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"The real democratic deficit: our parliamentary system" by Ed Broadbent Former NDP Leader Ed Broadbent, who returned to the House of Commons last month as MP from Ottawa Centre, believes a mixed proportional system is the best solution to the democratic deficit existing under our first-past-the-post system of representation. In an address to New Brunswick’s Roundtable on Proportional Representation, he outlines his reasons and suggests the British Columbia Citizens Assembly as a model process. "The tenets and constituency roots of Liberalism - overhauling the Red Machine" by Jim Coutts When Prime Minister Martin’s campaign strategists discarded the Liberal brand to run under the Team Martin banner in the last election, they abandoned the political trademark of a party that has governed Canada for most of the last century. Jim Coutts, a lifelong Liberal activist who served Prime Ministers Pearson and Trudeau, writes that the Liberals’ fabled Red Machine has actually been in long-term decline and is overdue for a major overhaul. He identifies five major “policy markers” that must be renewed: reform, French-English partnership, Canadian identity, balanced economic management and an open-door immigration policy. “These markers,” he writes, “have been part of the Liberal fabric long enough, and pursued consistently enough, to have become part of the Liberal identity.” Along with intellectual renewal, he writes, the Liberal Party needs to be rebuilt at the grassroots, and Martin has the opportunity “to become the first Liberal leader since Mackenzie King to pay serious attention to constituency-level party recruitment.” "The new federalism" by Gordon Gibson [summary not available] "Pan-Canadian provincialism - the new federalism and the old Constitution" by Thomas J. Courchene The September 2004 health accord was “a defining moment in the evolution of our federation,” writes IRPP Senior Scholar Tom Courchene. It marks the re-emergence of asymmetric federalism, which is at the heart of Confederation itself in the division of powers between Ottawa and the provinces. “At the most basic of levels,” Courchene writes, “Quebec’s gift to Canada was federalism. As much as Sir John A. might have wished for a unitary state, this was not acceptable to Quebec. Indeed, the long list of exclusive provincial powers in section 92 is unprecedented in developed federations and is primarily responsible for the decentralized nature of our federation.” With Quebec and other regions of the country moving into a north-south NAFTA economic space, rather than relying on east-west interprovincial trade, this “will tend to result rather naturally in an enhanced degree of policy decentralization and operational asymmetry.” "Paul Martin's sugar-daddy federalism, donating to a favoured cause - health care" by Tom Kent Paul Martin’s governing style resembles “the man of money who decides what donations to make to causes he favours,” and the cause he favours is health care, writes Tom Kent. Only problem is, his cause is a provincial jurisdiction, as is another favoured cause, cities. And while much has been made, for better or worse, of the “asymmetric federalism” in the side deal for Quebec, it is neither a great innovation, nor does its foretell the demise of the national government. “In truth it is a triviality,” Kent writes. “Far more meaningful asymmetry has always been with us. A good deal of it is now inherent in the operation of federalism.” It begins with the division of powers in the Constitution: section 91, “Peace, Order and Good Government,” in the federal domain; and section 92, the powers of the provinces. Since 1945, the debate on the functioning of the federation has been adapting the division of powers to the demands of voters and the realities of the modern world. "Fédéralisme au Québec, unitarisme dans le ROC ?" by André Burelle Although the work accomplished by Quebec at the last health conference was outstanding, it does not herald a new era in federal-provincial relations, since in all respects the health care agreement signed at the conference in September amounts to nothing but basic federalism. Moreover, according to André Burelle, the fact that the other provinces did not demand the same type of agreement does not augur well for a Quebec set on correcting the fiscal imbalance. In this regard, he maintains, the provinces will be able to rectify the situation only if they firmly take the path of “responsible inter-provincialism,” according to which, by adopting common principles and goals as well as minimum common standards, they themselves assume "the pan-Canadian and even international responsibilities stemming from their local sovereign powers." "Urban asymmetry: the new reality in intergovernmental relations" by Christopher Dunn While symmetrical federalism won out over asymmetrical federalism in the late-20th century constitutional realignment of the Canadian federation, “urban asymmetry” is the emerging feature of Ottawa’s developing agenda for cities. Ottawa tends to deal with big cities