Excerpted from this book

Prologue

What more could be said? Canadians were definitely living in interesting times.

he ancient curse applied in spades.

Memorandum

Gilles Gratton

Chief Electoral Officer

Government of Canada

June 3, 2010

To: Rt. Hon. Jennifer Clark, PC, MP

Prime Minister of Canada

Re: Québec Referendum

Madame Prime Minister, at your request, and with the

agreement of the Director General of Elections (DGEQ) for

the Province of Québec, I directed my staff to monitor the

Referendum on Sovereignty in the Province of Québec. This

is our preliminary report.

On June 2, 2010, the Government of Québec put a single

question to the population of Québec with respect to Québec’s

future in the confederation of Canada. The question read:

“Do you wish to separate from Canada to form a new

country of Québec? Yes or No”

Of the eligible 5,359,212 registered eligible voters,

4,217,700 cast a ballot (78.7%). There were 109,660 spoiled

ballots (2.6%) resulting in 4,108,040 “valid” ballots. Of the

valid ballots, 2,093,457 were considered Yes ballots (50.96%)

and 2,014,583 were considered No ballots (49.04%)

This result indicates, and our counterparts at the DGEQ

have concurred, that the “Yes” side has prevailed.

While I am not aware of any irregularities in either the

voting or the vote counting, I should bring your attention

to the large percentage of spoiled ballots (2.6%) and point

out that the number of spoiled ballots exceeds the difference

between the Yes and No votes.

Respectfully submitted,

Gilles Gratton

cc: Ministers for Justice and Interprovincial Affairs

Chapter 1

Ottawa, Office of the Prime Minister of Canada

June 3, 2010 – 10:00 a.m.

The Prime Minister of Canada, the Right Honourable Jennifer Clark, used her slim index finger to press the call button on the intercom. “Mrs. Dirkson, please ask the Special Committee to meet me in the Cabinet Room in fifteen minutes. Thank you.”

The PM swivelled her chair toward the window. She looked out onto the front lawn of the Parliament Buildings where crowds were gathering to demonstrate both for and against the Quebec Referendum result.

Her eyes focussed on a young child, oblivious to the concerns of the adults, who was running after a bright pink ball. “What kind of Canada will you inherit?” she thought.

As she gazed out over the green expanse and the assembling crowd, she thought back to what had brought the country to the position in which it currently found itself.

The election of the separatist Parti Quebecois in late 2009, replacing a fairly inept provincial Liberal government, combined with the continued (protracted, surely) fallout from the federal sponsorship scandal, and further compounded by some “perceived” anti-Québec sentiment in the rest of Canada, were certainly factors. But the real reason was pure fatigue. Canadians were tired of Québec’s constant demands and whining, while Québecers, 50.96% of those that had their votes counted, anyway, felt that Québec could go it alone as a country. Or did they? It was always assumed that separation, if it ever took place, would be the result of an electoral accident. If too many people, feeling that their vote did not really matter, voted for separation, then all Canadians and Quebecers could suffer.

After the 2006 election defeat of the federal Liberal government, which saw a Conservative minority government come to power, the leader of the Liberals resigned and set in motion a barely noticed leadership contest. Most of the big wigs had stayed out of the race for political reasons. Jennifer Clark was, at the time, a backbench MP representing Calgary East, the only elected Liberal from Alberta. Over the nine months of the leadership campaign she put together a strong team, got some good backers, and signed up thousands of new members. By the time of the convention in Toronto she had emerged as a dark horse favourite. Token woman? No! She had laid out a bold new plan for the Liberal Party of Canada and almost won the convention on the third ballot. The winner of the 2006 convention turned out to be a lot less than advertised and following a less than sterling period at the helm of the party, he resigned. A new leadership convention followed in 2008 with a result that Jennifer Clark became the first female leader in the history of the Liberal Party of Canada.

She became the Liberal Leader and Opposition Leader in the House of Commons in November of 2008, and barely had time to find her new desk in the Commons, when the Conservative minority government began to implode in a sea of what should have been minor scandals. But for the Conservatives, a party that ran on ethics and accountability, even a small scandal was considered major by the press and citizens alike.

The Conservative Prime Minister seemed to go into hiding as issue after issue surfaced. A Cabinet Minister leaked confidential personal tax information of one of his vocal critics. A backbencher called a Korean War veteran a “whiner” when the eighty year old amputee demanded a reduced wait time for a medical procedure. The government had reduced the GST rate, as they promised in their campaign, but then turned around and raised Employment Insurance premiums to make up the revenue loss. Compounding all that with a dramatic rise in oil prices and an increase in skilled job losses, and that was “all she wrote” for the minority government. The Conservative government fell in March, 2009.

