Tuesday, March 2nd Yellowknife, NWT
Flying out of Iqaluit that morning, Ted felt excited and confident. He knew he could deliver Nunavut’s request, the first piece was in place.
He arrived at the Legislative Building of the Northwest Territories in Yellowknife, and went directly to the Premier’s offices. Premier Andy Anderson met Ted at the front reception area, and led him to a small conference room.
"Call me Andy, said the Premier, everybody calls me Andy, and, Ted – I’d like to introduce you to Jim Carson, the Commissioner of the Yukon." Ted had not expected this.
Ted extended his hand. "Nice to meet you, Commissioner Carson. I hadn’t anticipated meeting with both of you at the same time. This is certainly a pleasant surprise – I hope."
"Thanks, and call me Jim. We’re all on a first name basis here." He shook Ted’s hand eagerly.
As they sat down at the small table, Ted realised if they had advance notice of his coming, they undoubtedly had their wish lists ready.
Right after Roy Qamutik had called Anderson telling him what had happened during Underwood’s visit, Andy called Jim Carson. They saw the opportunity for what they previously thought was impossible. Jim flew that night from Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon, to Yellowknife. Overnight, the two heads of their respective governments had indeed put together an alternate list of desirables, in case their real wish was out of reach. Alaska.
Ted looked at the two of them, sitting side by side, almost facing each other. He asked, "Is there anything that I should know, before we begin?"
Andy began, "Yes, there’s a few things." He looked over at Jim, who nodded.
"Jim and I work very closely up here in the far north, we have to. It’s a survival thing," said Andy.
"If I don’t talk to Andy at least once a week, I worry that he may have fallen off an ice edge," Jim said.
"Look, Ted," Andy laughed as he spoke, "we have so many things in common between us and the Yukon. Our economies both generate about a billion a year and that’s just....."
"Even though NWT is almost 3 times the size of the Yukon," Jim interrupted.
"Size doesn’t matter here, Jim. We each have only one city, less than five towns and a whole lot of little communities." Andy turned back to Ted, who by now was only observing, and continued,
"We’ve got about 42,000 people and Jim has about 32,000."
"Can you see the similarities," Jim piped in, "and why we might have similar challenges and solutions?"
Ted stared and nodded, yes.
"If we resolve NWT issues, then most of Yukon’s will be solved as well," said Andy.
"Yes, that’s it exactly," Jim said.
"Exactly," said Andy. "We look east to west here, not north to south."
"Exactly," Jim said. "We have much more in common with Alaska."
"That’s it exactly," said Andy.
"We want to be part of Alaska," Jim said.
"That’s exactly what we want," said Andy.
"It would solve many things," Jim said.
"Yes, it would," said Andy.
They stopped, looked directly at Ted, and beamed.
Ted stared and blinked. For a moment he was back in Nunavut, watching the throat singers. He shook his head to clear it. Finally, he realised what they’d said.
Alaska?
It didn’t take him long to discover this was the only thing they wanted. Anything, they’d said, Ted may have to agree to during the "deal process" would be fine with them, as long as the end result was obtained.
"Have you talked to Alaska about this?"
No, they said in unison.
"Are there any side deals going on here?"
Absolutely not, they guaranteed.
"If I go to Alaska with this, are they going to know I’m coming – just like you knew ahead of time?"
No, they assured him. This would be Ted’s show, Ted was the delivery guy.
As he rose to leave, Ted said he would do what he could, and warned them that any indication of this being on the table would jeopardise the outcome. They promised to do nothing until they heard from him.
Andy offered to put Ted up for the night, Jim was staying over and it would be a hoot. He thanked them, but graciously declined.
At the airport, Ted changed his flight plan to Washington. Alberta would have to wait. If Pontiac was going to be able to pull this one off – he would need all the advance notice Ted could provide. During the overnight flight back east, he dreamed of snow and ice, but it didn’t chill him.
After centuries of peace between Canada and the United States, many people on both sides of the border advanced the idea of one great nation.
Many also resisted it.
