DOCSLIB.ORG

Wednesday, June 19, 1996

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Wednesday, June 19, 1996 CANADA 2nd SESSION 35th PARLIAMENT VOLUME 135 NUMBER 33 OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Wednesday, June 19, 1996 THE HONOURABLE GILDAS L. MOLGAT SPEAKER CONTENTS (Daily index of proceedings appears at back of this issue.) Debates: Victoria Building, Room 407, Tel. 996-0397 Published by the Senate Available from Canada Communication Group — Publishing, Public Works and Government Services Canada, Ottawa K1A 0S9, at $1.75 per copy or $158 per year. Also available on the Internet: http://www.parl.gc.ca 733 THE SENATE Wednesday, June 19, 1996 The Senate met at 1:30 p.m., the Speaker in the Chair. As Minister of Health in the Pearson government in the mid-1960s, he was at the very heart of the debates on health care. Prayers. If anyone ever wonders who the real father of Medicare was, let there be no doubt: He is sitting right beside me, the Honourable Allan J. MacEachen. THE HONOURABLE ALLAN J. MACEACHEN (1340) TRIBUTES ON RETIREMENT Honourable senators, he also placed his mark on the Canada Hon. Joyce Fairbairn (Leader of the Government): Pension Plan, the Canada Assistance Plan, the Guaranteed Honourable senators, in spite of all the warning signals, Income Supplement for needy seniors, and on the Canada Labour retirement day for Allan J. MacEachen comes suddenly, Code. unthinkably, and irresistibly, but it also creates a opportunity for all of us to pay a hearty tribute to him and to say a fervent Back in 1963, The Toronto Star once described him as “Thank you.” “probably the ablest labour minister Canada has had,” but I have a better source, honourable senators. Prime Minister John Over the past 34 years on Parliament Hill, I have reported as a Diefenbaker growled his approval to me one day, confiding: journalist on the activities of this gentleman. I have toiled behind “That young MacEachen is the best minister in Pearson’s the scenes with him as an associate both in government and in cabinet.” opposition. I have shared with him the highs and the lows of election campaigns. For the last 12 years, I have worked with It has been said that Senator MacEachen has held more cabinet him in this house as a colleague. portfolios than any other minister of the Crown in Canada’s history. This includes his masterful role in leadership of the Honourable senators, I am enormously proud to have Allan House of Commons with Prime Minister Trudeau; his two terms MacEachen as a friend. as Minister of External Affairs; and a rather tempestuous stint as a finance minister whose controversial 1981 budget was, This is a man who came to Ottawa with a purpose and a nonetheless, a true effort to liberate Canadians from the twin vision. That purpose and that vision were rooted back in evils of abnormally high interest rates and inflation. He also was Inverness on Cape Breton Island where his father worked in the Canada’s very first Deputy Prime Minister. coal pits for more than 40 years. But, perhaps, honourable senators, what is not yet fully appreciated is the very real change which flowed from his A young Allan J. left his home for St. Francis Xavier leadership in this Senate. For over a decade, he has challenged us University where the cause of social activism was embedded in to inject a sense of activism in our work. When he arrived here as his conscience by the legendary teacher and founder of the Leader of the Opposition in 1984, he resisted the notion, Antigonish movement, Monsignor Moses Coady, who inspired in advanced by some members, that ours is an advisory role only. In him a life-long conviction that things could be changed. one of his early speeches, he said: In a recent interview, he talked about what he thought When I came to the Senate, I assumed I was entering a government was meant to be. He said: legislative body... The modern Senate of Canada ought to mean more than quiet diplomacy and persuasion. Helping those who need help most was, and still must remain, a government principle of action.... It constitutes a Honourable senators, Allan J. practised what he preached. The beacon in the shifting sands of public taste and we ought to evidence that his views have prevailed is borne out by what has always keep it in mind in assessing the legitimacy of public occurred over the last two years in the important bill on which policy. we will be voting later today. This process would have been unimaginable in the Senate 12 years ago. Throughout the 43 years of his life he has spent on Parliament Hill, he has steadfastly put those words into action. Throughout all these years of excitement, of tumult, of accolades, of lively criticism, Allan J. has always found his In addition to being the finest and most eloquent strength, not in the centre of power, but in his beloved eastern parliamentarian I have ever witnessed in either house, Senator Nova Scotia where his family settled after emigrating from the MacEachen has been a central player in every major piece of Western Isles 200 years ago. The culture, the language, the progressive social legislation passed through Parliament in the music, the laughter, the friends, and the beauty of the land, that is last three decades. where he draws his strengths. 