Co-operative and Asymmetrical Federalism
A FEDERALISM THAT FITS

Some problems

In spite of the fact that Canadian federalism, compared to other federal systems, is one of the most decentralized and asymmetrical in the world, the central government is still perceived as seeking too much uniformity in certain programs.

Some solutions

We have to respect the essence of Canada as a multinational state, In this context, Quebec and the First Nations communities need special powers. Discussions about our Social Union must respect differences.

We even have to rethink the basic principles of our federal system. The principle of subsidiarity must becomes one of our foundation stones. This is the idea that political power should be exercised as close as possible to the people, except in cases where [as in defence or foreign policy]* circumstances dictate that power be exercised at a higher level.

On the one hand we recognize the right of the federal government to spend in many areas of jurisdiction [to protect the equal social rights of all Canadians, wherever they live]* , but this spending power must respect the principles of the Social Union and accept a certain degree of asymmetry.

We recognize as a principle the right of withdrawal from shared programs, with compensation according to the following formula:

For programs in areas of joint jurisdiction, we would recognize: A right of withdrawal with partial compensation for Quebec (that is to say that the government of Quebec would have the right to withdraw from a federal program with full compensation if it created a program respecting the general objectives of the federal program.

For programs in areas of provincial jurisdiction, we would recognize: * A right of withdrawal with full compensation for Quebec (that is to say that the government of Quebec would have the right to withdraw from a federal program with full iscal compensation);

A right of withdrawal with partial compensation for other provinces (that is to say that the government of a province would have the right to withdraw from a federal program, with full fiscal compensation to the degree that it created a program respecting the general objectives of the federal program).

In the course of the first term of government, we would enter into negotiations with the government of Quebec in order to transfer greater powers in the area of immigration. This seems necessary to us if Quebec is to exercise its responsibilities as the heart of francophone culture in the Americas.