Реферат: Canadian National Unity Essay Research Paper Canadian

the danger of disunity. Yet recently Ottawa has reversed that policy by stating

that if Quebec separated, anglophone Montreal would have an incentive to secede

and indeed would secede. So Ottawa is now taking the possibility of further

fragmentation seriously. People tend to look only at the economic savings of a

breakup and not the political consequences of additional seperation. It is time

that they carefully examine the basis of continuing seperation of Canada, and of

Quebec. Three major difficulties would confront the federal government in its

attempt to keep English-speaking Canada united after Quebec’s secession. First,

once the glue of federalism is gone, the rich provinces: British Columbia,

Ontario, and Alberta would no longer have any reason to give pay outs to the

poor provinces like Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Manitoba. The average

Albertan pays an annual tax of $900 to enable a province like Newfoundland,

which receives 60 per cent of its budget from the general slush fund, to remain

semi-solvent and attached to the confederation (If Quecec Goes, Pg. 71). But in

the absence of a unified country, would that resident of Alberta or British

Columbia be so inclined to pay this confederation tax? Second, an independent

Quebec would geographically destroy four provinces: Newfoundland, New Brunswick,

Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island; from the rest of Canada. Undoubtedly,

Quebec as an independent country would allow Canadians all the privileges of

transit, communications, and the flow of goods, services, and people now

accorded Americans with Canada or Mexico. But the feeling of being cut adrift

would still live strong in Atlantic Canada.. A third difficulty, expressed by

western Canada, would be the feeling of alienation from and dominance by the

economic power of Ontario. This feeling of dependence has been put in place by a

tarrif policy that forced westerners to buy dear in Toronto and sell cheap east

or west, rather than follow the more travelled and profitable lines of commerce

that flow north to south. The purpose of this so-called national policy was to

jump-start the industrial base in central Canada, but, in the opinion of

westerners, at their expense. With the advent of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade