1998 IS THE CENTENNIAL OF THE BIRTH OF PAUL ROBESON. ROBESON, THE SON OF A RUNAWAY SLAVE, GREW TO BECOME NORTH AMERICA'S FIRST TRULY RECOGNIZED BLACK RENAISSANCE MAN. WITH A SUPERB BARITONE VOICE, HE BEGAN TO BUILD A SINGING AND ACTING CAREER. ROBESON WAS ALSO A POLITICALLY COMMITTED ANTI-RACIST INTERNATIONALIST, WHO, BECAUSE OF HIS SWEEPING TALENT AND POWER, BECAME THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN THE U.S. AT THE TIME.
AS THE AUTHOR STEPPED UNDER THE ARCADES OF THE NEW DELHI CONNAUGHT CIRCLE, THE UNNERVING RACKET OF THE CONTINUOUS CHAOS ON THE STREET RECEDED A LITTLE. BUT THERE WAS NO TIME TO RELAX. THE AUTHOR WAS QUICKLY CORNERED BY HALF A DOZEN SHOE-SHINE BOYS, WHO INSISTED ON REMOVING THE DELHI DIRT FROM HIS FOOT-WARE. AFTER SOME HELPLESS ATTEMPTS TO EVADE THEM. THE AUTHOR SCCUMBED. AND AS HIS RIGHT SHOE BEGAN TO BE WORKED. THE AUTHOR EVEN MANAGED TO RELAX A LITTLE. TO TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND TO ELEVATE THE YOUNG MAN KNEELING IN FRONT OF HIM BY A GENEROUS SAHIB SMILE. 'YOU GERMAN?' HE ASKED. HOW DID HE KNOW? THE AUTHOR WONDERED AND CONFIRMED. GERMANY RICH COUNTRY', HE WENT ON. 'YES'. THE AUTHOR REPLIED, 'A RICH COUNTRY, BUT IN GREAT DANGER!' THE AUTHOR PAUSED TO UNDERLINE THE IMPORTANCE OF HIS MESSAGE. 'WE LIVE UNDER THE CONSTANT THREAT OF WAR'. HE LOOKED AT HIM SOMEWHAT UNIMPRESSED. SO THE AUTHOR DRAMATIZED: BOMBS ... MISSLES ... NUCLEAR WEAPONS, YOU UNDERSTAND?' IT SEEMS HE DID NOT, THOUGH HE NODDED. INSTEAD OF BEING SATISFIED WITH THE MONEY THE AUTHOR OFFERED (IT WAS SUFFICIENT), HE ASKED FOR ONE RUPEE MORE. THEY ALWAYS TRY TO CHEAT YOU.
This article argues that while asymmetrical arrangements among the units of any federation are necessary and even desirable, federal encroachments on provincial jurisdiction in Canada over the past few decades have triggered a protective impulse in the provinces that has resulted in a multiplication of deals recognizing provincial differences. The nature and variety of such arrangements are undermining the sense of federal comity, goodwill, and understanding so critical to national unity. To avoid heading further down this trajectory and attenuating the bonds that hold the nation together, the federal government should reconsider its role in the federation. While the current Conservative government policy of open federalism begins this reconceptualization of federal and provincial roles and responsibilities, more constructive and principled action is required.
