LOUIS ST-LAURENT When Governments Got Things Done

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MARCH 2021

The Legacy of LOUIS ST-LAURENT When governments got things done

Also INSIDE: An Israel-Iran Canada’s lacklustre Crisis in academic Solving the Maritime peace deal? COVID response freedom fishery dispute 1 PublishedPublished by by the the Macdonald-Laurier Macdonald-Laurier Institute Institute

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insidepolicyinsidepolicy [march].indd [march].indd 2 2 14-04-0114-04-01 10:00 10:00 AM AM From the editors Contents

4 Indigenous leaders step-up, but where is the applause n the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trudeau govern- from environmentalists? Iment has been quick to spend money and to offer vague rhetoric Chris Sankey to “build back better.” But there is little in the way of bold vision 5 Finding a solution to the East Coast fisheries challenge for Canada in 2021. Simply put, we seem to have forgotten how to Ken Coates get things done – from pipelines to vaccine production. Yet, as detailed in our cover feature, the current government 7 The real-life consequences of COVID-19 among First Nations can usefully look back at its post-war Liberal predecessor for les- Melissa Mbarki sons on how to not only spend money but actually govern. As detailed by Patrice Dutil, the St-Laurent government was able 9 Louis St-Laurent: Getting the job done to offer a vision for a nation in need of rapid transformation and Patrice Dutil improvements. 13 The forgotten lessons of Louis St-Laurent’s leadership Also, as part of the cover feature, Ken Coates looks back at Patrice Dutil St-Laurent’s efforts to revitalize the rural parts of Canada and his 15 Pipelines and national prosperity under the St-Laurent successful push to complete large infrastructure projects, Gregory government Marchildon turns to St-Laurent’s record with securing universal Ken Coates hospital coverage, and David MacKenzie explores St-Laurent’s 18 How St-Laurent helped achieve universal hospital pivotal role in bringing Newfoundland into Confederation. insurance Environmentalists and “eco-colonialists” have been a par- Gregory P. Marchildon ticular obstacle when it comes to pipeline projects, as noted by 20 St-Laurent’s diplomacy: The case of Newfoundland Chris Sankey. Yet, as pointed out by Mike Priaro, there has been David MacKenzie some good news of late, such as the Kitimat and Saguenay LNG 22 St-Laurent and the revitalization of rural Canada projects. He also outlines the benefits in a national energy cor- Ken Coates ridor transmitting Quebec and Labrador hydropower to western Canada. 24 One year on: What have we learned from the COVID-19 crisis? According to Brian Ferguson, the federal government Brian Ferguson approach to the COVID-19 pandemic can also be rightly criti- cized. And Tarun Katapally discusses the risk in failing to tap big 26 The perils of a failure to innovate in confronting pandemics data in fighting the pandemic. Tarun Katapally Meanwhile, Coates also documents the recent challenges facing our East Coast fishery, Melissa Mbarki shows how First 27 The crisis of academic freedom in Canada and how to address it Nations and their reserves have dealt with the COVID crisis, Eric Kaufmann and Eric Kaufmann looks at the crisis in academic freedom in Canada. 30 The “Tesla of LNG Plants” is right here in Canada Mike Priaro This issue concludes with articles by Andrew Pickford and Jeff Collins on the need to work with our allies in confronting China, 31 When will Canada finally join its allies in standing up and by Mariam Memarsadeghi and Shuvaloy Majumdar on the to China? Andrew Pickford and Jeffrey Collins aspirations for an Israel-Iran peace deal. 33 Israel-Iran peace deal: Why it’s needed, what it could look like Mariam Memarsadeghi and Shuvaloy Majumdar

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 3 INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS Indigenous leaders step-up, but where is the applause from environmentalists?

We need to change the way Canadians understand Indigenous aspirations for the environment and economic development.

Chris Sankey What have the boisterous, assertive, The environmentalists love to use and agenda-driven activists accomplished? our ceremonies, symbolism, even our ot enough has been said about the I will tell you what they accomplished. spirituality, when it suits their purposes. Nrecent Memorandum of Understand- Families have been torn apart. The But when the legal and political battles ing between the First Nations Climate country has forfeited billions of dollars in are over, they leave our communities and Initiative table and the First Nations lost opportunities and tens of thousands do nothing to address the deep inter- Major Projects Coalition, collectively of jobs. Our communities have been generational poverty that they are now representing 70 First Nations from across gripped with grief, anger, and resentment. helping to entrench. Canada. In December 2020, the two Money has been taken out of the hands First Nations are fighting to get away parties signed an agreement to advance an of our people, undermining the ability of from their dependence on government and Indigenous-led, net-zero carbon-emissions communities to be independent. Immense to determine their own futures. policy framework, including nature-based divisions now divide our communities So, do the actions of environmental solutions for carbon capture. This is a across the country. groups advance the cause of Indigenous major step forward in responsible resource development in Canada. Indigenous leaders and our commu- Why have environmentalists been silent nities have been pushing in this direction about one of the most significant for the last decade. This agreement is just another example of what First Nations can developments in several decades? achieve when we work together without outside influence. And it raises a new question: why have environmentalists been The consequences are real and serious. sovereignty and self-reliance? The answer silent about one of the most significant By ignoring Indigenous requests – and is simple: they do not. Their actions keep developments in several decades? by listening to only those community many of our communities impoverished. This initiative answers many, if not members who share their preservationist The result is eco-colonialism, just another all, of the concerns presented by the worldview – the environmentalist agenda incarnation of the colonial systems we are agenda-driven activists and environmen- has stripped away our capacity to pay for trying to escape. Paternalism, it seems, dies tal groups that have spent the last 20 years necessary infrastructure such as housing, a hard and slow death. trying to tell us what to do. Our commu- roads and commercial buildings. They Environmental non-governmental nities worked with the brightest minds in stole opportunities for us to fund the organizations receive millions of dollars academia and industry to develop a First advancement of our arts, culture, and in donations from outside interest groups, Nations-centred solution that accommo- language. Far too many communities allowing them to pay key organizers and dates both climate change realities and remain welfare dependent, relying on the hire activists to protest in our communi- appropriate resource development, which government to pay for our basic needs. ties or to declare (typically without our will bring much needed opportunities to This is both unnecessary and our people. destructive to Indigenous communities. Continued on page 34

4 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS Finding a solution to the East Coast fisheries challenge

A fair resolution can show all Canadians, including Mi’kmaq and Maliseet people, that the law can be just, effective and consequential.

Ken Coates

ising tensions in the Maritime Rfishery demonstrate the fundamental difficulty of creating effective and popular public policy. The situation is simple. Supreme Court judgments in the 1999 fishing case of Donald Marshall Jr. included the provision that First Nations people were entitled to a “moderate livelihood” from harvesting. Yet the concept was not defined and was put to the side. Now, over two decades later, the fishing dispute has become one of the country’s most perplexing and difficult political

challenges. Non-Indigenous fishers worry iStock about their future in the industry. First Nations fishers feel that their constitu- capitalized on their Marshall rights and ever harder for an expanded role in the fish- tionally protected treaty rights are being became a major presence in the industry, ery. The activists were right, of course. The ignored. Most Eastern Canadians want the with several groups purchasing Clearwater Supreme Court had left the country a polit- issue resolved, preferably without incre- Seafood, the East Coast’s industry leader, ical quagmire. Their support for enhanced mental cost or discord. Conservationists in 2020. For most of the past two decades, Indigenous involvement in the fishery, as a worry about the ability to manage the fish- the transition went smoothly as the Mari- treaty right, was imprecise but unequivo- ery. And politicians wish the issue would times adjusted to the reality of a formidable cal. As the Indigenous fishery improved fade into the background. Indigenous presence. over time, it became increasingly clear that The Maritime fishery revolves around a Two other major things happened substantial revenues and opportunities series of certainties, each of which must be in the intervening years. Lengthy remained on the table. respected. First Nations have treaty rights negotiations over the meaning and nature The federal government accommodated recognized by the Supreme Court. The gov- of the First Nations’ moderate livelihood some of those demands and continued the ernment must ensure the conservation of the rights produced many proposals but no expansion of government support for the fishery. Non-Indigenous fishers must not be lasting resolution. Indigenous frustration Indigenous fishery, though larger issues left hung out to dry by any resolution of the dis- mounted for the simple reason that being over from the Marshall decision remained agreement. And police and fisheries officers locked out of their full fishing rights costs unresolved. have to enforce Canadian regulations while individuals and communities millions of Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisher- protecting all those involved in the increas- dollars in lost revenue. ies, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, ingly contentious dispute. At the same time, the Mi’kmaq and pressed for a resolution and came up with Parties to this complicated dispute have Maliseet population grew dramatically. The a strategy that secured the support of the so far not been able to reach a satisfactory growing number of young people, raised in major commercial fishers’ association and agreement. In the interim, First Nations the glow of the Marshall decision, pressed met the conservation goals. Yet Jordan’s pro-

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 5 posal does not, to date, have the endorse- achieved under Marshall. Letting this for a resolution of the “moderate liveli- ment of key Indigenous leaders. legal and political sore fester for over two hood” provisions of the Marshall decision, As a result, the fishery became, yet decades has made the matter difficult and but their efforts to do so are strengthened again, a political hotspot and a potentially potentially more intractable. by respect for other aspects of Canadian volatile situation. The burning of It should be clear to all concerned law. This applies to the conservation mea- Indigenous buildings, violent outbursts, that Indigenous peoples in the Maritimes sures established by the Department of and a flood of angry words have poisoned are not going to retreat from their hard- Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast the political air in the Maritimes. People won rights. They have waited generations Guard and to the government’s manage- remain on edge, with no obvious path to secure recognition and they should not ment of the fisheries overall. Drawing forward. Anyone looking for an easy and be expected to back down soon. Creating attention to the government’s inability painless resolution, however, is almost public policy is difficult business, as the to resolve the Marshall impasse is under- sure to be disappointed. The First Nations’ Maritime fishery dispute demonstrates. mined by any extra-legal assertions of demand for an inshore lobster fishery The path forward is far from precise, authority in other aspects of the East Coast outside the standard commercial season but several key elements stand out. fishery. appears to be a game-stopper. Several elements are clear. If a resolution is not reached soon, First Nations could return to the courts and force Ottawa should have resolved the another Supreme Court decision on the issue. The all-or-nothing resolutions that “moderate livelihood” shortly after often emerge from the court system could the initial Marshall decision. make the situation dramatically worse for Indigenous communities, non-Indigenous fishers and the federal government. The broader commercial fishery, whose inter- The federal government must continue If the government and First Nations ests have long been accommodated in the to reaffirm its commitment to honouring want a legal resolution, they could individ- Indigenous-government negotiations, are the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision on ually or collectively apply to the courts for clearly nervous about the prospects for the Marshall case. Many non-Indigenous a legal judgment on the practical meaning unwanted and dramatic change. peoples wish that this decision had never of the “moderate livelihood” concept. This There is an urgent need for clarity, with been rendered but that is immaterial. The approach would be risky for both parties, a firm requirement that conservation rules court judgment stands and, because it for the court ruling could impose regula- will be followed, disruptions in the fish- speaks directly to Indigenous treaty rights, tions that one side or both find unpalat- ery will not impact any of the commercial has constitutional protection. able. This approach is likely, however, if fishers, and Mi’kmaq and Maliseet treaty Secondly, Ottawa must reassure soci- the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet opt to return to rights will be honoured. The Government ety at large that the country will conserve the courts, as is their right. of Canada will undoubtedly continue their and protect the East Coast fishery and rec- The most appropriate resolution, it efforts, but they could improve discus- ognize the personal and corporate rights of seems, is to ensure that the eventual settle- sions by making it clear that any income, the commercial fishery. The industry works ment does not weigh heavily on the East rights and opportunities due to the First under and respects the strict controls on Coast fishers while addressing Indigenous Nations would either be provided through commercial fishing. Beginning in 1999, the legal rights. Other ways of accommodating an expanded Indigenous fishery or some long-established fishing communities wor- Indigenous rights under Marshall include a other acceptable compensation. ried that the Marshall ruling would under- sizeable one-time payment to First Nations In retrospect, Ottawa should have mine their access to the fishery and, thereby, governments, revenue-sharing arrange- resolved the “moderate livelihood” to a vibrant and sustainable economy. The ments with the federal government, pref- shortly after the initial Marshall decision. fishers and the associated businesses should erential access to other economic activities They tried, but without achieving a final not pay, individually or collectively, for the (lotteries, cannabis, etc.), or other mutu- resolution. First Nations, for their part, consequences of the court ruling. were adjusting rapidly to the new authority First Nations have every right to push Continued on page 34

6 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS The real-life consequences of COVID-19 among First Nations The unwillingness to address fundamental challenges made the pandemic much worse than it had to be for First Nations across Canada. manitoulin.com Bella Coola Valley-Nuxalk Nation Coordinated Coordinated Nation Coola Valley-Nuxalk Bella Information via wltribune.com Facebook Bulletin

