— not to mention some provin-
cial bilingual services outside
Quebed — are, and always have «

been, two sides of the same’
‘coin: practical’ fair play for all
citizens ‘using ‘our.-two- major .
working languages, English and .
French.

. Federal bilinguatism. and.
English-speaking Canada’s en-

thuslastic ‘embracing.of French .

immersion for its children com-
‘plement. = and. “support
-Quebecers” natural - wish for

‘respect, : as well as’ serving.
English-speakers’ -owninterests.
‘But Quebec is the heart of the.
matter. : Quebec’ is the only”;
_jurisdiction in North America -
. where French-speakers can. feel...
completely’ free, . respected and

secure.

For there. they can defend: .
the healthy predominance of: -

their: language and culture —

culture in the broadest sense: all .
the ways Quebecers want to be ~

themselves. This they can‘ ac-

complish mostly within even ta: .-
day’s Canada, and fully within a

a renewed Canada." -:

@ prominent part of our solu-
tions.

First, because they can help
us grasp the huge land we share,
and teach us how to respect it.
Next, because normally

 aboriginals tend to take a more

consensual less adversarial, ap-
proach to settling differences _
an approach we can only dream
our politicians might learn.

On constitutional reform, I

‘ would urge the government to

guarantees that neither Quebec

_ Tor any region could be over-

whelmed by majority votes: the
rule would be extremely high
consensus.

I also think that, if we can
work out a new constitution,
politicians should somehow
submit it to the people. Such a
consultation might occur
through a referendum deman-
ding strong non-partisan, but
more thorough Citizens’

‘games.’

. “Citizens ¥ want leaders to listen to their electors
and then t6.lead them with vision and courage —
not. to. oven by polls or play sterile partisan -

It is a false. contradiction. to. Resa

argue either: for . ‘Quebec’ a.
cultural strength or’ for federal’
‘bilingualism, To root. justice,in ::
_t6 “feel directly involved in

our country ‘for both .com-
munities —~~

‘need both.

Aboriginal peoples were also.
a high priority in our consulta- 7

tion.

_ including |
anglophones in Quebec - — we

For some time Thaye believed A
that the First ‘Nations: must‘be

reconsider its dismissal of some

kind of constituent assembly, or

similar process allowing citizens

constitution-making,
‘On the contrary, the govern-

" Ment should try to encourage a

more informed people's debate
on the pros. and cons of this
deal, and If possible, variations.
such‘mechanism would

\s

Include unbreakable

Forum. 5

Two cautions: such a process .
would be preceded by the most .
careful negotiation, and should

be creafted in a way to ensure |=:
that it can unite us more than it ”

divides us.
A political system at least.

and broadly approved by them
wil be far easier to trust, a8 will
the : politicians’: ‘representing. ws

ta

“A message of realistic hope”

within it.

The Senate

I favour serious study of such
formulas as. the “Triple E’’
senate (equal, elected, effective)
or — perhaps better — some
adaptation of the German
Bundesrat ‘‘House of Pro-
vinces’”” kind of upper house,
with provincial leaders and their
key ministers being ex-officio
members of it.

Failing some fundamental
reform, as my colleagues agree,
we should abolish the Senate.

Our northern territories, The
Yukon and Northwest Ter-
ritories remain our last frontier,

with very few pecple but an |

almost ingraspable potential.

We need ways to allow the
people living there to be heard
more in Ottawa and at the con-
stitutional table,

On the environment, I favour
a much stronger environmental
priority, for Canada, in
reasonable balance with Cana-
dians’ legitimate economic
needs.
’. Plainly. Canadians want an
advanced industrial society and

‘achigh standard of living, and
_ these exact environmental costs.
. But all governments need to
‘develop. better consultative

mechanisms to reconcile
economic. and environmental
needs. oS

-A last point about the Forum
iteelf B

‘Last: fall, the situation may |

have: demmsnded that the govern-
“Ment. kickstart this Forum.
ee “however, any: new
Citizens’ Forum should be
Created; run and financed by
citizens themselves. A
government-run citizens’ forum
-is._a contradiction in terms.
Canada is grappling with twin
“crises — one of structure, the
‘Other, *’more profound and
elicate, of the spirit.
“Roth “structure and spirit —
tIs,,’shared ideas, ideals,
dreams ‘aiid confidence — will
i long’ run overwhelm any

structure, however i ingenious. :

The curse of our ‘political
system since the beginning has
been to put structures first, last
and always — and then to
wonder why nobody believed
Canada was anything more than
amending formulas, not-
withstanding clauses and an
awful lot of jurisdiction-crazy
bureaucrats.

Now we face a spiritual crisis
which demands we find, in a
very short time, new structures
we hope will last a very jong
time.

Citizens want leaders to listen
to their electors, and then to
lead them with vision. . and
courage, not govern by polls or.
play sterile partisan games:
therein lies a contradiction good
politicians are paid to resolve.

If-our leaders show common
sense, imagination, generosity
and much courage, call a
ceasefire in their jurisdictional
guerrilla wars and try to build a
lasting peace for us before a
world horizon, they can
translate most Canadians’ hope
for a fair and workable future
to include us all, whatever the
structures needed.:

The only way to turn today's
crisis into opportunity is new
thinking, courageous thinking,
with open minds and hearts ina
world perspective, Given
human ‘reluctance to change,
Canadians’ historic conser-
vativism, and damaging
stereotypes that now pass for
truth, this rethinking will prove
very, very hard,

But this country is worth the
effort. So says the world, and so
say Canadians,

I am still . skeptical ‘about
many things, but not about
Canada. 1 believe the people
have told us: we. can all live
together on this ‘unimaginable
land. |

Our long-proven. genius for
compromise can arid ‘must and
will allow us to ‘adapt to new
relationships : with each ‘other,

rath