Jennifer Clark had been the Liberal leader for a whole five months. The Governor General called the election for April 4, 2009, coincidentally, Jennifer’s birthday. In preparation for the election, Jennifer replaced all the old political cronies in the campaign headquarters of her party. She directed a new team that was more cohesive than the previous one (if, in fact, the old team could even have been called a team at all). She came out of the election with a small majority government.

It was time to show that a woman could run the country.

Things were bumpy for the first couple of months, but when the press finally started to focus on what she was doing rather than what she was wearing, popular opinion turned in her favour. In September, 2009, the Parti Quebecois was elected in Québec with a promise to wring more funds out of the “Rest of Canada” to pay for their childcare, health and education programs. The fact that Québec already got a lot more out of Canada than it put in was lost in the rhetoric of the campaign, as usual. Within two weeks of their election victory, the separatist PQ government announced that there would be a referendum on the future of Québec on June 2, 2010. Their question would be simple, “Do you want what the status quo or do you want a new country?”

By mistake or not, they got their answer.

The PM rose from her high backed leather chair, smoothed her jacket and skirt and walked slowly to the Cabinet Room, just down the hall from her office. As was her habit, the PM was the last person to enter the Cabinet Room. She moved to the centre seat and looked around at the assembled Ministers, all members of the Special Committee, including two from Quebec, whose role it would be to oversee the aftermath of the Québec Referendum.

The Honourable William Pollack, Minister of Finance, was MP for North Vancouver. A graduate of Royal Rhodes with degrees in both Law and Business, he was instrumental in helping to steer Jennifer through her term as PM. However, his cocky attitude towards Québec rubbed many people the wrong way.

The Honourable Bernard Labrecque, Minister of Defence, represented the Québec riding of Beauce. He now faced a tough challenge, as did many Québec MPs in the House of Commons, to determine his status within the Government of Canada. Was he a Québecer or a Canadian?

The Honourable Thomas Littleton, a University of Toronto graduate in Criminal Law, represented the Ontario riding of Toronto Centre. He was well respected as Minister of Public Safety, both by the public and the Opposition.

The Honourable Robert “Crusty” Samuelson, MP for Blackstrap, Saskatchewan, was Minister of Agriculture. He was a farmer with a single credo, “I like to get my hands dirty”. His nickname was well deserved on more than one level.

The Honourable Rosaleen Bonaire was the first Métis Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. She represented the Manitoba riding of Saint Boniface.

The Minister of Transport and MP for Laval-Les Îles, the Honourable Lilianne DuPont occupied the chair to the left of the PM. A slightly-built woman, always impeccably dressed and coiffed, her eyes never seemed to stop moving—as if she was wary of someone sneaking up on her.

The chair to the right of the PM held the bespectacled Honourable Tran “Arnold” Nguyen, the MP for Chilliwack, BC and the Attorney General of Canada. Nguyen was the first foreign-born Canadian to ever hold this senior cabinet position. Born in Vietnam, Nguyen came to Canada in 1975 via a Hong Kong refugee camp—one of the post-Vietnam War “boat people”.

As the PM looked around the table at the generally serious faces, she thought she glimpsed a slight smirk on the face of William Pollock. “I call this meeting to order,” declared Jennifer. “Mrs. Dirkson, would you please note the time and the attendees? Thank you.” With the housekeeping completed, she addressed her Ministers. “I don’t have to tell you the results of yesterday’s referendum. I doubt that any of us left our television sets until all the ballots were counted and reported.”

No one challenged that assertion.

“The result is a victory for the Yes committee. Pending a final report from the Elections Canada and the DGEQ in Québec City, we must proceed under the assumption that decision of Québec to separate from Canada is a ‘fait accompli’.”

Jennifer paused to allow comments but none came.

“Arnold, can you bring us up to date on the legal aspects of this decision?”

“I can, Prime Minister,” began Nguyen. “As you know, the Yes result has set a number of legal wheels in motion. There are two primary issues that must be dealt with immediately. The first is the status of some Ministers at this table. With all due respect to them, the question is, do MPs elected in Québec have legal standing in the rest of the country? This is both a legal and an optics issue. Legally, Québec has not yet left our confederation with the result of this vote, so they are still members of Parliament and of this Cabinet. However, in the eyes of many Canadians, Québec is gone and the Québec members and Ministers should not have a say at the federal table.”

He paused for comments, but there were none forthcoming.

“The second issue,” he continued, “has to do with the mandate, or lack thereof, that the current government of Canada has to negotiate the terms of separation with Québec.”

“With all due respect to you legal beagles, Arnie,” interjected Robert Samuelson. He knew full well that Arnold Nguyen hated being called “Arnie” and disliked the term “legal beagle”. “What’s the problem here? We are the legally constituted government of Canada and the damn “Kweebeckers” have voted to get out. With all due respect to my cabinet colleagues from Québec, just give them a pink slip and their share of the debt and let’s get back to work!”

Before Nguyen had a chance to respond, Jennifer held up her hand and said, with a clipped style, “It is not that easy, Robert. Tone down the rhetoric and let the Attorney General finish. Mr. Attorney General, please continue.”

Nguyen glared at Samuelson and said, “As I was saying before I was interrupted.” He then moved his eyes to the PM. “Aside from the two immediate issues, there are other pressing legal issues, such as: revamping the Canadian Constitution; reconstituting Parliament, which may require a new redistricting and potentially a new election; division of assets and debts between Canada and Québec; negotiation of boundaries and trade relations; and many more.”

“How do you suggest that we proceed, Arnold?” asked Jennifer.

“I recommend that we ask the Supreme Court to rule on the validity of our current government and to ask if we have a mandate to deal with Québec. However, before they rule on that, the Court must also be asked about its own make up.”

“How so?”

“As you know, the Supreme Court has, by law, three members from Québec. Before the Court can decide on the validity of the government of Canada, someone will have to determine the validity of those three members of the Court.”

“What do you mean, ‘someone’? Isn’t that up to us?” asked Samuelson.

“Not really, Robbie,” Nguyen said with a grin. “The separation of the judiciary from the government precludes us from making that decision.”

“Who can make it, then?”

“The World Court in the Hague.”

“You mean that we have to go to Europe to clarify our own Court? I thought we gave up all that grovelling to Europe in 1982 when we patriated the constitution!”

“Sometimes you get the shark and sometimes the shark gets you,” Nguyen said quietly.

“Thank you for that update, Mr. Attorney General,” said Jennifer. “It seems that we have a lot of work to do before we can even discuss sovereignty with Québec.”

Chapter 2

Québec City, Office of the Premier of Québec

June 3, 2010 – 10:30 a.m.

Québec Premier Robert Benoît was generally a quiet and reserved man, but today he was almost animated. He was also almost hoarse from the number of speeches and interviews he had given the night before. While Referendum Day started off slowly for him, it fi nished in the wee hours of the morning after he gave an impassioned thank you speech to twenty six thousand screaming and cheering Yes-supporters at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. He was working on adrenalin now, as he had had less than two hours sleep during the drive to Québec City following the victory rally.

He was hoping that the adrenalin plus the pain killers he took earlier would cure the pounding headache he experienced when he was awakened this morning from his meagre sleep.

Like his federal counterpart in Ottawa, Benoît had convened a meeting of his referendum committee at his office. In his case, however, it was not in the staid opulence of Parliament Hill, but rather in the grey cement Premier’s office building on Grande Allée— better known as “the Bunker.” Also, unlike the rather low key meeting in Ottawa, the meeting in Québec was upbeat and somewhat playful. After all, they had won their independence—their right to chart a new course.

Benoît looked around his committee, recognizing old friends such as Bernard Lapierre, his Finance Minister, Guilliame Prost, Minister of International Relations, Charles Brebeuf, Minister of Trade, and René Pelletier, Minister of Pubic Safety. These were the men who had made this victory possible. They, along with him, were the Founding Fathers of this new country. They greeted each as other as the conquering heroes that they were.

The only committee member not present was “Founding Mother” Caroline Montreuil, who was delayed by an aircraft problem in her riding in north western Quebec. She would be arriving in a few hours.

Benoît called the meeting to order. By 10:30 all the congratulatory speeches were completed and they got down to work.

Turning to his Minister of Finance, Premier Benoît began to speak. “Bernard, are there any indications as to how the capital markets will react to last night’s victory?”

Lapierre glanced at his Blackberry through which his staff was keeping him up to date on the markets. “At this time there is a moderate downturn at the openings of the Montreal and Toronto Stock Markets, which means that analysts are not sure what to make of our win. While the markets do not like change, I think they will recognize our win as positive. There is nothing to worry about, so far!”

“Bien. Merci, Bernard.”

The Premier then turned to his Minister of Public Safety. “René, what is the state of our new nation from your perspective?”

Pelletier looked up from his breakfast muffin and stated, “There were a few problems overnight, mostly drunken revellers. A little bit of Anglo-bashing did occur along the Cavendish bar strip in Montreal, but the police got a handle on it early. At this time, everything appears quiet.”

“Guilliame, any word from foreign governments congratulating us?” inquired the Premiere.

