Royal Commission on Renewing and Strengthening Our Place in Canada
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Royal Commission on Renewing and Strengthening Our Place in Canada Federal Representation of the People and Government of Newfoundland and Labrador By: Christopher Dunn March 2003 The views expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not necessarily refl ect those of the Royal Commission on Renewing and Strengthening Our Place in Canada. Federal Representation of the People and Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Acknowledgements The author gratefully acknowledges the insightful comments on this paper made by Douglas Brown, Frank O’Brien, and the two anonymous reviewers. Any errors of fact or interpretation are, of course, the responsibility of the author. Federal Representation of the People and Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Federal Representation of the People and Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................39 Concepts of Representation...........................................................................................41 Territorialism and Representation Theory..............................................................41 Political Representation.............................................................................................42 Representative Bureaucracy .....................................................................................42 Reconciliation .............................................................................................................43 Theories of Federalism....................................................................................................45 The Evolving Role of the Function of Representation in Federal Institutions...........................................................................................................................47 The Present Role of the Function of Representation in Federal Institutions.......47 The House of Commons ........................................................................................47 The Senate of Canada ............................................................................................47 The Federal Cabinet...............................................................................................48 The Federal Courts and Judicial Hierarchies in the Provinces ..............................49 The Federal Public Service ....................................................................................50 Summary................................................................................................................51 Literature on the Evolving Role of Representation in Federal Institutions .........52 Lack of Intrastate Federalism.................................................................................52 National and Regional Effects of the Electoral System and Representation by Population ..............................................................................................................54 Decline of Regional Ministers ...............................................................................54 Defi ciencies Muting the Regional Role of M.P.s...................................................55 A Senate Based on Regions but Not Representing Them......................................55 Federal Judicial Appointments...............................................................................56 Insuffi ciently Representative Bureaucracy? ..........................................................57 Summary................................................................................................................58 Representation of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in Federal Institutions Since 1949 ....................................................................................................61 Proportionate Representation in Federal Institutions............................................61 Representation Without Power.................................................................................64 The Secret Nation.......................................................................................................65 Survey of Major Options For Representation Reform .......................................69 Centralist Arrangements...........................................................................................71 Cooperative/Collaborative Federalist Arrangements.............................................71 Intrastate Arrangements ...........................................................................................73 Asymmetrical Arrangements ....................................................................................73 Third-Party or Hybrid Bodies ..................................................................................74 Method of Selection....................................................................................................75 Equality Versus Non-equality of Representation....................................................75 Functions and Types of Powers of Upper Houses ..................................................76 Appointment Procedures...........................................................................................77 Canadian-made Suggestions:.................................................................................77 Federal Representation of the People and Government of Newfoundland and Labrador International Models:.............................................................................................77 Provincial Involvement..............................................................................................78 Transparency vs. Obscurity ......................................................................................78 Enlarging the Supreme Court...................................................................................78 Problems in Establishing the Provincial “Representativeness” of the Federal Bureaucracy................................................................................................................79 An Explicit Policy on Territorial Representation ...................................................80 Conclusion and Recommendations.............................................................................83 The Changed Environment.......................................................................................83 The Basis of the Recommendations..........................................................................85 Long-term Strategies .................................................................................................86 Short-term Alternatives.............................................................................................87 General Federalism Issues .....................................................................................87 Intergovernmental Forums.....................................................................................87 Senate Reform........................................................................................................88 Legislative Reform.................................................................................................89 Cabinet Reform......................................................................................................90 Electoral Reform....................................................................................................90 Bureaucracy Reform ..............................................................................................90 Memorial University..............................................................................................91 Judicial Reform......................................................................................................91 Endnotes..................................................................................................................................93 Appendix 1...............................................................................................................................99 House of CommonsRepresentation Formula: Detailed Calculation for 2001 Census....................................................................................................................99 Appendix 2 ............................................................................................................................101 Regional Distribution of Federal Cabinet Ministers at the Beginning of Each Ministry................................................................................................................101 Appendix 3.............................................................................................................................103 Arguments For and Against Regionalization of the Federal Court and the Tax Court of Canada ...................................................................................................103 Appendix 4 ............................................................................................................................107 Region of Work for Departments and Agencies Coming Under Treasury Board Jurisdiction, March 2001 .....................................................................................107 Appendix 5.............................................................................................................................109 Change in Level of Federal Employees1 By Department in Newfoundland and Labrador Since 1995............................................................................................109