As Provinces across the mainland begin to leave Canada to become part of the USA, a few people from Vancouver Island develop their own plan: they would steal Canada, before it vanishes.
From a beautiful island off the western coast of Canada, follow this powerful tapestry of political deals, human struggles and triumphs, as it weaves from Victoria to Halifax, from Manhattan to Seattle, from Ottawa to the White House to Buckingham Palace.
Many also resisted it.
As Provinces across the mainland begin to leave Canada to become part of the USA, a few people from Vancouver Island develop their own plan: they would steal Canada, before it vanishes.
From a beautiful island off the western coast of Canada, follow this powerful tapestry of political deals, human struggles and triumphs, as it weaves from Victoria to Halifax, from Manhattan to Seattle, from Ottawa to the White House to Buckingham Palace.
Authors
The Mace is authored by individuals with thirty years in the political, legal and technical worlds of Canada, the US, Europe and Asia. In the five years since the release of The Mace, a number of the predictions in the novel have begun to occur.
Letters
~
Author's Note: ~
The first printing was ready on October 4th - the very day that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were to arrive in Victoria. Because Buckingham Palace plays such a crucial role in the successful and happy ending to the story, we felt that, if we could make it happen, we wanted her to have the first books off the press.
Through some wonderful and gracious people that were involved in this great event, we were able to take the very first two copies of The Mace over to Government House to be given, on our behalf, to Her Majesty and Prince Philip. It is truly wonderful that so much of the fictional story that was written months before their arrival, Her Majesty was able to experience.
~ Rene Howard
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
October 30, 2002
Thank you for your thoughtful letter and for sending me a copy of your recently published book, The Mace.
I greatly appreciate your courtesy and generosity in presenting me with this gift. Also, thank you for your kind words of support. I would like to reiterate what an immense privilege it has been to represent my fellow Canadians, allthese years. Above all, I feel especially honoured by the trust they have shown me time and time again. Throughout my life I have endeavoured to live up to their expectations, and your portrayal suggests that, in certain instances, I have clearly succeeded.
Thank you, again, for your good wishes.
Sincerely,
Jean Chretien
Prime Minister of Canada
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
October 30, 2002
Thank you very much for sending me a copy of your novel entitled The Mace. I am pleased that you were able to offer assistance to BCBC and the Ministry of Management Services.
It was interesting to read about the Plan for the independence of ...
[spoiler edited]. This fast-paced story was told with intrigue, ingenuity, and a unique writing style. I appreciate receiving a copy and wish you all the best.
Again, thank you for the gift. It was good to hear from you again.
Sincerely,
Gordon Campbell
Premier of British Columbia
~~~~~~~
Author's Note: ~
The first printing was ready on October 4th - the very day that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were to arrive in Victoria. Because Buckingham Palace plays such a crucial role in the successful and happy ending to the story, we felt that, if we could make it happen, we wanted her to have the first books off the press.
Through some wonderful and gracious people that were involved in this great event, we were able to take the very first two copies of The Mace over to Government House to be given, on our behalf, to Her Majesty and Prince Philip. It is truly wonderful that so much of the fictional story that was written months before their arrival, Her Majesty was able to experience.
~ Rene Howard
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
October 30, 2002
Thank you for your thoughtful letter and for sending me a copy of your recently published book, The Mace.
I greatly appreciate your courtesy and generosity in presenting me with this gift. Also, thank you for your kind words of support. I would like to reiterate what an immense privilege it has been to represent my fellow Canadians, allthese years. Above all, I feel especially honoured by the trust they have shown me time and time again. Throughout my life I have endeavoured to live up to their expectations, and your portrayal suggests that, in certain instances, I have clearly succeeded.
Thank you, again, for your good wishes.
Sincerely,
Jean Chretien
Prime Minister of Canada
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
October 30, 2002
Thank you very much for sending me a copy of your novel entitled The Mace. I am pleased that you were able to offer assistance to BCBC and the Ministry of Management Services.
It was interesting to read about the Plan for the independence of ...
