ipl-logo

Firewall Letter To Alberta Premier Ralph Klein

2432 Words10 Pages

In January 2001, six right-wing academics, including Stephen Harper, Tom Flanagan and Ted Morton, released the “Firewall Letter” to Alberta Premier Ralph Klein, outlining what new direction Alberta must take in its relations with the federal government. The letter argued that the Progressive Conservative (PC) government must protect the province from “a misguided and increasingly hostile government in Ottawa” (“Alberta firewall letter”). They urged Klein to use the powers given to him by the Canadian constitution to evict the federal government from the areas which fall under provincial jurisdiction. These suggestions would radically alter the relationship of Alberta with the federal government and change the Alberta political culture (Brownsey …show more content…

It has seemed that Quebec’s issues and concerns have outweighed all other national concerns. The main issues that are highlighted are the ongoing debates over sovereignty and language. During the 1960’s Quebec’s “Quiet Revolution”, led by Jean Lesage’s Liberals, were able to gain significantly more control over health care, education, and natural resources. Further demands were made by the elected sovereignist Parti Québécois and Bloc Québécois (Dickinson and Young 2003: 324-327). All the provinces of Canada sought to include Quebec into the discussions of the Meech Lake and Charlottetown accords, which were a package of proposed economic and political concessions intended to persuade Quebec to remain within Canada, as well as to reform the Senate. Both these accords failed, which also led to the failed 1995 Quebec referendum on national sovereignty. These concessions were similar to what Ernest Manning’s western Reform party of Canada desired, as they sought for democratic reforms fueled by discontent with the east, but received far less support (Kincaid et al., …show more content…

However, I feel the proposals sought in the 2001 “Firewall Letter” seem no longer relevant, as the conservative Harper government, which took power in 2008, has drastically changed the political, economic and cultural balance throughout the country. According to a study by Loleen Berdahl in 2010, provinces are becoming more satisfied with the federal government, particularly in BC and Alberta. This study showed that by 2008 over 75 per cent of Albertans and over 60 per cent of British Columbians felt that their province was being treated fairly by the federal government. Ironically, this feelings of alienation has increased in Ontario and the Atlantic provinces (2010). The conservative majority government in the House of Commons is represented cross regionally, while both the Liberal and the Bloc Quebecois no longer create disproportion regional representation [see Table 8]. There also has been significant changes to federal economic policies with the signing of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and now the Free Trade Agreement of the

Show More
Related

What Were The Differences Between Pennnington And Baker

1127 Words | 5 Pages

Both Pennington and Baker deal with the issues surrounding Canadian trade agreements with the United States during the latter half of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. However Pennington and Baker take vastly different viewpoints on the issue. Whereas Pennington takes the view that Laurier's Liberals were hoping for some sort of moderate trade agreement with the United States and support for a commercial Union, Baker deals with reciprocity and its ties to anti-Americanism. In addition, both authors tend to imply that the greater underlying question resulted into which economic orbit Canada would tie itself. MacDonald's Conservatives favouring to maintain the traditional economic alignment to Great Britain while the Liberals

Read More

Who Is Tommy Douglas A Social Activist?

805 Words | 4 Pages

Introduction Something of an enigma in that he was solidly socialist in his foundational views, themselves built on a Christian ‘social gospel’ which sought to improve industrialised society through the use of the biblical principles of charity and justice, at the same time Tommy Douglas worked with and through the capitalist system that he abhorred. An implicit nationalist in that he held the good of the Canadian people above other countries, Douglas was predominantly anti-liberal as he believed that public ownership was the next evolution of democracy, replacing a system where the “major economic decisions affecting the lives of ordinary people are not made by…the government of this country.” ’ (Aivalis) While he has now passed away his track records in both the national and provincial

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of Canadian Federal Reform

3068 Words | 13 Pages

Furthermore, Docherty (2002) suggests that the only province that appears to be fully committed to Senate reform is Alberta (the case 15 years ago anyway) while Most other provinces are quite happy to complain about the Senate but care little for reform [because] executive federalism has provided provincial premiers with a national stage that would be compromised with a powerful Senate. Inter-state federalism gives the Premier of Prince Edward Island, a province with fewer people than many Ontario cities, as much national authority as the Premier of Ontario. (Docherty 2002,

Read More

Essay On Triple E Senate Reform

1111 Words | 5 Pages

When looking at the current state of Senate in Canada today, many provincial governments are unhappy with their position in parliament and how their voices are being heard in the federal government. Senate reform has been a popular topic for over 60 years, with minimal changes toward how Senate has been run since the Constitution amendment in 1982. Originally, the Senate was to be a platform where regional representation was shown at the national level, and at its creation was credited with three main duties: to give proper representation of the regions of Canada, to be a ‘sober second thought’ for the House of Commons legislation, and to represent the population for Canadian interests. Many view that these duties are not being properly done by the current senate and have in many

Read More

Left And Right Wing Charterphobia Analysis

814 Words | 4 Pages

Within Richard Sigurdson’s article titled Left and Right-Wing Charterphobia in Canada, he criticizes the opinions of left and right-winged individual’s opinions on the effects that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms has on the country. These criticisms and scepticism about the Charter are referred to as “charterphobia” and are looked at from the point of view of liberals and conservatives. The way in which the author approaches the subject of Canada’s charter is in a critical way through the analysis of these criticisms on the left and right wing charterphobia. Not only does the author approach the topic from a critical way but by referencing specific cases in history, he is able to look at the subject historically. It is discussed

