The CANADIAN WARGAMERS JOURNAL

by Charles Levi
The slalt ol I ltc JOURNAL mirrors the
country and the numerous opinions on Meech
Lake. Wo aro dividcd on the accord but think
the following article is timely and follows the
Canadian lradilion of self analysis and not
taking ilsell too seriously.
Canadlan Clvll War is an old dinosaur of
a game from SP/. lt most likely achieves the
feel ol Canadian polilics, but it is a bit of an
abstract dcsign (imagine. a game that encour-
ages you to intcrpret the rules on the basis of
political inllucnco). AIter picking it up at an
auction a low yoars ago and attempting to play
the gamo, I prrt il away on my shelf and
promptly lorqol about it (it doesn't play well
solitaire, arrd ils hard getting other people
interested in simulating Canadian politics).
The gamc oncc again caught my attention
when lhc Mccch I ake Accord began to draw
lire frorn cortain circles. I brought Canadian
CIvll War back oll the shelf and attempted to
design a simullrlion of lhe current political
silualion in Canacla. I he Canadlan ClvilWar
system, wlrilo nol perfect lor simulating the
Meech I ako siluation, provides an excellent
jumping oll poinl lor understanding it.
I am nol a polilical scientist, and the only
informaliorr I lritvc ort Canadian politics comes
from tlro Currlral Canadian media and one
speoch by Clytto Wclls, I had the privilege of
listeninq lo. My pursonal opinions are very
muctr op;rosotl to lltc Ar:cord, and lhis simula-
tion may ovorsl;rlc llro opposition to the Ac-
cord in lho r;orrrrlry, cspecially among politi-
ISSUE 23 JUNE/JULY 1990
cians. My biases aside, here is the nuts and
bolts of a simulalion of the Meech Lake Accord
"crisis" in terms ot Canadian CivilWar.
Table 1 gives the political breakdown of
the country inlo the various factions.
The Red player becomes the "Pro-Meech"
faction, representing the mood of the Progres-
sive Conservative government of Canada
before (and perhaps after) the McKenna
amendmenls, Premier Peterson's Ontario
government, and PremierBourassa's ouebec
government. Also included in this group are
several organizations that have remained
more or less silent on the issue, including the
Premiers of Alberla, Saskatchewan, and Nova
Scotia.
The Orange player becomes the "Meech
with minor revisions" faction, a group which is
not too well def ined bul seems to be what the
provincial government of British Columbia
was demanding at one point, as wellas what
some of the less dogmatic forces in Ouebec
seem to be prepared to accept. This Orange
player also represents part of the "pass
Meech, then talk about Senate reform" group.
The Green player becomes the "major
revisions to Meech" faction, including Premier
McKenna of New Brunswick and Premier
Filmon of Manitoba, as well as some forces in
almost every province. Quebec Anglophones
who reject the "distinct society" also fall into
this group.
The Blue player becomes the "DumP
Meech, start again" faclion, including a per-
ISSUE 23 JUNE/Jt'I
centage ol Otrl;rrlo'rr ,
Premier Clydo Wolh,
some coltslilrrlirrtr;rl
constilutioltirl l;rwyrrr
group slncu
(l;rlr.rrl,r
i
so their ligltl in llrrr
nately, tlto "lory lllrr
by tho Rorl
;tlrryor
avoid rorlosigrtlrrg rrll
nity Citrtltt I lto; rn 1; 1
Tlttt rllvlnlotr ol r:r
cal Opporlrnrlly
(
.;rrr lr
on tho "lrtrtl" ol lltrr r r
Red plrtyur, wlllr I /
shorl of cotttiot ll;r lr; ( rI
be doirtg lltu kr,t',1 lo
only ono l'olillr:rrl
(
);r;
ther ono tllovoii irwirl
constiluorr;y riuplxrl
the will lo ;t(;l lrrrr;onrr
The I orlorirl
(;lvil
one mind otr llro i:,r;rrll
is in tho f)t;ilt11n r;
nagging dorrlrlr ;rlxrt
shared-cosl :;or:i;rl
1
rrr
(it also r{tllrcr;ntrl:, ll
some Or;trtqo r;r rg r; ror l
Tho lttl(,rr,:;l
(
'nrr
They worrt ol.r,rrrrllirl
ance, wilh tlt,lltty lror o
simply lo rolhrr I ;rllo
Trade agro()trr{rnl irnr I
Tax ratltttr llurrr wrr
constitulionill l;rw
The ono liillrlllr ;r
ment of lho I r iil r ;o1 rl r
marker. Tho Arrgkr;rl
from "Tho I rrglt:;lr { )
Sgem to havtt llxrlr p,
coverage in llrhi nlrr
phones, and llru I r.rrr
advantage ol lr;rvlrrU I
on their sido (l or
11
Francophonc nl,rrhlr
represenls Al rglol rl ror
8
: 23 JUNE/JULY 1990
,, here is the nuts and
ro Meech Lake Accord
adlan ClvllWar.
political breakdown of
lous factions.
omes the "Pro-Meech"
rr mood of the Progres-
vornment of Canada
after) the McKenna
'
Peterson's Ontario
or Bourassa's Quebec
rdod in this group are
Itrat have remained
ru issue, including the
;k;rtchewan, and Nova
bocomes the "Meech
r)lion, a group which is
sooms to be what the
of British Columbia
point, as wellas what
alic forces in Ouebec
accept. This Orange
s part of the "pass
Sonate reform" group.
becomes the "major
lon, including Premier
rnswick and Premier
woll as some forces in
Quebec Anglophones
society" also fall into
)ecomes the "Dump
)llon, including a per-
rL
ISSUE 23 JUNE/JULY 1990 The CANADIAN WARGAMERS JOURNAL
centage of Ontario's Anglophone community, One rule change is in order. Some pre-
miers have shown an ability to talk and act on
Premier Clyde Wells of Newfoundland, and
some constitutional lawyers and amateur
constitutional lawyers. They are weakest
group since Canada is based on compromise
so their fight is the mosily uphiil. (Unfortu-
nately, the "Tory Blue" player is represented
by the Red player. This was done so as to
avoid redesigning all of the Political Opportu-
nity Cards. I hope it is not too disconcerting.)