[spoiler edited]. This fast-paced story was told with intrigue, ingenuity, and a unique writing style. I appreciate receiving a copy and wish you all the best.
Again, thank you for the gift. It was good to hear from you again.
Sincerely,
Gordon Campbell
Premier of British Columbia
~~~~~~~
Press Articles
NOTICE !!
STORY SPOILERS
IN PRESS ARTICLES
AUTHOR SWINGS THE MACE AT CANADA-U.S. RELATIONS November 18, 2002, Nanaimo News Bulletin By: Chris Bush, The News Bulletin
If times got tough enough, could Canada/US relations get a lot closer? Could provinces even start joining the Union to the south? Nanaimo author Rene Howard envisions scenarios where it could happen.
Picture this: Saskatchewan, birthplace of the CCF, bastion of Canadian socialism, pushed to the brink of economic disaster by years of drought and crop failures, casts its eye south of the border for help from its equally thirsty neighbouring states.
The Midwest has capital, no water. Saskatchewan has abundant quantities of water, but no finances to access it.
So begins the domino-effect fragmentation of Canadian confederation along north/south economic corridors that already exist. So does the drought in the prairie provinces and the U.S. Midwest.
The authors hold dual Canada/U.S. citizenship.
“We started to develop an idea. Could Vancouver Island stand on its own if there was a natural catastrophe? Could it weather the storm?”
But there doesn’t have to be a disaster here. Just follow the news.
“As we were writing the book, things were happening,” he says. “The drought in Saskatchewan, the terrible situation with the horses dying and the locusts and grasshoppers. The drought extended all the way down into the Midwestern United States.”
In this political mystery thriller, Vancouver Islanders must react quickly to events happening in mainland Canada and, if possible, save Canada - perhaps even steal it.
What evolved was three months of planning and nine months of “1,000 words a day or bust” hard writing to launch The Mace by October in time for the Christmas season.
“It takes place in the near future. We call it reality fiction because we wanted to make it real, but it’s set in the future so we could fictionalize and not take liberty with politicians, governments, people and businesses here.”
Commentary has already come from some fairly high level officials, including Premier Gordon Campbell who sent a letter containing references to passages in the book one would only know from reading it, indicating how much he enjoyed The Mace.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
PORT ALBERNI STARS IN POLITICAL FICTION BOOK November 1, 2002, The Alberni Valley Times By: Siobhan Burns, AV Times
The authors, from Nanaimo, launched their political fiction book called, The Mace, on Saturday, Oct 26 at Woodgrove Centre in Nanaimo. The book, written under the pen name Rene Howard, was released on Oct 4. “It’s political fiction, there are two main story lines. One is the situation going on between Canada and the U.S. Each of the provinces on their own decided to leave Canada to become part of the U.S.,“ said Rene. The second story line is about a small group of people, some from Port Alberni, that try to save Canada.
The authors have lived in Nanaimo for one year. Before they moved to Nanaimo they lived in Victoria for a few years. “We’ve lived on both sides of the border so we come from experience. We’ve done a lot of work with the political system, both in the U.S. and Canada”.
We call the book “reality fiction”. “The people are fictional. The settings are real. The events have already begun,” reads the back cover of their book.
The couple said they have worked together on a lot of projects and that they enhanced each other’s skills when writing the book. “Two-thirds of what we wrote didn’t end up in the book”. One of the biggest challenges that we found is that you have to edit a lot. Editing can sometimes take longer than writing”.
The very first book off the press went to Queen Elizabeth and the second went to Prince Philip.
It’s also doing quite well in town.
“I’ve sold it surprisingly well. Their first delivery to me was sold out and we’re working on the second one,” said John Templeman, owner of Curious Coho in Port Alberni. “It’s the very first book either fiction or non-fiction which had put natives of the West coast, Port Alberni in particular, in a very positive light. The Saturday they brought it in to me, I read it right through. It’s very possible and probable. It was well rounded and an interesting read - which is unusual for a first novel,” said Templeman.