“You are scheduled get a call, Mr. Premier, from the Prime Minister of France in one hour. Also the ambassadors of Belgium, Haiti and Niger called with their congratulations.”

“Belgium, Haiti and Niger? That’s it? Nothing from the Americans or the British? Nothing from Italy or China or even Iceland?” exclaimed Benoît.

“It is early yet, Mr. Premier. Officials are still digesting our win. They will not say too much to us directly until Prime Minister Clark concedes our win on television this morning.”

“I am surprised that Clark hasn’t called me yet. After all, the loser always calls the winner,” Benoît said with a smirk.

“I am sure that the Prime Minister has a lot on her plate right now. She is probably too busy to call. She will certainly call before she goes on television,” declared Charles Brebeuf.

“You are probably right,” agreed Benoît, rubbing his temples to try to dissolve the returning pain. “Are there any dark clouds on the horizon at this time? Anything we need to attend to?” asked Benoît.

“There are a few rumours floating around,” answered Brebeuf. “I understand that Ontario is planning to appeal milk quotas to Ottawa. As you know, Québec dairy farmers have forty seven percent of the milk producing quota for all of Canada.”

“Is this a serious problem for us in the short term, Charles?” asked the Premier.

“I am not sure at this time, Mr. Premier. It could be just a knee jerk reaction by that idiot, Premier Foster, in Toronto. He’s up for re-election in six months and he needs some good press for a change. I consider it posturing. After all, we have not left Confederation yet,” responded the Minister.

“Bite your tongue, Charles,” all the attendees said in unison.

“Keep your eye on it,” said Benoît, a little concern in his voice.

“Of course, the Aboriginals have begun to get vocal,” continued Brebeuf. “If Canada is divisible, then so is Québec. You know the mantra!”

“It’s all bluster, Charles. Québec is our country and it cannot be chopped away by some natives,” retorted René Pelletier.

“Keep your other eye on the Indians, René,” the Premiere stated, with a bit more concern in his voice.

“Our person-on-the-inside in Ottawa,” Benoît continued, “has informed me that Clark and her bunch are in absolute turmoil trying to figure out if their government is even legal. To make the comedy even funnier, they planned to ask the Supreme Court to rule on it but they cannot even say for sure that the Supreme Court is legitimate.”

All around the table laughed. “Now you will have to excuse me, I have a call from Paris to take.” With that, Benoît left the room, a strained grin on his face.

Chapter 3

The offices of Reynolds and Watson,

New York City

June 3, 2010 – 10:00 a.m.

“Mr. Watson, Mr. Wilson is on line five from Los Angeles,” announced the receptionist.

James Watson was the Senior Partner of Reynolds and Watson, one of the leading legal and public relations firms in the U.S. His very large 44th floor corner office in lower Manhattan looked out over Battery Park and across to Ellis Island and the Statute of Liberty. “It’s quite the view for a kid from Cleveland,” he mused to himself.

Seated in his executive calf leather chair behind a rosewood desk large enough for table tennis, a smugly confident Watson glanced at his watch and then clicked on the Bluetooth earpiece and microphone for his Blackberry phone.

“Good morning, David. I expected that we would talk today but not this early. But it can’t be more than 7:00 a.m. in L.A. Don’t you sleep?”

David Wilson was the CEO of Bell Energy Corporation, one of the largest energy wholesalers in the U.S. Unlike an electric company or an oil company, Bell Energy was in the business of purchasing the output of production companies and acting as a broker to resell it to the highest bidder. Back in 2004, another wholesaler company, Enron, was caught cooking their books and skimming profi ts for their executives and Board members. As Enron melted into bankruptcy, Bell Energy stepped in to buy Enron’s contracts and contacts for pennies on the dollar. Now, four years later, the multi-billionaire David Wilson was about to do his biggest and, potentially, most controversial deal yet. He was going to buy an institution. It was also a hydro-electricity producer. And was in a foreign country.

“Good morning to you, James. I have been a habitual early riser for most of my adult life. I get my best work done before the sun comes up. What news do you have for me?”

“Well, I have no doubt that you are aware that the separatists in Quebec won their referendum. My office in Toronto has been following the process and, through their contacts, they have confirmed that the government of Canada is not going to appeal the results. It appears that the country will be torn apart.”

“Your initial analysis, James, predicted that Quebec will not be able to manage its debt load following separation and that they would have to turn to the International Monetary Fund for support. Do you still stand by that?”

“Yes, we do, David. Our analysis concluded that Quebec debt load will force them to turn to the IMF and that it is most likely that the IMF will put a number of conditions on their support. The most important condition, from our perspective, will be that they will have to privatize Hydro-Quebec.”

“And that is where we step in,” said David Wilson. “I want Hydro-Quebec.”

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