A young man came to see a wise man saying : Master, I want a united Canada, a strong Canada, a Canada economically profitable, a Canada that respects its citizens, whatever their origins. I want this Canada for the next election. The master considered the young man seriously, and after a long silence, he said : explain to me how you listen to the Canada from the West. The young man replied, I take this old shell that comes from the Pacific Ocean and on a day of high winds roar I hear the sea when I put my ear to the shell. Then the master asks the young man to explain how he listens to the Canada from the East. The young man replied: I take this old shell that comes from the Atlantic Ocean and a day of high winds roar I hear the sea when I put my ear to the shell.. Then the master asked him to explain how he listen to the Canada of the Center. The young man says to him on a day of high winds roar I put my ear to the old empty shells and hear the waves of the great lakes and rivers.
Then the master retired, asking the young man to wait. The waiting has been very short and the young man was delighted when the master came back to him after a few minutes.
The master said : there are three vials in which I have put tap water. Then the master opens the first bottle and insert a few grains of salt. He tends the vial to the young man and says, here is your Canada of the West. Then the master opens the second vial and insert a few grains of salt. He tends the vial to the young man and says, here is your Canada of the East. Finally the master takes the third bottle and gives it to the young man while telling him : this is your Canada of the Center. You no longer have to wait for new elections and by mixing the water from the three flasks in a bowl of clay: the Canada that you want will be inside.
Incredulous, the young man told the master : but I will get nothing but the lightly salted water in a bowl of baked clay. The master said to him, you are absolutely right. In listening to the sound picked up by two empty shells per day of high wind, the Canada that you get is a little bit of salt water in a bowl of baked clay. From one election to the other, you listen to some empty shells during these days of high winds which makes you believe that you hear the ocean sounds.
If you want a united Canada, a strong Canada, a Canada economically profitable and which respects its citizens, whatever their origin pulls up your sleeves, no matter what political party in which you are involved : NDP, the Bloc, the Liberal or Conservative Party:
- Do not expect to receive the new Canada in the forthcoming elections
- It takes ten years of inter-partisan work
- This requires the participation of planners, economists, citizens, politicians, sociologists, political scientists, business men and media
In ten years from now, you will have moved from the Canada of empty shells in which you hear the sea to the Commonwealth of Canada. Canada is a fluid mosaic of which you hear the echo of the flux and reflux in your empty shells. Canada needs to meet the exigencies of globalization of the new millennium and to become more modern and flexible than the bowl of clay and the old shells of the 1867 constitution and it’s amendments. Canada needs you with all your honesty, all your insight and your determination. Forget the current sectarian political parties, put your energy on the unity of those who want to build a better future for future generations by putting an end to sterile disputes of the past.
To those who will tell you that the Commonwealth of Canada is a future projection of the mind and an illusion, answer back that from elections to elections you have listened to the old parties and their empty shells in which you have believed you could listen to the sea.
The new Canada will come to those who have the strength and audacity to put Canada on a design table and who will be able to clean sweep of the political ideas who advocate the status quo. The next Canada to come doesn't belong to any political party, it belongs to all Canadians regardless of their origins and allegiances. It is the sum of the pooling of our forces for a better future.
Pierre Castonguay
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