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Social policy and constitutional reform

17 Dec 2007

Although officials in the Department of National Health and Welfare, the department responsible for the administration of family allowances, had been concerned for some time that the universal family allowance program was not able to provide the level of assistance that low income families required, Quebec demands for control of the program accelerated the reform impetus that was slowly taking roo [...] The Government of Quebec considers as essential the primary responsibility in the conception of its social policy and of all its components…We mean, by primary responsibility in the conception of social policy, the primacy of A SASKATCHEWAN INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC POLICY PUBLICATION 5 the power to legislate, or even in certain cases, the exclusivity of such power. [...] Many in the province approved of the clause in the 1970 manifesto from the Front de Libération du Québec that attacked the inequities of the capitalist system.31 Castonguay, one of the most powerful members of Bourassa’s cabinet, had made it clear on numerous occasions that the existing constitutional division on social policy in Canada was unacceptable. [...] If Canada acceded to the demands of Quebec to divert federal spending for social policy to the provincial treasuries to allow each province to determine how it spent the funds, it would not only lead to the erosion of the federal presence in such areas but might undermine Ottawa’s ability to collect taxes in the affluent provinces to support provincial programs in the have-not provinces.46 The con [...] The Victoria Charter addressed a variety of issues, including political and language rights, the appointment of Supreme Court judges, and an amending formula, but the major issue at the conference came down to the issue of jurisdiction over social policy, which, as some commentators noted, was a microcosm of the larger issue of the division of legislative and taxing powers.47 As we saw above, the
government politics taxation canada constitutional law government policy labour law social policy unemployment government budget prime minister constitution (law) canadian charter of rights and freedoms wage and benefit government of canada liberal party of canada constitution act, 1867 child benefit canadian federalism parliament of canada quebec government british north america act trudeau amending formula victoria charter rudeau patriate robert bourassa bourassa

Authors

Blake, Raymond B

ISBN
9780773106185
Pages
36
Published in
Canada

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