Melissa Mbarki The first wave of COVID-19 had only the Eabametoong First Nation, temporary a limited impact on First Nations, with no tents and shacks set up for COVID-19 iso- s the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s more than 500 cases from June to mid- lation were converted into homes. ACOVID Misery Index has revealed, September 2020. Yet this changed with Another huge issue is having clean Canada ranks near the bottom among the the second wave. From September 2020 to water for drinking and proper sanitization. 15 countries surveyed when it comes to February 2021, First Nations experienced a How can First Nations comply with the misery arising from the pandemic. Specifi- drastic increase to 22,000 cases. The current basic public health guidelines when proper cally, Canada ranked 11th out of 15 countries third wave is hitting remote Indigenous hand washing is not even possible? Poor on the scale – based on 16 measures that communities particularly hard. water supplies alone makes many commu- range from the direct impact of the virus Socioeconomic inequities make First nities vulnerable to infectious diseases. (disease misery) to the efficiency of the Nations more vulnerable to infectious dis- The list of fundamental challenges goes government’s mitigation efforts (response eases than any other community in Cana- on: lack of food security and poor nutrition, misery) to the economic consequences of da. This is due to limited access to health women not having the ability to leave abu- the virus and the government’s response to care, higher rates of underlying medical sive relationships, and profound inequali- it (economic misery). conditions such as diabetes and heart dis- ties in education were exacerbated during While Canada did not suffer as much ease, economic barriers, isolation, poor the pandemic. Most Canadians take for disease misery as many of the other coun- housing, seriously overcrowded homes granted reliable, stable Internet and their tries reviewed, its handling of the pandemic (often in poor repair), and no access to ability to use a laptop/tablet for school or has proven far more costly – from a mitiga- clean water. Other factors that contribute work. Indeed, many First Nations commu- tion perspective (testing, vaccines, etc.) and to the rise in numbers include no access to nities struggle to provide families with the in terms of economic consequences (debt, isolation housing, limited health care ser- basic home school set up for their children; job losses, etc.). vices (including workers in communities) and numerous students have now fallen as Yet this only tells part of the story. and access to vaccinations. much as two years behind in their studies Some groups in Canada faced additional Housing, or rather the lack of adequate during the pandemic. challenges that only increased the misery in housing on reserves, has created a caul- Even before the pandemic, First Nation their communities. A more in-depth look dron of disease. Social distancing is not an scommunities have been dealing with mental at First Nations’ reserves and their experi- option in multi-family homes. If one family health issues, addictions and family violence. ence with COVID reveals the real-life con- member tests positive, the rest of the house- A high-profile police presence in my sequences of this terrible epidemic. hold are not able to isolate. In the case of community was common on the weekends.

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 7 The short-hand question of “How bad?” would normally visit them on holidays and no way to track these numbers adequately, really means, “How bad were they beaten or during the summer. particularly when off-reserve populations hurt?” or “Will they make it?” Closing our borders also limited the flow are taken into account. As a First Nations Nearby towns and cities have shelters of drugs coming into the reserves. An elder person, I am always skeptical when the gov- for women and their families at risk. On said this may have been the only good thing ernment asks for this data without telling the reserve, where shelters are often not an that came from the pandemic. It is forcing me the reasons why they need it. The long option, a family member’s home is the most our leaders to look closely at what we need to history of under-reporting Indigenous reali- likely safe place. The movement of women address this issue in the long-term. ties continues. and children, of course, leads to overcrowd- Another benefit of closing the bor- It is critical that we address infrastruc- ing and accounts for some of the multi- der was that it gave the community back ture and mental health issues on reserves. family situations evident on reserves. some autonomy to make decisions. They Many of these issues were pre-existing prior

A member of the Moose Cree First Nation on Moose Factory Island received her first dose The current third of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. She was one of wave is hitting 10 people to receive it on remote Indigenous January 8, 2021. (Photo from Weeneebayko Area Health Authority via northernontario. communities ctvnews.ca) particularly hard.

There is also the isolation imposed decided when restrictions could be eased to and amplified during the pandemic. by the pandemic and the mental distress or enforced. Our governments distributed Government has been complacent for too generated by it. Many First Nations were food, water, firewood and other supplies long and provided bandaid fixes rather challenged by the loss of support systems to community members. We have been than long-term sustainable solutions. First and threats to family cohesion. Commu- hearing stories of some First Nations abus- Nations, including my own home communities could not hold a traditional burial ing this control and not allowing people to nity, have suffered a great deal over the past for those who have passed on, nor could leave. We have to remember these enforce- year during this pandemic. It will take years people be there to support those who were ments are in place to keep our communi- to fully recover. grieving. ties safe and not to control people unduly. MLI’s COVID Misery Index shined Ceremonies like sweats, feasts or round But not all First Nations people respect the a much-needed spotlight on the misery dances and powwows have been cancelled. authorities. generated by the pandemic – including on These gatherings are integral to our tradi- Our elders are worried about the bor- areas (such as response or economic con- tions and ceremonies and are far more com- ders opening. Our communities believe sequences) that are frequently overlooked. mon, outside the pandemic, than many that when the floodgates open, we are going Yet, as this review shows, some communi- non-Indigenous people recognize. Losing to see more drug use and more deaths by ties fared much worse than others in terms that interaction has challenged all of us. We overdose. Such fear is well-founded. After of misery. As we look back on 2020-21, we have had interactive powwows, but it’s not all, Statistics Canada released a report that need to realize that the unwillingness to the same as sitting in an arbor watching the showed an increase in the number of non- address fundamental challenges made the dancers in person. COVID-19 deaths because of increased pandemic much worse than it had to be for Many communities decided to iso- substance use. First Nations across Canada. late members by closing reserve borders to We will likely never know the actual almost all travel. This meant limited access number of suicides, drug overdoses or heart Melissa Mbarki is the Policy Analyst and Outreach to family members. Personally, I have only attack (health-related) deaths that occurred Coordinator at MLI. She is from the Muskowekwan seen my family twice last year, though I on reserves during the pandemic. There is First Nation.

8 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute COVER FEATURE

LOUIS ST-LAURENT Getting the job done Photo: Public domain | searcharchives.vancouver.ca Public Photo:

At a time when Canada has s a teenager growing up in the 1970s, I was rampant) but the general zeitgeist was one often felt as though much of the pop where people believed that those who worked lost the ability to “get things A culture of the time was obsessed with the 1950s. towards progress were rewarded. done,” Louis St-Laurent’s No doubt the boomers in their 30s (and their The 1950s soon became a distant memory, record as prime minister parents) were already feeling nostalgic for a however. Forty years later, and in the midst of a and as a politician is humbler time when Rock ‘n Roll was a little pandemic, perhaps it’s time to rediscover them simpler and when people could easily tell what again, particularly in terms of governance – the worth remembering. was left from right. It was hardly a period when key ingredient to realizing advancement. The hardships were erased (polio and tuberculosis government of Louis St-Laurent has a lot to teach Patrice Dutil still ravaged certain populations and racism us in this regard about getting things done.

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 9 As part of his campaign for reelection hand. It was a big deal because nobody an unimpeachable character and a man of in 1957, Louis St-Laurent made a cam- came to Wainfleet back then,” she remem- vision. Part bulldozer, part psychologist, paign swing through the Niagara region bered. “‘Uncle Louie’ was revered by the part cajoler, part hard-nosed realist and part and stopped in Wainfleet in early June. Davis family who were staunch Liberals at idealist, St-Laurent got things done with Campaigns in those days were not driven that time. But we had statesmen then, not minimal flash seeking no other reward than by opportunities to win national television politicians.” the opportunity to do more. coverage, but rather involved good old Janice Davis Muirhead’s memory prob- Canadians, he knew, wanted new glad-handling with folk in the small towns ably speaks more eloquently than most things. They emerged from the Second and opportunities to talk about what was pundits as to what is wrong about politics World War with an appetite for change working and what was going wrong with and governance today. There is widespread and the Mackenzie King government’s the country. Wainfleet sits a few kilometres discussion as to whether Canada has lost offer of a “baby bonus” went a long way to from Lake Erie and St-Laurent was sure the ability to “get things done.” Some help care for growing families. The Cana- to talk up the dramatic improvements his think it’s a question of simply having a dian economy sputtered for a few years but government had brought to the St. Law- stronger political class of “statesmen,” and by the late 1940s was producing goods for rence Seaway. I think there’s merit to this view. But how a vastly expanding American market and

There is widespread discussion as to whether Canada has

lost the ability to Canada/PA-123988 Library and Archives (above) Louis St-Laurent greets “get things done.” children; (left) St-Laurent meets L.L. “Ray” Davis on the campaign trail in Wainfleet, ON, 1957. Photo by Betty Davis (Allan Williams Private Collection)

When he arrived, St-Laurent was can the class of politicians be changed? The an insatiable appetite in Western Europe greeted by Lehman Laurier “Ray” Davis, country is waiting for a new type of poli- as countries rebuilt. The national debt was the Clerk of Wainfleet Township. Davis tics, much as it did in 1896, 1921, 1949, enormous, but Canadians were open to was a public servant, but that did not stop 1958 and 1968. Surely, the pandemic has people of vision. him from being active in the local Liberal made it so, but only in the sense that it Louis St-Laurent was the best of them organization and he was excited to wel- has aggravated a worsening condition. In and among the many things his government come the prime minister. (Davis was given considering a response, I think that Louis tackled, the task of “getting things done” his middle name in honour of the Liberal St-Laurent’s record as prime minister and was key. Within a hundred days of assum- prime minister who had just won the 1900 as a politician is worth remembering. ing office, St-Laurent made key decisions election a few days before he was born.) St-Laurent was the right man at the Mackenzie King simply could not do. He The Liberals were still favoured to win, but right time when he became prime minister approved Canada’s participation in NATO, polls were indicating that John Diefen- in November 1948. Nobody really expected eventually forward deploying air and baker’s message was resonating with voters. much from him, but he knew Canadians ground forces to Europe, and recognized Davis’s youngest daughter, Janice, better than they did themselves. He proved the state of Israel. In time, he also over- missed school that day to meet St-Laurent. to be a highly effective political operative, an saw the growing operational coordination “I remember being there and shaking his uncontested leader in cabinet, a self-starter, between Canadian and American air forces

10 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute Libraries and Archives Canada and Archives Libraries “Uncle Louie’s” deeds: (above) map of the expanded St. Lawrence Seaway, 1959; (right) the first Avro Arrow, RL-201, officially rolled out on October 4, 1957; McDonnell F2H-3 Banshees fly over HMCS Bonaventure in the late 1950s; (far right) the first vessels enter the St. Lambert Lock of the newly retooled St. Lawrence Seaway, April 25, 1959; building the TransCanada Pipeline.

(Library and Archives Canada/PA-210520; public domain (copyright expired)|commons.wikimedia.org) on air defence, the latter eventually paving the way for the standing up of the North American Air Defence Command under his Progressive Conservative successor.

St-Laurent also met with President via SunMedia expired) domain (copyright Public Harry Truman to discuss the possibility of retooling the St. Lawrence river in order to allow for bigger ships and for power generation. It had long been planned but was force, including new fighter squadrons, kept on hold because of fussy American new naval ships, such as the commission- objections. Truman pleaded that he was ing of an aircraft carrier (HMCS Bonaven- handcuffed by Congress, but St-Laurent ture, Canada’s last), and a launch into aero- persisted with the planning and gave a space engineering with the Avro Arrow. clear signal that Canada was to proceed Today, the federal government has made with its part of the necessary works, with commitments to rebuild the military but or without US participation. It took four seems fundamentally unable to deliver on years, and the Eisenhower administration, anything substantive. This ability to decide but the Americans finally agreed. By 1958, has now become unimaginable. most of the works had been accomplished. What has changed? Politics today is

The same could be said about the very different. The glare of the media (not Canada Library and Archives Trans-Canada Highway (1949), multiple least social media) magnifies every little bit radar lines for air defence (Pinetree Line of opposition to the point where it para- many ways that has left Canada vulnerable extension, Mid-Canada Line, Distant lyzes government. Politicians are afraid to to the wishes being championed in foreign Early Warning Line), the Canso Causeway plant firm stakes on important issues and capitals. Should Canada have its own capac- in Nova Scotia and, not least, the transcon- instead endlessly send mixed messages for ity to produce vaccines? Why can’t firm deci- tinental gas pipeline from Alberta to cen- fear of alienating some small segment of the sions be made on military procurement? tral Canada. St-Laurent’s gravest decision population. There are hard structural issues But are these unsolvable problems? was to go to war over Korea. This triggered also. Much of the tax dollar goes to health Canada’s health care system is mired in a massive, multi-billion-dollar rearmament care funding now and precious little money forty-year-old rules that guarantee inertia program that entailed a significant expan- is left to invest in infrastructure. Not least, and inefficiency, which at the same time sion of the Canadian army, navy, and air the world is inexhaustibly interlinked and in hamstring the government’s ability to do

