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Ottawa / 10:15 a.m., EDT

When the Prime Minister returned to his office following his meeting with the key cabinet ministers, he found the leaders of the opposition parties waiting for him.

The Leader of the Opposition, George Foot, a man whom Porter respected, greeted the Prime Minister warmly as they shook hands. So did Donald Walker, the Leader of the New Democratic Party, and Pierre Johnson, of the Social Credit. All three men had been in the House of Commons for many years — a good deal longer than the Prime Minister — and they let him know it from time to time during the heat of debate. But though he was much younger than any one of them, they clearly recognized his ability.

As the Prime Minister was about to explain the urgent reason for the meeting, John Thomas entered the office. Porter introduced him. “Gentlemen, this is Senator Thomas. I don’t think any of you have met him personally, but I’m sure you all know who he is. He is not only my close friend, but my personal counsel as well. I’ve asked him to sit in on all my meetings during the next few hours. I hope you don’t mind if he joins us. When I get through explaining what is going on, I think you will understand why I need his presence.”

Without waiting for reply, the Prime Minister went straight on. “At nine o’clock this morning I received a telephone call from the President of the United States. As you are all aware, the United States faces an unparalleled energy shortage this coming winter, most particularly a shortage of natural gas. The President, facing re-election next month, has given me an ultimatum which has to be answered unconditionally by Parliament by tomorrow night at six o’clock.”

The Prime Minister quickly outlined the three conditions of the ultimatum. When he had finished, George Foot exclaimed, “Why, that’s straight blackmail!”

All three opposition leaders were clearly appalled by what they had heard. Johnson stuttered, “Did he say what the United States would do if Canada refused to give in?”

“No,” the Prime Minister replied. “I asked him, but all he would say was that he had economic levers too numerous to list. I can think of two or three right off the top. I will be instructing the President of the Treasury Board and the Governor of the Bank of Canada to get their staffs going on estimating the kind of sanctions they think the President can impose, and the probable effect, but just for openers the Americans could levy a prohibitive tax on all manufactured goods coming from Canada. They could prohibit American investors from buying Canadian securities, or in any other way investing money in Canada. By itself, that sanction would practically destroy the Canadian economy, because we need the inflow of U.S. and other foreign capital in order to stay alive.”

The Leader of the Opposition agreed. “No question about it. And I suppose they could even stop taking our natural resources, except of course the commodities which they desperately need in their energy crisis, the gas and oil.”

It was Pierre Johnson’s turn. “They could even go so far as to cut off our shipping or prevent goods from crossing the border. But they would never do that, do you think? We’ve been on the best of terms with the Americans always. I can’t conceive of their doing such things.”

“I can,” said the Prime Minister. “And I can also see why they’re taking this course of action. What we must discuss now are the steps we can take to handle this situation.

“First, I hope we can agree to put aside party considerations. I do not expect you to give up your right to quarrel with anything I do or say, but at this moment bear in mind that what I need is your advice and counsel, not criticism.”

George Foot immediately responded, “Prime Minister, there are many differences between us and there always will be, but in this situation my party will do its utmost to co-operate with the government.” Johnson and Walker made similar announcements, much to the relief of the Prime Minister.

“Thank you, gentlemen, I hoped you would agree. Now, to get down to business. I think it is obvious that Parliament must be recalled. I have already issued instructions that this step be taken and that emergency transportation be arranged under the direction of the Chief of the Defence Staff. I want every member of the House and Senate here in time for a briefing in the Commons at eight o’clock tomorrow morning. Following the briefing, which will provide information for the members on all matters relevant to Arctic development and the current energy crisis in the United States, the House should convene in emergency session at twelve noon. The Senate can sit at the same time, and I will ask the Government Leader of the Senate to make sure that the motion which is debated is exactly the same as the one the House considers and that no vote is taken by the Senate until the House has voted.

“We must conclude debate by five o’clock, so the vote can be completed by 5:15 to allow the Senate to vote by 5:30. I propose that the vote in the House be a free vote so that no one is tied to party lines.”

All three party leaders nodded their agreement.

“Good. The ideal thing would be for the four of us to prepare a motion and present it jointly to the House. The way we put it forward should be no indication whatsoever of the way in which any one of us is going to vote on the question. In introducing the motion I’ll make that perfectly clear.”

The Prime Minister was interrupted as Tom Scott quietly entered the room and handed him a note. Porter read it, whispered briefly to Scott, then carried on.

“If we open the House at twelve noon and commence the vote at five o’clock, that leaves just five hours for debate; actually, somewhat less than that, because I would like to have thirty minutes at the end to sum up and ten minutes at the beginning to get the ball rolling. Obviously we are going to have to control the number of speakers and the time for debate very rigidly. I would suggest that each of you take fifteen minutes and that all other speakers be limited to ten.”