Read More

Overview Of The Obstruction Handbook By Sir John A. Macdonald

1888 Words | 8 Pages

Canada’s constitution was created on, July 1, 1867, which established Canada’s bicameral parliamentary system consisting of the House of Commons and the Senate. The Founding Fathers of Confederation created the Senate as a complimentary chamber to the House of Commons, where its most important functions are to review legislation and act as a forum where the voices of the province’s regional interests can be heard. Sir John A. Macdonald made an interesting point that the Senate must never set itself in opposition against the understood wishes of the people (Forsey 2015). This statement by Sir John A. Macdonald is thought provoking because the Senate has faced controversy over whether its appointment process is affecting the Senate’s function

Read More

Justification And Criticisms Of Bill 62 By The Current Quebec Liberal Government

983 Words | 4 Pages

More precisely, it will focus on the justifications presented by the Quebec Liberal Government. The Liberal Government believes the legislation fosters unity, harmony and religious neutrality. Yet, this

Read More

Overview Of The Negation Of Ideal Of Federalism By Francois Rocher

1286 Words | 6 Pages

He also does an excellent job in discussing and analyzing how the two separate views lead to two separate and distinct end goals, which gives the reader an in depth ability to truly understand the complexity of the situation, and the bottleneck that it places on federal-provincial institutions. Although there are multiple points of agreement with the author's argument, there are also points of disagreement, for example he is arguing that both sides of the argument do not allow for people to make a normative judgement on the issues at hand, but downplays the problem as a whole by stating that Canadian citizens only care about policy outcomes, and not whether or not federal-provincial conflict can be balanced. In order to be more efficient in problem solving, as well as incorporate a wider range of potential solutions, the betterment of federal-provincial institutions should be made a pressing issue, and not downplayed

Read More

Pierre Trudeau Federalism

1515 Words | 7 Pages

Institutional and historical analysis often portray the motives of governments, especially in the cases of Quebec separatism and Aboriginal mistreatment. History describes attempts at compromise to rectify the problems by altering political institutions to provide more autonomy to the provinces, witness in various accords and the methods described previously. However, in regards to Aboriginals a historical relationship of exploitation and eradication sheds on the systemic issues that Aboriginals cope with and the institutions that caused them. As scholars of Canadian politics, it is important to consider historical and institutional analyses when looking at any issue, as it reveals the underlying motives of actors in regards to the cleavages that comprise a state.

Read More

Essay On Canadian Senate Reform

1425 Words | 6 Pages

He states, “The Senate should not be a duplicate of the House of Commons, but a compliment”. Although similar to the above suggestions, Gibbins and Roach (2010) have developed four main contentions that advocate ways to improve the Senate in today’s society. 1. The senate should better represent Canada’s diverse population. Canada is known for its multicultural comradeship and diversity but this fact is not reflected in the configuration of Parliament.

Read More

Bloc Quebecois Argument Essay

1122 Words | 5 Pages

Founded on June 15th, 1995, the Bloc Quebecois has been a hot topic in Canadian politics. Luchien Bouchard, the founder, resigned from the Progressive Conservative Party when the Meech Lake Accord was refused. He formed a coalition with other Progressive Conservative and Liberal MPs, thereby forming the Bloc Quebecois. On the 19995 referendum, the result was neck-and-neck, with 50.58% voting for Quebec to stay in Canada, and 49.42% for Quebec to separate (Gall). On June of 2000, the Clarity Act was passed (Douglas 21), seriously impending chances for Quebec to become and independent country.

Read More

Pros And Cons Of Abolishing The Senate

610 Words | 3 Pages

Many people do not see appoint in having a Senate, since in their eyes it is useless. But, “the Senate is a distinctive and essential component of the Canadian constitutional order.” iv

Read More

October Crisis Essay

1231 Words | 5 Pages

The broadcasted manifesto demonstrated the frustrations of the working class Quebecois after experiencing years of exploitation by industry, the hampering of Quebec’s French roots, and general distaste for the capitalist nature which governed both its business and politics. The kidnapping of James Cook and Pierre Laporte signified a change which struck the fear of revolution into the eyes of the government. This was demonstrated through the words of Prime Minister Trudeau when stating that the threat the FLQ poses is not just to the people of Montreal, but also to the social order and the democratic state. It was suggested that Quebec’s law enforcement alone could not handle the terror reign that was upon them and had made requests to be provided with powers that meet this state of emergency. Hence passing the WMA would provide more than sufficient control.

Read More

Essay On Liberal Party

806 Words | 4 Pages

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada and Justin Trudeau lead a fascinating campaign which advocated for “real change” and brought them from 3rd place to a shocking majority government on election day. The majority was unpredicted by the polls which is another interesting aspect of this election. Closer to election day, the Liberals were leading the polls, however none of them anticipated a majority government. This may be attributed to the Liberal Party’s extensive use of social media and online communication which lead to a larger voter turnout from the 18-30 range- which typically opt out of voting on election day.

Read More

Social Welfare In Canada

835 Words | 4 Pages

Social Welfare Policy and Child Protection – Strength and Limitations Since last two decades Canada being experienced softer and harder forms of neo-liberal economic impetus (McKeen, 2006). Many of these reforms targeted social benefits and divided marginalized people into deserved and undeserved category (McKeen, 2006). At a large level, social policies are shaped by the exploration of dominant ideas about a social issue. Existing political views and the interest of the dominant policy community are predominantly influencing policy making (McKeen, 2006). The mainstream discourses for solutions of social problems and policy outcomes are increasingly underrepresented and narrow down the focus of social welfare in Canada (McKeen, 2006).

Read More

More about Firewall Letter To Alberta Premier Ralph Klein

Related Topics

Open Document