The Case for Decentralized Federalism

CHAPTER 5 Re-Federalizing Canada: Refocusing the Debate on Decentralization

116 Introduction In both the academic literature and political discourse, the conventional wisdom holds that Canadian federalism is the most decentralized anywhere in the world. We wish to call this highly contestable proposition into question for two reasons. Firstly, it is based on a partial, fragmented and distorted concept of federalism that reveals the ideological biases of the authors and political actors with regard to their preferred concept of the Canadian political community rather than an understanding of a political regime that is supposed to be federal and that actually seeks to be so. Secondly, it seems evident to us that those who present Canadian federalism as either very or too decentralized base their arguments on shaky evidence that, a er further analysis, appears very unconvincing to us. In the first section of the chapter, we examine the ways in which federalism and decentralization ought to be seen as mutually reinforcing rather than as in opposition to one another. We offer a review of normative arguments that call for a more complex understanding of the federal reality . In particular, we follow Daniel Elazar, and before him Livingston, who pointed to the necessity of a federal culture : “The first step is a shi in the minds of men from thinking statist to thinking federal” (Elazar 1994: 12). Chapter 5 Re-Federalizing Canada: Refocusing the Debate on Centralization François Rocher Marie-Christine Gilbert Re-Federalizing Canada 117 In this spirit, we contrast the monist and the pluralist approaches to federalism. In the second section of the chapter, we demonstrate how the claims that Canadian federalism is very or too decentralized , and that it even constitutes the most decentralized regime in the world, rest on foundations that are, to say the least, very fragile. We begin by proposing working definitions of ‘centralization’ and ‘decentralization’ in order to underline the weaknesses of the arguments that present Canadian federalism as decentralized. We contend that, in fact, the workings of Canadian federalism show it to be a centralized system notably, but not exclusively, because of failures to respect the division of powers, the importance of the federal spending power, and the sometimes strong, o en tenuous, constraints imposed through fiscal transfers and through administrative arrangements. We also contend that the decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada have reinforced this centralized reality over the years through the functional and institutional definitions of federalism that it has promoted by emphasizing the notion of efficiency. Still, the dominant view, repeated ad nauseam, holds that Canada is de facto decentralized on account of the increasing political capacity of the provinces. Having become more powerful , the provinces are depicted as an effective counterweight to the federal government. We will explain why this conclusion rests on a vague, if not impressionistic, assessment of the powers and relative autonomy of the provinces. Others arrive at this same conclusion. Their assessments however, are based on criteria such as the ratio of federal-provincial public spending, constitutional power, and the importance of the public service. As we will see, these indicators are also problematic. In conclusion, we call for the necessity of ‘re-federalizing’ the Canadian political system. In our view, certain avenues ought to be explored by, amongst other things, returning to the ideas of André Burelle who defended the principles of non-subordination, subsidiarity, and participation in the realization of common objectives. We do realize―as a dose of reality requires―that significant obstacles will have to be 118 François Rocher and Marie-Christine Gilbert overcome along the road to re-federalization. Among these obstacles, it is important to note the absence of a federal culture in Canada and the hegemony of a monist concept of federalism in the public and academic spheres, as well as within the very structure of Canadian federalism itself. On the purposes of federalism In scholarly research, the practice of federalism can be analyzed as both a point of departure and of arrival. Federalism can also be understood in terms of a general philosophy of society, an institutional structure that embodies a specific concept of social relations amongst citizens and amongst constitutive communities. Some researchers distinguish federalism from federation. The la er refers to institutional arrangements based on an intra-state division of powers, while federalism, a much larger normative concept, speaks to a social ideal that federation is supposed to bring into being (Burgess 2006...