734 SENATE DEBATES June 19, 1996 Recently, Allan J. said, “I would rather be remembered for the Is that the way it is going to be, with Allan J. having his achievements that I helped to bring about in that part of the second whirl at taxing the rental value of the house you own and country.” Honourable senators, I believe his contributions will be live in? Are we about to enter a time of circumvented déjà vu remembered far beyond Cape Breton Island and Nova Scotia, with Allan J. running once more for the Liberal leadership beyond this Parliament, which he has served so well, and beyond against Trudeau? And this time winning! the Liberal Party of Canada whose ideals he upheld and whose goals he helped to shape. He will be remembered by citizens Honourable senators, when will the question be heard? Does throughout Canada and in other lands where he left his message the Deputy Leader intend closure? When will the vote be held? of compassion, fairness and hope. What of Royal Assent? If Allan J. is back, or indeed has never gone away — and Senator Stewart will certainly quote Those in our Senate caucus thank you, Allan, for giving us and authorities on which way it is to be — whatever; Senator your country so much of yourself. Our respect and our Kinsella will rebut. admiration is exceeded only by our affection. What of the Leader of the Opposition? Steadfast, certainly; In the words of the poet Robert Browning: forthright, certainly. Supportive? Let me answer with an We, that had loved him so, followed him, honoured him, unshakable “maybe,” for I too have my price. Lived in his mild and magnificent eye. Learned his great language, caught his clear accents, Let me hasten to add, colleagues, I would not have a price for Made him our pattern to live and to die. just anyone on the other side. We have to be talking “prime” senator. Honourable senators, that takes a man big enough to Those words may be emotional, slightly excessive, but they are, seek the leadership of his party, wily enough to survive his nonetheless, true. colleagues, wise enough to respects his foes, and cunning enough to second-guess his friends. It takes a man big enough to be We hope you will enjoy an active future of new challenges, trusted with his country’s most important jobs — leadership of good health and continued friendships and, for heaven’s sake, get the House of Commons; and responsibility for such ministries as to work and write a book! finance, health and foreign affairs. It takes a man sufficiently agile to be selected for the leadership of the Senate when it Hon. John Lynch-Staunton (Leader of the Opposition): became his party’s only bastion of leadership on the hill. Honourable senators, in “Julius Caesar,” that fascinating play about what happened one day in another senate, Shakespeare Like an orchestra conductor, Allan J. led his players to tells us to beware the Ides of March. But, as Sheila Copps would perform with as much harmony as one can expect from a Senate say, that was then and this is now. caucus. He himself, however, was never to ring a cow bell, never to play a kazoo and never even to blow a horn. He was generous In this Senate, we should perhaps be more concerned with the enough to let his deputy have full credit for authoring “Hoods on pre-penultimates of June. Certainly in my case, honourable the Hill,” a book about the GST that some people called “Love’s senators, I learned very soon after arriving here to beware the Labour Lost.” pre-penultimates of June, and certain occurrences last week have only increased my apprehension. As I have said, I have my price for supporting a Faustian Surely I am not the only one here to notice that Senator Cools return to the Senate of Senator Allan J. MacEachen, so let me was impeccably correct on Thursday last week when she gave take you back, honourable senators, to June 30, 1987 when notice of her inquiry into the life and times of Allan J. Senator MacEachen made the following statement: MacEachen. Am I the only one in this exalted chamber to be worried about the prospect of a technically correct Cools This is a chamber of sober second thought, whose purpose is inquiring into our lives? Alternatively, what about the technically to examine legislation when the examination in the House incorrect Senator Forrestall, attempting to devise an elected of Commons has been completed.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Ellsworth American IS DEALWITH SUPERS Nnd Democratic Ods
