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Dependents or Dissidents? The Atlantic Provinces in Canada's Constitutional Reform Process, 1967–1992

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 November 2009

Robert Finbow
Robert Finbow
Affiliation:
Dalhousie University
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Abstract

This article reviews the positions taken by the Atlantic provinces in Canadian constitutional reform negotiations over the past 25 years. It is based on public statements and documents and interviews with advisors to Atlantic governments. The stereotypes of regional dependence on federal transfers and conservative political culture are challenged as explanations for Atlantic constitutional positions. Atlantic leaders have not acted as dependents of Ottawa. While seeking to preserve federal authority in fiscal and regional policy, these provinces have sought to make it more responsive through guarantees for equalization and regional development, and through more regionally sensitive intrastate institutions. In some fields, preserved or enhanced provincial authority has been sought. And at key junctures, regional leaders and populations have opposed and blocked federal government preferences. Conservative values are not evident in regional support for rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms or aboriginal self-government, among other relatively progressive positions. Differences among these provinces and between individual leaders, plus a shortage of bureaucratic resources in intergovernmental affairs, have limited the coherence and effectiveness of Atlantic interventions at times. While no common regional position has emerged, certain key goals are reasserted frequently. Selected reforms to intrastate institutions and the interstate division of powers have been sought to facilitate the use of both federal and provincial authority to end these provinces’ “have-not” status.

Résumé

Cet article révise les positions adoptées par les provinces Atlantiques au cours des négociations constitutionnelles au Canada ayant marqué les 25 dernières années. Il prend en compte des déclarations publiques, des documents ainsi que des entrevues avec les conseillers gouvernementaux. Les clichés relatifs à la dépendance régionale à l'endroit des transferts fédéraux et à la culture politique ne peuvent expliquer les positions constitutionnelles adoptées par les provinces Atlantiques. Les leaders politiques de ces provinces ne se sont pas conduits comme des protégés du gouvernement fédéral. En préservant l'autorité fédérale dans la politique fiscale et régionale, ces provinces ont tenté de rendre le gouvernement central plus sensible aux besoins régionaux, notamment par des garanties touchant la péréquation et le développement régional et à travers les modifications portant sur le fédéralisme intraétatique. Dans certains domaines, les provinces ont cherché à preserver ou à accroître leur autorité. Les élites politiques ainsi que la population des provinces Atlantiques se sont opposées aux préférences mises de l'avant par le gouvernement central. Les valeurs conservatrices ne se reflètent pas dans l'appui accordé aussi bien à la Charte canadienne des droits et libertés qu'au droit à l'auto-détermination revendiqué par les Autochtones, éléments jugés progressistes. Par ailleurs, les différences entre les provinces et entre les élites politiques, qui illustrent l'insuffisance des ressources bureaucratiques dans la conduite des relations intergouvernementales, ont limité la cohésion et nuit à l'efficacité des interventions des provinces Atlantiques. Bien qu'une position commune n'ait pas été développée, certains objectifs communs ont été identifiées. Quelques réformes institutionnelles ainsi qu'une nouvelle division des pouvoirs ont été recherchées afin de maintenir la capacité d'intervention des gouvernements dans leur lutte contre la situation désavantageuse affichée par les provinces Atlantiques.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 27 , Issue 3 , September 1994 , pp. 465 - 491
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 1994

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References

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