Some Day the Sun Will Shine and Have Not Will Be No More (35 page)

1. Patriation
   

2. Amending Formula
   

   • Acceptance of the April Accord Amending Formula with
     the deletion of Section 3, which provides for fiscal
     compensation to a province which opts out of a
     constitutional amendment.
     

   • The Delegation of Legislative Authority from the April
     Accord is deleted.
     

3. Charter of Rights and Freedoms
   

   • The entrenchment of the full Charter of Rights and
     Freedoms now before Parliament with the following
     changes:
     

     1. With respect to Mobility
        rights, the inclusion of the right of a province
        to undertake affirmative action programs for
        socially and economically disadvantaged
        individuals as long as a province’s unemployment
        rate was above the national average.
        

     2. Non obstante
        clause covering sections
        dealing with fundamental freedoms, legal rights,
        and equality rights. This would make it possible
        for Parliament or a legislature to override these
        provisions of the Charter in certain specified
        circumstances.
        

     3. We have agreed that the provisions of
        Section 23 in respect of Minority Language
        Education rights will apply to our provinces. Any
        province not agreeing to be bound by this section
        continues to have the right to accept the
        application of the section to their province at
        any future time.
        

4. The provisions of the Act now before Parliament relating to
   equalization and regional disparities, and non-renewable natural
   resources, forestry resources, and electrical energy would be
   included.
   

1. Patriation
   

2. Amending Formula
   

   • Acceptance of the April Accord
     Amending Formula with the deletion of Section 3, which
     provides for fiscal compensation to a province which
     opts out of a constitutional amendment.
     

   • The Delegation of Legislative Authority from the April
     Accord is deleted.
     

3. Charter of Rights and Freedoms
   

   • The entrenchment of the full Charter of Rights and
     Freedoms now before Parliament with the following
     changes:
     

     1. With respect to Mobility rights, the
        inclusion of the right of a province to undertake
        affirmative action programs for socially and
        economically disadvantaged individuals as long as
        a province’s employment rate was below the
        national average.
        

     2. A “notwithstanding” clause covering sections
        dealing with fundamental freedoms, legal rights
        and equality rights. Each “notwithstanding”
        provision would require reenactment not less
        frequently than once every five years.
        

     3. We have agreed that the provisions of
        Section 23 in respect of Minority Language
        Education rights will apply to our
        provinces.
        

4. The provisions of the Act now before Parliament relating to
   equalization and regional disparities, and non-renewable natural
   resources, forestry resources, and electrical energy would be
   included.
   

5. A constitutional conference, as provided for in
   Clause 36 of the Resolution, including in its agenda an item
   respecting constitutional matters that directly affect the
   Aboriginal peoples of Canada, including the identification and
   definition of the rights of those peoples to be included in the
   Constitution of Canada, shall be provided for in the Resolution. The
   Prime Minister of Canada shall invite representatives of the
   Aboriginal peoples of Canada to participate in the discussion of
   that item.
   

Suite 2

47 Harvey Road

St. John’s, Nfld A1C 2E9

April 21, 1999

Professors Ted Morton and Barry Cooper

Political Science Department

University of Calgary

Dear Sirs:

I am writing with reference to your April 15, 1999, article in the
National Post
entitled “Night of the Long Knives: Who Dunnit?”
More specifically I refer to your statements that: “Since when does
Newfoundland broker national unity deals? Other first-hand accounts suggest
that Newfoundland’s role was that of delivering the message, not creating
it; that its real authors are Saskatchewan Premier Allan Blakeney and his
attorney general Roy Romanow. The ‘Peckford document’ was decisively
influenced by Romanow, McMurtry, and Chrétien, and behind them stood the
master puppeteer himself.”

My name is Cyril Abery and I was deputy minister of Intergovernmental
Affairs for the Government of Newfoundland from 1972 through 1984. As such I
was intimately involved in all constitutional discussions leading up to and
including the events of November 4 and 5, 1981, in Ottawa.

I do not know your sources of “other first-hand accounts,” but the events
of the night of November 4 and morning of November 5, as you describe them,
are both
totally inaccurate and misleading. Mr. Romanow,
whatever his role on the overall process, was not the “instrument” of
Ontario and Ottawa for “influencing/dismantling the Gang of Eight,” as you
state. Indeed, he was not even involved in the events of the evening of
November 4 until well AFTER the so-called “Peckford document” was
completed.

To help you understand the events of the afternoon/ evening of Wednesday,
November 4, 1981, I am enclosing copies of a number of documents, which, to
the best of my knowledge, have never been made public (although Peter
Meekison, former DM, Alberta IGA was given a copy sometime in 1982 when he
visited St. John’s and met with Ron Penney and me).

