Canada: The State of the Federation 1992

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

This is the seventh volume in an annual series. It is somewhat longer
and contains more contributions than previous volumes, probably because
1992 was a particularly tumultuous year in intergovernmental relations.
The year witnessed the agreement among governments and aboriginal
representatives on the Charlottetown Accord, and the subsequent
rejection of the deal in the referendum held on October 26, 1992. Of the
14 chapters in this book, 11 deal directly with the process or the
substance of the constitutional negotiations. The other chapters deal
with topical issues in intergovernmental relations. The contributors are
from several different disciplinary backgrounds and parts of the country
(four are from Quebec). As usual, the editors provide a useful
interpretive overview of the year’s developments, and there is again a
handy chronological guide to events.

Prepared under great time pressures, the chapters on the constitutional
negotiations may lack something in terms of reflection and a longer-term
perspective, but they contain valuable information and insights. In
reading them, one is again struck by the absence of a shared vision of
the country. For the general reader, there are opinionated pieces like
J.L. Granatstein’s “The Great Canadian Crap Shoot.” For more
scholarly students of Canadian federalism, there are careful studies of
Premier Bourassa’s role in the constitutional process (Guy Laforest)
and of the rejected proposals for a new division of powers (Katherine
Swinton). Despite the rejection of the Accord, federalism will remain a
preeminent fact of Canadian political life, and therefore
federal–provincial relations junkies, like this reviewer, will
continue to eagerly await the appearance of future volumes in the
series.