    | loswwimo* ruoi, *3.M ram tub. ( Vol. LIV. I ir rare i» abtabcb. tiM. | WEDNESDAY ELLSWORTH, MAINE, AFTERNOON. SEPTEMBER 9. 1908 AT mi Tuiwom «wrowrp?. No 37. £t&rrti*rmmt*. LOCAL AFFAIRS. 1 distributed, not only by the many callen F03 REPFESKHTATiVK. LAKEWOOD. •* rooms, bat also by the eommitteM J Winnie Garland has NSW of the surrounding towns. Sketch of 31an Ellsworth Pro- employment at tlM ADVEKI HKMKMT4 THIS WKKK. fhc ba teller;. of Mr. and Mrs. Petes poses to Sfend to the Legislature. The May, daughter Abie Garland and have been tak- Edward U Dammera Co—Optician*. John A. the nomine* (ami!; D W Carney-Sheriff sale. Fortier, died at her home on Grant streel Peters, republican ing an outing ot a (ew days up the lake. for for to the from Spencer Higgins place sale. last Wednesday eleven representative legislature Fred with wife and at RU sale. night, aged yean, Rollins, child, Haines-Opening Funeral services were was born in Burrill Nat’l Bank. held Friday after- Ellsworth, Ellsworth in 1864 Bangor, spent a few days last week at bis noon. The parents have the sympathy oj He graduated from the schools and childhood home. Egypt, Me: all their public ip bereavement. Schools with M C Austin—Lumber and wood for sale. fitted at the high school for college, and begin Tuesday the same James E. teachers as last Garland Mary C Frets Austin—Trespass notice. Parsons, cashier of the Bnrrill entered Bowdoin college in 1881, graduat- spring—Martin ia national will leave next week foi No. 1 and Miss Minerva Jordan in No.
    [Show full text]
  • Canada's Parliament
    Foreign Policy White Papers and the Role of Canada’s Parliament: Paradoxical But Not Without Potential Gerald J. Schmitz Principal analyst, international affairs Parliamentary Information and Research Service Library of Parliament, Ottawa Annual Meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association University of Western Ontario, London Panel on “International and Defence Policy Review” 3 June 2005 Note: This paper developed out of remarks to a conference in Quebec City in May 2004 on the subject of white-paper foreign policy management processes, and is a pre- publication draft of an article for the fall 2005 issue of Études internationales. The views expressed are the author’s alone. Please do not cite without permission. Introduction to the Paradoxical Actor on the Hill The observations that follow draw on several decades of direct experience working with that paradoxical, and sometimes overlooked, actor in the foreign policy development process, namely Canada’s Parliament. During that time concerns about the alleged weaknesses of parliamentary oversight of the executive have become a commonplace complaint. They seem also to be a staple assumption in the academic discourse on Canadian foreign policy, when the legislative role merits any mention at all. (Frequently it does not.) Yet if one believes the renewed rhetoric emanating from high places about redressing “democratic deficits” in the Canadian body politic, this was all supposed to change. At the end of 2003, a new prime minister ushering in a new management regime, or at least a different style of governing, said that he and his government were committed to changing the way things work in Ottawa.
    [Show full text]
  • A Calculus of Interest Canadian Peacekeeping Diplomacy in Cyprus, 1963-1993
    Canadian Military History Volume 24 Issue 2 Article 8 2015 A Calculus of Interest Canadian Peacekeeping Diplomacy in Cyprus, 1963-1993 Greg Donaghy Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh Part of the Military History Commons Recommended Citation Greg Donaghy "A Calculus of Interest Canadian Peacekeeping Diplomacy in Cyprus, 1963-1993." Canadian Military History 24, 2 (2015) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Canadian Military History by an authorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected]. : A Calculus of Interest Canadian Peacekeeping Diplomacy in Cyprus, 1963-1993 A Calculus of Interest Canadian Peacekeeping Diplomacy in Cyprus, 1963-1993 GREG DONAGHY Abstract: Fifty years ago, Canadian peacekeepers landed on the small Mediterranean island of Cyprus, where they stayed for thirty long years. This paper uses declassified cabinet papers and diplomatic records to tackle three key questions about this mission: why did Canadians ever go to distant Cyprus? Why did they stay for so long? And why did they leave when they did? The answers situate Canada’s commitment to Cypress against the country’s broader postwar project to preserve world order in an era marked by the collapse of the European empires and the brutal wars in Algeria and Vietnam. It argues that Canada stayed— through fifty-nine troop rotations, 29,000 troops, and twenty-eight dead— because peacekeeping worked. Admittedly there were critics, including Prime Ministers Pearson, Trudeau, and Mulroney, who complained about the failure of peacemaking in Cyprus itself.
