The Federal System (JANINE BRODIE AND ALEXA DEGAGNE)

 Based on Canada’s Political Development and Challenges (JANINE BRODIE AND ALEXA DEGAGNE): Chapter 12: The Federal System

In the news: Get Off the Pot: In 2018, Canada became the second country to legalize marijuana.

The Constitution and the Federal System:

Explain the characteristics/advantages of a federal system and the constitutional division of powers: The founders of Canada wanted to create a legislation system like Great Britain, which they were familiar with. The Constitution Act 1867: Divides the Canadian government into two parts. The exclusive legislative authority is the parliament and provincial legislatures. Disallowance, Reservation, and Declaratory Power: The federal government has Disallowance power over the provincial decision. Reservation and declaratory can also dissolve provincial legislation. These powers had been practiced before World War II, frequently. Constitutional Amendments: gave some extra power to the federal and provincial legislations. Judicial Interpretations: Judicial power is very significant in the Federal State. The Supreme Court of Canada: divided its concerns into peace, order and good governance.

An Evolving Federal System:

Trace the evolution of Canadian Federalism since its inception: Canadian federal system is the world's first Parliamentary cum Federal system, built-in 1967. Phases of Federalism: The federal government is the most powerful and the provinces' weakest, though this's not always true. Quasi-Federalism: In this period, the Federal Government was the most powerful, and they disallowed the provincial government. This power stayed for a short period. Classical Federalism: Some provincial governments challenge the one-sided Federal power. Cooperative Federalism: After World War II, the federal government has always helped the provincial government financially. Competitive Federalism means that the national and provincial governments want more power over autonomy, jurisdiction, and standing with the voters. Collaborative Federalism: From the boiling point, Federal and Provincial relationships improved from 1990 to 2006.Open Federalism: is a free market conservatism and a reduced role of government.

Canada: A Decentralized Federal System:

Describe the pros and cons of centralization and decentralization: Canada is now one of the most decentralized federal systems. Provinces on the Ascendant: The federal government always interferes with some provincial jurisdiction, like social care and healthcare. Asymmetrical Federalism: This means that some sub-national powers, such as Quebec, can have different relationships with the national authority.

Inter-Governmental Relations:

Understand the nature of inter-governmental relations: Inter-government communication frequently happens after establishing a welfare government. Executive Federalism: The Canadian government has an informal mechanism of relations on inter-government. Interstate and Intrastate Federalism: Interstate refers to the area where provincial issues are present primarily by the provincial government. The opposite is Intrastate Federalism. Inter-Provincial Cooperation: In 2003, the Council of the Federation institutionalized inter-provincial Cooperation.

Fiscal Federalism:

Explain the financial relationship between Ottawa and the provinces: The federal government raises more money than it needs, but the provincial government doesn't raise enough money to run the province. Taxes: Both levels of government get taxes. The central part goes to the Federal government. Transfer Payments: The federal government transfers money to the provincial government to continue their policies, like health care, education, etc. Conditional Grants: The federal government sends conditional grants to the provincial government to ensure all Canadians from the different provinces get the same service. Block Grants: This means each province will get some money from the federal government, and then the province will distribute it according to their policy, such as health care, education, etc. Equalization Payments: means the poor province will get more money to recover. Territorial Governments: were under the control of the Federal government. Since 1970, they have been getting more responsibility and resources. Local Governments: means municipal government. They are underfunded to do their social and infrastructure work.