Power to Us All: Constitution or Social Contract?

J.L. Granatstein is a history professor at York University and author of
War and Peacekeeping and For Better or For Worse.

George Woodcock is the grand old man of Canadian letters, the author of
more books than we can count, and a genuine polymath. Here he writes
about Canadian constitutional problems—not for the first time—and it
is well to remember that he began his political career as an anarchist,
suspicious of all governments. This book is a reversion to his youth,
for he attacks Trudeau and Mulroney, calls for an end to attempts to
create any national unity, exalts Quebec separatism and Western
grievances, and denounces the “transcontinental commercial
condottieri” who rule over us. This is a rant, to be sure, but it is
an informed rant that stirs and stimulates. Woodcock’s views on
leadership, Native rights, and the necessity for civil disobedience
won’t please everyone, but they deserve to be read.