The Written Word
for July 25, 1999

As Yogi Berra says, if you come to the fork in a road, take it! Well, the Reform Party of Canada has come to that fork.

The Reform Party can be split in three. It has supporters from the far right that believe that the Fraser Institute is run by a bunch of pinkos. It has also become a repository of Tories who no longer have a party. Then there are those who don’t care about their economic policies because they’re in it just to see the western provinces get a better deal – they, like I, are repelled by the Liberals and Tories as being Quebec appeasers. I have supported Reform editorially in the past two federal elections because I am an "equality of provinces" man not a special deal for Quebec man.

As Reform has reached the fork in the road, or more accurately the Ontario/Manitoba border it has to decide what it is.

The dilemma is a profound one. The basic instinct of a political party is to gain power – but at what cost? To become a party comme les autres, meaning that they must somehow effect internal compromises so as to win Canadian hearts from coast to coast? I may not be at all representative of Reform because my economic policy is more at peace in the Liberal party, which I utterly reject for other reasons. So if Reform has any appeal to me it sure as hell isn’t because of what I see as its somewhat heartless, sharp edged social policies. I voted Reform in the last two elections because I believe that their constitutional policy is correct, period.

The "Red Tories", assuming they don’t feel as I do on constitutional issues, are probably ripe for some sort of amalgamation with the Tories so that a new party. with political mush for a constitutional program, is appropriate. But then you get to the far right. They’re not likely to want a United Alternative for both reasons – it will not accord with their policy towards Quebec and it will be contrary to their strongly held economic views.

The Reform Party has one thing going for it in a big way in British Columbia – I think without exception, their MPs are very popular. They work hard and take on issues with gusto. But therein lies the other dilemma. If Reform MPs are to do this, they must be in opposition. For if they become government they will have to support government policy. For example, however bravely he may deny it, a John Cummins as a government backbencher (which he probably wouldn’t be) would not be able to protest federal fishing policy with illegal fishing demonstrations. He would have to support his Fisheries minister. He might deny this but power under our system makes one a political whore – it’s unavoidable.

Ted White, my MP and a very good one, prides himself on taking the pulse of his constituents prior to making a decision but he would have to admit that once in government, no matter what reforms his party brought in, he would have to pay far more attention to party policy than to my neighbours and me in North Vancouver.

This is the great conundrum. The purists led by Ted Byfield would make no serious concessions in order to gain power. Others, by no means purists, want no compromise because they wanted a regional party in the first place and think it’s even more important today.

When I interview Mr Manning or Reform MPs I keep coming back to the same point – if Reform is to make a compromise with the Progressive Conservative Party, sooner or later it must face the constitutional question – are we going to compromise our position that Canada is made up of ten juridically equal partners or should there be special deals for Quebec?

Frankly I don’t believe that this gulf can be bridged. I don’t believe that Reform can re-invent itself in Ontario for two reasons – its right wing economic and social stance is too much for Ontarioans to stomach and there is no way that Ontario, after 150 years of compromising with Quebec, will buy into equality holus bolus.

If I were advising Mr Manning it would be that Reform is better off staying as a regional party and hope that by reason of a hung parliament it gets a share of power. To compromise will simply bleed off too many people who either want right wing policies, or a strong regional stance, or both.