Canada Premier Urges Quebec to Think Twice

MONTREAL â€”  Struggling to prevent Quebec separatists from partitioning Canada, Prime Minister Jean Chretien soberly urged Quebeckers on Tuesday to “think it throughâ€� before voting for independence in next week’s historic referendum.

“The breakup of Canada would be the failure of a dream,� he told an overflow crowd of more than 7,000 at a hockey arena here in Quebec’s largest city.

“It would be the end of a country that is the envy of all the world. It would be the failure of a country that is a model for countries in the process of building their own institutions,� he said.

Backers of Canadian unity have been shaken this week by the surging momentum of the separatists. Recent polls show the Quebec electorate evenly divided on the ballot proposal, which would open the way for the separation of the French-speaking province from the rest of Canada. Voting is Monday.

In his speech Tuesday, Chretien stressed that he is a proud Quebecker as well as a proud Canadian, but except for a brief paeon to the historic contributions of French-speaking Canadians, the address was notable for its serious tone and strict appeal to reason.

It contrasted sharply with the passionate campaign rhetoric of separatist firebrand Lucien Bouchard, who stirs the emotions and pride of French-speaking Quebeckers and is credited with the upturn in the separatist cause.

In other developments Tuesday:

* About 4,000 residents of Toronto, in the neighboring province of Ontario, rallied at City Hall and urged Quebeckers to oppose separation.

* The Bank of Canada reacted to Monday’s plunge in value of the Canadian dollar by raising its key Central Bank rate from 6.67% to 7.65%. The increase is expected to lead to a rise in home mortgage and other consumer and business loan rates across the country.

* Both sides sought to earn political capital from the economic downturn. Canadian Finance Minister Paul Martin said the bad news was a pale preview of the disaster that would follow separation--which, he told Parliament, would “lead directly to higher mortgage rates, lower job creations, lower retail sales and less money available to governments.� But Quebec’s separatist premier, Jacques Parizeau, accused Toronto brokers of manipulating the market to “try and give a helping hand to Canadian unity.�

* Bouchard welcomed as “quite helpful� the comment by French President Jacques Chirac that France would grant diplomatic recognition to a separate Quebec. Chirac made the remark Monday night on the CNN talk show “Larry King Live.