CKNW Editorial
for May 14, 1999

The devolution of powers to the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh assembly are of interest to Canadians for several reasons. For one thing it shows that ethnicity dies very hard indeed. It's only a few years from the 300th anniversary of the Union of Scotland and England and the abolition of the Scottish Parliament yet the urge for independence remains. Those who think that alienation in Canada will go away are of course not reading human nature very well - especially when that alienation is based upon ethnicity.

We also have the chance to see how proportional representation works. Will the various regions of Scotland - and there are many - find that not having their own special member upsetting? After all, there is a world of difference from a Shetlander, to a Hebridean, to a Highlander to a Midlothian to a Border Scot. What PR has done, however, is make it very difficult for the Scottish Nationalist Party, which favours full independence, to gain power. That's because PR rarely produces a majority.

The down side of that is if the Scottish Nationalist Party ever did get to power, independence would follow quickly. Thirdly, Canadians may find it interesting to see how devolution of powers to a region works in practice. It's true that Provinces have distinct and substantial powers but they don't include making their own money or developing a full legal system all their own.

Is it just possible that the looser federation in the United Kingdom will work? If it does, that won't be without problems not the least of which will be the question why should the Scots MPs be able to vote on matters that only concern England and Wales. In a sense we have this problem when it comes to unity matters and a Prime Minister from Quebec.

The constitutional question has taken a back seat in Canada but I suggest that, like poison ivy, it will reappear as if nothing had happened. If ethnic questions of hundreds of years ago still occupy most of the agenda in the UK, the Balkans and much of Africa - to say nothing of Ireland - why would we be any different?

The problem with Canada is that every time the unity issue vanishes from the scene we seem to think that this is the end of the matter whereas experience should teach us that the problem has not been solved, only adjourned. Now is the time Canadians should be thinking about how their country is put together and how it is governed. Debate of passion-provoking issues are best conducted in periods of relative calm.

We won't do this, of course. It makes too much sense. Governments operate on the principle that if it doesn't happen on their watch they can't be blamed while the truth is that failure to take timely steps to prevent trouble should be blameworthy. Canadians, it seems, would rather hunker down in denial than run the risks associated with trying to head off future problems. We hope that because we have always "muddled through" in the past that we always will.

If we were a wise people with a wise government it is now that we should be developing a process whereby all Canadians can examine the way we are governed and how we can do it better so as to preserve our union.