FEDERALIST LEADERSHIP NEW GOAL OF QUEBEC LIBERAL PARTY
John E. Trent, Board of Directors, Dialogue Canada

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The Quebec by-elections between the Parti Québécois, the Quebec Liberal Party and Action Démocratique Québécoise signal a potential change in power in the next Quebec election. The rest of Canada will have to pay closer attention to what the Quebec opposition parties are saying.

In a refreshing and sometimes startling political and constitutional report, the Quebec Liberal Party (QLP) has left behind the era of “knife to the throat”, “profitable federalism” often associated with Robert Bourassa. The new goals are affirmation, autonomy and leadership within the Canadian federalist fold.

In its report, A Project for Quebec, prepared under the direction of Intergovernmental Affairs critic Benoit Pelletier and approved by the party’s Council, the QLP opts for:

• “Administrative reforms” to pave the way for eventual constitutional change.
• Dialogue, negotiation and alliances with federal partners.
• Quebec leadership for reforms benefiting all federal partners.
• A trial run for an innovative, new “Council of the Federation” .
• A new relationship with Francophones outside Quebec and with Anglophones, cultural communities and Native Peoples within Quebec.

The QLP forcefully disputes the separatists’ articles of faith that it is natural for nations to necessarily become independent states; that so-called “sovereignty-partnership” with the rest of Canada after separation would be either acceptable or feasible; and that the current European Union could be a useful confederal model for Canada.

Such propositions are rejected in favour of the QLP’s support of mainstream federalist concepts: “The federal system must be founded on diversity, balance, federal-provincial cooperation, the right to be different and even a certain degree of asymmetry”.

To improve Canadian federalism, the Quebec Liberal Party’s key proposal is creation of a “Council of the Federation” composed of the prime minister, the premiers, and ministers or other representatives of the federal and provincial governments, depending on the topic under discussion. It would deal with macro-economic policy, the social union, and international treaties that overlap federal and provincial jurisdictions.

The aims of the Council are co-management of the federation via joint decision-making; avoiding contradictory policies through a continuing forum; the development of common plans, standards and values; reevaluation of joint policies; and symbolizing cooperative federalism. There would be weighted voting. It might start as a consultative body.

The Council concept is based on successes in the European Union. It may be the proposal that most benefits all the federal partners as well as individual citizens so we must work out all the details. For instance, the central government is responsible for all of Canada, so what should be its weight within the Council – surely not one among 11?

The Council is just one among a number of “administrative agreements” the Quebec Liberal Party seeks in order to nail down more advantageous relations with Ottawa while waiting for constitutional change. These agreements are intergovernmental accords concluded outside the constitution to harmonize relations of the central and one or more provincial governments. Examples are the federal-provincial agreement on the Social Union and the Quebec-Ottawa immigration agreement.

The QLP emphasizes federal-provincial agreements in international affairs, the environment, and communications. But it also wants to readjust roles and responsibilities in criminal law, fisheries, agriculture, natural resources, transportation, research and innovation and regional development. As an opening negotiation position, this may be too much for Ottawa or the rest of Canada to digest.

Administrative agreements are useful tools when mutual benefits accrue to signatories. One in communications between Ottawa and Quebec might clear up a lot of misunderstandings. But, in the other areas, it is difficult to see what linguistic or cultural criteria would bring Ottawa to single out Quebec for special treatment. Further, the QLP shows little understanding of the impossibility of more than one voice speaking for a country in international relations or how much Canada has done to implicate provinces in foreign affairs.

Another major aim of the Quebec Liberals is to reduce the fiscal imbalance between the central and provincial governments. Here the QLP joins all Quebec parties and bases itself on several well-founded studies. It wants an in-depth review with Ottawa of tax-fields and tax points. With some justification, it believes that foreseeable trends will increase the federal imbalance in Canada in geometric proportions during this decade.

Fiscal issues are also central to the QLP’s desired constitutional reforms. It believes “parameters” must be entrenched in the constitution to limit federal spending in areas of exclusive provincial jurisdiction. Given the significance of such a federal reform, it is a pity the Report does not spell out the nature of the “parameters”. The Quebec Liberal Party also underlines once again the extreme importance (already accepted by the Supreme Court) of recognizing Quebec’s “specificity” in the constitution – but does not specify what it wants. Other traditional constitutional objectives include the entrenchment of the Supreme Court with its three Quebec judges out of nine, reform of the Senate, and a new amendment process. If we recall that leaders of all Canadian governments have found merit in these ideas, they should not be rejected out of hand.

The QLP also proposes we learn from other federations which have constitutionalized the “Principle of Courtesy” obliging governments to abide by the rules of the federal game. These rules include respect for autonomy, a spirit of compromise, mutual consideration, trust, reconciliation, openness and good faith. With the QLP proposing such principles, the other governments in Canada, Ottawa leading, should give a positive reception to A Project for Quebec and all its ideas for improving the federation.

John Trent is a Fellow at the Centre on Governance of the University of Ottawa and prepared this opinion for Dialogue Canada.
Dialogue Canada is an association founded in 1992 to promote mutual understanding in Canada through education, communication and participation. The President is Jon Legg.


For information:
John Trent, (819) 827-4407;
jtrent@uottawa.ca

18 June 2002.