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 11 things. And yet no leading politician is will- 1956. It also showed flash in helping the The government knew well that the ing to tackle the issue. On construction of Inuit community cope with terrible hard- intervention could create severe dislocations key infrastructure like pipelines, the respon- ships. St-Laurent recognized that the old in the northern communities. But it was sibility to consult (Indigenous people yes, approaches were not a match to the emer- worth doing, simply because the alternative but not only them) seems to discourage any gencies of starvation and disease. His vision was to allow these Canadians to die. The timely action. Instead, we get dithering. was to involve the Inuit as much as possible same logic was applied to the relocation of It does start with leadership. Louis St- in the development and administration of small and remote Inuit communities who Laurent and the ministers who surrounded the vast northern areas. He framed the ini- were facing death by starvation. Today, the him had a bold vision for the country and tiative by saying that it was something “the merits of the High Arctic relocations are were not afraid to build it. They welcomed Canadian people would want to have their being debated is nicely air-conditioned semi- capital and knew how to work with it government” do, so as to provide the Inuit nar rooms, but the St-Laurent government because they had worked in it (something “with opportunities for developing their had no such luxury. It just acted. The apol- few federal ministers today can include on talents and making themselves real citizens ogy expressed by the Harper government in their CVs). They unanimously applauded of the Canadian nation.” He appointed an 2010 over relocations and by the Trudeau

Inuit await medical examination aboard the C.G.S. C.D. Howe at Coral Harbour, N.W.T. (now Coral Harbour/Salliq, Nunavut) in July, 1951. Throughout the 1950s and 60s, the Canadian Coast Guard ship made summer medical trips to the Eastern Arctic. (National Film Board of Canada/Library and Archives Hungarian refugees arrive in Canada, 1957. Canada) (Archives of Ontario. F 1405-19-60, MSR.14500)

efforts to “build government” and to build energetic young fellow to lead the charge, government in 2018 over the tuberculosis infrastructure. The prime minister also one Jean Lesage (who became a transforma- interventions are the work of politicians. knew how to delegate to his ministers. He tive Premier of Quebec six years later). The policy of Northern Development could not resist the entrepreneurial flair of Lesage was distressed by reports of ill- and assistance to the Inuit was a microcosm C.D. Howe, his minister of everything, but ness and starvation and seized by his mis- of the St-Laurent government’s stance. Howe was only one of many get-it-done sion. A committee on Inuit issues (of course There was a moral imperative and fantastic ministers. St-Laurent was willing to see the it was called Eskimo Affairs in those days) administrative undertakings. Necessarily, federal government involved in university quickly narrowed the policy options, with mistakes were made. But it set an example funding, hospital funding, social security, speed being the key criterion. This was not of trying to find ways to work with the and aid to developing countries. He was a simple matter: concerns were expressed local population and set Canada on a path also quite happy to see the federal govern- about how the Inuit way of life might be of partnership with its northern popula- ment assume its responsibilities (and those affected. The language was modern and tion. In less than two generations, the Inuit of the provinces, if that was necessary) to inclusive compared to the paternalism and would have their own government. Canada deliver on those goals. The elaboration of racism expressed in the past. The St-Laurent received phenomenal benefits; so too did equalization payments demonstrated that government felt responsible to provide the the Indigenous population. That is the thoughts could translate into action. essentials of survival and created a Northern work of statesmen, not politicians. The can-do attitude of the federal gov- Health Services Division in the Department ernment was demonstrated in other areas. of National Health and Welfare. By 1955, Patrice Dutil is professor of politics and public It responded vigorously to help Hungarian over 800 Inuit were receiving treatment in administration at Ryerson University and a senior refugees find a place following the revolt of southern sanatoria. fellow at MLI.

12 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute LOUIS ST-LAURENT The forgotten lessons of Louis St-Laurent’s leadership

St-Laurent’s leadership helped modernize the idea of Canada in its support of new programs and international relations.

Patrice Dutil

canning the landscape of political reputations, the journalist Bruce SHutchison wrote that “no finer human being ever governed Canada and none has been so thoroughly misunderstood as Louis St-Laurent.” This was in 1964, seven years after the old Liberal leader had retired from politics. That judgment still stands. St-Laurent was born in Compton in 1882, studied law at Laval University and plunged into his profession, rising to become a leading barrister in Canada. Mackenzie King approached him to join the cabinet in November 1941; he said yes the day after Japan bombed Pearl Harbour. He was almost 60 years old (which in those days was old – the life expectancy for a man born at the same time was 40). But he was young in spirit. Within seven years, in November 1948, he reached the top of Disraeli’s proverbial “greasy pole” with the driest hands possible. In the spring of 1949, at age 67, he led the Liberals to their greatest victory ever. In 1957, most thought Canada’s best-known great-grandfather would win a third time and lead Liberals to a third consecutive decade in power. The Liberals won the popular vote but lost the election. John Diefenbaker formed a minority government. Louis St-Laurent was now 75 years old (and would live to the ripe old age of 91). Louis St-Laurent’s time as prime minister left a number of leadership lessons. Some have been retained, others not.

Above: Rt. Hon. Louis St-Laurent; below: with his cabinet 1. Age and experience matter. in 1953. St-Laurent came to electoral politics late in life and became prime (searcharchives.vancouver.ca/ CVA 78-043; Library and Archives Canada/C-65196) minister at an age far older than any other person, before or since. Age gave him an asset: he had nothing to prove. He had earned the respect 3. Attract and unleash the best cabinet members. of his peers and of the population. The key about St-Laurent was that he was not afraid to 2. Know yourself. have top talent around him: Lester Pearson, C.D. Howe, St-Laurent believed in what he knew and he said what he believed. He Paul Martin Sr., Jean Lesage, Jack Pickersgill, to name but was, like many people who rose to power in the West in the 1940s and the best known. The occasional threats to resign coming 1950s (Adenauer, Attlee, Ben-Gurion, De Gaulle, Eisenhower, Marshall, from ministers were met with a stony silence and the as- Masaryk, Truman), a man who had seen too much grief and wanted a surance that government could operate quite well without better world. them.

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 13 On almost every issue it touched, his government modernized the idea of Canada, either in its support of new programs or in its international relations.

4. Seek the best leadership of the Canada dotted its northern landscape with 10. Help Canada define itself. public service. three necklaces of distant early warning St-Laurent’s government oversaw a mas- St-Laurent knew how to manage compe- (DEW) stations. sive inflow of immigrants. He believed that tency. Good, dedicated people mattered to culture mattered and was willing to invest him and he mattered to them. As simple as 7. Build infrastructure. considerable political capital to crusade for it sounds, this can be most difficult to ac- St-Laurent oversaw a massive spending in- a variety of new national symbols. He Ca- complish. John Diefenbaker inherited the crease, taking on large infrastructure proj- nadianized the Governor General and cre- same team of mandarins, and simply could ects such as the St. Lawrence Seaway, the ated the Canada Council, to give but two not run his government effectively. Trans-Canada Highway, the Canso Cause- quick examples. way in Nova Scotia and, not least, the St-Laurent brought something new to 5. Be idealistic. transcontinental gas pipeline from Alberta government: an almost perfect mix of ide- St-Laurent was quite happy to challenge to central Canada. alism and realism. On almost every issue conventions. He openly talked about “val- it touched, his government modernized ues” in guiding Canada’s foreign policy. He 8. Build up provinces and regions. the idea of Canada, either in its support of was anti-communist, for sure, but he was St-Laurent was willing to see the federal new programs or in its international rela- also a humanist and an ardent believer in government involved in areas of provincial tions. It was, against all expectations, St- peace. St-Laurent reimagined the Com- jurisdiction to help the regions. He inno- Laurent who proved to be a key agent of monwealth of Nations, actively promoted vated in university funding and hospital modernity in this country. international aid by joining the Columbo funding. Not least, he introduced equal- Many of the things he did while in Plan, and promoted Canada as a voice – ization payments to ensure that all Cana- office continue to shape Canadian politics and an enabler – of peace long before the dians, no matter where they live, receive today – pipelines, defence, the place of Suez crisis in 1956. adequate and comparable government Canadian culture, the impact of immigra- support. tion, the nature of equalization payments, 6. Walk the talk. the imperatives of dealing with the North, Canada joined NATO a few months af- 9. Help the poor. to name but a few – are still with us and ter he became prime minister because, for The St-Laurent government introduced a Canadians today live with the ambitions him, internationalism means shouldering variety of poverty reduction programs for that St-Laurent first crafted. Yet no one responsibility. St-Laurent believed that the elderly, the disabled and the long-term would call themselves a “St-Laurent kind Canada should have a strong military and unemployed. He helped the Inuit battle of politician,” or a “St-Laurent Liberal.” showed that he meant it in expanding it tuberculosis in the North. The St-Laurent That is too bad: Canadians believed him rapidly during the 1950s. St-Laurent had government introduced universal pensions and supported his priorities. His leader- an aircraft carrier built, the HMCS Bo- for people over 70 years of age and older, ship lessons should resonate to this day. naventure, and became the father of the and 65 for people in demonstrable need. Canadian aerospace industry when his To help people save for retirement, he Patrice Dutil is professor of politics and public government invested in the developing spearheaded the creation of the RRSP. He administration at Ryerson University and a senior the Avro Arrow, a supersonic jet fighter. also introduced hospitalization insurance fellow at MLI. It was during his time in government that and equalization payments.

14 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute LOUIS ST-LAURENT Pipelines and national prosperity under the St-Laurent government

Canada has lost, as a nation, the “can-do” spirit that exemplified the St-Laurent years. We need a better sense of urgency, possibility and optimism.

Ken Coates In the post-war period, pipelines were

he regional pipeline debates of the but one part of a major expansion in T2010s – Northern Gateway, Keystone national infrastructure. XL, Trans Mountain, Energy East, Line 3 (Enbridge), and Coastal GasLink, among others – have shaped Canadian national political affairs in complex ways. The people of Alberta and Saskatchewan remain angry and disappointed with Ottawa’s approach. For its part, Justin Trudeau’s government sought, without success, to purchase social licence for pipelines through its expansive climate change agenda and its highly reluctant purchase of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain project. The result has been a Building the TransCanada Pipeline through Northern Ontario, 1957 nation bitterly divided and with a substantial (dcc-cdc.gc.ca) portion of the national economy at stake. Highly contentious pipeline debates in 1958, but the Liberals fell from power ticularly when issues related to major infra- are not new in Canada. In the 1950s, the the previous year. In 1958, John Diefen- structure, natural resource development, government of Louis St-Laurent threw its baker and the Progressive Conservatives and Canada-US relations were at play. The support behind the proposed TransCanada secured one of the largest electoral majori- legacy of post-war expansion proved to be Pipeline. Under the guidance of the influ- ties in Canadian history. The Liberals lost profound, sparking an equally bold plan by ential cabinet minister, C.D. Howe, the their hold on government because, in the the Diefenbaker government to promote government helped assemble a group of eyes of many in the country, they had suc- major developments in the middle and far Canadian and American partners to build cumbed to the arrogance of power. By forc- North. an all-Canadian pipeline to ensure the sup- ing through the legislation that enabled In the 1950s, Canadian governments ply of natural gas from Western Canada the development of the TransCanada pipe- got things done. The opposition to the Lib- to Eastern Canada. A parliamentary clash line, the Liberals irritated the parliamen- erals’ plan was more about how the Liberal unfolded in 1956, when the Co-operative tary opposition and angered electors who government proceeded than over the idea Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and demanded a more responsive government. of the pipeline. The CCF fought for public the Progressive Conservatives attacked the Before the 1956 pipeline debate, the ownership of the pipeline; the Tories wor- Liberals for trying to force through the con- confidence and decisiveness of the federal ried about American influence over a key tentious legislation. The St-Laurent gov- Liberal government had served the country piece of Canadian infrastructure. In the ernment went into the 1957 election with well. They were able to push through major post-war period, pipelines were but one part the burden of the pipeline approval process projects that transformed the country dra- of a major expansion in national infrastruc- symbolizing their alleged arrogance. matically. But the line between assertive ture that included major highways, airfields, Canada got its pipeline, which opened and arrogant government is a thin one, par- hydro-electric plants, and the St. Lawrence

