in recent years canada has come to be dominated by the federal liberal party. at present it is impossible to imagine any other political party or movement presently in existence challenging the liberal party on the federal level. the last one to do so with any success was the reform party in the mid 90s as they gained great strength in the western provinces, where the federal liberals have been weak of late. however the reform ran into problems of their own and significant infighting arose eventually leading to their own reform and re-emergence as the canadian alliance, which enjoyed modest success at best. however, over the last three years the liberals have come to dominate federal politics. this is troubling. as much as I agree with many of the ideologies and policies of the party, as many canadians do, it is clearly unhealthy for such a monolithic power to exist unchallenged. there are also a lot of Canadian?s who do not agree with these policies, especially in the Western provinces.
but hope now emerges from the meeting of provincial premiers this week as they propose a provincial-federal liaison committee that will bring the unified desires of the provinces to the federal liberals. of all places this comes from formerly soveriegntist and rather inclusive quebec where jean charest has stepped back from the federal scene and into the role of premier of quebec. charest is a federalist and he has rapidly instilled that spirit in quebec. should the committee come to fruition it would go along way to mitigating the troubling monolith tendancies that have begun to emerge from ottawa.
had such a system been in place, the gun registry might not be the mess that it is today, SARS and mad cow may have been better dealt with at the federal level, especially in terms of financial assistance, and the fisheries of the east might not be as depleted as they are today.
charest has made his proposal at a very opportune time as paul martin prepares to step into the leadership role next february. it is clear to martin that his provincial relationships will go along way toward his success as a prime minister, much moreso than his predecessors.
though federalism should be the overarching ideology which drives canada charest?s proposal to integrate provincial thought into federal rulemaking will strengthen canada at large.
i wonder how many people will have any idea what the hell i am talking about
i can only think of a handful...actual or honorary canadians
but hope now emerges from the meeting of provincial premiers this week as they propose a provincial-federal liaison committee that will bring the unified desires of the provinces to the federal liberals. of all places this comes from formerly soveriegntist and rather inclusive quebec where jean charest has stepped back from the federal scene and into the role of premier of quebec. charest is a federalist and he has rapidly instilled that spirit in quebec. should the committee come to fruition it would go along way to mitigating the troubling monolith tendancies that have begun to emerge from ottawa.
had such a system been in place, the gun registry might not be the mess that it is today, SARS and mad cow may have been better dealt with at the federal level, especially in terms of financial assistance, and the fisheries of the east might not be as depleted as they are today.
charest has made his proposal at a very opportune time as paul martin prepares to step into the leadership role next february. it is clear to martin that his provincial relationships will go along way toward his success as a prime minister, much moreso than his predecessors.
though federalism should be the overarching ideology which drives canada charest?s proposal to integrate provincial thought into federal rulemaking will strengthen canada at large.
i wonder how many people will have any idea what the hell i am talking about
i can only think of a handful...actual or honorary canadians
