|
MINISTER DION DEMONSTRATES THE ADVANTAGES OF CANADIAN
FEDERALISM IN RESPECT OF THE FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY
VERACRUZ, MEXICO, November 15, 2001 – Speaking at an international
meeting on the challenges of federalism currently being held in Veracruz, the
Honourable Stéphane Dion, President of the Privy Council and Minister of
Intergovernmental Affairs, stated that within a federation, there is not a
priori one single division of roles among the two orders of government that
would be valid in all contexts when it comes to fighting poverty. And he
stressed that the quest for the best division of roles must be inspired by the
principles of freedom and solidarity.
Minister Dion showed how these values of freedom and solidarity have
contributed to the fight against poverty in Canada, notably in the areas of
health, unemployment assistance, education, poverty among seniors and children,
and finally, redistribution of wealth.
The universal, publicly funded health system is testimony to the solidarity
of Canadians, the Minister stated: "It would be unacceptable to us if
our less fortunate citizens did not have access to the same health services as
other citizens." He added that it is thanks to the freedom of each
government that all Canadians benefit from this system: "The government
that invented this public health system was a provincial government, in
Saskatchewan. But the government that contributed the most to extending this
[...] innovation throughout Canada is the federal government."
Mr. Dion then pointed out that the provinces had demonstrated solidarity by
agreeing to amend the Constitution to allow the federal government to introduce
a national unemployment insurance system that is flexible and takes account of
the situation in the regions: "If we have today one of the best
unemployment assistance programs in the world, it is because of federal action
that was made possible by the consent of all the provinces."
In contrast, the Minister stated that education, which he feels "is
the most powerful tool to win the fight against poverty," is a Canadian
example where maintaining responsibilities at the provincial level has yielded
good results: "If Canada has one of the most competitive economies in
the world, it is in large part because our educational institutions are of high
quality. And this has been possible within a federal system that gives the
provinces free rein in developing their own solutions." Mr. Dion
pointed out that the provincial governments are responsible for education
policies, while the federal government provides financial and tax assistance to
parents and students and transfers funding to the provinces to finance
postsecondary education.
The fight against poverty among seniors, which is one of Canada’s greatest
social policy successes, "is the result of several decades of sustained
efforts by our two orders of government," the Minister stated. He noted
that this is a field of concurrent jurisdiction, which has made it possible to
establish a national old-age pension plan that is managed by the federal
government and the provinces, and has enabled one of the provinces – Quebec
– to set up its own pension plan which is harmonized with the national plan.
With respect to the fight against child poverty, Minister Dion acknowledged that
Canada still has much to do. He emphasized that it is an area in which both
orders of government are devoting a great deal of effort, based on a
federal-provincial program, the National Child Benefit. "We should soon
gauge the results of this exemplary intergovernmental cooperation within a
federal system," he added.
Finally, the Minister stated that one of the roles of a federal government is
to oversee the distribution of wealth: "We even made it into a
constitutional principle in 1982. We want our provincial governments to be able
to provide Canadians, wherever they live, with services of comparable quality."
He showed how the Equalization program allows the federal government to provide
financial assistance to the provincial governments whose fiscal capacity is
lower than the national average. Mr. Dion pointed out that the objective of
equalization is "to give all the provincial governments a relatively
similar capacity to innovate and choose quality policies tailored to the
particular needs of their populations," and that it is a "sign
of solidarity among Canadians."
The Minister concluded by expressing his conviction that "the
strength of federalism is not to guarantee perpetual agreement among
governments. [...] The strength of federalism lies in fostering a
positive emulation among governments which, beyond their differences of opinion,
respect and feel solidarity with one another, reflecting the solidarity that
unites the citizens of the country as a whole."
- 30 -
For information:
André Lamarre
Special Advisor
Tel: (613) 943-1838
Fax: (613) 943-5553
|
