Quebec-Ontario Relations: A Shared Destiny?

2. Intergovernmental Relations between Civil Servants

2. InTERgovERnmEnTAL RELATIons BETwEEn CIvIL sERvAnTs JEAn-fRAnçoIs sAvARD In their chapter, Rocher and Gilbert describe the various institutions in Germany, Australia, Belgium, the United States, and Canada that structure intergovernmental relations in these federations . This comparative analysis shows, among other things, that in Canada intergovernmental relations are characterized by what is called executive federalism . In other words intergovernmental relations in Canada at both the federal and provincial levels are structured mainly around relationships between and among the elected representatives who form the executive branch . This leaves no room for elected members of legislative assemblies who are not ministers . In contrast, in the United States relations between the federated states and the federation are part of a complex web of federal and state executive and legislative bodies (Bakvis and Brown 2010) . However, according to Laforest and Montigny, [la] majeure partie du volume des échanges entre les différents niveaux de gouvernements repose … sur des discussions entre les fonctionnaires. Bien qu’elles se déroulent généralement dans l’ombre, ces délibérations administratives permettent notamment d’harmoniser l’application de certaines politiques, d’assurer un certain partage de l’expertise et de préparer les rencontres de niveaux supérieurs. Pour y parvenir, les deux ordres de gouvernement se sont dotés de structures administratives, et ce, sur le plan tant interne que communautaire (2009: 142) . 44 Quebec–ontario Relations –A shared Destiny? Executive federalism is therefore largely contingent on the support of a government apparatus . But as Magali Marc (2005: 35) points out, “fewer studies have focused on how [civil servants] manage their relationship in areas where two orders of government are involved .” We can add that studies of how civil servants manage their interprovincial relations are just as rare, if not more so . This chapter is to provide a better understanding of the context in which these intergovernmental relations are carried out . To this end, we will first present two theoretical approaches—administrative federalism and coherent federalism—with a view to shedding light on intergovernmental relations between civil servants . We will then examine the policy coordination mechanisms found in the European Union, which should provide a better understanding of the situation in Canada . We will then present an analysis of the data on intergovernmental meetings and agreements (two policy coordination mechanisms found in Canada) with a view to better understanding the characteristics of intergovernmental relations between civil servants in Canada . Lastly, based on this empirical analysis, we will determine which approach best describes the intergovernmental relations between civil servants . 1. ADmInIsTRATIvE fEDERALIsm Bearing in mind that the concept of executive federalism refers to intergovernmental relations between elected officials in the executive branch, our first reflex might be to qualify intergovernmental relations between civil servants as administrative federalism . This concept was evoked in 1993 by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien when he asserted in the wake of his election that Canadians were tired of hearing about the constitution and that it was time to usher in an era of administrative federalism (which he contrasted with the idea of constitutional federalism) . In the prime minister’s opinion, this administrative federalism made sense because it was designed to help prevent Canada from getting mired in endless constitutional disputes by instead promoting administrative agreements between the central and provincial governments in all sectors (especially sectors under provincial jurisdiction), rather than constitutional reform . The prime minister believed this would make the Canadian federation work better . According to Johns et al. (2007), this approach has borne fruit, since the transition to a nonconstitutional approach is indeed what characterizes intergovernmental relations today . Concretely this approach has resulted in hundreds of meetings each year between civil servants in different governments, the negotiation of multimillion dollar agreements each month, and countless informal contacts between civil servants (ibid.) . 2 . Intergovernmental Relations between Civil servants 45 1.1. Defining Administrative federalism At first glance administrative federalism would appear to be a useful concept to better understand the relations between civil servants in different governments . However, it is important to define what we really mean by administrative federalism . According to Schwager (1999a), administrative federalism is generally defined as a federal structure in which the central government has legislative functions, while the governments of federated states have administrative functions . More specifically, in administrative federalism the central government sets out and imposes the standards of quality with which public projects must comply, while the governments of federated...