“Just Do It”

Journals may seem to depend on their grants and their editors for survival. But for those who know how things really work, much of the reality lies elsewhere. We at the Journal ofCanadian Studies have been painfully aware of that underlying reality over the past six months as we prepared to adapt to the departure of our Managing Editor of 26 years, Arlene Davis, and our Business Manager of20years, MargaretPearce. It is easy, even when oneconsciously guards against it, to takediligent work, daily initiative, and carefulness for granted. Thus, I found myselfoccasionally takenaback in those last few months by Arleneand Margaret's persistent concern that we be very careful to get the right person or persons to replace them and that adequate time be allotted for training. There was simply so much to be passed on and to bepassed on clearly and with proper emphasis. Indeed, there was so much being well and quietly done that even an editor of several years' experience found himself learning many new things and wondering how he had managed to believe they got done, as it were, in his absence. We have happily found a capableand enthusiastic successor for them in Joy Manson, and she has now received that required tender training. Still, you don't replace nearly 50 years ofexperience and commitment without loss. Thus, I take this opportunity, on behalfof the Editorial Board ofthe Journal and my three predecessors as Editor, to say that we will miss both Arlene and Margaret. The Journal owes a greatdeal to their efforts, their love oftheir work, and their high standards. They helped to make the operation seem more like a family than a business, and they helped to make sure it was a family that worked well. If they never again read another issue cover-to-cover and word-for-word (and I suspect that they may welcome reliefin thatarea), they have left their mark on theJournal and on those of us who felt their influence. Enjoy that early retirement! ''Just Do It" "Canada's oldest permanent floating crap game," as Mordecai Richtersardonically calls it, is entering what may be its final months, at least in its current form. 1 The issues and the players (both high- and low-profile) are so numerous as to confound mo~t ordinary citizens; but beyond theconfusion and cacophony, beyond the legitimateconcerns ofprovinces and interestgroups, there is a senseamongCanadians ofennui, a feeling that thedrama lacks sufficient intensity to sustain edge-ofthe -seat interest. Perhaps we have not dramatized it as well, say, as the Americans would havedone. Perhaps we are used to prolongeddebate and sustained dissatisfaction , a steady pain that somehow belongs to the Canadian experience. Whatever the case, for many, the process, as important as it is, has become somewhat tiresome, a seemingly endless bone ofcontention that remained unresolvable because for so Journal ofCanadian Studies Vol. 27. No. 2 (E1e /1)92 Summer) 3 long its crucial player managed, publicly at least, to stay away from the table. Gamblers (and there are apparently few in Canadadespite recent rumours) might applaud Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa's shrewdness, for if the process finally comes down to the old game between English and French Canada, he has played his invisible role with poker-faced masterliness. With uncharacteristic humility, even so profound a political cynic as Richter admits to having under-estimated him. While he kept his distance, Bourassa witnessed evident progress on his province's behalf under Joe Clark's low-key leadership; meanwhile, his opposition in Quebec, always delighted to mock his indecisiveness and, more recently, his "treason," has shown signs ofwear and tear, both in its personnel and in its support in the polls. To what extent will Quebec nationalists revive in the aftermath ofPremier Bourassa's acceptance of the new constitutional deal? Whatever the results at the poll, things won't be easy for the Quebec Liberals, for much ofthe hope ofCanada as a country rests with their commitment. Gamblingand uncertainty aside, the bottom lineoftheconstitutional debate has, itappears, more to do with economics and culture - the economics and culture of place - than the claims for various rights and political structures. What province will, on its own, be strong...