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 15 Seaway. In short order, with pipelines figur- and he avoided simple statements or ulated a critique of industrialization. Indig- ing prominently in the evolving landscape, characterizations of the country’s challenges. enous peoples were not consulted, nor were the country launched a major expansion of He sought to mobilize private investment they included in the massive development resource development in the middle North, more than make open-ended commitments plans. Approval plans were, by the standards the development of key national roads and of government funding. He was, ultimately, of the 2020s, rudimentary and superficial. other facilities, and a rapid improvement in both cautious and effective in his promotion Ultimately, however, much of the contem- the country’s standard of living. of the business of building a stronger and porary infrastructure that underpins Cana- There are important similarities in the more economically robust country. da today was developed in the first decades situation facing Canada’s post-war govern- There is no such bold vision in Trudeau’s after the war. ment and the government today. Just as Canada in 2021, save for vague rhetoric Supporters of 21st century infrastruc- the Second World War liberated Ottawa to such as “build back better” that underlie the ture projects look back on the St-Laurent spend public funds freely, the 2020-2021 nation’s uncertain plans for future develop- era with considerable wistfulness. Contem- pandemic freed the Trudeau government ment. The government is willing to spend porary political and approval processes are from almost all budgetary constraints. The vast sums of money but has difficulty find- cumbersome, expensive and unpredictable. government of Louis St-Laurent enjoyed widespread support in Canada, with a mandate to rebuild after the war and avoid a st widely feared return to the Great Depres- Supporters of 21 century sion. The plans were grandiose, especially in infrastructure projects look back the context of the late 1940s and 1950s, and included public housing initiatives, major on the St-Laurent era with urban developments, and the infrastructure considerable wistfulness. needed to sustain the modern industrial state. Contemporary Canada reveals the long-term benefits and consequences of the major public investments and the combined ing projects to support that can be rolled Companies venture into the development government and private sector commitment out expeditiously. Yet there is no shortage of a major project with considerable ner- to modernizing the country. of real and urgent needs, ranging from rural vousness, knowing the fate of projects like Following the Second World War, and and northern Internet, much-needed road the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline or Enbridge’s much like Canada in 2021, federalism had and rail systems in northern Canada, urban Northern Gateway, but aware, too, of the tipped to the national government. While transit systems to match those of the world’s dozens of major mines, hydro-electric proj- the post-war era would eventually see the greatest cities, renewable energy projects, ects and other significant infrastructure empowerment of Quebec, Ontario, Alberta experimental investments in the resource investments that have proceeded through and British Columbia, it took some time for and energy sectors, low-cost housing sys- to completion. Furthermore, Indigenous the provinces to gain comparable authority tems, and appropriate commitments to the communities – almost completely ignored to the federal government. In the interim, as facilities required to support a 21st century in the immediate post-war period – find in 2021, the fiscal power rested with the Gov- innovation economy. themselves in prominent, court-supported ernment of Canada, and Louis St-Laurent Obviously, however, the 1950s and the positions in the approval and development capitalized on this fiscal authority and the 2020s are different worlds. After the Sec- of infrastructure projects. convening power of the national government ond World War, the western world rallied The current realities facing develop- to press for rapid economic development. behind a peacetime recovery that ushered in ers in Canada are more time-consuming, Canadians also forget that, in the late the greatest economic expansion in world costly, complex and beneficial than those 1940s and the decade that followed, Canada history. Canada, as a provider of raw miner- that shaped decision-making, investments lagged well behind the United States in als to a rapidly industrializing world, was a and government actions in the post-war wealth and opportunity and lacked a great primary beneficiary of America’s growth and era. But the idea that the country does not deal of basic infrastructure. St-Laurent, the rebuilding of Europe and East Asia. This get anything done is wrong, just as is the more pragmatist than poet, did not paint a growth happened without the intervention often-made suggestion that the empower- grand portrait of the nation he envisioned, of environmentalists, who had not yet artic- ment of Indigenous peoples would lock

16 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute down natural resource development. In which in turn spurred economic expansion ismatic leader, but he guided the country the complex realities of the 21st century, in the middle North. The government, too, through a time of remarkable and intense we confront a new world marked by the built from its central Canadian base, using transition, and he did so with a calmness economic uncertainties of the pandemic major government investments to improve and grace that has largely disappeared from and post-pandemic world, the transforma- the infrastructure and economic prosperity the Canadian political landscape. He was tive effects of rapid technological changes, of southern Ontario and southern Quebec. Prime Minister during a period of multi- and the rise of a new authoritarian super- Louis St-Laurent understood well the faceted pressures for change, ranging from power, which has not been shy in flexing its concerns of a nation that was proud of its rapid industrialization and the Cold War to newfound economic and military muscle, many contributions to the Allied war effort, the dramatic growth of cities and a sharp including through Chinese-funded infra- recognized the industrial system transition- increase in the national standard of living. structure under construction in many parts ing from wartime to peacetime operations, St-Laurent’s tenure was a time when Cana- of the world. In such an environment, the and understood the gathering power of the dians grabbed onto bold visions, particularly bold, confident national leadership exem- resource-rich western provinces. St-Laurent in terms of infrastructure and when govern- plified by Prime Minister Louis St-Laurent had a vision for a nation in need of rapid ment focused on getting the fundamentals is urgently required. transformation and improvements, able and of the Canadian economy right. Much of As Canadians contemplate the chal- ready to capitalize on the potential of the the prosperity that Canadians now take for lenges facing the Canadian government in post-war era. Yet the same cannot be said of granted was rooted in the St-Laurent years. 2021 and beyond, we should reflect on the the Trudeau government today, which has In the early decades of the 21st century, circumstances under which the St-Laurent struggled to effectively govern throughout Canadians have become used to the idea government operated. The world was recov- its tenure in power. that major projects are extremely difficult,

St-Laurent had a vision for a nation in need of rapid transformation and improvements, able and ready to capitalize on the potential of the post-war era.

ering from a devastating global war while While displaying a strong willingness to if not impossible. Early infrastructure struggling to come to terms with the Cold spend without much constraint, especially developments, including the TransCanada War. The spectre of a massive worldwide in the midst of a pandemic, the Trudeau Pipeline project, attracted considerable depression remained both a vivid memory government has proven far less adroit at response, even protests, but governments in and a real danger, with the fear of economic using this financial largesse to actually get the day pushed forward and got the work uncertainty worrying many people and gov- things done expeditiously – from infrastruc- done. Canada has lost, as nation, the “can- ernments. This, too, was an era of massive ture and energy projects to domestic vaccine do” spirit that exemplified the St-Laurent technological change, exemplified by jet and production. It has also proven unwilling to years and has become extremely cautious, space travel, a revolution in consumer elec- work closely with the private sector to fill even nervous, about tackling nation- tronics, new and expanding communica- many of the urgent needs facing the coun- building enterprises, draining the country’s tions technologies (particularly television), try in the 21st century. It would behoove sense of urgency, possibility and optimism. the advent of the nuclear era (with all its the current government to look back at Remembering the work of St-Laurent’s attendant existential dangers), and the early St-Laurent’s legacy, and to remember that government reminds us of the fundamental years of major societal transformations. vague rhetoric like “build back better” are and multi-generational importance of Canadians sought – and got – stability, no substitute for doing the hard work that national investments in infrastructure and with a practical and effective government governing requires. the contributions that these bold decisions that was free of nationalistic rhetoric. The Prime Minister Louis St-Laurent has make to Canada’s long-term prosperity. nation benefitted from surging internation- largely faded from the Canadian imagina- al demand for Canadian natural resources, tion. He was a manager more than a char- Ken Coates is a Munk senior fellow at MLI.

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 17 LOUIS ST-LAURENT How St-Laurent helped achieve universal hospital insurance

The St-Laurent government exercised leadership in continuing to drive forward a longer-term policy agenda that improved the country.

Gregory P. Marchildon

hat constitutes effective political Wleadership in a decentralized federation? This is a question to which I have returned time and time again in my career as a senior public servant and a policy scholar. I recently confronted this issue again while addressing Prime Minister Louis St- Laurent’s role in the establishment of universal hospital coverage in Canada. Usually overlooked because of the much greater attention paid to the introduction of universal medical care coverage a decade later, the introduction of hospitalization in the late 1950s was the major foundation of what would become known as Medicare in Canada. It was a poli- (Archives of(Archives 3-38-3-1-2.8) RG Ontario, cy that established the principles and archi- tecture of universal health coverage that we Prime Minister Louis St-Laurent shakes hands with premiers Leslie Frost (Ontario) and Maurice Duplessis (Quebec) at the Dominion-Provincial Conference in 1950 before the difficult take for granted today. negotiation of the national hospital insurance plan that lay ahead. This initiation and implementation of hospitalization required leadership at both the federal and provincial levels of govern- under Section 92(7) of the original British was equalization. In my mind, this was the ment and among both first ministers and North America Act, 1867, now incorporated signature policy of the St-Laurent govern- cabinet ministers. Although Canada is gen- into the Constitution Act, 1982. In 1955, ment, a landmark policy that earned St- erally perceived to be a more centralized the issue of whether the federal government Laurent’s Liberals no political points but federation in the 1950s, due to the expan- should encourage provinces to establish has done more to deliver national unity and sion of federal powers during the Second universal hospital coverage by providing regional equity in social programming than World War, it was still a relatively decen- shared-cost financing was raised at a first any other policy in the post-war era. tralized federation when compared to other ministers’ conference. Premier Maurice To the prime minister, however, hospi- federal countries in the world. This institu- Duplessis of Quebec argued that the federal talization was another kettle of fish. Aside tional dynamic requires more subtle forms government had no business interfering in from the problem of provincial jurisdiction, of federal leadership, especially in areas of provincial jurisdiction. St-Laurent had concerns about the policy, shared or provincial jurisdiction. Prime Minister Louis St-Laurent, including major misgivings about expand- When it comes to hospitalization, this though opposed to Duplessis on many ing the welfare state in a such a major way. was most certainly the case. The establish- fronts, was generally sympathetic to his Proponents of hospitalization tended to pre- ment, maintenance, and management of argument in this case. He preferred the fer the design based on the Saskatchewan hospitals had been placed under the exclu- federal government to focus in areas where model, operating since 1947, with the gov- sive jurisdiction of the provinces, as defined it had obvious jurisdiction. One example ernment as the sole payer of all hospital bills.

18 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute Like many in his cabinet, St-Laurent was on “uniform terms and conditions.” St-Lau- versal health coverage for all Canadians in more drawn to a less expensive (in terms of rent may not have accepted this logic, but 2018, the federal government insisted on public budgets) and more targeted approach, he deferred to his minister’s longstanding yet another study. Led by Eric Hoskins, the in which governments limited themselves experience and policy knowledge. Whatev- former Ontario health minister, the Advi- to subsidizing the cost of the very poor pur- er the ideological merits and demerits from sory Council on the Implementation of chasing private hospital care – an approach St-Laurent’s perspective, the Saskatchewan National Pharmacare conducted detailed that Saskatchewan Premier Tommy Douglas hospital program worked extremely well in studies and extensive consultations. derided as “tin cup medicare.” Then there practice and its design could therefore be In its final report in 2019, the Advisory was the enormous amount of time, energy, defended on pragmatic grounds. Council recommended that a single-payer and political capital that would have to be St-Laurent accepted Martin’s judg- design with national standards similar to expended to get a federal-provincial agreement that a majority of provinces would Medicare be applied to prescription drug ment on the principles and the intergovern- eventually accept federal insistence on coverage. This should have been enough mental financing of such a program. a few high-level national standards and to spur the Trudeau government into ini- Given all this, why did St-Laurent requirements including portability, all of tiating a program through internal work finally agree to exercise federal leadership which were placed in the Hospital Insur- on legislation and external negotiations in negotiating the deal through 1955, ance and Diagnostic Services Act. However, with the provinces. Neither has occurred. 1956 and the first months of 1957, and he also insisted that no federal money Nor has the government explicitly rejected the passage of legislation shortly thereafter would be forthcoming unless a majority of the Hoskins Report. In February 2021, that would establish hospitalization? The provinces, with a majority of the country’s Liberal MPs helped defeat a private member’s bill on pharmacare that would imple- ment the recommendations of the Hoskins Every democratically-elected government report. While arguing that his government has to balance short-term political interests remained committed to universal pharmacare, Trudeau argued that the bill infringed with longer-term policy ambitions. on provincial jurisdiction despite the fact that this is an area of shared jurisdiction where the federal government has a strong first and obvious reason is that it was in population, would accept the federal plan constitutional foothold. Finally, since 2015, his partisan political interests to do so. St- – a requirement that Martin and some Trudeau has never deferred to his successive Laurent’s government had been around for pro-Medicare premiers realized could kill health ministers on the policy itself, and almost a decade (and the Liberals in power the plan. We will never know whether this instead drives the issue entirely based on since 1935) and was looking tired. With an was St-Laurent’s actual intention, but this short-term political calculations. election due in 1957, St-Laurent felt that obstacle was soon removed by St-Laurent’s Every democratically-elected govern- something new like hospitalization might successor after the Liberal’s electoral defeat ment has to balance short-term political just win over new voters, particularly those to John Diefenbaker’s Progressive Conser- interests with longer-term policy ambi- who might otherwise vote for his main vatives in 1957. tions – a tradeoff the St-Laurent govern- left-wing rival, the Co-operative Com- Compare this to the games that have ment was well familiar with. However, monwealth Federation (CCF). been played by the current Trudeau gov- unlike the current government, St-Laurent The second more inspiring reason is ernment on the health file over the past exercised leadership in continuing to drive that St-Laurent was willing to listen to his six years. In the election of 2015, Justin forward a longer-term policy agenda that ministers, including Paul Martin Sr., Min- Trudeau promised national pharmacare. improved the country and the quality of ister of National Health and Welfare. Con- Instead of initiating a First Ministers’ Con- life of its citizens. The contrast in leader- trary to St-Laurent, Martin was keen on the ference and providing a detailed federal ship could not be sharper. Saskatchewan design. In his mind, only a proposal, the Trudeau government went single-payer financing spout paying the bills silent after winning the election. Although Gregory P. Marchildon is Professor and Ontario for a single-tier of hospitals (most of which a Parliamentary Committee dominated by Research Chair in Health Policy and System Design were private but non-profit) would ensure Liberal members ultimately recommended at the Institute of Health Policy, Management & full access to hospital care by all Canadians that prescription drugs be made part of uni- Evaluation, University of Toronto.

