From: heath@mprgate.mpr.ca (Gordon Heath)
Subject: Re: Absolute Madness... Naturally.
Reply-To: heath@mprgate.mpr.ca (Gordon Heath)
Organization: MPR Teltech Ltd.
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 92 19:59:00 GMT

In article <BtAM0G.H6F@ireq.hydro.qc.ca>, beaurega@ireq.hydro.qc.ca (Denis Beauregard) writes:
|> In article <1992Aug20.083954.28846@spxtech.qc.ca> steven@spxtech.qc.ca (Steve Potter) writes:
|> >
|> >
|> >     There will be no referendum in Quebec -
|> >
|> >     Bourassa will likely call on election instead.
|> >
|> >  ||| Steve Potter:         steven%spxtech@CAM.ORG                     |||
|> 
|> Good!  With the stupid agreement they announced yesterday (the only
|> use of a minimum 25% of seats for Quebec corresponds to a racist
|> behaviour of stopping almost completely immigration),

You kind of lost me there, Denis. Please explain yourself.

|> Bourassa will loose the elections.

I assume the latest polls showing a comfortable  PQ lead have you hoping for
an early election. As you may know, polls go up, polls go down. No doubt
you would be unhappy with a referendum on a federal offer and are hoping
for a failure of the current negotiations. Would you be more happy with
a referendum on a fuzzy "sovereignty association" proposal? Like it or
not, the Liberals are still in power in Quebec and have their choice of
options to present until their term expires.

|> I can't see any advantage of only 8% of senate
|> seats excahged again some .5% more seats at common.  And if the EEE senate
|> is actually operative, French speaking are loosing power.
|> 

You should take a more careful look at the actual tentative aggreement.
The Senate will only be able to block legislation dealing with taxes on 
natural resources (natural resources are under provincial jurisdiction,
but the federal government still has taxation powers in these areas).

The Senate has a very limited power to delay supply bills.

In all other legislation, the Senate can force a joint sitting with the
House of Commons if it votes against legislation. Quebec's representation
in the combined body would be 25%, its present share of Canadian population
and its current share of seats in the House of Commons.

In short, it is difficult to argue that Quebec has lost anything in these
proposals.

An individual vote in Quebec will carry more weight in the combined body
than that of an Ontarion, British Columbian or Albertan.  Individual votes
from smaller provinces will have somewhat greater weight.

Quebec's unique place within Canada has been recognised in a number of
ways and as a result, Quebec has made significant gains in this set of
proposals.

|> Anyway, the way the politics is played, the parties, not the provinces,
|> make choices.
|>

I think that parties will naturally continue to play a role. They are a
natural outgrowth of democracy. Provincial regional interests will be 
more apparent in that Senate votes will be an overall indicator of
the acceptability of legislation in the various parts of the country.
This will likely encourage government to be more sensitive of regional
interests when it constructs legislation as its moral authority to
govern will be diminished by a defeat in the Senate. Governments which
have a slim majority will have to be particularly sensitive as their 
legislation could be defeated in a joint session (although I am led
to beleive that joint session votes will not be confidence votes).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Gord Heath - Opinions are my own.