    [Show full text]
  • The Liberals: a House Divided Introduction
    The Liberals: A House Divided Introduction “I will fulfill my mandate and focus entirely on governing from now until February Focus 2004. At which time my work will be done and at which time my successor will be In an unprec- chosen. And then, at the age of 70, I will look back with great satisfaction as I take edented move against a sitting my rest with Aline, secure in the knowledge that the future of Canada is unlim- Canadian prime ited.” — Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, August 21, 2002 minister, a signifi- cant number of Struggle for Power media and political organizers, the buzz Liberal Party mem- The summer of 2002 will be remem- about his future grew louder and louder. bers appeared The Martin camp was particularly ready to vote bered for both the hot weather and the against Jean equally hot political battle waged within active in promoting their man for the Chrétien in a the ranks of the Liberal Party of next leadership campaign. They built a planned leadership Canada. Open political warfare raged powerful organization and raised sub- review next year. inside the heart of Canada’s most stantial funds. Incensed by this pressure The split in the to leave, Chrétien and Martin had a Liberal camp was successful political machine. A party highlighted this that traditionally rallied around its falling out, and Martin left cabinet. spring when Paul leader appeared ready to tear itself apart Liberals were increasingly divided Martin, one of the over the question of leadership. and feared an open battle at a planned main contenders to After the Liberal victory of 2000, convention to review Chrétien’s leader- replace the PM, attention was drawn to the question of ship in February 2003.
    [Show full text]
  • Debates of the Senate
    CANADA Debates of the Senate 2nd SESSION . 40th PARLIAMENT . VOLUME 146 . NUMBER 19 OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Thursday, March 12, 2009 ^ THE HONOURABLE NOËL A. KINSELLA SPEAKER CONTENTS (Daily index of proceedings appears at back of this issue). Debates Service: D'Arcy McPherson, Chambers Building, Room 943, Tel. 613-995-5756 Publications Centre: David Reeves, Chambers Building, Room 969, Tel. 613-947-0609 Published by the Senate Available from PWGSC ± Publishing and Depository Services, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0S5. Also available on the Internet: http://www.parl.gc.ca 409 THE SENATE Thursday, March 12, 2009 The Senate met at 1:30 p.m., the Speaker in the chair. (1335) Prayers. With regard to the comment on home renovation, in order to enlighten Ms. Taber and Ms. Minna, it is a known fact that women are the primary driving force behind decisions to renovate VISITORS IN THE GALLERY their homes and women, being smart, obviously see the benefit of the Home Renovation Tax Credit and the ecoENERGY Retrofit program. The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of His Excellency, Howar Just for the record, honourable senators, I am a wife, and I have Ziad, Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq. He is also Dean of the suggested to my husband that we get some needed work done Council of Arab League Ambassadors to Canada. His Excellency in order to take advantage of these benefits. It never occurred is accompanied by his son, Jotiar Ziad, who is a student at to me that Ms.
    [Show full text]
  • Poll Conducted by Research Co. on Recent Prime Ministers in Canada - July 23, 2021
    Poll conducted by Research Co. on Recent Prime Ministers in Canada - July 23, 2021 We would like to ask you some Questions about the people who have served as prime minister of Canada since 1968. Which of these politicians do you think has been Canada’s best prime minister? GENDER AGE REGION VOTE IN 2019 FEDERAL ELECTION Canada Male Female 18-34 35-54 55+ BC Alberta SK / MB Ontario Quebec Atlantic Liberal Conserv. NDP Pierre Trudeau 20% 21% 19% 15% 15% 29% 20% 12% 14% 24% 21% 17% 36% 7% 23% Joe Clark 2% 2% 1% 1% 2% 3% 1% 3% 3% 0% 1% 6% 2% 1% 1% John Turner 2% 3% 1% 3% 1% 1% 3% 1% 1% 2% 2% 0% 0% 2% 1% Brian Mulroney 7% 9% 5% 4% 8% 9% 4% 6% 6% 3% 14% 8% 5% 11% 8% Kim Campbell 1% 1% 1% 3% 0% 1% 2% 3% 2% 1% 1% 1% 2% 1% 1% Jean Chrétien 7% 10% 5% 7% 8% 7% 3% 4% 9% 9% 8% 8% 6% 6% 12% Paul Martin 3% 3% 2% 3% 1% 5% 6% 2% 4% 2% 2% 0% 3% 2% 4% Stephen Harper 16% 17% 15% 12% 18% 18% 12% 32% 26% 15% 12% 10% 5% 48% 2% Justin Trudeau 13% 11% 14% 18% 14% 6% 16% 5% 5% 13% 16% 14% 25% 1% 15% Not sure 29% 23% 35% 35% 32% 21% 32% 32% 30% 30% 23% 36% 17% 20% 34% Poll conducted by Research Co. on Recent Prime Ministers in Canada - July 23, 2021 And which of these politicians do you think has been Canada’s worst prime minister? GENDER AGE REGION VOTE IN 2019 FEDERAL ELECTION Canada Male Female 18-34 35-54 55+ BC Alberta SK / MB Ontario Quebec Atlantic Liberal Conserv.
