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The Changing Nature of Quebec-Canada Relations

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The Changing Nature of Quebec-Canada Relations The Changing Nature of Quebec-Canada recognized in the recent Council of the Relations: From the 1980 Referendum Federation provision for the province’s opting to the Summit of the Canadas out with compensation for pharmacare) as well as the division of powers themselves are also on by the table. Adding to this menu is the reality that the forthcoming Throne Speech will focus on Thomas J. Courchene health, children and cities–arguably all of which fall under provincial jurisdiction. Accordingly, Jarislowsky-Deutsch Professor of Economic the essay concludes with an assessment of the and Financial Policy potential implications of this forthcoming Queen’s University and Senior Scholar, “Summit of the Canadas.” Institute for Research on Public Policy, Montreal I: Introduction What a difference a few months can make for policy analysts! All appeared quiet on the ABSTRACT Quebec front in the time frame of the fall 2003 This paper traces the economic and political Institute of Intergovernmental Relations evolution of Quebec-Canada relations from the Conference Quebec and Canada in the New 1980 Referendum through to the July 2004 Century: New Dynamics – New Opportunities. Council of the Federation (COF) meeting at The Charest Liberals were at the helm and the Niagara-on-the Lake. The underlying thesis is forces of sovereignty seemed safely at bay. that Quebec’s traditional demands for acquiring From the post-federal-election perspective greater powers within the federation have now (August 2004), however, the environment is given way to demands for acquiring greater markedly different. Charest’s confrontation access to revenues in order to be able to fully with the unions and civil society has not gone exercise its existing constitutional powers. What well. More importantly, the Bloc Québécois has triggered this rather dramatic shift is the captured an astounding 54 seats and 49% of the advent of globalization and the knowledge- popular vote in Quebec in the June 28, 2004 based era (KBE), both of which have served to election. And this was in spite of the fact that, redefine what meaningful sovereignty is all in the days running up to the vote, Pierre about in the 21st century. In short, sovereignty is Pettigrew and Stephane Dion warned Quebecers now about how societies live, and work and that a vote for the BQ was, in effect, a vote for play, which in turn means that on the policy sovereignty. PQ leader Bernard Landry as much front it is all about education, skills, health, as confirmed this by suggesting the likelihood of cities and citizens generally. In Canada, these a third Referendum in 2009 (i.e. after the PQ is are largely provincial powers. This being the presumed to have regained power). Moreover, case, it is hardly surprising that Quebec’s with the Paul Martin Liberals reduced to a rallying cry is focussed on restoring vertical minority position in the House of Commons, the fiscal balance in the federation. Bloc Québécois holds the balance of power in the sense that under some realistic scenarios it With the resurgence of the Bloc Québécois to could bring the government down and 54 seats and 49% of the popular vote in the June precipitate an election. Hence, here too election, uncertainty is again on the horizon. uncertainty is now the order of the day. As I Partly because of this, but more because of the concluded in an earlier assessment of Quebec- way in which Quebec-Canada relations were Canada relations (1990), the lights at Canada’s evolving in any event, the September First constitutional crossroads are not flashing green, Ministers’ Meeting is emerging as one of the nor are they flashing red. Rather, they remain watershed moments in our history. Much more Forever Amber. than the future of medicare is at stake, since the issues relating to vertical fiscal balance, In order to reflect on the changing (current equalization, Quebec’s distinctive status (as and longer-term) nature of Quebec-Canada Working Paper 2004(2) ©IIGR, Queen’s University, IRPP, Montreal Thomas J. Courchene, The Changing Nature of Quebec-Canada Relations relations in the 21st century, the analytical mast over l’Assemblée nationale was storyline on both the political and economic unfortunate, to be sure, but Quebec’s non- fronts must begin much earlier. Accordingly signatory status was only to be expected from a Part II focusses selectively on Quebec-Canada sovereignist government, or so the storyline political relations in the 1980-1995 (or inter- presumably went. In any event, the Charter took referenda) era, dealing in turn with Charter hold almost immediately with Canadians, even federalism, the Meech and Charlottetown in Quebec, so much so that the cleavages in the Accords and the 1995 Referendum. Part III federation shifted from being territorially-based presents a similar highlighting of political to being rights-based – Charter interests