Press Room

"British Columbia and its two Liberal Governments"

Notes for an address
by the Honourable Stéphane Dion,
President of the Privy Council and
Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs

Canadian Club

Kelowna, British Columbia

May 23, 2001

Check against delivery

          This is the second time in my life that I have been in the Okanagan Valley. The first time was over ten years ago, when I was a political science professor at the Université de Montréal. After a working session with colleagues from the University of British Columbia (UBC), I came to your magnificent region to do a little fishing, among other things. I didn't see the Ogopogo, but I did catch my share of kokanees, which just may be the tastiest fish there is. I couldn't wait to come back, so I want to thank you very much for inviting me here today.

          I also raise a glass to the good health of your new premier, Mr. Gordon Campbell. He and his government can certainly count on the full cooperation of the Government of Canada to help your province rise to the challenges it is facing.

          Because those challenges are considerable. Whatever the qualities of Mr. Campbell and his team, it would have been very difficult for them to win such a landslide if British Columbians had been satisfied with the economic situation of their province.

1. The need for an economic turnaround

          The reason that British Columbia has attracted human beings from all continents, and that so many people dream of living here, is that B.C. has developed a quality of life that is admired not only in Canada, but throughout the world. And to think that in 1941, your province's population was smaller than Saskatchewan's! Since then, your demographic weight has increased from 7.1% to 13.2% of the Canadian population.

          Vancouver, the number one city in the world: why not? An international survey has ranked your metropolis first out of 215 cities in terms of quality of life (William M. Mercer consultants, "World-Wide Quality of Life Survey" for the year 2000). And here, the Okanagan, Kelowna and Penticton are developing at an extraordinary rate, combining high technology and high value-added agriculture in their own original way.

          Yet the broader economic picture for B.C. is not so rosy. As you heard during your election campaign, your province experienced a troubling economic downturn between 1992 and 2000. During that period, it came in last of all the provinces in terms of per capita real GDP growth, per capita disposable income, private investment and productivity.

          If British Columbia is still one of the three provinces, along with Alberta and Ontario, not to receive equalization, it is because of an above-average fiscal capacity in the natural resource tax bases and the property tax base, two of the criteria used in the calculation formula. But British Columbia's contribution to equalization has dropped consistently, because its economic growth has been on the whole below the Canadian average.

          While the other provincial governments were balancing their budgets or running surpluses, British Columbia continued to accumulate deficits. One factor that does not make things any easier for the Government of British Columbia is tax competition by neighbouring governments, which all have a low tax rate policy: Alberta and the states of Washington and Oregon, not to mention the Asian countries.

          It is essential that British Columbia once again fully realize its tremendous potential. This is very important not just for you, but for all of Canada. As Alberta's Finance Minister, Ms. Pat Nelson, so eloquently stated on May 16, a strong British Columbia is an asset for all of Canada, including Alberta: "They need a boost. That spills off to the whole country, so that's positive for everyone. If you have one of your "have" provinces becoming a "have-not" province, it has a serious effect on your whole country. Naturally, you want them to be successful." (Calgary Herald, May 17, 2001)

          Teamwork is the key to achieving that turnaround: business, labour, communities, everyone has to work together. And governments have a duty to set a good example.

2. The promise of intergovernmental cooperation

          I have said that I am looking forward with confidence to relations between Prime Minister Chrétien, Premier Campbell and their respective governments. Naturally, it is a guarded optimism. It is inevitable that intergovernmental tensions arise within a federation for a variety of reasons. Provincial governments always ask for more money from the federal government than it is able to give. It is rare to find a perfect convergence of opinion on the division of roles and responsibilities. One can expect that ideological differences will give rise to different ways of dealing with problems.

          For example, while our two governments may be Liberal, it is no secret that they don't exactly see eye to eye on whether it is a good idea to hold a referendum on the principles of aboriginal treaties.

          But keeping those caveats in mind, I see at least four reasons why we can anticipate positive and productive cooperation between our two governments.

          First of all, the positive tone adopted by Mr. Campbell during the campaign and since his election is an excellent sign. Gordon Campbell says he wants B.C. to be a leader again in Canada. A leader in the economy. A leader in high-quality health care. A leader with open and accountable government. He wants B.C. to lead by example. He says he will provide a strong voice for B.C. on the national stage. He wants to establish non-partisan and professional relations with the federal government. This is good news for all Canadians, especially considering that Mr. Campbell will become the Chair of the provincial premiers for twelve months starting in August 2001 at their annual conference.

          Second, I get the impression that Mr. Campbell is just as aware as Mr. Chrétien that British Columbians want their governments to work together. One sometimes hears that "fed bashing" is B.C.'s favourite sport, that your provincial government's popularity hinges on blaming the federal government for everything that goes wrong. But that is just not true. The systematically aggressive stance taken by the Clark government did not win it any popularity contests. Indeed, it did no good for anyone, not for them, nor for you, nor for Canadians as a whole.

          A poll conducted in March by the Centre for Research and Information on Canada confirmed this: to make the country work better, British Columbians set their sights first and foremost on better federal-provincial cooperation. Seventy-five per cent see that objective as a high priority, while only 36% see the transfer of powers from the federal to the provincial level as such a priority.

          The third reason for my optimism is the high calibre of the Liberal MPs who represent you in Ottawa. They may be few in number, too few for my liking, and substantially fewer than what we might expect, if you can believe the polls, if an election were held today, but in terms of quality, you can be very proud of your five Liberal representatives: David Anderson, Herb Dhaliwal, Hedy Fry, Sophia Leung, and Stephen Owen.

