July 18, 1997

- COLUMN -

Federalists are their own worst enemies

by William Johnson, Special to the Gazette

Can Canadian federalism survive the federalists? That's a question I've often asked in my 10 years of writing for The Gazette. Some of my best friends were prominent federalists. Who, then, were enemies?

The question came back this week when I read the thoughts of Julius Grey in Wednesday's Gazette. At a time when the English language is under unprecedented assault, in the week that Péquiste ministers repudiated André Joli-Coeur for agreeing to defend the separatist position before the Supreme Court of Canada in the reference on unilateral secession, the brave Julius took to the battlefield to take on "hard-liners" in the English-speaking community.

As so often in the past, the secessionist government repudiated this week the constitution of Canada and the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. "The government of Quebec will not recognize any decision other than that democratically expressed by the population of Quebec," proclaimed Paul Bégin, Quebec's minister of justice.

So Grey, the professor of law, a man once reputed as a defender of civil rights, went on the attack. "Hard-line positions," he said, are being taken by "large numbers, perhaps the majority of anglophones."

And what are these hard-line positions that require Grey to chasten the anglos? "Partitionism, Plan B, demands for freedom of choice in education, a refusal to accept any status for Quebec other than one equal province among 10."

rule of law
Horrors. What Grey calls "partitionism" I call the right of the Crees and the Inuit, the right of masses of people in the Outaouais, in West Quebec and in Montreal, to choose to remain under the rule of law, under the constitution, and under the Charter of Rights. The court in Quebec has already ruled that the secession planned in 1995 by Jacques Parizeau's government would have violated the Charter rights of Guy Bertrand - and so the rights of every Quebecer. But great Julius, the law professor, doesn't worry about the rights of the Crees and the Inuit, or the Charter rights of every Quebecer. No, to demand one's rights would make one a "radical" and a "hard-liner." According to Grey, everyone must surrender to the aggressive demagoguery of the Quebec government. No matter that the constitution would be overthrown. Grey is above the constitution.

What Grey calls Plan B is simply the rule of law and of reason. No country in the world accepts the legitimacy of a unilateral declaration of independence. But Grey insists we must all surrender to arrogant repudiation of the rule of law and the courts.

Grey rejects out of hand freedom of choice in education. He does not even give a reason for his rejection of liberalism. "It is obvious that freedom of choice in education is not only practically impossible, but undesirable at present." QED.

Grey's moral lesson is that if we are nice enough, quiet, undemanding, if we surrender our historic rights and our constitution, if we show ourselves willing to surrender our country, then peace will descend on Quebec.

As in the past, Grey equates as extremists the extreme fringe of the Parti Québécois and the newly aroused federalists who no longer accept the leadership of lambs like him. He acts as though only the lunatic fringe of the PQ is to be feared, when it is the PQ government itself that is most threatening. He equates the powerful oppressors who use the state to suppress rights and those who appeal to reason and the courts to protect their rights.

He plays with platitudes like toy soldiers. He moves abstractions around as though he were dealing with the real world. "Intransigence is not a universally effective way of resolving disputes," he pontificates. That's true. And so?

If Grey were one of a kind, he would not be worth challenging. But he summarizes the very thinking that inspired leading federalists for the past decade. That approach brought us to the brink of disaster, and most of us have lost faith in the leadership of the lamb lobby.

Grey's true contribution is to remind us of what it is like to have learnt nothing from the past. He refreshes our memory about the attitudes that almost lost us our country.

- William Johnson is a freelance journalist and minority-rights activist, who lives in Gatineau. He may be reached by E-mail at wjohnson@magmacom.com