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"Peter Jennings - an appreciation" by Anthony Wilson-Smith Peter Jennings had a world view, and a sense of the reporter’s role in a story, formed by his personal and professional roots in Canada. Anthony Wilson-Smith writes that Jennings thought Canadian journalists were sometimes better suited than Americans to covering international news because “Americans were used to seeing their country as the leading actor on the world stage…while Canadians understood our role as spectators.” Endlessly curious, relentlessly perfectionist, he had a way of getting what he wanted as the anchor of ABC’s World News Tonight. In a fond appreciation, Wilson-Smith recalls the public grace and private kindness of a luminous star of whom Canadians were immensely proud. "Fundamentalism on the right: the road to another defeat" by Robin V. Sears Canadian voters may be yearning for change after four terms of Liberal rule, but are clearly reluctant to elect Stephen Harper and the Conservatives. Urban voters are especially uncomfortable with some of Harper’s positions on social issues such as same sex marriage. Traditional Conservative voters have been perplexed by his inability to take ownership of issues like taxation and defence. As Parliament resumes, Robin Sears examines some of the challenges facing Harper as a leader who evidently prefers purity over power, in a country that prefers compromise over conviction. "The Conservatives and the minority House: a tale of two Harpers" by Graham Fox In the first six months of this minority Parliament, Conservative leader Stephen Harper successfully consolidated the merger on the right, appointed promising caucus members to his shadow cabinet, and purged the demons of the far right at the Conservative convention in Montreal. But in the last six months, Harper bet the farm on defeating the Liberals on a confidence motion that failed by a single vote when Belinda Stronach crossed the floor to join the Liberal cabinet. “The hard work of the first six months — as well as the lead in the polls — melted away,” writes Graham Fox, a former chief of staff to Joe Clark. What will the next six months bring in the run-up to the promised election in early 2006? “Fundamentally,” Fox writes, “Harper has to decide whether he wants to lead a social conservative movement or a brokerage party.” "How Canada slayed the deficit dragon and created the surplus" by John Manley The abundance of fiscal fortune that Canada enjoys today couldn’t have been imagined only a decade ago, when the Chrétien government decided it must balance the books. Within three years, a $42 billion deficit had been eliminated and Ottawa was on its way to reducing debt as a percentage of output from worst to first among G7 countries. Not only did Ottawa summon the political will to erase the deficit, but public opinion demanded it. Today, a balanced budget is the expectation, not the exception, and a deficit would be an unacceptable outcome. John Manley, a senior member of the Chrétien cabinet, tells how Ottawa slayed the deficit dragon. "Écarts et déséquilibres fiscaux : la nouvelle donne du fédéralisme canadien" by France St-Hilaire Even though the ten-year agreements on health and equalization signed in the fall of 2004 marked a turning point in federal-provincial fiscal relations, chances are that these transfer increases will not bring any lasting improvement in the provinces’ financial situation, since their program costs, particularly in health, will continue to increase at a faster rate than their revenues, including transfer payments. France St- Hilaire notes that Ottawa has been very reluctant to return to transfer payments to achieve its social policy objectives, preferring to reinvest in direct spending initiatives. After examining Ottawa’s and the provinces’ fiscal situations and studying the Conference Board’s budget projections, she concludes that there is a fiscal imbalance between the two levels of government, which is having disfunctional effects on how the federation works. "Investing in institutions: getting more out of federalism" by Don Dennison Moving Canada forward as a federation has two essential pre-conditions: first, reinvigorating the institutions and structures of federalism, and then, writes Don Dennison, director of Next NB at Unversity of New Brunswick, “ensuring that responsible governments have the resources to carry out their assigned tasks.” Renewing the First Ministers’ Conference is an important step, he writes, “as the heads of government send very important signals through the vast network of intergovernmental relationships.” As for the allocation of resources, he writes that “Canadian federalism not only allows for the accommodation of regional and linguistic diversity, it allows for decentralization, deconcentration, innovation and responsiveness.” As New Brunswick’s deputy minister for intergovernmental affairs when equalization was entrenched in the Charter of Rights in 1981, he explains how the initiative came from his premier, Richard Hatfield. "Energy prices, equalization and federalism" by Thomas J. Courchene The rise in oil prices over the last three decades has been accompanied by and shaped the debate on the equalization formula and on the nature of fiscal federalism. The oil shocks of 1973 and 1979 also inspired the National Energy Program (NEP) in 1980 and the Energy Pricing and Taxation Agreement (EPTA) between Ottawa and Alberta in 1981 — projecting prices near C$60 a barrel, a level not reached until the summer of 2005. The current surge in oil prices, to recent highs of $70 a barrel, has sparked a new a debate on energy pricing, equalization and fiscal frameworks. IRPP’s Thomas J. Courchene, a leading authority in the field, reviews the history of oil and federalism, and proposes a remedy to the horizontal fiscal imbalance by allocating the fixed equalization pool in accordance with fiscal capacity disparities relating to non-resource revenues, and creating a modest interprovincial revenue-sharing pool for resource revenues agreed to and operated by the provinces. "Beyond Alberta's prosperity dividend: a western accord to pool resource