Pierre Johnson broke in. “Good heavens, Prime Minister, in fifteen minutes I can’t even get started!”

His colleagues all laughed. Johnson was a notoriously long-winded though colourful speaker.

“Sorry, Pierre, this is one time when your eloquence will have to be contained.”

None of the other leaders had any objection to the proposal. The Prime Minister continued.

“I also suggest that the number of speakers from each party be in proportion to the seats in the House. If we four take a total of fifty-five minutes for our remarks, that brings us to 12:55. Between 12:55 and 4:30 there are 215 minutes. At ten minutes per speaker, that works out to twenty-one speakers, more or less. Based on the present proportion in the House, that should give us ten speakers from the government, six from the Opposition, three from the NDP and two from Social Credit.

“For myself, I would open the debate by putting forward the motion in our joint names, and take that opportunity to provide the House with the background of the President’s telephone call. Although this will have been extensively covered at the eight o’clock briefing, I think it should be repeated for Hansard.”

“That’s fine as far as my party is concerned, Prime Minister,” said George Foot. “But we would very much appreciate knowing something about the line which you are going to take at the opening. If you could let us have a brief sketch of your remarks, it would be helpful. We will then be in a position to prepare our speeches so they will not cut across your approach or be contradictory. If I have to take a position on any point which is contrary to what you say in your remarks, that would also give me the opportunity of letting you know before the debate starts.

“Let me put it to you another way. I’m personally most anxious that all of us in the House present a solid front to the Americans and to our own public, as far as possible, but at this moment I don’t know what the motion is going to be and I don’t know all the facts. So I can’t tell you now, Bob, what the final position of my party is going to be, or, for that matter, since it is a free vote, what my own position is going to be. However, as a matter of principle. I do feel very strongly that if Parliament can come out of this with a unanimous decision, or one which is close to it, it will strengthen Canada’s position in negotiating with the representatives of the United States in the future. To have Parliament split in a crisis of this magnitude would be a disaster.”

“I certainly agree, George. What do you think, Donald?”

Donald Walker had been the Leader of the NDP for many years. He had led his party in opposition to the building of the Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline and the sale of Arctic natural gas and oil to the United States. Furthermore, he had encouraged his party to take a position of strong economic nationalism, and he frequently made heavy attacks on corporations under foreign control. For Donald Walker, this moment of confrontation with the United States was an event which he had long and eagerly anticipated. His grey, sallow face, topped by a thatch of white hair, reflected little emotion, however, when he said, “Prime Minister, you and all of Canada know fully the position which my party has historically taken against the export of natural gas to the United States and against the building of the Mackenzie Valley pipeline. We have long expected that the American corporations, and the U.S. government, having failed completely to plan for their country’s future energy requirements, and having taken no steps toward controlling their escalating population, would inevitably take such a step. The New Democratic Party has few members in the House, but our voice is strong. I can tell you one thing, and that is that I will do my best to persuade my party to stand against this intolerable American threat regardless of the consequences.

“So far as I am concerned, the proposals for the briefing tomorrow morning and the handling and timing of the debate are satisfactory. Subject only to seeing the form of the motion you propose, I will be pleased to move it jointly with the three of you.”

The Prime Minister smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Donald. Your position is one which has not come as a complete surprise to me. Your willingness to co-operate is much appreciated.

“Now, Pierre, how about you?”

Pierre Johnson cleared his throat. “Prime Minister, so far as the arrangements are concerned, they sound fine to me. I am not going to say what my position will be until the debate. I want my own members to make up their own minds, since it is to be a free vote. I do feel that this is no time for Canadians to cling to regional or cultural differences, and I offer you my co-operation and my support.”

“Thank you, Pierre.

“Well, gentlemen, I won’t keep you any longer. I will try to keep you informed as matters develop, and to consult with you as the circumstances require. I have also asked the provincial premiers to be in Ottawa by six o’clock tonight. I feel that their views should be solicited and that they should take part in the decision-making process over the next few hours. I hope this meets with your approval.”

The other party leaders nodded their heads in assent.

“One final thing,” said the Prime Minister. “I’ve asked the President of the National Press Gallery, and the networks, or their senior representatives, to meet with me. Tom Scott has just informed me they are here. I’m going to ask them to play down as much as possible the ultimatum given to us by the President. The last thing I want is for the country to panic, so we’ll need maximum restraint from the media.”

As the opposition leaders rose to go, George Foot said, “Well, I wish you luck, Prime Minister. You’ll do well to keep the press under control with a news story as big as this one. But you can rest assured that I and my party will do nothing to make this situation more difficult. If we stand together we will show the President that we have some muscle too.”