Beyond Recognition and Asymmetry
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Authors
Maclure, Jocelyn
Date
2005
Type
working paper
Language
en
Keyword
Asymmetric Federalism Series 2005
Alternative Title
Abstract
The language and practice of asymmetry is one tool for coping with Canada’s deep diversity. It is not, however, the only one. And at this juncture of Canadian politics, I want to argue, it may not be the most appropriate one. The language of asymmetrical federalism is commonly thought to imply that powers and jurisdictions are distributed in a differentiated, non identical way amongst the provinces. Although the September 2004 federal-Quebec health care side deal has prompted much of the recent discussions of asymmetrical federalism, the side deal itself cannot straightforwardly be seen as an illustration of asymmetrical federalism. As health is a provincial jurisdiction, no “special power” has been handed to Quebec. The side deal only entails that Quebec will, within the parameters of the Canada Health Act and of the September agreement on health care, decide on its own means for achieving common objectives and report to Quebecers directly. The side deal can be understood in terms of “policy asymmetry”. But “policy asymmetry” is the norm rather than the exception in a federal system; the whole point of a federation (multinational or not) is to allow the federated states to design and implements the policies and programs that most effectively address the specific challenges that confront them. The 1991 Ottawa-Quebec agreement on immigration, which confers on Quebec the prerogative of selecting its immigrants while leaving the constitution intact (since immigration is a shared jurisdiction), is a good example of policy asymmetry.
Description
© IIGR, School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University
Citation
Publisher
Queen's University Institute of Intergovernmental Relations