    [Show full text]
  • Canada and the Kosovo Crisis: an Agenda for Intervention
    Canada and the Kosovo Crisis: An Agenda for Intervention Canada and the Kosovo Crisis: An Agenda for Intervention Michael W. Manulak Centre for International Relations, Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada 2011 Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Manulak, Michael W., 1983- Canada and the Kosovo crisis : an agenda for intervention / Michael W. Manulak. (Martello papers, ISSN 1183-3661 ; 36) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-55339-245-3 1. Kosovo War, 1998-1999—Participation, Canadian. 2. Canada— Military policy. I. Queen’s University (Kingston, Ont.). Centre for International Relations II. Title. III. Series: Martello papers ; 36 DR2087.6.F652C3 2010 949.7103 C2010-907064-X © Copyright 2011 Martello Paper Series Queen’s University’s Centre for International Relations (QCIR) is pleased to present the latest in its series of monographs, the Martello Papers. Taking their name from the distinctive towers built during the nineteenth century to defend Kingston, Ontario, these papers cover a wide range of topics and issues in foreign and defence policy, and in the study of international peace and security. How governments make decisions in times of crisis is a topic which has long fascinated both theorists and practitioners of international politics. Michael Manulak’s study of the Canadian government’s decision to take part in NATO’s use of force against Serbia in the spring of 1999 deploys a novel social-scientific method to dissect the process whereby that decision was made. In that respect this paper descends from a long line of inquiry going back to the 1960s and the complex flow-charts designed by “scientific” students of foreign policy.
    [Show full text]
  • What Has He Really Done Wrong?
    The Chrétien legacy Canada was in such a state that it WHAT HAS HE REALLY elected Brian Mulroney. By this stan- dard, William Lyon Mackenzie King DONE WRONG? easily turned out to be our best prime minister. In 1921, he inherited a Desmond Morton deeply divided country, a treasury near ruin because of over-expansion of rail- ways, and an economy gripped by a brutal depression. By 1948, Canada had emerged unscathed, enriched and almost undivided from the war into spent last summer’s dismal August Canadian Pension Commission. In a the durable prosperity that bred our revising a book called A Short few days of nimble invention, Bennett Baby Boom generation. Who cared if I History of Canada and staring rescued veterans’ benefits from 15 King had halitosis and a professorial across Lake Memphrémagog at the years of political logrolling and talent for boring audiences? astonishing architecture of the Abbaye launched a half century of relatively St-Benoît. Brief as it is, the Short History just and generous dealing. Did anyone ll of which is a lengthy prelude to tries to cover the whole 12,000 years of notice? Do similar achievements lie to A passing premature and imperfect Canadian history but, since most buy- the credit of Jean Chrétien or, for that judgement on Jean Chrétien. Using ers prefer their own life’s history to a matter, Brian Mulroney or Pierre Elliott the same criteria that put King first more extensive past, Jean Chrétien’s Trudeau? Dependent on the media, and Trudeau deep in the pack, where last seven years will get about as much the Opposition and government prop- does Chrétien stand? In 1993, most space as the First Nations’ first dozen aganda, what do I know? Do I refuse to Canadians were still caught in the millennia.
