Elijah Harper.

WINNIPEG--12 June 1990

Until today, very few people in Canada knew the name of Elijah Harper, the lone Aboriginal Member of the Manitoba Legislature.

Manitoba's Premier Gary Filmon left Ottawa on Sunday having promised to hold a vote on the Meech Lake Accord following public hearings. At this point, the complex rules of parliamentary procedure came into play. The resolution to approve the Accord had to be introduced in the Legislature for the hearings to take place. But, time was running out--there were just 11 days left before the Meech Lake Accord died. So, Mr. Filmon asked the Legislature to bend the rules a little to allow the resolution to be introduced without the normal two-day notice.

To do this, the Premier needed the consent of every Member; Elijah Harper refused to give his consent. Native supporters forced their way into the lobby of the legislative building. There, they beat a drum and sang a traditional native song of honour.

Of course, Mr. Harper was not quibbling over an attempt to end-run House rules. He and his supporters saw and grasped a powerful tool to get Native issues put on the national agenda. "We need to let Canadians know that we have been shoved aside," said Mr. Harper. "We're saying that Aboriginal issues should be put on the priority list."

A promise to look into Native concerns from Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in exchange for passage of the Accord was rejected by First Nations leaders. There was a plan to extend the hours of the Legislature, but this needed unanimous consent. At 1.26 p.m. (EDT) on 22 June 1990, Elijah Harper dealt the final blow. The Member for Rupertsland sat impassively in his seat, holding an eagle feather in his hand. He was asked for his consent to extending the hours of the Legislature. Quietly, he replied, "No, Mr. Speaker."

The House was then adjourned indefinitely and Members stood and sang the national anthem; Mr. Harper joined in.

DESPERATE PLOY

As the clock ran down to the Meech Lake deadline, Prime Minister Mulroney tried one last tactic. He had Senator Lowell Murray propose that the Supreme Court of Canada be asked if the deadline could be extended. This angered Manitoba's political leaders.

"This appears to be another roll of the dice ..." said Premier Gary Filmon. Liberal leader sharon Carstairs accused Mr. Mulroney and his advisers of playing games with Canadians: "They don't give a damn. They are desperate men, looking for desperate solutions." New Democratic Party leader Gary Doer was blunter: "It makes me so bloody mad. To build a constitution on lies is incredible." He said the entire Meech Lake process has been "dishonest from start to finish."

On 1 May 1991, the Equality Party tabled a motion to have the Canadian flag permanently fixed in Quebec's National Assembly. Robert Bourassa's Liberals defeated the motion, which was identical to one the Liberal Party tabled in 1980 when the Parti Quebecois was in power.