Seismologists will be studying for years the earthquake that shook Eastern Canada recently. Measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale, the earthquake was the strongest on this side of the continent this century. Centred near Chicoutimi, Que., it was felt as far away as Washington, D.C., in the United States and North Bay in Ontario.
But there seems little reason to waste time on all this seismological mumbo-jumbo. The cause of the earthquake is quite obvious. It was a natural reaction to the federal election a week earlier of a majority Progressive Conservative government and its free trade agreement. Opponents of the deal we ren’t kidding when they said if the free trade deal goes through it will mean the end of Canada.
First there was the Gillette announcement that it was closing its Oakville plant — an obvious reaction to the free trade “referendum.” Then there was the PPG paint and resin plant that closed a few days later, another example of the free trade deal prodding American branch plants to scurry back south of the border like rats leaving a sinking ship.
If there was any doubt about the cause of the earthquake, consider where it was centred — less than a 2-hour drive from Baie Comeau, Que., the hometown of Prime Minister Brian (Benedict Arnold) Mulroney.
Has anyone else noticed that it’s also getting much colder these days? And don’t pretend that its just the normal change of seasons.
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