“It would be crazy if they go it alone” and “they haven’t thought this through.”
Those sentiments belong to Scots living and working in Richmond ahead of Thursday’s historic referendum, when the country will vote on whether or not to separate from the UK and “be a nation again,” as versed in the Scottish national anthem.
As it stood on Tuesday, the result is balanced on the proverbial knife-edge, with different polls forecasting tight victories for the yes (independence) campaign and the no (Better Together) campaign.
The drama unfolding in the UK has captured the attention of the world’s media, with many Canadian national broadcasters jumping in with discussion panels and drawing obvious parallels to the Quebec referendum of 1995.
With the clock ticking down to Thursday, the News canvassed the thoughts of some Scottish ex-pats, either living or working in Richmond.
“I’ve always believed that we’d be stronger together than apart,” said Jim Lamond, Richmond Sports Council chair, who has lived in Canada since 1952, but still goes “home” every year to visit family.
“I really hope they vote no because there’s no way back if they vote yes.
“For example, what currency are they going to use? If something’s not broken, don’t fix it.”
Lamond, originally from Greenock, near Glasgow, actually met Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish National Party and who is at the forefront of the yes campaign, a few years ago.
“(Salmond) was busy telling me what a great thing this would be for Scotland and I asked him why that was?” said Lamond, who served in the British army while it was stationed in Germany in 1946.
“He told me that the UK’s biggest export was whisky. I said, ‘what if people stop drinking whisky?”
Lamond said the people of Quebec realized they were better off as part of a bigger country and he hopes the citizens of Scotland will come to the same conclusion.
Richmond-based realtor Bill Dunlop hails from Ayr on Scotland’s south-west coast and has roots in the banking industry, both in his homeland and in Canada.
“I’m totally opposed to (independence) as it’s simply not economically viable,” said Dunlop, who used to run the treasury operations for the Canadian Western Bank after immigrating to Canada in 1977.
“There’s no sound economic policy set out for it, there’s no central bank, they’ve just not thought it through properly.”
The recent move in Scotland to drop the voting age down to 16 was also ill-advised, said Dunlop, who doesn’t have much faith in the teenage generation’s decision-making.
“They are way too young to be voting, especially as many of them are all pumped up on Braveheart and cheap wine,” he said.
Neither Lamond nor Dunlop is able to vote in the referendum, as they’re not resident in Scotland.
Both, however, feel the outcome is way too close to call and they will be up to the “wee small hours” on Friday watching the results trickle in as their country of birth decides its fate for generations to come.
