The Health Council of Canada Proposal in light of the Council of the Federation
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Authors
Marchildon, Gregory P.
Date
2003
Type
working paper
Language
en
Keyword
Special Series on the Council of the Federation 2003
Alternative Title
Abstract
The notion of the Council of the Federation has elicited much comment since the idea was first raised at the Annual Premiers Conference in early July of this year. Indeed, the Council was the lead item in the Premiers’ five-point agenda to revitalize the federation that also included: annual First Ministers’ Meetings; provincialterritorial consultations on federal appointments; devolution of powers to the 3 territories; and the establishment of federal-provincial-territorial protocols of conducts -- presumably similar to what had been set out in the Social Union Framework Agreement of 1999.
This is an agenda that speaks to improving collaboration within the federation while reforming some of its institutional machinery in order to “build a new era of constructive and cooperative federalism” in the Premiers’ words. This is a laudable objective. Canadians are tiring of federal-provincial warfare and want their governments to collaborate so that this country’s affairs can be conducted more effectively. In an era of greater policy interdependency, most reject an agenda of federal-provincial disentanglement in favour of greater cooperation between the two orders of government. In a recent poll conducted by the Centre for Research and Information on Canada (CRIC), the majority of residents in each part of Canada preferred that their respective governments “work most things out together” rather than “stay out of each other’s way.” Even in Quebec where the sentiment in favour of disentanglement was highest, 65 per cent still preferred an agenda of constructive engagement. The next lowest levels of support – 82 per cent – are in Ontario and Alberta In the rest of Canada, support for constructive engagement varies from 85 per cent in Manitoba, 88 per cent in British Columbia, 91 percent in Saskatchewan, and 94 per cent in the Atlantic Provinces.
Description
© IIGR, Queen’s University; IRPP, Montreal.
Citation
Publisher
Queen's University Institute of Intergovernmental Relations