The Scope and Limits of Asymmetry in Recent Social Policy Agreements
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Authors
Graefe, Peter
Date
2005
Type
working paper
Language
en
Keyword
Asymmetric Federalism Series 2005
Alternative Title
Abstract
The September 2004 Federal/Provincial/ Territorial Health Accord raised both hopes and consternation with its reporting elements that committed the Quebec government to slightly different procedures than the other provinces. After the unpopularity of the asymmetric elements of attempted constitutional reforms, particularly in terms of recognizing Quebec’s distinctiveness, this agreement represented a return to a minor tradition of “political asymmetry”, understood as the federal and provincial governments developing policies where the roles and responsibilities of each would vary from province to province. The Health Accord could be seen as an extension of precedents such as the Canada Pension Plan/Quebec Pension Plan compromise, the Cullen-Couture agreement in Immigration, or more modest use of the opting-out mechanism under Pearson in the mid-1960s. While Alain Noël perceptively noted that the 2004 agreement was a very limited instance of asymmetry compared to such examples, informed opinion in both Quebec and the rest of the country understood that formal political asymmetry was back on the agenda for the first time in more than a decade.
Description
© IIGR, School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University
Citation
Publisher
Queen's University Institute of Intergovernmental Relations