The first enclosure is a copy of a document entitled “Constitutional
Conference, Sequence of Events, November 4 and 5,1981.” This was prepared
and signed jointly by Mr. Ron Penney, then deputy minister of Justice for
Newfoundland and me about a week after the Constitutional Conference in
Ottawa when the events were still quite fresh in our minds. We did so
because even at that early date there were misleading and inaccurate
accounts surfacing.

You will note from the first document that it was Howard Leeson, not Roy
Romanow, who represented Saskatchewan at the meeting in the Château Laurier
on the evening of November 4, 1981, and that others attending at the start
were Peter Meekison of Alberta and Mel Smith of British Columbia. It was
only much later in the evening (about midnight) that representatives of Nova
Scotia and PEI were involved. Manitoba and Quebec were not represented at
all until breakfast the next morning. Ontario and New Brunswick were also
not involved, having never been part of the Group of Eight.

The second document attached is a handwritten copy of the first draft,
dated November 4, 1981. The handwriting is mine and was written in
conjunction with Mr. Penney in his
room at the Four
Seasons. This was amended as noted and typed up at the Four Seasons.
Document 3 (attached) is the type-written draft which we brought over to
Room 481 at the Château Laurier at 9: 30 p.m. for discussion with Messrs.
Leeson, Meekison, and Smith.

It is important to note that the items included in this draft were not in
any way considered by us (i.e. the Newfoundland delegation) to be original
ideas—far from it. Rather, they were merely a summary of what Premier
Peckford and ourselves believed were the main elements of a possible
compromise based on all the previous discussions and negotiations that had
taken place. However, Premier Peckford fully intended to table this document
at the conference the next morning if subsequent meetings that night with
the others did not lead to an agreed-upon text (which they did).

Document 4 (attached) is the second draft which was agreed upon by
ourselves, Peter Meekison, Mel Smith, and Howard Leeson. The changes from
the first draft and the reasons for the changes are noted in Document 1. It
was this second draft which was presented to and agreed upon by Premiers
Peckford, Blakeney, Buchanan, MacLean, Peter Meekison representing Premier
Lougheed, and Mel Smith representing Premier Bennett at about 1: 00 a.m. on
November 5 in the Château Laurier and subsequently presented to the
conference by Premier Peckford the next morning following the breakfast
meeting.

You will note from Document 1 that Mr. Romanow joined the midnight meeting
towards the very end, but was not involved in any of the discussions leading
up to the revised draft. Whether he subsequently had discussions with Mr.
McMurtry and/or Mr. Chrétien prior to the start of the conference the next
morning and brought them onside is something I have no knowledge of but is
no doubt a possibility.

Finally, attached is Document 5, which is a portion of the actual agreement
which was signed at the conference table
on the 5th floor
of the Conference Centre at about 1: 00 p.m. on November 5 by the prime
minister and the premiers/ representatives of the nine provinces. You will
note that this is in English only. The French version was the one signed
before the cameras in the main Conference Hall at 2: 00 p.m. (As I recall,
Trudeau said something like “Let’s sign it now just in case someone changes
their minds on the way downstairs!”)

Quite frankly, I do not know what role Mr. Romanow, Mr. McMurtry, and Mr.
Chrétien played in the overall scheme of things. Undoubtedly it was
significant.

However, what I do know as a fact is that they were not involved in the
Château Laurier meetings on the night of November 4, nor did they play any
part (overt or covert) in our deliberations that night. Unless you subscribe
to the theory that all the officials, ministers, and premiers from six
provinces were manipulated without even knowing it, your statement that
“‘the Peckford document’ was decisively influenced by Romanow, McMurtry, and
Chrétien, and behind them stood the master puppeteer himself” is a complete
and utter myth.

If you wish to verify the sequence of events as outlined above and in the
attached documents, you might wish to contact Peter Meekison who still
resides in Edmonton and whom you undoubtedly know. I believe that Mel Smith
still resides in Victoria and Howard Leeson in Regina, but I have lost
contact with them over the last few years. Ron Penney still resides in St.
John’s and is currently chief commissioner and solicitor for the City of St.
John’s.

I am confident that they are as amazed as I am at how expertly we were all
manipulated that night in Ottawa, and how we still haven’t cottoned on some
eighteen years later!

I would also be pleased to elaborate further should you so wish. My
telephone number is (709) 738-2944. However, you should note that I will be
out of the country from April
until early June. I look
forward to hearing from you in due course.

Best regards.