          Allow me to say a few words about my two ministerial colleagues. Herb Dhaliwal, with his business acumen, contributes a great deal to Cabinet. He constantly increases his influence with his colleagues. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Herb. As well, I can't say enough about my admiration for David Anderson. I always wonder whether British Columbians realize just how much he is doing for them. I have rarely seen someone so motivated, so devoted to his province. Having worked alongside him, particularly during the worst moments of the Clark government, I know that there is nothing David wants more than finally to have a government in Victoria that is both strong and well-disposed to working together, determined to be respected, to be sure, but at the same time determined to respect the federal government and forge a positive synergy with it.

          There is a fourth reason why I believe the Chrétien and Campbell governments will succeed together: in spite of some differences of opinion, we are looking in the same direction. There is much affinity between the platforms on which both governments were elected. And now I would like to take a closer look at some of those points of convergence.

3. Common ground for joint action

          I believe that both the Premier and the Prime Minister are equally aware that the key to turning your province's economy around lies to a great extent in building on its capacity for innovation. Mr. Campbell would like B.C. to have the fastest growing technology industry in Canada. He wants to establish a Premier's council on technology to help bridge the "digital divide"; he wants to increase investment in technology research and post-secondary skills training. It seems to me that a government that sets such objectives is a natural for working together with Jean Chrétien, who wants to ensure that Canada's R&D effort per capita is among the top five countries in the world.

          Let's look at another issue that is crucial to your future and the future of all of Canada: urban development. As a former mayor of Vancouver, Mr. Campbell will likely make this issue a priority. Mr. Chrétien is also well aware of the importance of this matter, which is why he has established a Task Force on Urban Issues, made up of Liberal MPs. The task force includes a rookie MP who has taken no time in proving his mettle, Mr. Stephen Owen, the Member for Vancouver-Quadra, who will devote himself whole-heartedly to examining urban issues with his provincial colleagues. And starting now, both governments have the opportunity to collaborate in implementing the national Physical Infrastructure Program which includes strategic highway infrastructure.

          On trade issues, both governments have little appetite for protectionism, either interprovincially or internationally. Consistent with federal thinking, Mr. Campbell plans to push for the elimination of interprovincial trade barriers. I hope that he will agree to the procurement provisions of the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) that apply to the MASH (municipalities, municipal organizations, school boards and publicly funded academic, health and social service entities) sector, since your province is one of the two that has not yet done so. Both governments will work closely together on the urgent issue of softwood lumber, to oppose US protectionism. Given B.C.'s booming gas industry and its important electricity exports, both governments will want to stay in close touch as energy discussions proceed with the American government.

          Regarding environmental policy, there are a number of areas of common interest. Mr. Campbell has committed to maintaining the ban on bulk water removals. He will promote clean and renewable alternative energy sources. He has also indicated his government will protect and preserve Burns Bog.

          As for health care, both the Premier and the Prime Minster share the goal of timely access to high quality health care available to all citizens regardless of their income or place of residence. They have the opportunity to implement the September 2000 First Ministers Meeting (FMM) agreement on health care. Mr. Campbell has said he wants to ensure that B.C. health care is consistent with the five principles of the Canada Health Act.

          Once more consistent with the federal approach, Mr. Campbell is committed to increasing emphasis on early childhood intervention programs. Here again, there is another opportunity to collaborate in implementing the September 2000 FMM Agreement on early childhood development. This agreement, combined with the National Child Benefit, are important steps in the right direction.

          Even on the delicate issue of Aboriginal treaty negotiations, our two governments are not as far apart as one might think. Both are looking for achieving workable, affordable treaties with First Nations that provide certainty, finality and fairness.

          Finally, as Minister responsible for official languages, I am pleased to note that a number of Mr. Campbell's MLAs have experience, either personally or as parents, with French immersion schools. Indeed, I believe that Mr. Campbell's wife herself teaches in one of those schools. I look forward with confidence to fruitful cooperation which will give ever more British Columbians better access to the wealth of their country's other official language.

Conclusion

          There is one final reason why I am so optimistic. The fact is that we Canadians, and especially British Columbians, have taken on a much greater challenge in our history than those we have before us today. We have learned, after much difficulty, to make a strength of our diversity. If we have managed to do that, there is no challenge too great for us.

          As I said, I have just spent two weeks accompanying the Governor General of Canada, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, visiting two countries that are experiencing difficulties much more serious than ours: Argentina and Chile. I heard that lady, small in stature but big of heart, deliver no fewer than five speeches a day, all on the same topic: the spirit of tolerance and openness which prevails in Canada and from which our country draws its true greatness.

          As I listened to her, I thought about how Canadians of Chinese origin did not even have the right to vote in British Columbia when she was born. They would not win that right until 8 years later, in 1947.

          As a Liberal, I will always remember that it was a Liberal government, under Mackenzie King, which, driven by a viscerally anti-Asian public opinion, committed a long series of outrages against Japanese-Canadians, to the point of stripping many of them of their Canadian citizenship and turning them into stateless persons. The federal orders prohibiting Canadians of Japanese origin from returning to the West Coast would ultimately not be revoked until 1949, four long years after the war!

          I believe that one of the greatest speeches in our country's history was delivered in the House of Commons on February 25, 1941, by an MP from your province, Angus MacInnis of the Co-Operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). The only MP to defend Canadians of Japanese origin, he made a heartfelt plea for justice, benevolence and racial equality.

          It is thanks to acts of courage such as his that British Columbia and Canada as a whole have become this land of tolerance and openness that Canadians of Asian origin, like Madam Clarkson or Ms.Sophia Leung, your MP for Vancouver Kingsway, celebrate so warmly today.

          Such acts of courage must be our inspiration in taking on the challenges facing us today, so that we can reach out to one another to ensure that British Columbia, rich in all its diversity, in all its human potential, can once again fulfill that potential, for your province and for all of Canada.