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 19 LOUIS ST-LAURENT St-Laurent’s diplomacy: The case of Newfoundland Louis St-Laurent was the leading Canadian behind the achievement of union with Newfoundland.

David MacKenzie

he day Louis St-Laurent was sworn in as Tprime minister on November 15, 1948, he was already deeply involved in the negotiations that would bring Newfoundland into the Canadi- an Confederation. It was an event he would later recall as the “most important achievement of my years in public life.” St-Laurent knew the file well and approached the issue with his usual even temperament, integrity, and sound judgment.

“The key to Mr. St. Laurent’s character,” collectionscanada.gc.ca wrote the influential journalist Bruce Hutchison in a 1949 article in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, “is his ability to sort out the essentials from the trivial, to see great affairs in simple terms.” Hutchison added that St-Laurent was “instinc- tively aware of public opinion, the limitation of government power, [and] the possible thing in a practical politics.” During his efforts to bring Newfoundland into Canada, he utilized all of these characteristics. St-Laurent’s approach to union with New- foundland was both pragmatic and shrewd. He weighed the pros and cons and concluded that Confederation was a good idea for both countries. Above: The delegation that The strategic value of Newfoundland was demon- negotiated the entry of strated during the Second World War and that Newfoundland into Confed- importance would continue long into the Cold eration, Parliament Buildings, June 25, 1947. War. The island was an important trading part- (Front - l.-r.): J.R. Smallwood, ner, its airspace was increasingly valuable, and, Hon. F. Gordon Bradley, in a more general way, union would strengthen Rt. Hons. W.L. Mackenzie King, Louis St-Laurent. Canada and put an end to a process begun in the (Rear, l.-r.): P.W. Crummey, 1860s. St-Laurent’s support for Confederation Rev. Lester Burry, T.G.W. Ashbourne, Hon. D.C. did not mean that political considerations or tac- Above: Prime Minister Louis St-Laurent and Hon. A.J. Abbott, G.F. Higgins, Walsh (seated) shake hands following signing of the tics were irrelevant, but once decided he believed J.J. McCann, C.H. Ballem, agreement, December 1948. that the government should move ahead on the Hon. H.F.G. Bridges. (Library and Archives Canada/PA-133280) matter without delay. (Library and Archives Canada/PA-128073)

20 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute At the end of the war, the British gov- minister of trade and commerce, chaired the St-Laurent and Gordon Bradley, a prominent ernment authorized the establishment of a sessions. Elmer Driedger, a Justice Depart- Newfoundlander and the newest member of National Convention in Newfoundland to ment official who sat in on many of the the Canadian cabinet. The two politicians debate various forms of government that meetings, later recalled the differences in carved the first strokes of the Newfoundland would then be placed before the country style and temperament between St-Laurent coat of arms on the blank tenth shield in the in a referendum. It was the first step in the and Howe, with the latter arriving at meet- arch of the tower – left empty for just such restoration of democratic government in ings only to declare: “Well, what’s on the an occasion after the rebuilding of the House Newfoundland, but in advance of that vote agenda today?” The Newfoundlanders would of Commons after the 1916 fire. It was right it was agreed to send a fact-finding mission bring up a problem or suggestion and Howe that St-Laurent should be asked to oversee to Ottawa to explore the possibility of union. would respond bluntly “No we can’t do that, the ceremonies, not only because he was Ottawa established a cabinet committee to what’s the next item?” St-Laurent was much prime minister but also because he was the oversee the process and St-Laurent, as secre- more the diplomat, Driedger remembered, leading Canadian behind the achievement of tary of state for external affairs, was appoint- and far more courteous. Things moved along union with Newfoundland. He provided the ed chair. From that moment, he assumed the more smoothly when he presided. leadership and a steady hand, responding to direction on the Canadian side of the whole process leading to Confederation. Over the next two years St-Laurent was deeply involved in the unfolding drama, balancing, on one side, the demands of the St-Laurent’s approach to union Newfoundlanders for better terms and, on with Newfoundland was the other, the financial resources available to the government and the domestic political both pragmatic and shrewd. ramifications if the government was seen to be making a too-generous offer to the new province. Added to the mix was an increasingly nervous Prime Minister Mackenzie King who saw political risks around every Throughout the process St-Laurent problems with flexibility but always with the corner and advocated caution. St-Laurent, chaired most of the joint meetings, steered ultimate goal firmly in view. conversely, became more determined. He the debate in cabinet, and spoke for the gov- It was an extraordinary achievement believed that the two countries were mov- ernment in Parliament (and he ultimately and must rank as one of the most remark- ing towards union and that it would have oversaw the establishment of the new provin- able moments in Canadian history: the been irrational to turn back at this stage. cial government in St. John’s). Near the end, union of two countries, achieved with The only question was the cost, but for St- as the negotiations faltered and nearly col- little protest, without a single shot fired Laurent, as for many Canadians, it was a lapsed on the financial issues, he intervened in anger, and with no one killed before, price worth paying. decisively in cabinet and endorsed the inclu- during, or after its implementation. St- The Newfoundlanders voted in favour sion of a clause in the Terms of Union call- Laurent never wavered from his position of of Confederation in the second of two refer- ing for the establishment of a royal commis- support for Confederation and was willing endums in the summer of 1948, and Otta- sion, within eight years of union, to examine to make what he believed to be a generous wa welcomed the appointment of a New- Newfoundland’s financial situation and offer to the Newfoundlanders. As he said foundland delegation to undertake the final determine whether additional assistance was in the House of Commons on June 19, negotiations. By this time St-Laurent had necessary. That term broke the impasse over 1948, “I think we would have been remiss become prime minister, further enhancing subsidies for the new province and enabled in our duty to future generations of Cana- his prestige and authority in the proceed- the negotiations to proceed. Without it, dians not to have done so.” It was a dem- ings. For the most part the talks were cor- Confederation might never have happened. onstration of prime ministerial leadership dial and reasonable, and there was willing- Newfoundland officially joined Cana- not often seen in Canadian politics. ness to compromise on both sides. da on March 31, 1949 and in Ottawa the St-Laurent usually spoke for the Cana- moment was marked with a ceremony at the David MacKenzie is professor of history at Ryerson dians, although on occasion C.D. Howe, the base of the Peace Tower, with speeches from University.

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 21 LOUIS ST-LAURENT Canadian Museum ofCanadian Museum Contemporary Gallery National Photography of fonds, Canada Library and Archives St-Laurent and the revitalization of rural Canada With a growing chasm between rural and urban Canada, and between Central Canada and the north and west, we can look to St-Laurent for inspiration to bring this country together.

Ken Coates and the post-war rebuilding held fear of a and provincial politics and had significant return to the pre-1939 economic troubles. influence over national affairs. efore the Second World War, rural However, through the tenure of Prime In the 1940s and 1950s, all political BCanada was trapped in a long and Minister Louis St-Laurent, much of rural parties worked hard to cultivate rural vot- disastrous depression, particularly in the Canada instead experienced a decade of ers and to respond to their needs. In his prairie west. The war ended the immediate widespread opportunity. first election as Liberal Party leader, Louis economic crisis, replacing it with a military Throughout war the natural resource St-Laurent swept to a resounding victory, conflagration that engulfed the country economy and Canadian agriculture gener- securing 191 seats and a large majority. His for six years. At the end of the conflict, the ally stayed strong, but the percentage of the showing in the prairie west – 5 in Alberta, people of Canada stared into the unknown, population living in rural areas fell almost 10 14 in Saskatchewan and 11 in Manitoba uncertain if the Great Depression would percent between 1941 and 1951. The rela- – provided evidence of strong rural sup- return or if the country could make a tive decline continued through the 1950s, port. There was discontent, shown by the constructive transition to a peacetime reflecting the rapid growth of the country’s economy. largest cities. But in post-war Canada, unlike Above: A National Film Board of Canada For rural Canada, with memories of the the country in the 2020s, rural constituen- photostory on the Trans-Canada Highway, July dust bowl still strong, the end of the war cies still played an influential role in federal 14, 1959

22 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 10 Social Credit members elected from eral government take increasingly bold steps which had a comparable impact on the social Alberta, but Liberals had strong rural con- into the realm of social programming. and economic development of the Great stituencies across the country. As Prime Minster, Louis St-Laurent Lakes when it opened in 1959. The St-Laurent governments played a focused more on the country’s physical infra- As Canada addresses the current chal- major role in the improvement of the qual- structure than on the expansion of the social lenges of rebounding from the COVID-19 ity of life in rural Canada through the late welfare system, although he continued many pandemic, it is useful to reflect on the les- 1940s and the 1950s. And more broadly, the of his predecessor’s initiatives. During the sons learned in the St-Laurent years. In con- transitions in rural Canada from the 1930s war, Canada had developed a robust indus- trast to the 1950s, rural Canada’s political to the 1990s have been profound, including trial system that had sustained the Allied stature is significantly lower in the 2020s. a dramatic rebound from the Great Depres- military effort and provided a strong foun- The empowered rural ridings of the 1950s sion, rural electrification, the improvement dation for the shift to a peacetime economy factored prominently in national politics; of country roads, expanded educational and driven by domestic consumption, particular- the minority Liberal government of 2021, health services, advanced mechanization of ly of cars, suburban homes, household appli- rooted largely in the major cities, has no agriculture, and a general improvement in ances, and consumer electronics. But the such engagement with rural Canada. the quality of life across the country. country was far from complete. Private travel Canada’s current approach to rural regions lacks a St-Laurent-like commitment to rural revitalization. A small effort to expand rural Internet service and con- Canada’s current approach to rural tinuing commitments to address First regions lacks a St-Laurent-like commitment Nations’ water crises compare poorly to multi-billion-dollar investments in urban to rural revitalization. transit systems and major industrial support programs directed at the cities. The patchwork of federal economic programs This same time period saw both the between major southern cities was poor and targeted at rural areas lack the focus and rapid expansion in rural production (agri- unfinished. The middle North, to say noth- long-term foundation for rural empower- cultural, forestry and mining) and sharp ing of the Far North, was not well-connected ment that were the hallmarks of Liberal transitions in rural living. Communities to the rest of the country, leaving much of plans in the 1950s. that developed along railways and near the nation’s resource potential unrealized. The post-war years are not the 2020s grain elevators in the 19th and early 20th In a measure of fundamental practi- and it’s wrong to expect that the Trudeau centuries declined dramatically toward the cal and symbolic importance, the Liberal government would adopt the strategies end of the 20th century, largely as a result government announced the Trans-Canada that worked after the Second World War. of improved transportation systems. Highway Act in 1949. This project, which But it is important to remember that a gov- The post-war boost to rural Canada led to the opening of the highway in 1962, ernment like that under Louis St-Laurent, owed a great deal to the infrastructure made private automobile travel easier and with solid support from across the coun- investments of the St-Laurent govern- more dependable from the Atlantic to the try, with strength in both cities and rural ment. These investments sought, in turn, Pacific, replacing the uneven quality of areas, stands in sharp contrast to current to enhance national unity by binding the existing connectors and providing tangible realities, with party alliances separated by country together, in the spirit of the Cana- proof of national unity. For many parts of rural/urban divides along with ideological dian Pacific and the Canadian Northern/ rural Canada, from the Maritimes through and partisan differences. National Railways. Nation-building had to British Columbia, the Trans-Canada Perhaps this is the core lesson from the become an obsession under William Lyon Highway represented a crucial development. St-Laurent government: We need a new kind Mackenzie King, who like many of his Towns and small cities found themselves of politics that can bring together urban and predecessors worried about national unity. with ready access to larger centres and the rural Canada, and create a new commitment The advent of universal social programs, enhanced economic opportunities attached to the future of Canadians who have been led by the Mother’s Allowance in 1945, was to improved transportation systems. This left behind by today’s leaders. matched by a bevy of post-war initiatives, major and unifying effort was matched by including urban housing, that saw the fed- a commitment to the St. Lawrence Seaway, Ken Coates is a Munk senior fellow at MLI.

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 23 COVID-19 One year on: What have we learned from the COVID-19 crisis?

