Having worked for the Parti Quebecois in 1973, I find Mark Powell’s overview (Op-ed column, BDN, Nov. 16) timely and well constructed.

The fact that Ottawa pumps billions into Quebec, whether for a referendum, for retirement pensions or for whatever earmark is, of course, a great disincentive to separation and the Pakistanization of our neighbor to the north. Economic reservations are the biggest deterrent, believe me. I’ve asked hundreds of Quebeckers about this in my five years in the province.

As Powell points out, Canada has had no Little Bighorn, no Pearl Harbor, no Sea of Tranquility or no Pickett’s Charge, but Canada has been unified by a much more positive happening — a transcontinental railroad well chronicled by Pierre Berton.

Coexisting in the “world’s greatest country” with “les Canadiens-anglais,” is far preferable than running the risk of getting engulfed by “les Americains.” This specter, too, is a disincentive.

The fact that the referendum took place four years after the Parti Quebecois took power in 1976 is attributed to the fact that Prime Minister Trudeau was supposed to be gone by then. Only a quirk of fate brought him back to help foil the Separatist bid at that time. Today’s Separatists will not wait that long to see some more of Ottawa’s billions expended on a referendum. William R. Sawtell Alumnus, Laval University Quebec City