Press Room

Thank you for inviting me to speak to an issue that is close to my heart.

The state of federalism in Canada; the role of Alberta within Confederation, and more specifically, the role Alberta can and should play in the evolution of federalism: These issues demand our attention because Alberta is experiencing unprecedented economic clout; success that has a far reaching impact on all regions of Canada.

Alberta also now has unprecedented political clout. On January 23, 2006, Prime Minister Harper made a simple statement “The West is now in.” From Alberta’s political perspective, the Prime Minister was absolutely right.

For only the second time in its history, Canada would have an Albertan Prime Minister - and every single Alberta Member of Parliament would sit with the government.

On a GDP per capita basis, Alberta is a very wealthy place. As we all know, with great wealth comes great responsibility - corporate, community, individual - and a desire to achieve.

But there is also a need in the New Alberta to recognize our responsibility to the country as a whole. As Albertans, we cannot ignore the fact that our political and economic decisions reverberate across the country.

This is a heavy burden for a medium sized province that only holds 9.1 percent of the seats in the House of Commons, but it is a burden which Alberta’s political and corporate leaders should embrace as opportunity.

While our province punches far above our weight economically, we are just beginning to punch above our weight politically on the national stage.

Tonight the question that demands our attention is: how will Alberta choose to exercise this newfound political and economic clout?

I would suggest to you that the new Alberta is in a position, if it so chooses, to lead the nation into a stronger economic union. In addition, I would suggest that our government’s approach to Open Federalism is essential in facilitating that opportunity.

And finally, I would suggest that there is no better time than now for Alberta to come into its own on the national stage.

Tonight, I would like to outline our government’s view of how both orders of government can work together to ensure that the new Alberta can and will reach its potential to the benefit of all of Canada.

Open Federalism

As you know, historically (and almost genetically), Albertans chafed at the top down nature of federalism under previous federal governments.

In many cases, Albertans believed they were being forced into one size fits all solutions when the province was capable of so much more.

But Alberta was not alone in its desire for more autonomy and flexibility.

While Alberta and Quebec were the most vocal in consistently bucking the nature of top down federalism, several other provinces and territories also became restless in the absence of federal leadership.

While federal provincial tensions will always exist, and to a certain extent are healthy in a federation, it became obvious that federalism was not functioning as it should.

It was stagnant and unresponsive to the changing needs of the provinces and territories and the changing needs of Canadians.

What we saw was unprincipled “cheque book” federalism.

This was the time when the notion of Open Federalism was born. Open Federalism was born out of the idea that the federation is not static, but an evolving institution that should respond to the changes and impacts of a modern world.

It demands that we recognize the maturation and evolution of provinces and territories within the federation and respond.

It recognizes and respects the clear and  important role the provinces play in the development of national policy.

It was clearly a time for a new approach to federalism, one that could accomplish at the minimum two things:

• ensure a return to a principled based approach to federal fiscal transfers and,

• recognize the evolving nature of the federation and capitalize on the strengths of the provinces and territories to the benefit of the nation.

Budget 2007

Notably, on March 19, 2007, Finance Minister Flaherty introduced a budget that brought a principled based approach to fiscal transfers.

This $ 39 billion settlement will give provinces and territories the means and purpose to develop and provide services that will benefit all Canadians.

From an Alberta perspective, Budget 2007 tackled the long standing irritant of “double equalization” by committing to move to per capita Health and Social Transfers.

With this we clearly demonstrate a principle: that the Equalization Program is meant to address inter-provincial disparity while other federal transfers should ensure equal treatment for Canadians in all parts of the country.

We also advanced the principles of transparency and accountability - the province of Alberta has responsibility and ultimate accountability in these fields and the federal government will offer clear and predictable support to the province.

As taxpayers in a “have” province, Albertans also benefit from the clear, predictable, and principle-based Equalization Program.

By providing equitable and predictable funding for shared priorities, and attempting to clarify roles and responsibilities in the federation, we are offering a solid, principle-based approach on which governments can continue to work.

This commitment was a reassertion of the benefits to be found in a flexible federation that allows our diversity to serve as a source of strength and innovation. A reassertion of the need for an open, honest, and respectful relationship with the provinces and territories. And a reassertion that true collaboration can only occur when resources and accountability are matched with responsibilities.

We believe that there are practical ways in which the provinces and territories can play a more active role on the national and international stage to the benefit of the federation.

We believe that by identifying strategic opportunities to work with the provinces and territories, seizing those opportunities and responding with a readiness to work collaboratively will benefit the entire country.

The question for both the provinces and territories and the federal government is “which opportunities and when?”

We committed in our 2006 election platform to find practical ways to facilitate provincial involvement in areas of federal jurisdiction where provincial jurisdiction is affected. When we wrote that policy what we had in mind is the identification of clear, practical opportunities where the federal government could work with the provinces in areas of mutual interest.

Quebec was the first to engage us on the notion of Open Federalism and sought our collaboration to provide them with greater participation at UNESCO.

