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Authors: Don Gutteridge
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finish
translating. “You raise a serious question, sir, and a valid one. I
have indeed fought all my life against the entrenchment of an
established Church of England in Upper Canada. The reason I did so
has little to do with religion and everything to do with politics
and power. I am a devout Christian of the Anglican faith, but in my
province the oligarchy who held sway over the ordinary people – the
Family Compact as we called them – wished to have a state-supported
Anglican church in order to solidify their hold on power and tap
into the proceeds from the reserve lands they considered their
entitlement. They wished to develop not a Christian society but an
Anglican one in which government posts, school syllabuses, and
universities themselves would be controlled and financed by a
single cabal – to the exclusion of the other faiths, which, taken
together, form a large majority. In a way, my battles against the
Clergy Reserves were symbolic: were our lives going to be dominated
by an Anglican and Tory elite or were they going to be organized as
the majority wished – in a state dedicated to religious tolerance
and respect for tradition?”
LaFontaine smiled approvingly, a response
noticed by all present as the French leader had said little so far
and given nothing away in look or gesture. “Well said, Robert.
However, I ought to point out that when the Clergy Reserves were
finally allotted last year, all faiths got their share except for
the Roman Catholics.”
Robert nodded in the polite way barristers
often did when engaged in forensic argument. “Very true. But again
I say we must look at our progress in terms of successive steps.
There will perforce be no established church in the new Canada.
Religion will be a question of individual conscience. As a
consequence, there will be no restrictions on who may serve in
government. Catholic and Protestant will be equal before the law.
Additional rights and protections can be achieved through elections
and party politics. That is the next step, and the one after
it.”
“But we already have our own schools,”
Bergeron said, “imbued with our own religious spirit and values. Do
you contemplate a common school system with no religious component
or merely some vague lip service paid to Christianity?”
Hincks glanced at Robert, then said, “The
English-speaking Protestants in Quebec are equally concerned
that their schools be permitted to be run along religious
lines. Once we get a reform movement established, would it not be
natural for each province to guarantee the other’s right to set up
minority schools – a straight trade-off of ‘protections,’ as it
were?”
Bérubé chortled at this and said, “Splendid,
Mr. Hincks, splendid! This is the very kind of sensible
horse-trading I hoped might happen between us, but was, alas,
entirely sceptical of.”
Under cover of Bérubé’s enthusiastic
outburst, Graves Chilton slipped silently into the room with a
trolley of cakes and coffee. While he was serving the refreshment
and soundlessly removing the used cups, the delegates took a moment
to stretch and relax. However, as the butler left the room, Garnet
Macaulay seemed to recall that he was nominally the chairman of the
meeting, and said, “We have heard much about the specifics of a
party platform, but no contribution thus far from Mr. Tremblay. Are
there any particular concerns or provisions you’d like to mention,
sir?”
Tremblay had not only kept his peace
throughout the preceding discussion, but had stared grimly at his
empty cup, and the two-fingered right hand had often appeared to
tremble, as if palsied. He now peered up just far enough to glare
at Macaulay, who reddened immediately.
There were several seconds of awkward
silence. It was Lafontaine who broke it. “Come now, Maurice, you
didn’t travel all the way to Toronto disguised as a clock salesman
to sit on your hands. If there are matters that need to be aired,
however unpleasant or
translating. “You raise a serious question, sir, and a valid one. I
have indeed fought all my life against the entrenchment of an
established Church of England in Upper Canada. The reason I did so
has little to do with religion and everything to do with politics
and power. I am a devout Christian of the Anglican faith, but in my
province the oligarchy who held sway over the ordinary people – the
Family Compact as we called them – wished to have a state-supported
Anglican church in order to solidify their hold on power and tap
into the proceeds from the reserve lands they considered their
entitlement. They wished to develop not a Christian society but an
Anglican one in which government posts, school syllabuses, and
universities themselves would be controlled and financed by a
single cabal – to the exclusion of the other faiths, which, taken
together, form a large majority. In a way, my battles against the
Clergy Reserves were symbolic: were our lives going to be dominated
by an Anglican and Tory elite or were they going to be organized as
the majority wished – in a state dedicated to religious tolerance
and respect for tradition?”
LaFontaine smiled approvingly, a response
noticed by all present as the French leader had said little so far
and given nothing away in look or gesture. “Well said, Robert.
However, I ought to point out that when the Clergy Reserves were
finally allotted last year, all faiths got their share except for
the Roman Catholics.”
Robert nodded in the polite way barristers
often did when engaged in forensic argument. “Very true. But again
I say we must look at our progress in terms of successive steps.
There will perforce be no established church in the new Canada.
Religion will be a question of individual conscience. As a
consequence, there will be no restrictions on who may serve in
government. Catholic and Protestant will be equal before the law.
Additional rights and protections can be achieved through elections
and party politics. That is the next step, and the one after
it.”
“But we already have our own schools,”
Bergeron said, “imbued with our own religious spirit and values. Do
you contemplate a common school system with no religious component
or merely some vague lip service paid to Christianity?”
Hincks glanced at Robert, then said, “The
English-speaking Protestants in Quebec are equally concerned
that their schools be permitted to be run along religious
lines. Once we get a reform movement established, would it not be
natural for each province to guarantee the other’s right to set up
minority schools – a straight trade-off of ‘protections,’ as it
were?”
Bérubé chortled at this and said, “Splendid,
Mr. Hincks, splendid! This is the very kind of sensible
horse-trading I hoped might happen between us, but was, alas,
entirely sceptical of.”
Under cover of Bérubé’s enthusiastic
outburst, Graves Chilton slipped silently into the room with a
trolley of cakes and coffee. While he was serving the refreshment
and soundlessly removing the used cups, the delegates took a moment
to stretch and relax. However, as the butler left the room, Garnet
Macaulay seemed to recall that he was nominally the chairman of the
meeting, and said, “We have heard much about the specifics of a
party platform, but no contribution thus far from Mr. Tremblay. Are
there any particular concerns or provisions you’d like to mention,
sir?”
Tremblay had not only kept his peace
throughout the preceding discussion, but had stared grimly at his
empty cup, and the two-fingered right hand had often appeared to
tremble, as if palsied. He now peered up just far enough to glare
at Macaulay, who reddened immediately.
There were several seconds of awkward
silence. It was Lafontaine who broke it. “Come now, Maurice, you
didn’t travel all the way to Toronto disguised as a clock salesman
to sit on your hands. If there are matters that need to be aired,
however unpleasant or
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