| Quebec. Not exactly what us young aspiring journalists were expecting to hear about when we went to listen to the infamous Rex Murphy last week at the Journalism School's Annual Minifie Lecture. The topic supplied with the compact programs we received as we entered the auditorium was "Cries and Whispers: late 20th century Journalism." After his usual facetious comments on everything from Bill Clinton to Jerry Springer, Rex used the hoopla surrounding Jean Charest's move to the Quebec Liberals to launch into a tirade about the Quebec situation. Admittedly, he made a half-hearted attempt near the end of his lecture to relate to journalism - by saying the problem facing our country is one that needs to be explored by journalists - but overall those who came to hear the Newfoundland commentator were subjected to a thorough investigation of our feelings about our dear French neighbour to the east. All that said - what Rex expounded upon needed to be | expressed. It is a shame his lecture has not been used as the starting point for more debate on the issue. The tiny clips shown on local television focused instead on his jokes, missing the meat of his message. True, we in the West are sick of hearing about Quebec. But as Rex so eloquently pointed out - the problem is not going away - and focusing all our hopes to keep the country together on a figure such as Jean Charest is not the best way to deal with it. One of Rex's points was that we need to Śreenfranchise' ourselves - Śwe' being every Canadian outside Quebec who will not get to vote in that referendum possibly looming in our nation's future. All we can do is watch from the sidelines while one province makes a decision that will - and make no mistake about it - impact every single one of us. But perhaps what hit home most for those of us listening to him was that Rex caught our feelings and threw them back at us with such, words. The referendum | process is wrong, he said. Those holding the damn things have a preconceived answer (yes) and they will keep holding the votes until they get the answer they want. It strikes us as a decidedly unfair set-up. Not only is the process wrong - but they do not even ask a straight question. And in one of his usually flashing insights, Rex drew a parallel to the American Civil War - where they had an issue - an issue of slavery and basic moral values. What is Quebec's issue, he asked? What is it about their situation that makes them think they would be so much better off outside of Canada? Of course, Rex was probably only able to say what he said because he was at the Minifie Lecture - in Regina, Saskatchewan. He chose his time to make his thoughts on Quebec known in front of a Saskatchewan audience. About as safe as you can get in Canada to say what he said? You bet. As Rex said, though, Śwe' need debate on the issue. As usual, Rex was right.. |