Press Room

Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the Minister of Foreign Affairs and my colleague for Central Nova for the passion that he has shown in cabinet and in this House for his constituents of Central Nova and also for the people of Nova Scotia. In fact, many times in cabinet he speaks for all Atlantic Canadians. I want to commend him for his commitment and his passion. It is a pleasure for me to participate in this debate today.

When our government assumed its role, it made a commitment to promote open federalism. In our 2007 budget, we kept this promise and announced a long-term plan to restore fiscal balance within the federation. Our plan responds to the concerns of all Canadians, the provinces and the territories.

I would like to take a moment to note just how far we have come in 16 months. This government inherited an equalization program that was divorced from principle. It also did not suit the demands of the day and our federation. It was obvious that federalism was not functioning as it should.

The previous Liberal administration did not even give a thought to tomorrow or to the future of the provinces. The approach that it used was stagnant and unresponsive to the changing needs of Canadians and to the changing needs of the provinces. What we saw with the previous Liberal governments for years was what we call "chequebook federalism".

That is when the concept of open federalism was born. Under this concept, the federation is no longer an inactive entity, but an evolving institution that has to adapt to the changes and impacts of the modern world.

This government has already taken tangible measures to ensure, for example, that Quebec has the tools that it needs to develop within a united Canada, the recognition that the Québécois form a nation within a united Canada and the restoration of the fiscal balance.

Of course, the historic presence of Quebec at the Canadian delegation to UNESCO is a concrete example of that commitment. Open federalism demands that we recognize the maturation and the evolution of the provinces within our federation.

This concept recognizes the important and precise role the provinces must play in developing national policy.

It was clearly a time for a new approach to federalism, one that we believe could accomplish, among other things, ensuring a return to a principled based approach to federal fiscal transfers and recognizing, of course, the evolving nature of the federation. We believe in the need to capitalize on the strengths the provinces have to the benefit of all of Canada.

It was with great pride that I watched the Finance Minister deliver his budget in the House last March. Budget 2007, of course, was described as a historic agreement and with very good reason. I am particularly proud to note that our approach to open federalism and restoring fiscal balance is the result of significant consultations with all of the provinces and territories, as we committed to last year in our budget 2006.

It was in the spirit of open federalism that we worked with every province and territory, and we sought their views on ways to help achieve a balance between a principled based approach to the limitation of our spending powers and the need to ensure flexibility in our country. We sought their perspectives on lessons learned from the past, options for future consideration, and potential priority areas for action for the future.

However, we have to be clear about where we were when our government came to power. Canada was in a situation where the Liberal approach to equalization created, as we know, division between the federal and provincial governments, and between the provinces, particularly between different regions of our country. We saw this clearly in the inability of the Council of the Federation to come to any sort of consistent position on equalization.

We have shown the provinces and territories our commitment toward the new open federalism.

We provided an opportunity to provinces and territories to share their views on ways to achieve enhanced accountability. We committed to returning the equalization program to a principled based, formula driven plan to restore the fiscal balance.

The equalization formula, as we know, was thoroughly studied by an independent expert panel that was chaired by Al O'Brien, in fact a former Alberta deputy treasurer.

The O'Brien report proposed a comprehensive principled based set of reforms to the equalization program. We reviewed this report and we consulted extensively with Canadians and with provincial governments. We concluded that the O'Brien report formed a solid foundation for the renewal of the equalization program.

As we know, in our budget 2007, we finally tackled the longstanding irritant of provinces called double equalization by committing finally to a principled move to per capita health and social transfers. With this move we clearly demonstrate a principle that the equalization formula itself is meant to address interprovincial and interregional disparities, while other federal transfers, like health and social transfers, should ensure equal treatment of Canadians in all parts of our country. We also advanced the principles of transparency and accountability.

As we know, the provinces have responsibilities and ultimate accountability in their own fields and in their own areas of jurisdiction, while the federal government offers clear and predictable support to them. By providing equitable and predictable funding for shared priorities and attempting to clarify the roles and responsibilities in our federation, we have offered a solid, principled based approach on which government can continue to work into the future.

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

As I mentioned earlier, our second major policy goal for our approach to open federalism is to identify and facilitate opportunities for provinces to play a greater role in our own jurisdiction, the federal jurisdiction, when our moves and actions actually impact on provincial jurisdiction.

In our opinion, the provinces have various means available to them to play a more active role on the national and international stage for the good of the federation.

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

Of course, now the question, both for the provinces and for the federal government, is which opportunities and when. We have already started to capitalize on those.

We committed in our 2006 election platform to find those kinds of practical ways to facilitate provincial involvement in areas of federal jurisdiction when provincial jurisdiction is affected, and the Quebec participation at UNESCO is a perfect example.

When we wrote that policy, what we had in mind is this kind of identification of clear, practical opportunities like that where the federal government could work with the provinces in areas of mutual interest.

I will conclude my remarks proudly stating that we continue to live by those principles.

We have respected our commitments and kept our promises in a transparent manner that is inspired by principles. By doing so, we have consolidated our federation in such a way that all the governments are working together in order to build an even stronger Canada.