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MINISTER DION OUTLINES VISION FOR SOCIAL UNION
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, November 18, 1996 – Stéphane Dion, President of the
Privy Council and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, spoke to the Ottawa
Canadian Club today about his vision for the Canadian social union, which he
termed one "of the most important arguments for Canadian unity."
"One of Mr. Bouchard’s arguments during last year’s referendum campaign
was that Canada had abandoned its traditions of promoting social justice and
generosity towards those in need," observed Mr. Dion. However, the Minister
noted, "getting our economic house in order does not contradict the goal of
preserving our social contract. In fact, the one is a prerequisite to the
other."
Given the "tremendous progress made towards putting Canada’s economy back
on a sound basis," Mr. Dion predicted that the federal government, in
cooperation with its provincial counterparts, "will increasingly focus on
the renewal of Canada’s social union." This "will not be simply an
exercise in cost-cutting or division of powers between governments, but in
focusing all government programs, federal or provincial, on a common objective:
providing a better quality of public service that meets the genuine needs of
people," stated the Minister.
Mr. Dion observed that "there is widespread agreement that the federal and
provincial governments must cooperate to preserve the social safety net."
However, the Minister argued, renewing our social union cannot be limited to
"preserving the fundamentals of our existing system, but also requires a
creative response to new problems and new priorities."
Prominent among those priorities, according to the Minister, is "the
scourge of child poverty." Mr. Dion predicted that a joint
federal-provincial response to this issue will point "towards another trend
in the evolution of the Canadian social union: the two levels of government
working cooperatively, but focusing on those tasks that each level of government
is best equipped to perform."
The Minister noted that, unfortunately, the Quebec government "has chosen
not to be a full participant" in the new federal-provincial forum on
improving our social union, and that Premier Bouchard has "tried to justify
this non-participation on the basis of Quebec’s traditional constitutional
positions." Mr. Dion countered that "a more nuanced picture"
shows "a history of pragmatism and cooperation working within the
constitutional framework between Ottawa and Quebec City on social policy going
back to the 1930s in order to ensure the best quality of service to
citizens." The Minister indicated that he hopes the Quebec government will
continue the tradition of preserving subsidiarity and provincial autonomy while
working in solidarity with other Canadians to strengthen the social union.
"This is a great collective project. Quebecers must be a full part of
it," said Mr. Dion, concluding that "there are many areas where
constructive cooperation is possible without diminishing Quebec’s
autonomy."
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For information: Gilles Pineau
Press Secretary
(613) 943-1838.
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