Canada: The State of the Federation 1991

Paul G. Thomas is a political science professor at the University of
Manitoba.

This is the sixth volume in a series that annually surveys developments
in federal-provincial relations. The volume contains three chapters on
the constitutional reform process, two on substantive policy fields
(social policy and the environment), and two on provincial developments
(British Columbia and the search for Maritime co-operation). An overview
chapter by the editor, a useful chronology of federal-provincial events
during 1990-91, and a select bibliography on constitutional reform in
“the post-Meech era” comprise the remainder of the book. The
contributors are political scientists, a journalist, an economist, and a
lawyer, but the volume is mercifully free of jargon and could be read
with profit by so-called “ordinary Canadians” who are interested in
the numerous and complicated dimensions of our federal system. The
chapters are all of a high quality. Quebec’s proposals for
constitutional reform and the possible results of the referendum
scheduled for October 1992 are analyzed by Daniel Bonin. The realities
of constitutional negotiations, and the key players involved, are
presented by the respected national journalist Graham Fraser. An
interesting analysis of recent efforts to involve the public in
constitutional change is provided by Kathy Brock. Terrance Hunsley looks
at constitutional change and social policy, including the implications
of a social charter entrenched in the Constitution. Donna Tingley offers
a valuable analysis of the environment field, where a more assertive
role by the national government has caused some provinces to fear an
environmental version of the much-criticized National Energy Program of
the 1980s. The idea of greater Maritime co-operation has been around so
long that it elicits instant ridicule from the cynics, and Donald Savoie
argues persuasively that only an active federal role could secure
greater economic cooperation. Meanwhile, at the other periphery of the
country, Norman Ruff argues that the isolation and economic climate of
British Columbia contribute to a distinctive intergovernmental approach
by provincial governments. Under the new NDP government that recently
replaced Social Credit, the provincial government will likely play a
more prominent role in constitutional debates. Serious students of
federal-provincial relations will want this volume on their shelves.