differently than it does with smaller ones, often over the heads of the provinces that have constitutional jurisdiction over them. Intergovernmental relations, writes Memorial University’s Christopher Dunn, “are now set in a context of sub-provincial partnerships, and provinces find themselves competing with new actors, not always successfully.” He adds that “the term ‘federal-provincial-municipal relations’ has to be rethought” to take account of Ottawa’s intention “to establish relations” with municipal entities. He finds it profoundly ironic that the federal Liberals, who established the symmetrical constitutional model, should now be proponents of an asymmetrical federalism in dealing with cities — large and small. "Federalism in the Information Age: from the division of powers to citizen-centred government" by Donald G. Lenihan Information-sharing between levels of government has become a critical new area of federal-provincial and municipal relations. “It is now on the front lines of federalism,” writes Donald Lenihan, CEO of the Crossing Boundaries National Council, a round table representing all levels of government in Canada. Far from being centralizing in nature, the new technologies of the Information Age facilitate the kind of decentralization found in networked organizations in the private sector. “In trying to understand how the technology will change us,” he writes, “we should not become obsessed with making everything conform to the division of powers in the Constitution. It is not a peerless guide to how our governments should work in the 21st century. The Fathers of Confederation could hardly have prepared us for the Information Age.” "Déblocages ?" by Alain Noël [summary not available] "Improving education in Canada requires an adult-education strategy" by Ben Levin Over the past few years, there have been some important policy and program developments in early childhood education in Canada. This, says Ben Levin, shows how research can play an important role in shaping policy. He recalls how this growing attention to early childhood came as a result of various groups and individuals taking concerted steps to raise the profile of the issue, based on evidence that substantial inequality among children is already well established by the age of five. Yet, says Levin, a substantial body of research also shows that the education level of parents, especially mothers, is one of the strongest influences on children’s situations. Thus, he says, “an early childhood strategy cannot be truly effective if attention is confined only to young children.” It must have an adult education component as well. "The case for adult education as a public investment" by Nayda Veeman In 1995, the first International Adult Literacy Survey showed that approximately 40 percent of Canadians fell below the literacy level necessary for today’s knowledge-based society. To enhance its performance, argues Nayda Veeman, Canada should follow Sweden, where adult education is considered an investment and has been a universal compensatory entitlement since 1967. "Fonte des glaces arctiques dans le passage du Nord-Ouest : quell avenir pour la souveraineté canadienne ?" by Frédéric Lasserre In 1985, the American icebreaker Polar Sea crossed the Arctic Archipelago without requesting authorization from the Canadian government, thereby straining Canada-US relations. As the Arctic ice melts, perhaps allowing the opening of the Northwest Passage — with all the attendant trade and industrial opportunities — this type of problem will likely recur, notes Frédéric Lasserre. Whereas for Canada, the passage is part of the country’s domestic waters, for the United States and the European Union, it is an international strait to which freedom of transit applies. If Canada wishes to strengthen its position and demonstrate its sovereignty over this territory, it will have to considerably increase its presence in the region, after some lean years that saw projects for icebreakers, nuclear submarines and military bases in the Arctic cancelled because of the budget crisis of the early 1990s. Ottawa should also boost research funding in the region and coordinate its positions with Moscow, which is facing the same types of challenges with regard to the waters of the Northeast Passage. "Reflections on an Iraqi sojourn: Alice through the looking glass?" by David Romano After winning the war in Iraq in a lightning military campaign in 2003, the Americans and their allies are clearly losing the battle for the hearts and minds of Iraqis in 2004. Dave Romano, who recently returned to Canada after eight months leading a McGill research team there, writes that terrorists will ultimately fail in their murderous campaign of suicide and car bombings. This is not say the Americans will succeed there either; however, the Iraqis and Americans do agree on giving Iraq its sovereignty back, establishing democratic rule, and ending the occupation as soon as possible. The question is when and at what cost in lives? "Watertight federalism seals both ways" by William Watson [summary not available] |
