SECTION ONE: The Context

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SECTION ONE The Context

• Part One The Constitutional Context

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The Canadian ConstitutionWhats it Do?

• legislative system
• bicameralism (House of Commons and Senate)
• modes of representation
• H of C representation by population
• Senate -- regional
• federalism
• Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• amending formulas

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Amending the Constitution...

• various formulas
• range from 2/3 of provinces (with 50 of the
  population) to unanimous consent
• HOWEVER, no Quebec or regional veto

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Amending the Constitution...How Difficult?

• Meech Lake Accord
• proposed in 1987, failed in 1990
• lesson negotiations could no longer be
  undertaken behind closed doors

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Amending the Constitution...How Difficult?

• Charlottetown Accord
• struck July 1992
• referendum October 1992
• No 45, Yes 55
• lesson agreement difficult to achieve under
  conditions of broad public participation

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Amending the Constitution...How Difficult?

• effective Quebec constitutional veto
• Quebec sovereignty Referendum 1995
• No 50.6/Yes 49.4
• Chretiens parliamentary resolution (1996)
• recognizing Quebec as a distinct society within
  Canada
• constitutional veto for all Canadian regions
  (including Quebec)

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Amending the Constitution...How Difficult?

• very difficult!!
• the result??
• constitutional arrangement frozen into place
  without Quebecs agreement and with little
  prospect for change

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Part One The Constitutional Context

• Federalism

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Rationale for Uniting...

• economic
• military/security concerns

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Rationale for Federalism

• why NOT large, unitary government
• existence of Quebec as a separate nation
• smaller colonies reluctant

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Federalism What is It?

• orders of government
• NOT levels of government
• division of powers
• judicial review

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Rationale for Federalism

• why NOT large, unitary government
• existence of Quebec as a separate nation
• smaller colonies reluctant
• federalism a pragmatic solution to make union
  possible
• low-cost -- provinces expected to whither away

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Division of Powers -- Canada

• Federal Powers
• enumerated powers (s.91)
• peace, order and good government
• residual power
• reservation, disallowance, declaratory
• Provincial Powers (s.92)
• enumerated powers
• matters of a merely local or private nature

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Trends in Canadian Federalism

• decentralization
• entanglement

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Level of Centralization
Small Unitary Govts
Large Unitary Govt
(Confederation)
Federalism
Decentralized Federation
Centralized Federation
Canada 2001
Canada 1867
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Explaining Canadian Decentralization

• lack of representation of provincial interests
  within the federal government
• representation of provincial/regional interests
  primarily through the provincial governments
• existence of Quebec
• especially after 1960 Quiet Revolution
• maitre chez nous
• federal society

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Federal-Provincial Entanglement

• explaining entanglement
• division of powers spells out tools more than
  areas of responsibility
• division of powers not suited to emerging policy
  problems
• vertical fiscal disequilibrium
• elements conducive to entanglement
• federal spending power
• prevailing views of entanglement