ception of the Canadian public, the statist tradition of the regionalrnminority anchored in Quebec had been imposed on thernwhole of Canada—and Quebec refused to sign it, because it invadedrnthe province’s exclusive powers.rnThroughout this sad tale the emphasis has been on changingrnCanada to accommodate malcontents in Quebec.rnCanadians’ politeness and generosity incline them to swallowrnthe myths of Quebecers suffering at the hands of les mauditsrnanglais and to accept the costs of appeasement. Nevertheless,rnto continue the appeasement is to fly in the face of history.rnFrom the Danegeld to Munich, appeasement’s record is unchanged:rncompromise in the face of superior force leads only tornsurrender. Continuing with the imposed Quebec model heraldsrna continuance of the socioeconomic condition it has ledrnCanadians into: minority rule by a centralized authority, and arnlitigious society in which opinion is shaped by state-subsidizedrnfactions.rnThere is an alternative. It rests in a realization that Quebec’srnstatist model is not only out of date but that it does not work, andrnthat imposing it upon the whole of Canada was a grave mistake.rnSalvation might then be seen in reinstating Canada’s originalrnmode of a true federal system of divided powers; powers exercisedrnby parliaments which are sovereign within their respectivernjurisdictions. The national government would concern itselfrnwith the relatively few matters that are national in scope,rnand the provinces and municipalities would handle the rest.rnThe regional minority’s preoccupation with its language andrnculture would be contained within Quebec’s provincial borders,rnborders which would also contain the French traditions ofrnlaw and centralized authority that the federal system admits atrnthe provincial level. Quebecers, like everyone else, would bernmasters in their own house in all the affairs that are closest torntheir hearts and minds: the arts, civil rights, education, health,rnlaw and order, safe streets.rnUntil then, the dissidents will have to face a reality that appearsrnto have escaped them: that their perennial threat of separationrnis predicated both upon Canadians’ generosity and uponrnits surviving the test of a declared independence. At that point,rnthe generosity would give way to a quite different emotion. Therndissidents would no longer be regarded as fellow Canadiansrnwith foolish ideas about destroying the federation, but as thernrenegades who had actually destroyed it. That is why the majorityrnneeds to stiffen its collective spine and generate politicalrnleaders with a similar resolve. Clearly it will look in vain to JeanrnChretien or any other MP from Quebec. The Quebec modelrnthat Trudeau imposed on Canada is their model too, and theyrnsee nothing wrong with it.rnThe essence of the problem is that Canadians have beenrnlulled into looking upon the charter as an advance, when it isrnnot only retrograde but divisive and destructive. “Going back”rnto the federalism of the BNA Act would not be retrograde but arnrecognition of the political genius that the Fathers of Confederationrnbequeathed to Canadians in 1867.rn”The essence of federalism,” wrote Felix Morley, “is reservationrnof control over local affairs to the localities themselves, thernargument for which becomes stronger if the federation embracesrna large area, with strong climatic or cultural differencesrnamong the various states therein.” Quebec is as different fromrnBritish Columbia as Newfoundland is from Ontario. Immigrantsrnwork their magic upon the various cultures, but guardingrnthem all would be the federal structure that stood the test of arncentury, before a handful of proud men from Quebec thoughtrnthey knew better. rnR E G A R D I N G I M M I G R A T I O N . . .rnA publication of The Rockford Institutern232 pp., paper, $14.95 List Price (plus $2.50 for sliipping & handling)rnFi or a decade, writers in Chronicles liave beenrngrappling with this elemental and nation-breaking forcernin their brilliant, often literary, sometimes histrionic,rninvariably idiosyncratic but undeniably diverse way. The presence inrnthis volume of California’s Governor Pete Wilson, easily reelected sincernhis essay ‘Citizenship and Immigration’ first appeared in Chronicles*rnNovember 1993 issue and now widely mentioned as the possiblerncatalyst of the immigration issue in presidential politics, is only onernreason Chronicles* editors can fairly say: you read it here first.”rn—Peter BrimehwrnTo order by credit card, call: 1 – 8 0 0 – 3 9 7 – 8 1 6 0rnOr send checli or money order in the amount of $17.45 ($14.95+$2.50 shipping & handling) tornChronicles, P.O. Box 800, Mt. Morris, IL 61054rn*For immediate service, please list on payment or mention when ordering SOURCE CODE:rnA9509, and ITEM CODE: MGRT.rnAPRIL 1998/19rnrnrn