The division of constituencies and
politi-
cal Opportunity Cards is one person's opinion
on the "feel" of the country at this time. The
Red player, with
't7
constiuentcies, is just
short of consensus onlhe matter, but seemsto
be doing lhe least to help the sitqation (thus
only one Political Opportunity card). The far-
ther one moves away from the Red position,
constituency support becomes weaker, but
the willto act becomes stronger.
The Federal Civil Service seems to be of
one mind on lhe issue, and Health and Welfare
is in the Orange camp only to reflect the
nagging doubts about the ability to maintain
shared-cost social programs under the Acco rd
(it also represents the political necessity of
some Orange supportto maintain Red power).
The lnterest Groups were harder to peg.
They were essentiatty divided lor play bat-
ance, with many becoming Orange and Green
simply to reflect after shocks from the Free
Trade agreement andthe Goods and Services
Tax ralher lhan well-defined positions on
e,onstitutional law.
The one significant change is the replace_
ment of the Francophone with an Anglophone
marker. The Angtophones (which are distinct
lrom "The English-Canadians"
as a whole)
seem to have more political power and media
coverage in this struggle than the Franco_
phones, and the Francophones also have the
advantage of having the Federal Government
on their side. (For game purposes, use the
Francophone marker, but remember that it
repregents Anglophones.)
the Accord without a clear support from their
provincial parliaments
or constituencies.
Therefore, rule7.14 must be changed so as to
allow Premiers to change factions during
Contests. This represents the fluidity of the
present constitutional situation.
There are two sets of Victory Conditions.
One isthe onlyaercurate oneforthe simulation,
the other is for the faint of heart.
The proper set of Victory Conditions is to
have all of the Premiers of like mind. That is
what will pass the accord, not control of issues
orconstiluencies. The minute allthe
premiers
can agree, Meech will pass orfail accordingly.
However, in game terms, this may prove
impossible. So I also provide the
,,issue-
based" victory conditions for each faction. lf a
faction achieves victory on the basis of issues,
it has won the game, but the higher victory of
unanimity among Premiers should be the ulti_
mate goalof each player.
Finally, the titles of some
politicalOppor-
it
tunity Cards have been changed (See Table 2)
in order lo represent more up{o-date head_
lines. Others may be changed to suit tastes (l
pcrsonally don't know if a,Vacations Scandal,'
[Card
13] coutd hit present day Canada, per_
haps others know better).
Canadlan CivilWar is a game designed
to give the 'Teet"
of Canadian politics
during
crisis situations. Hopefully, this variant can
give players
a 'Ieel" for the politics
of the
Meech Lake Acrord, which revolve around
much more than just
what is in the Accord.
Note: The rutes forcreating and fighting a
National Emergency remain the same. lt
secms even more unlikely nowthat a National
Fmergency could erupt over a Canadian con_
slilutional crisis than in 1976 but the rules are
slill llrerc. I do not know enough about Cana_
dian Armed Forces organization to fiddle with
lhu nrilitary element of the game, so they
rcrrrain lhe same as well.
f
9
The CANADIAN
WARGAMERS
JOURNAL
Tabto I
_
lnlilat
Doployment
for "Thc
Mcoch Like accoro,,
rsq!-fE 23 JUNE/JULY
1990
SpectatRute- tssuE
?3
JUNE/JULt
Are yor
of that
TI
A comprr
The er
To order
T
edia(2),
Foreign
Af_
nce & Banking(1),
Ter_
Iile Changes
Passes in euebecl
es)
lnfluence!
Servants in
est groups
in Blue Home o", :'ffSJ?[,:
Zone)
09. Government poll
Against
,,Distinct
Soci_
9ty"l
(hatv
;rbrrengt[s-oi'"rrrtiril
Servants in
rz oueoec;
one)
epa-
ome
Groups
become
I
nly Laws in Ontario!
lophone
lnt. Group)
ociety" (ail Btue and
eir Grassroots
sec_
sJ
ConBlltuencles
Ont
Que
BC
Alta
Sask
Man
PEI
!.e_d
Orange
Green
Btue
t\t:)
1
2
4
6(P)
3 1
t2,P)1_
1(P)
1 1
1(l')
1 -
1(P)
1
-
1(P)
1(P)
1(P)
NS
NB
Nftd
1(P)
Clvltservants
Red Orange
Green Blue
Labour
1 _
Finance
1
Agricutture
1
Health-Welfare-
1 _ _
Justice
1 _
Commerce
1
Prime Minister
1 _
!nterest
Grouos
R9d
Orange
Green
Btue
Petroleum
1 _
'- -':-"
srr
Unions {
Ctergy
1 - ]
Hydro
-
1 _
Auto
-
1
Farmers
1
Transport
1 _
_
Wood
- 1
I91l!,gr!-opporruntty
Cards ar start:
Red: 1; Orange:3;
G;";;, ;Idi;;;"'
10
An urner caros remain
the same.