Federalism, multi-level governance & intergovernmental relations - Fédéralisme, gouvernance à plusieurs niveaux & relations intergouvernementales Samuel Mosonyi |Stare Decisis or Selective Judicial Reasoning? 0 Gabrielle Archambault & Harrison Kelertas Chief Editors Royal Military College of Canada Dr. Christian Leuprecht Advisor Department of Political Science, Royal Military College of Canada / Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, Queen’s University Peer-Review Editorial Board Adam Marcinkowski, United States Air Force Academy Alex Parisien, Royal Military College of Canada Étienne Pouliot-Maillette, Royal Military College of Canada Matthew White-Crépeau, Royal Military College of Canada Kyle English, Royal Military College of Canada Connor Lewis, Dalhousie University Jeremy Ryant, Dalhousie University Michael P. Murphy, University of Ottawa Steven Patterson, Queen’s University Justine Salam, University of Waterloo In Memory of OCdt Harrison Kelertas (1994-2016) You were a great leader and mentor, and most certainly an amazing friend. This edition is dedicated to you. You have put hours of hard work into this and you have been an amazing person to work with. May you rest in peace buddy. ©PhotoVisions - Kent Swirsky Contents The Growing Importance of Municipal Empowerment in the Canadian Federation and the Need for a “Big Cities Collective” ............................................................................ 2 The European Refugee Crisis: transitioning the EU from state-centric ‘kingdoms’ to a federalist system of multi-level governance ................................................................ 17 Triumph and Tragedy Associated with Aboriginal Self Governments in Canada: the Cases of the James Bay, Nisga’a, Nunavut and Tsilhqot’in People(s) ........................... 35 The problem(s) with cities: Analyzing the need for greater municipal empowerment in Canada ......................................................................................................................... 47 Federal-Provincial Relations and Conservatism in the Canadian West ........................ 61 République Fédéral de l’Éthiopie : Vers une stabilité démocratique ou la dissolution? .................................................................................................................................... 76 La décentralisation au sein des fédérations de Suisse, d’Allemagne et d’Autriche ..... 95 Authors & Editors ...................................................................................................... 112 Volume 17 Federalism-e Welcome to Federalism-e Bienvenue à Federalism-E Federalism-E is a peer reviewed Federalism-E est un journal undergraduate journal that encourages universitaire de premier cycle également scholarly debate and research in the area of révisé par des universitaires, qui federalism by exploring topics such as encourage les débats pédagogiques dans political theory, multi-level governance, and le domaine du fédéralisme et explore des intergovernmental relations. Papers were sujets tels que les théories politiques, submitted from across the country and le gouvernement à plusieurs échelons abroad and then sent out undergraduate ainsi que les relations students who volunteered to be a part of our intergouvernementales. Ces dissertations peer review board. After extensive ont été soumises des quatre coins du pays evaluation, this year’s papers were selected et même de l’étranger, et ensuite envoyées and returned to the authors according to a aux élèves de premier cycle qui se sont double blind review process before being portés volontaires pour notre comité de polished into a publishable product. The rédaction. Après plusieurs évaluations, les result is this, our 16th consecutive year of essais qui vous seront présentés ont été publication. retournés aux auteurs afin de permettre à ceux-ci de faire les corrections pour la It is with great pleasure that we present this publication. Le résultat vous est donc ème year’s collection of essays. We hope to présenté ici, dans la 16 publication encourage undergraduate students to consécutive du journal. contribute to the community of academic C’est avec grand plaisir que nous studies, create a forum for better présentons le fruit de cette collaboration. understanding the topic of federalism, and to Nous espérons encourager les étudiants de offer high-performing students the premier cycle à contribuer plus à la experience of participating in the process of communauté universitaire et à créer un academic publication. We hope you enjoy forum pour améliorer la compréhension this year's edition. sur le sujet du fédéralisme. tout en offrant une opportunité pour participer dans la publication d'un journal. Bonne lecture! Gabrielle Archambault & Harrison Kelertas Chief Editors, Federalism-e The Growing Importance of Municipal Empowerment in the Canadian Federation and the Need for a “Big Cities Collective” Lauren Bech-Hansen – Dalhousie University The Canadian federal-provincial system of government is recognized as one of the most unique in the world. While the founding fathers originally envisaged a relatively centralized system of government, reflecting their desire for a powerful national authority, political realities soon deemed that a more decentralized form of government would prevail. Influenced by both domestic and international factors, the Canadian federal system evolved throughout the 20th century. Provincial governments increasingly asserted their rights to attain the jurisdictional powers necessary to achieve their goals, and demanded to be placed on a near-equal footing with the federal government.1 The process by which this unfolded was long, grueling and conflict-ridden, but was essential if Canada were to function in the face of intense regionalism. 2 The process reached in culmination in the Constitution Act of 1982, which enshrined the two-tier federal- provincial system. Seemingly forgotten as federal-provincial jurisdiction has evolved in Canada is the third level of government: municipalities. And despite their enduring existence in the Canadian political economy, municipal governments have historically been excluded from constitutional recognition, and have “never enjoyed the independence that one often connects to a level of government.”3 Indeed, while the federal and provincial governments relish in autonomous power, local governments have been subordinately constitutionalized as “creatures of the province”, and are fiercely limited under provincial authority. 4 Municipal subordination has become increasingly problematic in an era of globalization that has introduced new consumer demands that heavily burden local governments. Such developments and challenges often fall outside of municipal jurisdiction, yielding a strong rethink of the current federal system. The empowerment debate becomes more complicated in the Canadian system, in that unrelenting regionalism poses a challenge to a “one size fits all” reform. Particularly, rapid urbanization has precipitated the influence of major urban regions as the drivers of national and global economic growth, 1. Canada, Parliamentary Research Branch, Political and Social Affairs Division The Foundations of Canadian Federalism, (Prepared by Wolfgang Koerner Ottawa, Parliament of Canada, December 1988), http://www.lop.parl.gc.ca/content/lop/researchpublications/bp187-e.htm 2. Gregory J Inwood, Understanding Canadian Federalism (Toronto: Pearson Canada, 2013). 3. Canada, Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador, The Umbrella Of Protection: Regional Government As The Protector And Promoter Of Municipal Strength And Autonomy In Newfoundland And Labrador, (St Johns, 2010): 7, http://www.municipalnl.ca/userfiles/files/CCRC%20Umbrella%20Protection.pdf 4. Enid Slack, "Provincial-Local Fiscal Transfers In Canada: Provincial Control Trumps Local Accountability", (Draft paper prepared for Conference on General Grants Versus Earmarked Grants: Theory And Practice?, Copenhagen, September 2009). Federalism-e 2 underscoring the necessity for urban-municipal independence.5 But the outputs of globalization in Canada highlight an irrefutable reality: municipal governments increasingly suffer the consequences of a flawed political system in which they have remained restricted. Together, these realities supplement the assertion that the current approach to municipal authority is in dire need of reform. Despite this subordinate relationship, many municipal governments across Canada have been exposed to, and influenced by, many of the same kinds of forces that have contributed to the devolution of powers to the provinces from the federal government – chiefly among them the migration of both people and economic activity away from rural areas to cities. Yet to this day, the subordinate role of municipalities remains a central barrier to their capacity to effectively respond to these new concerns and reach their full potential.6 Much literature has been published centered around the municipal subordination in the Canadian federal system in which a clear consensus emerges: the growing importance of local government – and large cities in particular – demands that they be recognized and further acquire the appropriate authority to meet amplified challenges, and further bolster Canada’s global position. 7 In an era that has been deemed as belonging to the metropolis, the big cities of Canada need more political and economic clout.8 This paper will broadly examine several issues to advance the argument for providing