The Governor-General nodded. “Yes, I think you should.”
The Prime Minister went on. “One thing is certain. If I do have to obtain consent of any one of the provinces, it will have to be from the premier alone. He can check with his cabinet, but there’s no way the legislatures could be convened in time to endorse or reject that consent. The whole responsibility for the decision will have to be taken by the individual premier.
“And if any one of them balks, I suppose we—that is, Parliament—will have to override the objection. On the other hand, if Parliament rejects the ultimatum, then the question of provincial consent becomes academic.
“In any event, I don’t think the Americans will bring the gas out of the islands by pipe, because I don’t think it’s technically possible. A consortium called the Polar Gas Study Group has been trying for years to lay pipe between Melville and Byam Martin Islands. They have had one failure after another. I understand they are running a final test now on a new plastic pipe, but I doubt whether it will be successful. It’s my guess that they’ll choose to take the gas out by air, using the fleet of huge aircraft which Boeing and the American gas companies have been developing.”
The Governor-General said, “Oh, yes, the Resources Carrier. That’s the plane we initiated some years back and then lost out on.”
“That’s right, sir. The Americans carried through with the project and the prototype had its maiden flight in Seattle about six weeks ago.
“Panarctic and Tenneco plan to use the aircraft to fly the gas off the Islands if the pipe doesn’t work. They would carry it out on relatively short hauls to Ungava in Quebec or Cochrane in Ontario, say, and then feed it into pipelines there for transmission to New York State. Or, on the other hand, they could decide to extend its range and airlift directly to the United States.
“In any event, they’re going to use the RCA to haul the oil from the new Melville wells to market.”
The Governor-General thought for a moment. “Bob, there’s another question that’s been going through my mind. What about the formality of my presence at the opening of the emergency session of Parliament tomorrow?”
“I haven’t checked with the Speaker yet, but I think your presence will be required. If a Speech from the Throne is necessary, I’ll prepare a one-liner for you. I’ll confirm it, but I think you should plan to be present.”
The Prime Minister went on. “I think I should tell you, in your capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, that I have asked the Chief of the Defence Staff to alert the entire military establishment with a view to containing any possible outbreaks or demonstrations of anti-Americanism that might occur as a result of the President’s ultimatum.
“The CDS tells me there has been a marked escalation in U.S. military flights over Canada since this morning. I’m not really worried about that; it’s obviously part of their game plan. What really worries me is what the President can do to us by economic sanctions. The one he has already imposed is serious enough by itself, but when you get down to it, he could practically destroy our economy overnight if he chose to do so. Whether this will be sufficient to persuade Parliament that it should give in is the real question.
“The other side of that question is whether or not Canadians, and in particular the members of the Commons and the Senate, are sufficiently nationalistic to refuse the ultimatum and face the consequences.”
“Well, you’ll know soon enough,” said the Governor-General. “I can certainly understand the Americans’ predicament, but I wish they hadn’t chosen this big-stick blackmail-type approach. It just isn’t in keeping with their traditional way of doing things.”
“Perhaps it is consistent if you look at their track record since World War II,” said the Prime Minister as he stood up. “Now, sir, if you’ll excuse me, I must go to my meeting with the premiers.”
The Governor-General also rose, walked around the coffee table, and taking the Prime Minister by the arm, led him toward the door. He said, “Well, Bob, I don’t know that I’ve given you much help during this visit or any advice, for that matter, but maybe I’ve given you a chance to review the whole situation and perhaps see the implications of the President’s actions and your own in a better perspective.”
“Yes, I think you’re right. It’s a great help to me to know that you’re here and ready to back me up.”
By this time they had reached the entrance foyer of Rideau Hall. The young aide was holding open the door.
The Governor-General turned and faced the Prime Minister, looking him squarely in the eye. “Now remember, Bob, I’m available to you at any time of the day or night. I will do anything I can to help, anything at all.”
The Prime Minister turned and went out the door, quickly passing the saluting RCMP officer, and turned to wave to the Governor-General as he got into his car and was gone.
When the Prime Minister arrived back at his office, he found that Senator Thomas had left.
“He didn’t feel comfortable in your office, sir, so he went back to his own,” Scott explained on the intercom. “He said to call him when you want him.”
“O.K. Where are the premiers, Tom? Have they arrived in town yet?”
“They’re all here but Post of Nova Scotia. He’s somewhere in Europe and they can’t find him, so Margaret Cameron, the acting premier, has come in his place. I’ve booked them all in at the Chateau Laurier. They’ll be here at six. I’ve set up the Cabinet Room for you.
“And whether you like it or not, sir, I have arranged for steak to be brought in at seven. I know that you will want to get right on to the final preparation of the nine o’clock statement. Do you think you’ll be through with your meeting with the premiers by that time?”
“Yes, I must be clear by then. If the meeting hasn’t broken up, come in and get me. Say another emergency has arisen so that I can wrap it up. Arrange for some food for yourself; then the three of us can have a bite to eat together and you can bring us up to date on what has been going on.
“After that, we can go over Senator Thomas’ draft. Have my secretary stand by to retype as we put on the finishing touches. Would you remind her to use the extra-large type so that I can read the speech without my glasses?”
Tom Scott laughed. “I’ll tell her, sir. I don’t think she would ever forget, though.”
“Have there been any urgent calls?”
“No, none that are really urgent. I’ve had several calls from your ministers and a lot of other people, but there have been no direct calls for you. I think people realize the importance of the situation and don’t want to bother you.”
“Good. I’m going to take the next few hours to make some notes about what I want to say in the House tomorrow.
“By the way, have you heard anything from the Minister of Justice about the draft resolution? We should have that by now.”
“It’s just arrived on my desk this moment. Shall I bring it in?”
“Yes, please do.”
By six o’clock the Prime Minister had gone back and forth over the draft motion and made a few minor changes. He called in Tom Scott. “Here’s the motion, Tom. I’m satisfied that it’s in acceptable form now. Would you please have it retyped and deliver it back to the Minister of Justice as quickly as possible. He’s going to circulate it to the other Cabinet ministers. If they will let him have their comments by nine o’clock tonight, he should be able to give me a final draft by 9:30. It might be a good idea if he sent a copy to the party leaders at the same time so that we can arrange a meeting if they have any objections.”
“Will