Architects of Our Future

Point-Counterpoint: Towards Consensus? With this issue, JCSIREC's "PointCounterpoint " feature wishes to counter the brief mass media clips that so often tend to sensationalize and distort. Matthew Barrett's "Architects ofOurFuture" strives for a balance between greater centralization in some areas and greater decentralization in others as part of its call for renewed federalism. Originally delivered in Calgary as a speech at the Bank of Montreal's annual meeting, it is a thoughtful text - even if it risks being better remembered, at least in the short run, more for its financial forecasts than for its insights. In the current context of fiscal restraint there inevitably will be, as the author suggests, "greater cooperation between government, business, Jabour and universities." Sensible suggestions whether or not they are framed by constituent assemblies - can sometimes come from all four quarters. M.L. Architects ofOur Future These are not ordinary times in Canada they are not ordinary in economic terms, and they are not ordinary in political terms. I would like to talk about the interplay of economic and political forces and the influence they are already having on the prospects for ourcountry. I want to be frank with you. I am increasingly uneasy about our national condition. Unemployment is too high. There is a widening disparity between haves and have-nots in society. Economies in transition show only fragile growth, failing to generate sufficient wealth to maintain traditional levels of social support. Today's youth are.facing the prospect of a life that is not as promising as that oftheir parents. It is not a comforting picture. Yet as I cast my mind backover 1995, and as I scan Journal ofCanadian Studies Vol. 31, No. I (Printemps 1996 Spring) the landscape of these opening days of 1996, itis not these problems which rank as the highest priority, important though they certainly are. It is our national unity crisis, made right here in Canada, that looms above all else. It is my concern that ifwe do not confront it with vigour, if we do not make real progress toward its resolution in the next twelve months, all our other problems , challenging enough in themselves, will become worse byorders of magnitude. Some will say that anyone focused on the constitution is out oftouch with the real, everyday concerns of Canadians. We hear that everyone is fed up, frustrated with never-ending wrangling. Many Canadians are sceptical ofanything they hearfrom socalled "elites" and many are resistant to any use of the dreaded "c-word" by our leaders who should, it is said, be concentrating on·~obs and the economy." And they are right, to a point. But there is more to it, I submit. Much more. Let me ask you to briefly suspend disbelief while I try to make the thankless case that far from discouraging politicians from tackling the national unity issue, we should be urging them on. *** Let me take you back to the night of last October 30. We all remember it - the night when Canada almost died. In a voter turnout of 90 per cent, very nearly half the people of Quebec voted to leaveCanada. As the results trickled in with excruciating slowness, it was stunning to realize that we were on the brink ofa crisis for which the country seemed totally unprepared . How is it possible, I wondered, that one of the most civilized and prosperous societies on the face of the planet could come so close to.self-destructing? Can so many people in Quebec really believe that separation is worth losing their birthright to Canadian citizenship, and risking profound economic damage? Can so many people outside Quebec believe that while the loss ofQuebec would be regrettable , its consequences wouldn't really affect them or where they live? If Quebec separates, is it certain the rest of Canada would hold together, when the dam ofinertia , habit, and custom broke, and when 133 every region and province scrambled to better its position in a Canada with radically new political dynamics? These and many more troubling questions came to mind as the see-sawing results flashed on our TV screens. Like the millions and millions of Canadians throughout the land who...