The Michigan Daily-Friday, November 2, 1979-Page 9
LEVESQUE SEES POLITICAL INDEPENDENCE
Quebec plans se paration
From Reuter and AP
QUEBEC CITY, Quebec - The
Quebec government yesterday announ-
ced a plan for political independence
coupled with close economic union with
the rest of Canada in what it called "a
new deal" for this largely French-
speaking province.
To prolonged applause from his sup-
porters, Premier Rene Levesque
presented to the provincial parliament,
called the National Assembly, a 118-
page white paper containing his
blueprint for Quebec's "sovereignty-
association."
Under the plan, the Parti Quebecois
government proposed maintaining
close economic ties with Canada - a
common. currency, free trade and the
free movement of people and capital.
"WE QUEBECERS are a nation, the
mostly firmly anchored nation on this
continent," provincial Premier Rene
Levesque declared in the closing
statement of the long-awaited
document.
The white paper outlines the Parti
Quebecois stand leading up to a provin-
ce-wide referendum on the issue
scheduled for next May or June.
In the referendum, Quebec voters are
expected to be asked not whether they
want such a form of independence, but
whether they authorize the Levesque
government to negotiate sovereignty-
association with the federal gover-
nment in Ottawa.
IN A PUBLIC opinion poll last sum-
mer, 54 per cent of the Quebecers sur-
veyed said they would vote "yes" in
such a referendum and 30 per cent said
they would vote "no."
.But the same poll showed that only 37
per cent of the voters favored
sovereignty-association and 42 per cent
opposed it.
Levesque's Parti Quebecois, which
came to power in elections three years
ago, has long supported secession from
the 112-year-old Canadian con-
federation. It contends that the rest of
Canada, which is overwhelmingly
English-speaking, has held down Fren-
ch-dominated Quebec culturally,
politically and economically. Some five
million of Quebec's six million people
are French-speaking.
THE WHITE paper said a unilateral
declaration of independence is "com-
pletely out of the question," but con-
tinuation of the current system is
equally unacceptable.
Quebec would be bound by treaties to
which Canada was already a signatory,
and would "respect its responsibilities"
toward the Western defense alliance,
NATO.
QUEBEC would also have exclusive
powers to levy taxes and pass laws, and
in the n'ew relationship would deal with
Ottawa on a fully equal basis.
A treaty between the two governmen-
ts would define the areas in which the
two would act jointly, the document
said.
To implement the pact, the gover-
nment proposed creation of a com-
munity counsel comprising ministers
from both governments, a joint
monetary authority, a joint court and a
commission of experts which would act
as a secretariat.
THERE WOULD be free circulation
of goods between Quebec and Canada,
the Canadian dollar would remain
Quebec's currency, and there would be
no immigration controls on the Quebec-
Canada border, the document said.
The white paper contained few sur-
prises. But it was the first time the,
three-yea r-old Parti Quebecois gover-
nment had laid out an official - as op-
posed to a party - position.
There was no immediate comment on
the white paper from the federal gover-
nment of Prime Minister Joe Clark.* *
In contrast to the tough anti-
Levesque stand taken by former Prime/ I/
Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who t R O /.u wt tdn
was ousted by the Conservatives in TAEYUPC
elections last May, Clark has pursued a
softer line on the Quebec issue, making *
vague assurances that he is willing to " igo e rs" aod&M u e
talk about a "new federalism" that* 6
would give Canada's 10 provinces
greater autonomy from the central
government. _____________________
STREET SIGNS are in two languages
in Quebec City, capital of the French
speaking Canadian province of Que-
bec. 'Provincial Premier Rene Leves-
que yesterday outlined his govern-
ment's plan for political independence
from the rest of Canada.
Daily Photo by DAVID HARRIS
SOME NONE too popular tarring equipment sits in front of Alice Lloyd dorm. Tarring operations were idled yesterday
due to rain.
Lloyd resident .files suit against 'U'
(Continued from Page 1)
"Furthermore,"the complaint con-
tinued, "operations at seven a.m. each
morning has commenced disrupting
plaintiff's sleep.
"THESE ACTIONS constitute a
nuisance under Michigan law," the
complaint stated.
Furman emphasized the tarring
operation was as much a violation of
students' rights as it was a nuisance.
"No students were consulted," he
said. "We weren't offered alternative
housing or money, and students weren't
even talked to."
AFTER FILING the complaint,
Furman delivered a copy of the two-
page document to President-Designate
Harold Shapiro, along with a petition
containing approximtely 130 signatures
of Alice Lloyd residents, protesting the
tarring and asking for its immediate
cessation.
Shapiro said last night he has asked
University attorneys and the Housing
Office to investigate the matter.
Director of Housing Robert Hughes
said he did not know anything about
Furman's action.
Other Alice Lloyd residents echoed
the sentiments of Furman.
"Whiffs of smoke have been stinking
up the rooms," declared Ed Johnson, a
freshman. "It makes you nauseous."
"The smell's not so good," agreed
freshman Louie Marchesi, "but they
have to do their job."
. ..
--.
ADVENTURE
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But how many will offer you a really important
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As an executive in the Navy, you get one as
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