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MINISTER DION STATES THAT CANADA IS A
DECENTRALIZED FEDERATION THAT HAS MADE
GREAT PROGRESS IN THE PAST TWO YEARS


OTTAWA, ONTARIO, March 25, 1998 – The President of the Privy Council and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, the Honourable Stéphane Dion, said today at the University of Ottawa that the decentralized nature of our federation, which is striking in comparison with other federations, is a good thing and well serves the interests of Canadians: "Such a large and diversified country as Canada could not function other than under a very advanced federative form. It is a good thing that we have strong provinces."

The Minister refuted the very widespread myth that Canada has evolved from a decentralized confederate regime to a centralized federation. In fact, he pointed out that Canada has lost the centralism it had at its inception and taken on the decentralized form it needs in order to develop. "Canada is not the champion of decentralization in everything, but the fact is that, in the very real world of federations, there is doubtless nothing more autonomous than a Canadian province," the Minister added.

Mr. Dion pointed to two important areas that are currently the subject of much debate, health care and financial assistance for students. He stressed that in these two areas, "the current Canadian arrangement is in no way a centralizing straitjacket."

The Minister referred to polls indicating that a majority of Canadians, including a majority of Quebecers, do not want substantial movement toward centralization or decentralization, but want their governments to work together more effectively. The federal government and the provinces have oriented their joint efforts in that direction to improve the federation, and impressive results have been obtained in the past two years, the Minister stated.

In that regard, he listed no fewer than 17 measures completed or underway that have made it possible, while respecting the Constitution, to clarify the roles of and strengthen cooperation between the two orders of government. Mr. Dion mentioned, for example, the federal spending power, stressing that this power exists in all major federations, but the Government of Canada is the only federal government that has voluntarily placed limits on the use of that power, and the only one that provides for arrangements for opting out with compensation. The Minister added that this commitment goes further than the Meech Lake Accord.

He also highlighted the reduced conditionality of the main federal transfer to the provinces, which are unquestionably less dependent on conditional transfers from the federal government than are the components of other comparable federations. "Our federal government clearly attaches the fewest conditions to its intergovernmental transfers," the Minister stated.

Among the other examples mentioned, Mr. Dion noted the National Child Tax Benefit, agreements in the areas of environmental harmonization and job training, a major upcoming social policy reform, the agreement on liberalizing internal trade, the constitutional amendments to secularize school boards in Quebec and Newfoundland, and support for the Calgary Declaration.

The Minister highlighted the "inevitable relation of interdependence" of governments to take on the challenges ahead, while respecting the constitutional jurisdictions of each. "We are no longer in the 19th century, when the financial weight of the public sector as a whole was marginal in the economy. It now accounts for almost half, so that government jurisdictions meet in almost all activity sectors," he stated. "The success of modern federalism lies in interdependence and clearly defined roles," Mr. Dion concluded.

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For information: André Lamarre
Press Secretary
(613) 943-1838
 


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Last Modified: 1998-03-25  Important Notices