The Icelandic Canadian - 01.09.1977, Blaðsíða 41

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
39
The younger Thorson officially took
his new position today although it may
be some days before he actually leaves
the justice department.
“I’m not there because of an ex-
pertise in constitutional law,” he said
in an interview this week. “I’m there be-
cause I was engaged in making the con-
stitution work for a long time.”
His new job, he says, deals with
“where we’re going” as a country.
“It isn’t issue-oriented. It’s concerned
with the frame-work we’re going to be
living with in the future. It’s pretty
fascinating stuff.”
Thorson hopes jurisdictional jealou-
sies that have marked past constitu-
tional discussions can be put aside.
The knack would be to find out “who
does what best”—Ottawa or the pro-
vinces—and assign jurisdiction on this
basis in any revision of the British
North America Act.
Provincial involvement in opening the
issues is basic. But what if Quebec’s
independence-minded government
won’t talk? Ottawa, says Thorson, would
then go to the people.
“One of the biggest mistakes you can
ever make is underestimating the in-
telligence of the average citizen,”
the Winnipeg-born Thorson says.
“That can be a very powerful ally. That’s
where these issues are really won or
lost.”
The Thorson appointment came as
a surprise even to the sharp-eared jus-
tice department, although the winter
had been filled with rumors he would
move. At one point he issued a memo,
headed “rumours,” to squelch them.
One reason for the rumors may be
that Thorson has been offered jobs by
several major law firms, tempting
offers that would have given him more
time with his family and put him above
his $60,000 a year federal salary. He has
three daughters, Jennifer, 18, Rebecca,
16, and Stephanie, 11.
The new job won’t mean more money
but it offers irresistible challenge.
Some colleagues see him as one of
Confederation’s saviours.
“Well, Thorson, you certainly have
the beard for it,” one kidded the six-
foot-two deputy minister.
Although Trudeau said in making the
announcement that Ottawa might be
ready to resume constitutional talks
with Quebec this fall, Thorson said he
personally has been given no deadlines.
“No,” he said to this question.
“I’m going to do what I can. If I can't
make any contribution in the span of
one year, that will speak for itself.”
While Paul Tellier, another recent
appointment, will deal with day-to-day
Ottawa-Quebec issues such as cable
TV, Thorson will look at the British
North America Act, isolating basic areas
“to see whether there is a potential for
productive discussion.”
Ottawa wasn’t going to say: “Here
are our proposals.” The approach more
likely would be: “Here are some of the
issues we think are important.”
The goal would be to find what could
be best done by Ottawa or the provinces
then clear the constitutional path—
a task under way for 50 years now with
little progress.
Thorson recalled that Confederation
itself was encouraged because Union
armies were looking hungrily at Canada
after the U.S. Civil War. The Nov. 15
Quebec election might prove a needed
spur to change, he suggested.
He’ll be talking to plenty of people
in coming months, he says. But he’ll
confine his office to “a staff of one”—
his secretary.
“I certainly have no empire-building
aspirations,” he said.
—Winnipeg Free Press, June 1, 1977.