vs. milestones under the Chrétien era, focussing on vested interests, as it were. Indeed, the Quebec’s relations with the provinces under the traditional territorial interests/cleavages arguably rubric of pan-Canadian provincialism and then shifted from the provinces to the First Nations on Quebec-Ottawa relations in terms of the (and aboriginals more generally), with the Clarity Act and the sponsorship scandal. Charter intriguingly serving as catalyst. Attention then shifts in Part IV to Quebec- Canada economics relations dealing in turn with Roughly coincident (and obviously related) the implications flowing from NAFTA, the was the emergence, initially in Alberta, of a new knowledge-based economy (KBE), Global City philosophy of Canadian federalism, the so-called Regions, and “hourglass federalism” (or the symmetric or triple-E federalism. At the most federal invasion of provincial jurisdiction). Part general level, this meant equal powers for all V (Quebec-Canada Dynamics in Century 21) provinces, equal-per-capita representation in the pulls together some of the observations and House of Commons and equal provincial implications that arise from integrating the representation in the Senate. The related and political and economic strands of the analysis in more familiar version is the “triple-E Senate” – order to briefly document and assess the equal (by province), elected and effective. The evolving nature of Quebec’s political, economic argument for symmetrical federalism (or the and constitutional relationship with the rest of notion that all provinces are equal and must be Canada. What emerges from this composite is so treated) is a peculiar one coming from the critical importance for Quebec and indeed Alberta, since this province is the principal for all of Canada of the forthcoming First beneficiary of the most lucrative asymmetry in Ministers’ Meeting (FMM) on health care in the federation, namely crown ownership of sub- September of 2004. Accordingly, the final surface resource rights. Admittedly, this arose section of the essay (Quebec and the Summit of because Ottawa initially withheld sub-surface the Canadas) outlines the range of issues that are rights from Alberta, but it is an asymmetry at stake in the FMM and how they might be nonetheless. The larger puzzle is why the most resolved. fiscally powerful province would be the lead advocate for a Triple-E Senate, when the result II: Quebec-Canada Political Relations in the would surely be to curtail the powers of the Inter-Referenda Period (1980-1995) provinces and their premiers. A. Charter Federalism Meanwhile, the second coming of Robert In the wake of the 60-40 victory for the Bourassa (1985) saw Quebec embrace “le virage federalist forces in the 1980 Quebec vers les marchés.” Importantly, this shift toward Referendum, Trudeau launched the 1980-82 markets reflected a societal realization that constitutional round which culminated with the Quebec’s future would and should ultimately lie patriation of the Constitution Act, 1867, and the in North American economic space, rather than enactment of the Constitution Act 1982 replete in Canadian economic space. Some of this was with the enshrinement of the Canadian Charter no doubt a response to the symbolic alienation of Rights and Freedoms. That flags flew at half- emanating from the constitutional patriation Working Paper 2004(2) ©IIGR, Queen’s University, IRPP, Montreal 2 Thomas J. Courchene, The Changing Nature of Quebec-Canada Relations process. More was due to the realization that Charter, some provinces simply exercised their with the “economic capital” of Canada shifting equality or symmetrical right to effectively veto west (in light of energy price hikes) it made far the asymmetrical Accord. While it was no doubt more sense for Quebecers to turn to the markets of enormous comfort to Canadians that the that were much closer and much bigger, namely tumultuous St. Jean Baptiste parade took place the US northeast, rather than somehow under Robert Bourassa’s watch, the demise of leapfrogging Ontario to compete in western Meech not only triggered dramatic political Canadian markets. The most tangible result of changes but, as well, set the sovereignty clock this societal shift was that Quebec in effect gave ticking inevitably toward a second referendum. Canada the FTA in the 1988 federal election by delivering a “super majority” of its seats (63 of By way of elaboration, in the month or so 75) to the Mulroney Tories. A simple majority prior to the formal collapse of Meech, federal of Quebec seats would have sunk the FTA. Environment Minister Lucien Bouchard, joined by five other Quebec Tory MPs, bolted the B. The Meech Lake and Charlottetown Mulroney government to sit as independents. Accords1 Initially committed to not forming a formal The next highlighted milestone en route to party, all this changed after La Fête: within two the 1995 Referendum is the 1987-1990 Meech months none other than current BQ leader Gilles Lake Accord and ratification process.
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