When it comes to getting things done, the federal government’s performance has been somewhat less than satisfactory. flickr.com/photos/pmtrudeau

Brian Ferguson platitudes wear thin pretty quickly. Anyone who seriously thinks that we need a federal year into the COVID-19 crisis, what While different government-run single pharmacare plan (as Ahave we learned? Well, we’ve learned provinces have opposed, perhaps, to a variant of a Swiss- that pretty much the only thing the federal style system) might give some thought to government is good at is spending money. displayed different Ottawa’s management of our stocks of per- Actually, not even that, since to be good at degrees of sonal protective equipment (PPE) before, spending money carries with it the implica- and early on in, the COVID crisis. tion of spending money the right way in the competence, they all There are other policy lessons that come right places. Better, perhaps, to say that it’s outshone the feds. out of the pandemic, less dramatic but in the good at signing cheques. Lots and lots of long-run more important. Perhaps the first large cheques for lots of things, which may of them must be that some really important or may not be directly pandemic-related. Monetary Theory seems to have taken firm stuff is really boring, and some really boring The feds, although perhaps not to root in certain offices in Ottawa. stuff is really important. Like, for example, the same degree as their American coun- When we turn from signing cheques pandemic monitoring and modelling. Nei- terparts, seem to have decided that any to getting things done, though, the federal ther is sexy but both are critical and, Impe- spending they feel like doing can be government’s performance has been some- rial College London or IHME out in Wash- lumped under the heading of “pandemic what less than satisfactory. While different ington State not withstanding, both are the recovery.” They also seem to have decided provinces have displayed different degrees sort of thing that the Public Health Agency that pumping up federal spending will of competence, they all outshone the feds, of Canada (PHAC) should be mandated to have no lasting impact either on inflation probably because they’re the ones with the treat as ongoing priorities. or on the rate of interest. They probably constitutional responsibility for health care. These projects need to be done some- wouldn’t acknowledge it, but Modern When you’re actually on the front line, where like the PHAC partly because

24 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute they’re not the sort of thing that academic To that end, all sorts of other health maceutical sector (in this case vaccines, institutions (even those that are currently care needs had to be postponed until but had a cure come along before the vac- doing them) can be expected to do in the COVID was under control, set aside cines we would have been saying the same long-run. That’s partly because, as academ- whether the most dire of those predic- thing about it). We will never, regardless of ic research funded sources find themselves tions came to pass. Yet why were we in that what some academic commentators seem to having to slice the meat more and more situation in the first place? Could it have believe, be able to be autonomous in vac- thinly, these are projects that grant review had anything to do with the fact that our cines, but it is true that having a sector that committees (made up of academics from hospitals have dangerously high occupancy makes some of the ingredients for vaccines outside the research funding agencies) are rates, in many cases regularly operating at – which is a key part of the global supply likely to rate as worthwhile but not top or above 100 percent occupancy? That’s chain – would be a useful bargaining chip priority. And more importantly, doing that not something that only happens in an against, say, EU vaccine nationalism. kind of research long-term is a risky way to emergency; for many of our major acute But our long-term obsession with acquire the journal publications necessary care hospitals, it’s the norm. squeezing the cost of medicines as low as to build an academic career (and again, We’ve been told for years that we can, we can has not exactly made Canada an apologies to anyone who’s managed to do with our single payer government-run inviting place for the pharma sector to just that – keep it up as long as you can). system, keep the cost of health care low. want to operate in. Pharma aren’t angels: This kind of work needs to be done at But the policies that have aimed at doing they’re profit maximizing firms and they’ll a very high level, ideally by people who are prepared to build a career of it. There are federal agencies where that sort of career We need to better recognize the risks and was once possible, although in recent years the mark of a successful career in Ottawa trade-offs inherent in our public health seems to involve jumping divisions and measures against COVID. departments so often that there’s no time to acquire any kind of deep understanding of a single department’s responsibilities. that have tended to be cut-the-fat policies. play the game with that as their objective, And why Ottawa and not the provincial We’ve been cutting the fat for at least 40 and we have to keep that in mind. As for departments of health? Here the fact that years – have we perhaps been cutting into the idea of having the federal government the provinces are in the front line is a draw- muscle and bone? run that sector, they might get to it after back: long-term analysis is easily set aside Think about a firm which produces a they’ve resolved the thorny issue of build- when bushfires need to be fought. There physical commodity. It can produce for ing supply ships for the navy. are provinces that have excellent modelling immediate sale, but it can also produce for We were seriously unprepared for units, but the feds have, at least in theory, inventory, and it can draw on inventory the COVID crisis, in large part because the luxury of having more resources and when faced with an upsurge in demand, politicians like to do things that can be fewer distractions. whether anticipated or unexpected. How condensed into dramatic sound bites or Other health care areas need some seri- does a hospital tackle that upsurge? It can tweets. There’s a lot that government does ous re-thinking in light of the pandemic carry inventory of medical material, cer- very badly, but there are some things that experience. The tendency of both federal and tainly, but its primary inventory has to it can do well. The key lesson of this pan- provincial politicians to regard health care be excess capacity. Clearly, we don’t want demic is that in the interim before the next purely as a cost centre is one. We’ve been to over build, but operating above full one (and remember that the next one will told, repeatedly, through the past year that occupancy – relying on hallway medicine be completely different from this one) we our efforts must be directed towards pro- – isn’t even good enough for government need to stop and think about that very tecting the health care system (in this case work, let alone for a health care system carefully. primarily hospitals) from being overloaded. that permits no exit to non-government Flatten the curve – the idea wasn’t to elimi- providers. Brian Ferguson is professor of economics at the nate COVID, it was to stretch the pandemic The same obsession with cost cutting Department of Economics and Finance at the out over a long enough period that intensive applies to pharmaceuticals. We talk now University of Guelph, and a faculty associate of the care units would be able to cope. about the need to develop our own phar- Canadian Centre for Health Economics.

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 25 HEALTH The perils of a failure to innovate in confronting pandemics

We need to reimagine our approach to big data to address communicable and non-communicable diseases.

Tarun Katapally influenza pandemic, it is also not difficult to dictional boundaries – a losing formula espe- fathom a reality where the mortality rate is cially with a highly transmissible virus that he COVID-19 pandemic has left much higher in general. Perhaps more scar- knows no boundaries. Nevertheless, there Tus catching our breath, literally as a ily, what would be the effect on our society if is a larger systemic issue at play that health society suffering from debilitating effects the mortality rate were similar across all age systems need to come to terms with, if they of the virus, as well as figuratively as health cohorts, including children and the work- intend to retain their current role; it is the systems are barely able to cope with the force? Without minimizing the devastating fact that we live in a digital world, where we exacerbation of existing public health impact this pandemic has had on our way communicate with each other using sophis- problems. Our health systems weren’t ready of life and the millions of preventable deaths ticated digital tools, and exchange big data for the impact of this pandemic, just as they globally, one could be forgiven to think that constantly. weren’t innovating to address longstanding we might have escaped a truly global catas- Coordination of public health response endemics like mental illness, and resurgent trophe this time round. in a health crisis such as the COVID-19 epidemics such as obesity. The stark reality is that this pandemic has heightened the negative impact of existing endemics and re-emerging epidemics. This pandemic has heightened the In the understandable clamor of coun- negative impact of existing endemics tries eager for vaccines, the inescapable politics of mask mandates, and the rightful and re-emerging epidemics. focus on the depleted global economy, we aren’t asking ourselves a basic question – why weren’t we better prepared for this pandemic? Living in a globalized world, global health Hypothesizing that we got lucky, have pandemic – from triaging of potential cases is a local issue. Even if this self-evident fact we learned any lessons that would help us within their homes and testing individuals escapes public policy and national security prepare not only for a potentially world- at risk to addressing misinformation in real- calculations, what should disappoint us is altering pandemic, but also the endemics time and tracking vaccine response – could the inability of our advanced western health and epidemics that we have learnt to live be made highly efficient if health systems systems to respond rapidly to an existential with? The disparate pandemic responses created digital pathways to directly engage threat, which could have been far worse. across the world make it evident that we citizens. Similarly, monitoring for illness, Perhaps that is not entirely fair as our 21st are, at the moment, unable to effectively co- whether communicable or non-communi- century health systems are restricted by 20th ordinate our strategies, policies, and activi- cable, can be enabled by developing ethical century public policy. ties – an undeniable truth that lays bear our engagement policies that emphasize citizen It is not difficult to imagine a pandemic human deficiencies despite the technological data sovereignty. Perhaps most importantly, scenario where the R0 of the virus from its and scientific advances in the past decades. in preparation for future crises, precision inception is far higher. The fast-emerging This inability to coordinate is worsened medicine tools using artificial intelligence virus variants that are more readily transmis- by the silos of our health systems, which are can be used to not only prevent illness by sible provide evidence for this eventuality. designed to internalize errors, rather that Looking back over 100 years to the 1918 communicate and coordinate across juris- Continued on page 35

26 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute CANADIAN ACADEMIA The crisis of academic freedom in Canada and how to address it

There is no alternative to proactive, principled and persistent government intervention to restore academic freedom.

Eric Kaufmann

cademic freedom for political minori- Aties is in crisis in Canada and the wider Anglosphere. Despite a sharp rise in no-platforming and attempts to silence academics in the US, Britain and Canada since 2015, comparatively few incidents have been reported. Instead, the biggest problem is a chilling effect experienced by political minorities, notably conservatives and so-called “gender-critical feminists” who believe in the biological basis of womanhood. Many centrists, alongside some leftists who study Israel and the Middle East, also face restrictions. This intolerance comes both from threats of disciplinary action and via political discrimination from peers. The loss of intellectual freedom affects thousands of academics and students and is the core of the problem. academics support the progressive aims of My new report for the Center for the the activists even if they have qualms about Study of Partisanship and Ideology shows the authoritarianism of their methods. that campus-based threats to academics’ There is good The structure of public opinion among freedom to research and teach are consider- news: few Canadian social sciences and humanities able. Based on eight surveys of academics (SSH) academics reveals this cross-pressure. and graduate students across Canada, the academics On the one hand, Canadian academics pri- US and Britain, it represents the largest support cancel oritize freedom of speech over social justice survey-based study ever conducted into aca- by a 53-34 margin, similar to the US. Yet demic opinion about dismissal campaigns, culture. Canadian SSH academics support manda- political discrimination, chilling effects and tory race and gender quotas for reading lists self-censorship. It reveals the nature and more than they oppose them, by a margin extent of the problems of censorship and report controversial findings touching on of 48-29, broadly echoing American find- bias in academia from the perspectives of race and gender. However, a large group ings. This impinges on the freedom of aca- both perpetrators and victims. of around 30 to 60 percent do not actively demics to set their own reading lists and There is good news: few academics sup- oppose cancellation in each scenario. This thereby violates academic freedom. port cancel culture. Less than 10 percent mirrors American and British findings and While favouring illiberal progressive of Canadian academics backed each of five shows that there is considerable academic initiatives like mandatory ‘decolonization’ hypothetical campaigns to fire scholars who tolerance for cancel culture. After all, many of reading lists, academics do not want

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 27 to punish dissidents too severely: just 11 leftward. A large minority of Canadian aca- to 10 to 25 percent among left-wing faculty. percent of North American supporters of demics discriminate against conservatives in Lack of freedom in casual conversation is quotas favour firing non-conformists or hiring, promotion, grants and publications. even greater than in research and teaching: cancelling their courses. Most (63 percent) Forty-five percent of Canadian academics just 15 percent of Canadian academics say instead prefer ‘softer’ forms of pressure such would not hire a known Trump supporter, a Trump-supporting academic would feel as forcing dissenters to take bias awareness which is also true of four in 10 American comfortable expressing their beliefs to a col- training or applying peer pressure. academics, while one in three British aca- league, about the same as in the US. Just 18 But these social pressures are experienced demics would discriminate against a Brexit percent of Brexit-supporting SSH academics as coercive by dissenters. This helps account supporter. This is not because academics are in Britain say they would openly express sup- for why a significant share of conservative more biased than non-academics or the left port for Brexit. academics in my surveys report being social- discriminates more than right. In fact, my The result is a chilling effect. Around ly pressured for the content of their research, work shows there is a similar level of political six in 10 conservative Canadian academ- teaching or public statements. An impor- bias in all these groups. That said, when the ics in the social sciences and humanities say tant minority also report being charged or left outnumbers the right 14-1, as is true in there is a hostile climate for their beliefs in

As a more authoritarian cohort enters the ranks of academia, the threat to the freedom of political minorities is likely to intensify.