wealth" by Todd Hirsch Alberta’s good fiscal fortune may be partly a result of good management in eliminating the deficit, but good fortune has allowed it to eliminate its provincial debt and return what Premier Ralph Klein calls the “prosperity dividend” in the form of cheques to be mailed to taxpayers. But the province’s good fortune has also created a headache Klein didn’t bargain for — a horizontal imbalance between the fiscal capacity of it and the other provinces. “Regardless of how Alberta chooses to deal with its surpluses,” writes Todd Hirsch of the Canada West Foundation, “the other provinces are going to find it hard to compete.” Hirsch suggests a western energy accord by which the four western provinces would pool their diversified and abundant resources for the good of the region, and the country. "Reimbursement federalism: democratizing cooperative federalism for the 21st century" by Tom Kent In the discussion of what to do with the federal surplus, our Founding Editor proposes “reimbursement federalism,” transferring funds directly to citizens rather than passing them through provincial treasuries. Reimbursement federalism, he points out, is permitted by the Constitution and exists in practice. “From family allowances and old age security onward,” he writes, “that has been the way federal taxes have supplemented personal incomes.” As he notes, “the first social program that changed the lives of millions of Canadians was not provincial. It was family allowances — federal cheques paid directly to all mothers. Today the guaranteed income supplement, child tax benefit and GST credits are income tested but equally direct, personal payments to those who qualify.” Child care and children’s health are two issues he identifies as important investments in the future. "Fed funding of cities: that's all there is" by Christopher Dunn For the mayors of Canada’s cities, fiscal federalism means the funds flowing to them through the federal gas tax sharing and sales tax relief in the 2005 budget, as well as new funding for infrastructure and the Green Fund for environmental initiatives. With $5 billion in gas tax funding topping the list, more than $9 billion will be transferred to cities and municipalities over a five-year period. Paul Martin calls it a new deal for cities. But for mayors expecting more at their annual convention in St. John’s, Ottawa’s answer was clear: that’s all there is. Christopher Dunn of Memorial University walks us through the initiatives in the “transformative budget” of 2005, notable for its five-year funding horizons. "The virtuous cycle: the Canadian experience in a G7 context" by Kevin Lynch How was the Canadian government able to balance the books in 1997 after 27 consecutive years of deficits? And how has it been able to run a surplus in every year since, which it is also forecast to do into the foreseeable future? Moreover, how did Canada move from worst to first in fiscal performance among G7 countries? Canada was the only G7 country to run a surplus in 2004. The United States, by contrast, will take on $2 trillion of new debt by the time the Bush administration leaves office in 2009. From his post at the IMF in Washington, former deputy finance minister Kevin Lynch considers Canada's comparative good fortune. "Le temps des solutions" by Alain Noël [summary not available] "Political parties, money, and public policy" by Stephen LeDrew In the wake of the sponsorship scandal, Jean Chrétien became a late convert to campaign finance reform and in 2003, his final year in office, pushed through Bill C- 24, which limits corporate donations to local riding associations to $1,000, and sets a ceiling of $5,000 per year on individual donations to the federal parties. The same rules apply to leadership campaigns. In return for forsaking corporate and union donations, federal parties are now generously funded by the chief electoral officer, at $1.75 per year for each vote received in the previous election. Stephen LeDrew, president of the Liberal Party of Canada at the time of C-24’s adoption, strongly opposed it then and opposes it now, writing that “what was touted to be simple and honest has resulted in legislation that is too complex for comprehension and susceptible to deception, thereby obviating its avowed purpose.” "Electoral reform in BC: so near and yet so far" by Patrick Thomson and James Maunder On May 17, British Columbians voted by a surprising 57 percent “Yes” margin to approve a Citizens’ Assembly initiative changing the electoral system from a firstpast- the-post to a single-transferable-vote system. While this fell short of the 60 percent approval required by the government, it came remarkably close, especially given the strong opposition among many public opinion and media elites. Moreover, with the proposal receiving majority approval in 77 out of 79 ridings, a double majority of voters and constituencies supported the STV proposal, even if it fell just short of the 60 percent super-majority. It is a clear mandate, write Patrick Thomson and James Maunder, for Premier Gordon Campbell to address this issue in his second term. "BC electoral reform: voters to decide, again" by Gordon Gibson LES PROVINCES When BC’s Citizens’ Assembly recommended a single-transferable-vote (STV) electoral reform, voters supported it in a referendum last May by a majority of almost 58 percent, and in all but two of the province’s 79 ridings in the legislature. While just short of the required double super majority of 60 percent of voters and ridings, it was a double moral majority, enough that the Campbell government last month scheduled a second referendum in 2008, with the results, if ratified, to be implemented at the following election in 2009. Gordon Gibson, a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute, reflects on his unique experience as architect of the citizens’ assembly, and the work that still lies ahead. Frédéric Lasserre reviews Un monde sans gouvernail : Enjeux de l'eau douceby Sylvie Paquerot [summary not available] Stephen Brooks reviews International Commissions and the Power of Ideas, edited by Ramesh Thakur, Andrew F. Cooper and John English [summary not available] |