    [Show full text]
  • September 16, 2020 Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’S Republic of China Wang Yi
    September 16, 2020 Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China Wang Yi Re: The Immediate Release of and Justice for Dr Wang Bingzhang Dear Minister Wang Yi, We write to bring to your attention the dire situation of Dr Wang Bingzhang, a Chinese national with a strong Canadian connection languishing in solitary confinement in Shaoguan Prison. In 1979, the Chinese Government sponsored Dr Wang’s studies at McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine. In 1982, Dr Wang became the first Chinese national to be awarded a PhD in North America. Newspapers in China and around the world praised his monumental accomplishments. Dr Wang then decided to forego his promising career in medicine to dedicate his life to human rights, firmly believing that self-sacrifice for his country was the most noble value. He identified as a Chinese patriot, and should have returned home a hero. Instead, in 2002, he was kidnapped in Vietnam and forcibly brought to China. It was only after five months of incommunicado detention that he was notified of the charges brought against him. Not once was he permitted to contact his family or a lawyer. At trial, Dr Wang was denied the opportunity to speak or present evidence, and no credible evidence or live witness testimony was presented against him. Moreover, the trial was closed to the public and lasted only half a day. The Shenzhen People’s Intermediate Court sentenced Dr Wang to life in solitary confinement. Dr Wang appealed the decision, but the sentence was upheld a month later, where he was again barred from speaking.
    [Show full text]
  • “A Matter of Deep Personal Conscience”: the Canadian Death-Penalty Debate, 1957-1976
    “A Matter of Deep Personal Conscience”: The Canadian Death-Penalty Debate, 1957-1976 by Joel Kropf, B.A. (Hons.) A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of History Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario July 31,2007 © 2007 Joel Kropf Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Library and Bibliotheque et Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-33745-5 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-33745-5 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce,Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve,sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet,distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform,et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation.
    [Show full text]
  • Prime Ministers and Government Spending: a Retrospective by Jason Clemens and Milagros Palacios
    FRASER RESEARCH BULLETIN May 2017 Prime Ministers and Government Spending: A Retrospective by Jason Clemens and Milagros Palacios Summary however, is largely explained by the rapid drop in expenditures following World War I. This essay measures the level of per-person Among post-World War II prime ministers, program spending undertaken annually by each Louis St. Laurent oversaw the largest annual prime minister, adjusting for inflation, since average increase in per-person spending (7.0%), 1870. 1867 to 1869 were excluded due to a lack though this spending was partly influenced by of inflation data. the Korean War. Per-person spending spiked during World Our current prime minister, Justin Trudeau, War I (under Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden) has the third-highest average annual per-per- but essentially returned to pre-war levels once son spending increases (5.2%). This is almost the war ended. The same is not true of World a full percentage point higher than his father, War II (William Lyon Mackenzie King). Per- Pierre E. Trudeau, who recorded average an- person spending stabilized at a permanently nual increases of 4.5%. higher level after the end of that war. Prime Minister Joe Clark holds the record The highest single year of per-person spend- for the largest average annual post-World ing ($8,375) between 1870 and 2017 was in the War II decline in per-person spending (4.8%), 2009 recession under Prime Minister Harper. though his tenure was less than a year. Prime Minister Arthur Meighen (1920 – 1921) Both Prime Ministers Brian Mulroney and recorded the largest average annual decline Jean Chretien recorded average annual per- in per-person spending (-23.1%).
    [Show full text]
  • A Reformed Senate As a Check on Prime Ministerial Power
    A Reformed Senate as a Check on Prime Ministerial Power by Evan Sotiropoulos One problem of Canadian parliamentary democracy is the concentration of power in the hands of the Prime Minister and the ascendancy of the Prime Ministers Office over Parliament. This article looks at some of the reasons for the weakness of the House of Commons vis à vis the Prime Minister. It then looks at the Senate and the place a reformed Senate may have in acting as a counterweight to a system that has been transformed from executive centred to prime ministerial dominated. n a representative democracy, individuals are elected democracy, but should these traditions serve to restrict Ito “represent” the views of the citizenry and, in debate and circumvent the duty of an elected theory, meet in a common place to actually debate representative to question certain conclusions and even public policy. Although the practice of politics is partake in the decision making process? commonly divorced from the theory, the current rift A matter of consternation among MPs is the fact that between the two should concern all Canadians. It should “the rules on what constitutes a government defeat are be noted that as national elections become increasingly vague and hence flexible … [since] an important matter leader-centric, most candidates at the local level pin their remains subject to dispute”3. political aspirations on the performance of their party Liberal Party regimes – including the three under with the hope of punching their ticket to Parliament. Chrétien – would regularly muzzle backbenchers by de- Therefore, when those green seats are distributed in claring various non-money bills matters of confidence.
    [Show full text]