threatened with discipline. In the US (as my survey of Canadian SSH academics, and their department. This compares to just 9 I don’t have Canadian data), one in three people’s views are apparent in their work, percent among left-wing faculty in Canada. conservative academics and PhD students discrimination falls heavily against the right. In the US and Britain, 75 percent of conser- reports being disciplined or threatened with Discrimination also occurs in collegiate vative academics in the SSH fields report a disciplinary action for the content of their interactions. Just 27 percent Canadian aca- hostile climate. research, teaching or public commentary. demics would be comfortable having lunch This feeds into the graduate student The problem is not fading away, but with a gender-critical scholar who opposes recruitment pipeline: 53 percent of conser- it is likely to get worse if nothing is done. the idea of trans women accessing women’s vative SSH graduate students in a combined Why? Because Millennials are a less tolerant shelters. This is very similar to results from Canadian, British and American sample say generation than Xers or Boomers. Younger the US and Britain and is lower even than that their political beliefs would make a dif- academics are no more left-wing than their the 37 percent of Canadian academics who ficult fit with an academic career compared elders but are twice as likely as those over 50 would be comfortable sitting down with a to under 7 percent of leftists and centrists. to support dismissing controversial profes- known Trump supporter. This also suggests My surveys show that conservative MA sors, with 41 percent of Canadian SSH aca- that gender-critical feminists face the most students self-select away from academia at demics under age 40 supporting at least one severe discrimination of any political minor- significantly higher rates. In the UK, I also of four hypothetical dismissal campaigns. ity. In Britain, they are the group that is most find that conservative academics retire ear- Canadian PhD students, 44 percent of likely to be no-platformed. lier than their leftist counterparts. whom back at least one dismissal campaign, The combination of punishment and This reproduces a political monoculture. are even more intolerant; this is similar to discrimination against dissenters means that Seventy-three percent of Canadian SSH aca- findings in the US and Britain. As a more political minorities are careful about what demics sampled from the 40 top-ranked uni- authoritarian cohort enters the ranks of aca- they say and write. Among conservative aca- versities in the country identify as left-wing, demia, the threat to the freedom of political demics in the social sciences and humanities, with just 4 percent identifying as right-wing, minorities is likely to intensify. 56 percent of Canadian conservatives, 70 a 73-4 ratio. In the US, across the top 100 There is also a longstanding problem of percent of their American counterparts and universities, the numbers are almost identi- political discrimination, which has grown 50 percent of British conservatives self-cen- cal, at 73-5. In Britain, across all universities, worse as the faculty has tilted increasingly sor in teaching and research. This compares the ratio is 62-7. Seven percent of Canadian

28 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute academics voted for the Conservative Party of American universities maintain speech against political discrimination and safe- compared with 36 percent of the public, and codes that violate the First Amendment. guarding public commentary. The white 52 percent favoured increased immigration Universities pay lip service to academic paper explicitly mentions that “emotional compared to 13 percent of the public. How freedom, but when this collides with the safety” as a rationale will not be accepted such a skewed group can accurately under- demands of activists who leverage loosely as a reason to limit speech. The Aca- stand the national population is an open worded policies on harassment, diversity or demic Freedom Champion and their staff question. university reputation, academic freedom is will have the power to levy fines on non- We are now in a spiral, in which pun- often sacrificed. compliant institutions. This could involve ishment and discrimination create chilling Mutual aid associations like the Foun- receiving reports from whistleblowers and effects which keep dissidents out, produc- dation for Individual Rights in Education plaintiffs, combined with rapid intervening political homogeneity. This monocul- (FIRE) in the US and Free Speech Union tion. It should incentivize universities to ture increases the supply of radicals, the (UK, now in US) are vital, and are needed reject frivolous complaints and ensure that tolerance for cancel culture and the level of in Canada. Yet, even here, the onus is on the disciplinary apparatus is used very spar- discrimination against political minorities. the accused to fight back while activists ingly, and only for speech likely to infringe on the law. The latter is crucial for nipping authoritarianism in the bud. We are now in a spiral, in which punishment A Canadian equivalent should involve the creation of similar offices at the provincial and discrimination create chilling effects level to proactively ensure that universities in which keep dissidents out. receipt of public funds are adhering to the law on freedom of expression and not engaging in discrimination against political minorities. Some have complained that this This chills the intellectual climate still fur- are permitted to lay frivolous charges with represents a violation of the academic ther, in a feedback loop. impunity. As one American academic wrote, freedom in universities and student unions. Will the problem of progressive author- when it comes to administrative threats, “the However, when institutions are violating itarianism fix itself? Or will it fade away like process is the punishment.” Most dissidents individual rights, only the government McCarthyism did in the 1950s? On both will, reasonably, choose to self-censor. The can protect fundamental freedoms. When counts, the answer is no. only way to deal with chilling effects of this southern US universities discriminated The problem of progressive illiberalism kind is through active government auditing against black students in the early 1960s, on campus was noticed in the late 1960s. It of universities. the federal government had to temporarily has been embedded in university policy since This means we need an activist regu- override their autonomy. When some the late 1980s (via speech codes), persisting lator, as recommended in the UK govern- British public schools were captured by for close to four decades. Intolerance is an ment’s new policy paper on academic free- Islamists, the government had to take over inherent component of a cultural-left ideol- dom, which is likely to formally become law the schools. Individual autonomy trumps ogy that sacralizes historically disadvantaged later this year. This creates the position of institutional autonomy, especially where race, gender and sexual identity categories Academic Freedom Champion on the sec- institutions are publicly funded. and therefore does not permit such groups to tor regulatory body, the Office for Students. Likewise, today, there is no alternative to be offended. Universities are at the forefront This figure will act as an ombudsman for proactive, principled and persistent govern- of this secular creed and have been captured complaints arising from within universities ment intervention to restore academic free- by a self-fulfilling dynamic, which means and audit universities for non-compliance dom and tackle the pervasive chilling effects they cannot reform themselves. Only exter- with their duty to not only defend, but being felt so keenly by political minorities in nal intervention can break the spiral. actively promote, academic freedom. This the professoriate and student body. Statements of principles, such as also gives plaintiffs the opportunity to cir- those modelled on the Chicago Principles cumvent universities seeking to discipline Eric Kaufmann is a professor of politics at Birkbeck adopted by universities in Alberta and them for speech. College, University of London and is affiliated with Ontario, are a start. But on their own, UK regulation extends universities’ aca- the Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology they will have little effect. Ninety percent demic freedom duty to include protecting (CSPI), the Manhattan Institute and Policy Exchange.

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 29 ENERGY The “Tesla of LNG Plants” is right here in Canada We should explore the possibility of a national energy corridor transmitting Quebec and Labrador hydropower to western Canada.

The LNG gas terminal, Melkøya, near Hammerfest, Norway. Larry Lamsa | commons.wikimedia.org

Mike Priaro tized monitoring, analysis and optimization also electrified, the electricity demand for of the compressor trains. the entire project would consume all the hile Norway has embarked on an But no, Norway’s Hammerfest is not power BC’s Site C dam will produce. Wambitious program of electrifica- the “Tesla of LNG Plants” because the Kitimat LNG would be the greenest, tion of its oil and gas facilities, the “Tesla electric power used to drive Hammerfest’s lowest GHG-emitting LNG plant on Earth, of LNG plants” is not Norway’s Hammer- refrigeration compressors, despite much- as would GNL Quebec’s proposed Énergie fest LNG plant with its electric motor-driven touted local hydro, wind, and tidal power, Saguenay LNG Project at Port Saguenay. refrigeration compressors. The Equinor- is generated onsite by five natural gas-burn- Énergie Saguenay has some support from operated Hammerfest LNG plant, on an ing turbines. It is to be noted that one of the the Quebec government but, incompre- island 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle, turbines caused a serious fire at the plant in hensibly, has not obtained Alberta govern- has processed natural gas from the Snøhvit September 2020 resulting in all plant opera- ment and industry support even though it field in the Barents Sea since 2007. tions being shut down until October 2021. would exclusively use Alberta natural gas. Natural gas is conveyed in a 160-kilo- The “Tesla of LNG Plants” would be Natural gas liquefied into LNG using metre pipeline to the facility where the Canada’s proposed Kitimat and Saguenay hydropower will cut global GHG emissions greenhouse gas (GHG) carbon dioxide LNG projects which would use low-carbon in half, and eliminate almost all the air (CO2) is separated from the natural gas hydroelectricity to power the LNG plants. pollution, wherever it is exported as LNG and returned to the Snøhvit field where it is A lot of hydropower is required to run that displaces coal-fired power. In the worst injected in a separate formation under the green LNG plants. example, China, almost 70 percent of elec- reservoirs. The liquefied natural gas (LNG) For example, the hydropower needed tricity is still generated by burning coal. is exported in custom-built ships. for the Kitimat LNG plant would be two- Kitimat LNG and Énergie Saguenay Hammerfest’s three refrigeration com- thirds of the power that would be produced will be environmental and sustainable pressor trains are equipped with the world’s by BC’s under-construction Site C dam. energy global leaders that deserve all the largest, high-voltage, high-speed 65 mega- While Site C’s nameplate capacity is 1100 support industry and the British Colum- watt (MW) Siemens synchronous, variable- MW, it will have an average generating bia, Alberta, Quebec, and Canadian fed- speed, electric motors that provide high effi- capacity of about 650 MW. Each of Kitimat eral governments can muster. ciency levels and high availability compared LNG’s two process trains would require 200 It is a national shame that Quebec and to natural gas-driven refrigeration compres- MW. If the Pacific Trail Pipeline that would sors. Siemens also provides real-time digi- supply the natural gas for liquefaction was Continued on page 35

30 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute CANADA-CHINA RELATIONS

The threat of China’s retaliation should not be used as an excuse for Canada to continue its weak-kneed approach to China. When will Canada finally join its allies in standing up to China?

Andrew Pickford Jeffrey Collins

S President Joe Biden recently joined Uhis Japanese, Indian, and Australian counterparts at the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (or Quad) summit. This informal grouping remains the most powerful collection of countries focused on confronting the security, economic, and geostrategic challenges posed by China. Canada may not have been there but there is finally a growing realization across political parties and wider society that China’s actions necessitate that we stand up and stand together. of personal protective equipment in the Under Xi Jinping, China has global early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, superpower ambitions that involve under- to name a few. mining the international order founded China has global Any attempt to create a coherent strat- by the US, Canada and other allies after superpower egy against Beijing’s bullying has been the Second World War. International undermined by the quixotic belief that a institutions like the World Health Orga- ambitions that involve unique mix of Trudeau familial history, nization are to be co-opted, while inter- undermining the international star power, and Laurentian national laws and norms governing the business connections would lead to a blos- law of the sea in places like the Taiwan international order. soming in relations between Canada and Strait and the South China Sea are to be China. Unfortunately, this proved to be a ignored. Moreover, any foreign government flimsy foundation for engagement with a that gets in the way of China’s interests China that was more authoritarian, protec- quickly becomes roadkill under Beijing’s on a US extradition request of Meng Wan- tionist and aggressive than the last time the economic and (increasingly) military might. zhou, deputy chair and CFO of Chinese Liberals were in power in the early 2000s. Canada has already gotten a taste of telecom giant Huawei, days earlier. The It’s up to civil society to push against Xi’s medicine with the kidnapping of citi- years since have seen import bans on cano- this visionless approach from Ottawa. In a zens Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig la, restrictions on Maritime lobster, and recent study published by the Macdonald- in December 2018 following the detention the clandestine seizure of at least 100 tons Laurier Institute last October, we argued

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 31 that Canada should follow the example of its between the Liberal caucus and cabinet Policy on Taiwan; review our involvement in Commonwealth cousin and Quad member, over the Uyghur motion, or ambassador international organizations, much as Austra- Australia, and take a stand against China’s Dominic Barton’s bizarre push in 2020 for lia has done (and potentially defund if Bei- bullying and human rights violations. This more trade ties at a time when, a world jing’s interference continues); delink Kovrig contribution is one of many such calls for away, ambassador to the UN Bob Rae and Spavor from other issues; and adopt a Canada to move off the sidelines. called for an investigation into China’s new coordinated China strategy with prov- These efforts, combined with a grow- treatment of the Uyghurs. inces, territories and municipalities. A wider ing awareness of China’s belligerence in With the international community Commonwealth alliance with Australia, the wake of the Kovrig and Spavor kidnap- acting and the political and public spheres New Zealand, and the UK (CANZUK) in pings, have led to a shift in public opin- in Canada in political unison, Ottawa confronting Beijing’s crackdown in Hong ion. In June, four-out-of-five Canadians Kong should be in the cards too. expressed a belief that Ottawa must speak It is important to stress that up about China’s human rights abuses. A these actions are directed at the similar number believe we should be even Chinese Communist Party. As Aus- more bullish, specifically on issues that tralia has experienced, a strategic concern our national values. Only 7 per- and firm stance against Beijing’s cent have an even moderately positive coercion will not be without chal- view of the PRC regime. lenges. Retaliation is almost guar-

Ottawa should finally transition this broad support for a coherent strategy on China into concrete action.

