Federalism

1
Federalism

• Chapter 4
• Malcolmson Myers

2
Common Errors in Essays

• Responsible government about accountability and
  responsiveness NOT representation, fairness, or
  democracy
• Collective Responsibility and party discipline
  are NOT the same
• All ministers are MPs, but not all MPs are
  ministers!

3
Historical Development of Federalism

• Forces generating decentralization
• Judicial interpretation
• Technological change, e.g.,
• Medical care
• Income Corporate taxation
• Regionalism Province-building
• Failure of national party system

4
Historical Development of Federalism

• Forces generating decentralization
• Judicial interpretation
• Technological change, e.g.,
• Medical care
• Income Corporate taxation
• Regionalism Province-building (Cairns 1977)
• Failure of national party system

5
Historical Development of Federalism

• Forces generating decentralization
• Judicial interpretation
• Technological change, e.g.,
• Medical care
• Income Corporate taxation
• Regionalism Province-building
• Failure of national party system

6
Failure of the Party System

• Two-party monopoly, 1867-1917
• Civil Service Reform, 1908
• Conscription Crisis Union Government, 1917
• Breakdown of Two-party monopoly, 1917-
• Progressives, CCF, NDP
• Dynamics of electoral system
• Institutional incentives to play regional politics

7
Failure of the Party System

• Two-party monopoly, 1867-1917
• Civil Service Reform, 1908
• Conscription Crisis Union Government, 1917
• Breakdown of Two-party monopoly, 1917-
• Progressives, CCF, NDP
• Dynamics of electoral system
• Institutional incentives to play regional
  politics (Cairns)

8
Historical Development of Federalism

• Quasi-Federalism (1867-1896)
• Classical Federalism (1896-1914)
• Emergency Federalism (1914-1960)
• Great Depression World Wars
• Rowell Sirois Report
• Cooperative Federalism (1960-)

9
The Rowell-Sirois Report (1940)

• Provinces fail to cope with 1930s Depression
• JCPC deeply hostile to Bennett New Deal
• Report finds
• Provinces do too much with not enough
• Ottawa should handle taxation, unemployment,
  ensure equalization

10
Historical Development of Federalism

• Quasi-Federalism (1867-1896)
• Classical Federalism (1896-1914)
• Emergency Federalism (1914-1960)
• WW I II
• Rowell - Sirois
• Cooperative Federalism (1960-)

11
Patterns of Federalism

• Fiscal federalism
• Taxation (direct indirect)
• Federal spending power
• Conditional (Matching) Unconditional (Block)
• Equalization redistribution of tax to ensure
  reasonably comparable public services across
  provinces

12
Equalization

• "Parliament and the government of Canada are
  committed to the principle of making Equalization
  payments to ensure that provincial governments
  have sufficient revenues to provide reasonably
  comparable levels of public services at
  reasonably comparable levels of taxation."
  (Subsection 36(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982)

13
Patterns of Federalism

• Executive federalism
• First Ministers Conferences
• Asymmetric federalism
• e.g. Quebec Pension Plan

14
Challenges of Federalism

• Regional Tension
• Institutional design incentives?
• National Standards
• Debts Deficits
• Social Union Framework, 1999