What is particularly outrageous about this action is that the province has never recognized or accepted the constitution of Canada. Older readers will remember the prolonged discussions concerning the patriation of our constitution – that is creating a Canadian constitution so that we didn’t have to keep asking the British Parliament to amend a British statute known as the British North America Act. The British were anxious to get rid of this task and, indeed, had passed the Statute of Westminster back in 1931, declaring that they would only make changes in the BNA Act if requested by Canada, and had urged us to take over this responsibility.
We finally did so in 1982, thanks largely to the determined efforts of Pierre Trudeau. After lengthy discussions and much wrangling with and among Premiers – a defining feature of Canadian federalism – the Constitution Act was passed, incorporating within in it the former BNA Act, with amendments, and adding a Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The latter essentially codified the common law rights (such as freedom of speech and of the press) that had been understood and accepted for centuries. But it also added a notwithstanding clause that allowed any province, or the federal government, to declare that a legislative initiative may proceed “notwithstanding the charter.”
Quebec never accepted the patriation of the constitution and has never formally approved the Canadian constitution. Given that reality, its plan to amend that constitution is remarkably hypocritical. Even more outrageous is the tepid response of federal politicians, tip-toeing around the subject lest they lose votes in La Belle Province. I remain optimistic that legal challenges will lead to a court ruling that Quebec cannot take this action on its own – but I find myself unable to spend any more time on this annoying topic. Instead, I will make the case for another distinct society that merits proper recognition.
Geezer Nation
The geezers include folks who survived the Great Depression (the Dirty Thirties) and World War Two. Most of us have paid taxes for well over half a century, taxes that helped to build Canada’s social safety net, including our highly-valued Medicare system established back in 1966. As a result, we resent the suggestion that we are primarily a burden on the taxpayers. Because we are living longer, we are singled out as constituting too large a segment of the total population. The reality, however, is the birth rate has been declining for a long time and is a major cause of the demographic challenge now facing the country.
Many of us are not as tech-savvy as younger folks. We may not be as familiar with the abbreviated language of social media such as LOL or LMAO. But most of us do possess a skill that is in increasingly scarce supply; we know how to write and speak grammatically. We know, for example, not to combine singular subjects and plural verbs, such as in “the person was acting agitated when they were arrested by police.” We know not to use “that” when “who” is correct, so we wouldn’t say or write “the person that was agitated was arrested by police.” We know that it’s is a contraction of it is, so wouldn’t write that “the water looked inviting with it’s clear blue colour.” Yet these grammatical atrocities are evident almost every day. While Quebec is concerned about the French language, I am concerned about preserving the English language, or at least its grammatical integrity.]
There has been criticism of the federal initiative to make a one-time payment of $500 to all those over 65, on the grounds that most of us don’t need/deserve this money. I am confident that many of us – if fortunate enough not to need these funds – are contemplating various charitable donations. In my case, the food bank and the humane society will be the initial beneficiaries. However, I have just discovered a new cause, after reading a report on the challenges facing the Ontario wine industry. I know my duty; the rest of the bonus money will go to support those vineyards. [It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it.]