Similar to the Francophonie, there was a clear, practical, defensible and logical reason to work together that posed absolutely no threat to federalism. In fact, it served to strengthen the state of federalism.

Provincial Response to Open Federalism

I recently read a series of short essays on Open Federalism compiled by the Queen’s University Institute of Intergovernmental Relations.

It was intriguing to read the speculation and analysis of our Open Federalism policy.  There is in some analysis a level of scepticism.

I was disappointed to read an analysis that assumed our government would not extend the Open Federalism approach to provinces and territories outside Quebec and discussed whether these provinces and territories would even mind.

This assumption comes from the unhealthy dynamic created by previous federal governments. They felt they had little to learn from the provinces and territories - especially the western provinces - and acted accordingly.

Ironically, it was Alberta that served as the inspiration for a workable, practical policy of Open Federalism. In fact, when we wrote the Open Federalism policy for the 2006 Conservative election platform, we had Alberta in mind.

I come from a background of working in federal/provincial relations with the government of Alberta and saw first hand the potential that Alberta could fulfill if the right federal/ provincial context existed.

In the same book, it was interesting to read the analysis of Alain Noël who argued part of the reason the concept of Open Federalism resonated in Quebec was that it appealed to a long-held view of the place of the province of Quebec within Canada.

And while Quebec has been more vocal, Albertans share a similar widely held view of our province’s place within Canada.

In fact, speaking about a “New Alberta in a New Canada” is an acknowledgement that both orders of government recognize things are changing in Alberta and in Ottawa and this has implications for Alberta’s relationship with Canada.

I believe that a “New Alberta” must make a sustained effort to evaluate and renew its thinking on Alberta’s place in Canada. I might add that Alberta is already taking advantage of our government’s approach to Open Federalism.

For the first time, we have seen progress in negotiating  to begin to give Alberta more control over immigration policy to meet the province’s substantial need for skilled workers.

This is a priority for Premier Stelmach and we are working collaboratively to find ways to respond to the evolving economic and human resource demands in Alberta. Again, such an  agreement is logical, practical and poses no threat to federalism. In fact, it strengthens federalism.
 
We have seen Alberta successfully collocate an Alberta representative in Canada’s Embassy in Washington, furthering Alberta’s participation on the international stage.

This is a practical way to facilitate opportunities for businesses to interact and promote Canadian interests on the world stage.

Given the strong fiscal basis provided in Budget 2007, how will Canada’s governments move forward to build a better Canada? In particular, how will the new Alberta help build a stronger Canada?

I would suggest to you this evening that we can AND MUST move forward to build a stronger economic union for all Canadians and Alberta has a key role to play.

The past decades have seen intergovernmental relations focused on building a network of quality services for Canadians in the areas of public health care, post-secondary education, in numerous social programs and in building a modern infrastructure system.

Unfortunately, this also meant that policy files not involving fiscal transfers, such as the economic union, received little attention during federal-provincial-territorial executive discussions.

In light of globalization, Canada’s internal trade barriers remain significant impediments to the free circulation of goods and services.

It’s time we turned our attention to achieving Canada’s full potential of prosperity and competitiveness. And this is an area where the new Alberta has a key contribution to make.

The magnitude of growth in international trade by the province of Alberta and its recent internal trade agreement with British Columbia  make it a natural choice to lead Canada in a debate on renewed opportunities for provinces and territories to participate in the creation of a stronger economic union.

This dialogue has already begun and we have identified ways to collaborate with the and territories to outline significant initiatives to build a stronger economic union. And we hope and territories will step up and bring their strength to the table. These include:

• A review of Canada’s competition policy;

• Working with interested provinces/territories to examine how the Alberta-British Columbia Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement could be applied more broadly;

• Working with provinces and territories, and other partners to create a Canadian advantage in global capital markets, including a common securities regulator;

• Enacting a Global Commerce Strategy introducing a performance-based regulatory system; and

• Explore setting up a Major Projects Management Office within the federal government to streamline the review of large natural resource projects, a long-standing Alberta priority.

Our approach to Open Federalism informs how we develop and deliver on these commitments.

A number of the items on the list stem from ideas and priorities of the provinces and territories.

We are looking at the potential benefits of the broader application of the innovative trade agreement concluded by Alberta and British Columbia C last year. Alberta is in a unique position to exemplify the need to take regional priorities and innovation and translate them into national action to the benefit of the entire country.

Alberta is also ideally positioned among the provinces to lead the debate on the potential opportunities for increased provincial participation in international discussions in areas of provincial jurisdiction.

But this work cannot be done within one province and it must result in benefits for all of Canada.

The message I would like to leave with you tonight is this: The new Alberta and the new Canada have the opportunity to redefine how we work together on economic issues and potentially international issues in areas of provincial jurisdiction.

Open Federalism gives a New and mature Alberta, an Alberta that is sure of its interests and clear about its goals, with space to go even further in building a better province within a stronger Canada.

Open Federalism gives all provinces and territories these opportunities, and, I believe, for Alberta, a province that is NOW IN, this is a very exciting prospect indeed

Thank you.