Acting on this groundswell, the House anteed but this should not be hard for of Commons voted unanimously (not- Canada. It is harder for Australia where withstanding abstentions and the con- China accounts for half of all exports, as spicuous absence of virtually all of cabinet) opposed to less than 4 percent for Canada, to support a non-binding motion labelling should finally transition this broad sup- and is making inroads into areas within Beijing’s mistreatment of its Uyghur and port for a coherent strategy on China into Canberra’s sphere of influence including other ethnic Turkic Muslims as genocide. concrete action. China, after all, does not Melanesia and the South Pacific. This multiparty support was a significant respect weakness. Put simply, there is more at stake for change and an important juncture. Even This starts with revitalizing a Cana- Canberra than Ottawa. Yet that has not former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, dian vision of its role in the Indo-Pacific, deterred the Australians from confront- whose government in its later years in identifying those areas in which Canada ing Chinese bullying. Similarly, the threat power oversaw the introduction of a for- can be a meaningful partner for other of China’s retaliation should not be used as eign investment agreement with China, countries in the region, like Australia, that an excuse for Canada to continue its weak- has warned that Beijing is now a “competi- are more assertive in their approach to kneed approach to China. The time to chart tive rival” against Western interests. China. Canada is unlikely to be taken seri- a new course begins now. Yet, despite the emergence of such a ously today as a potential member of an strong consensus, Ottawa continues to expanded Quad, but it can move toward Andrew Pickford works between North America and deal with China indecisively. Welcomed greater integration, perhaps as an observer. Australia in the areas of strategy, economic analysis, ad-hoc efforts like the recent Canada-led Following Australia’s approach, we rec- and energy with a range of organizations, both coalition of countries opposed to arbitrary ommend that Ottawa ban Huawei; revisit private and public. Jeffrey F. Collins is a fellow at the detention are offset by actions like the split Canada’s interpretation of the One China Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

32 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST Israel-Iran peace deal: Why it’s needed, what it could look like If Abraham serves as inspiration for a new Arab-Israeli peace, then Cyrus serves as aspiration for an Israeli-Iranian one. Mariam Memarsadeghi Shuvaloy Majumdar

f Abraham serves as inspiration for a new IArab-Israeli peace, then Cyrus serves as aspiration for an Israeli-Iranian one. Where the United Arab Emirates succeeded at placing a satellite in orbit over Mars, the Iranian regime obsesses over developing a ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear payload. It is an obsession that has led to destruction. Since the 1979 revolution, the Islamist theocracy ruling Iran has demonized the State of Israel, terrorized the Jewish state, fail to be convincing is nothing new. As US Congress about the regime’s nefarious and pursued its annihilation. It cultivates with subjects under Communist and fas- activities, as well as his personal outreach to hatred for Israel as a nation and for Jews cist regimes, Iranians have long resisted the the Iranian people. as a people, but in the four decades since Orwellian control exercised by ruling clerics, Iranians are keen to engage with Israel’s the radical Islamists’ violent takeover, it has seen on state media, and read in school text- pro-freedom public diplomacy, not least only managed to destroy Iran. books. To them, the regime’s opposition to because of the large numbers of Jews of Israel has thrived. As a free nation it has Israel’s existence affirms precisely the oppo- Iranian descent who consecrate Iran’s noble prospered, now taking its legitimate place site sentiment; a seduction also reflected in history; a history that provided the world its as a respected partner defining a regional the Iranian people’s esteem for the “Great first universal declaration of human rights, peace that champions modernity over its Satan,” for equality between sexes, the liberty carved upon a clay cylinder, and exalted by medieval rivals. to sing and dance, and the right to live free Jews because it corroborates the events in the Not only have Iran’s tyrants failed in from fear, and to earn an honest living. Old Testament: the liberation of Jews from their objective of eliminating Israel, their Iranians yearning for freedom at home Babylon by King Cyrus, and their safe return ideological hatreds have principally failed and for peace with their neighbours have a to Jerusalem to rebuild their Temple. Some Iranians themselves. Today, respect and curi- special appreciation for Israel’s investments 2600 years ago, ancient Persian leadership osity for the Israeli state on the Iranian street in countering their tyrants. Iranians rejoiced cultivated a most modern sense of pluralism is common, especially among those who in private and under the security of pseudon- and peaceful co-existence, grounded in the most despise Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s ymous social media accounts on the occasion universality of human rights. regime. Iranians yearn for restoring an open, of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh’s assassination, upon Iran is also the burial place of Esther modern and thriving nation, in great part the avalanche of information released from and Mordechai, and is still, despite the imbued by pride for an ancient heritage and a hair-raising heist of a clandestine nuclear designs of regime fanatics, home to the larg- a pre-revolutionary, 20th-century modernism archive, the Stuxnet attack on Iran’s nuclear est community of Jews in the Middle East that celebrated cosmopolitan difference, reli- program, and the sabotage of regime infra- after the State of Israel. All of this makes gious freedom and friendship with Jews and structure. They welcomed representations by peace and friendship between the peoples of Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the Iran and Israel grounded in common histo- That this ideological propaganda would United Nations General Assembly and the ry and most natural. It also underscores the

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 33 sad irony of the Iranian people being left promise of Abraham and of Cyrus can serve est level of authority must step up and start outside the triumphant peace agreements as a guide for the basis of unity between the holding these groups accountable for their the Abraham Accords afford. peoples of the region. destructive acts against our communities. First Victoria Coates and Len Khodorkovsky Nations can no longer allow unknown activ- have the hopeful idea of investing in the Mariam Memarsadeghi is a leading proponent for ists to destroy our people and communities. “Cyrus Accords,” a promise to revive an a democratic Iran. Shuvaloy Majumdar is a Munk The agreement reached by the First ancient bond between Iran and Israel. For senior fellow for foreign policy at MLI. This article first Nations Climate Initiative table and the Iranians to reach this destiny with Israel, appeared in the Jerusalem Post. First Nations Major Projects Coalition changing a regime obsessed with war holds should change the way Canadians under- primacy over all else. With an American stand Indigenous aspirations for the envi- Environmentalist applause (Sankey) turn from maximum pressure to “Appease- ronment and economic development. First Continued from page 4 ment 2.0,” Israel and her allies could under- Nations care about our future, our people, take a historic effort at strengthening the consent) their support for First Nations’ our environment, and our country. democratic resilience of the people of Iran. causes. None of the money raised by these We have been waiting for environmen- Naysayers will be abundant, but sup- organizations goes to meet the needs of our talists to applaud this impressive achieve- port for the struggle of dissidents, labour people. When the protests are over, their ment. But we do not need their approval, organizers, women’s-rights activists, student work has only served to deny First Nations a just like we do not need their lectures and leaders and ordinary Iranians against one of chance to share in Canada’s prosperity. interventions. First Nations, as economic the world’s most brutal tyrannies is not for While protesters build nothing in our developers and as defenders of the environ- the faint-hearted. communities, First Nations’ elected government, have their future well in hand. Israel and its like-minded partners can ments and our industry partners provide commit to: well-paid jobs, training, and certification for Chris Sankey is a senior fellow at MLI and a former 1. supporting robust Persian-language broad- Indigenous workers. Industry collaborations elected Councillor for the Lax Kw’alaams Band. casting focused on Iran’s democracy move- produce long-term infrastructure and pro- ment, its tolerant past, and the opportunities vide funds to support our health care and East Coast fisheries (Coates) of Israel’s flourishing democratic society; education systems, our elders’ needs, and Continued from page 6 2. a transparency initiative to expose the our language and cultural programs. anatomy of how Khamenei’s cohorts raid Let me be frank: First Nations do not ally acceptable form of compensation. In the people’s treasury in exporting terrorism need environmentalists or any other out- other words, there are alternate paths to a and war; sider groups to shape our future. We can “moderate livelihood” that may be accept- 3. an international awareness campaign fight our own battles, on our own terms, able to the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet. about the regime’s human rights atrocities, based on our own rights and interests. The While these discussions continue, it is its antisemitism, and its Holocaust-denial; eco-colonialists need to stop telling us what vital that governments, industry representa- 4. providing sustained and emergency ac- to do. It is not up to governments or activ- tives and Indigenous leaders avoid provoca- cess for Iranians to organize online, particu- ists to develop policies and force Indigenous tive statements or proposals. The sense of larly during regime shutdowns, and people to live by them. unease on the East Coast is severe and vola- 5. establishing a Cyrus Trust for civic insti- Canadians should be incensed that these tile. Indigenous peoples feel, with justice, tutions that span the academy, arts, history agenda-driven activists still try to dictate how that their rights are not being honoured. and civil society, bridging Iranian, Israeli we should manage our traditional territories. Commercial fishers believe, without legal and Arab peoples. This is completely unacceptable. It needs to foundation but with strong political reso- The most disruptive investment that can stop, and it needs to stop now. Their actions nance, that their fishing rights and privileges be made against the regime’s four-decade-old are literally tearing families apart. are at risk. It would not take much for the war machine are in the very ideas that ani- These interventions by outside environ- comparatively mild confrontations in the mate human life. The irreducible concept of mental activists must be addressed. We will region to erupt into more serious conflicts. the rights, dignity and liberty of every person have these debates inside and between our The Marshall decision has long stood holds a longevity from three millennia into communities, thank you very much. As Otta- out as one of the most commercially effec- our past, capable of surviving a temporary wa has a responsibility toward the well-being tive court decisions, drawing many Indig- installation of medieval tyrants. In this, the of Indigenous peoples, those at the high- enous peoples into the fishing economy and

34 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute producing millions of dollars in incremental which at the moment is inadequate. Big data third quarter of 2020. Net electricity export income for First Nations people, commu- can also help prevent, mitigate, and manage amounts were also down in 2020 compared nities and governments. Yet court rulings health crises, and the consequences of not to 2019 by 1.7 terawatthours (TWh) for the must be respected by governments and the embracing this approach are far worse than first half of 2020 and by 3.2 TWh for the country at large. They are not to be avoided, the risks of innovating. If Amazon, Google third quarter of 2020. obfuscated or otherwise pushed to the polit- or Facebook can predict our behaviours and Construction of the 1550 MW Romaine ical margins. purchasing or voting patterns, why can’t hydroelectric project is expected to be com- Canada’s legal system is one of our health systems predict our risks and address plete in 2021 – continuing Quebec’s update country’s foundational strengths. But if them in real-time? and expansion of its transmission infrastruc- significant court rulings, like the Marshall Here is one prediction I hope doesn’t ture to support its export plans. decision’s “moderate livelihood” provi- come true – Big Tech, which is already invest- Perhaps a national energy corridor trans- sions, can be left unresolved for over two ing heavily in the health sector, will continue mitting Quebec and Labrador hydropower decades, it brings Canadian law into dis- to innovate and develop artificial intelligence. to western Canada could be negotiated in repute. Conversely, a just and fair resolu- This will continue to minimize the role of the return for oil and natural gas pipelines to tion can show all Canadians, including public health sector, and if we do not take Central Canada and Eastern Canada, and to Mi’kmaq and Maliseet people, that the law this challenge seriously, we will face with the the East Coast through Quebec. Conver- can be effective and consequential. reality of choosing between health care ser- sion of an existing, unused TC Energy gas vices that are provided by Big Tech and our pipeline would provide a secure, all-Canadi- Ken Coates is a Munk senior fellow at MLI. own health systems. This scenario will test an route to supply refineries in Sarnia, Nan- the mandate of universal health care. ticoke, Montreal, Levis and Saint John with Canadian crude, and eliminate all foreign National health systems (Katapally) Tarun Katapally is an associate professor in the Johnson Continued from page 26 oil imports and oil tanker traffic in the St. Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the Lawrence River and Gulf of St. Lawrence. taking each individual’s needs into consid- University of Regina. It is not widely known that an oil pipe- eration, but also respond rapidly to mitigate line can easily batch dilbit, partially upgraded potential exacerbation of outbreaks. bitumen, conventional heavy oils, syncrude, Tesla of LNG Plants (Priaro) Digital innovation in public health conventional oil, light shale oil, intermediate Continued from page 30 is lacking, which explains the dearth of refinery products, and finished refined prod- application of big data to address popula- Labrador hydropower are not transmitted ucts such as ultra low sulphur diesel and gas- tion health crises. This reality has particu- across the country to sustainably drive pro- oline. The existing Trans Mountain pipeline lar implications for health systems, which duction of natural gas and gas liquids from to Vancouver has done just that for decades. in general are rigid to using data that exist shales in Alberta and BC, to power LNG Such a national energy corridor would outside traditional health care settings. This production in BC, and to reduce GHG require industry and federal and provincial reticence is perhaps warranted due to ethical emissions from the oil sands. In Alberta, government leadership, vision, courage and issues related to data ownership and patient three billion cubic feet of GHG-emitting cooperation of the highest order. privacy. However, if innovations to lever- natural gas are burned each day for oil If Sir John A. Macdonald was alive age big data are not made a priority, health sands mining, in-situ extraction, bitumen today, I have no doubt he would be building systems across the globe risk irrelevancy as processing and upgrading, and for co-gen- a ‘Canadian Pacific Energy Corridor’ from big technology companies become more eration of electricity. the Atlantic to the Pacific. And he would aggressive in cornering the health market. It is a stated objective of Hydro-Quebec do it for exactly the same reasons he built There is a need to reimagine our approach to increase its exports beyond its borders the Canadian Pacific Railway – to unite the to big data to address communicable and and support the decarbonization of north- country from coast to coast and to protect it non-communicable diseases. This approach eastern North America. from American interests. can decentralize technology and revolution- Lower energy demand brought on by ize health systems and healthy public policy. the pandemic resulted in average export pric- Mike Priaro, a Lifetime Member of the Association of Big data, if thoughtfully processed, can es of only 4.4¢/kilowatthour (kWh) (from Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta, offer solutions that are far more efficient and 4.9¢/kWh in 2019) in the first six months worked in the Alberta oil patch for 25 years and is an sustainable than human-designed policy, of 2020. This dropped to 4.3 ¢/kWh in the independent analyst.

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 35 MLI WEBINARS

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