Other Terms and Concepts to Know from Ch 13-16 Flashcards
What is the purpose of National Energy Program (NEP)? What are the pros/cons of NEP? What are the responses?
The National Energy Program (NEP) was an attempt by the Federal Government in 1980 to gain greater control over the Canadian petroleum industry, secure Canadian oil supplies, and redistribute Alberta’s oil wealth to the rest of the country.
Pros of The National Energy Program:
- Make Canada self-sufficient for energy
- Reduce foreign ownership of oil and gas companies
- Protect Canadians against high energy costs (setting lower prices for Canadians vs world price)
Cons of The National Energy Program:
- The NEP targeted every province but considering that Alberta made 86% of Canada’s oil at the time, it hit Alberta hard - western alienation
- Processing the oil sands has huge environmental costs
What caused western alienation? How have people responded to western alienation?
The federal government decides how tax money collected from Canadian will be spent. Tax revenue helps pay for various federally funded programs, including health care, post-secondary education, and farm improvement loans. Federal funding also pays for regional programs. But federal goals and spending do not always match the goals and needs of people in specific regions of the country. Some Canadians believe that not everyone benefits equally from federal programs. In Alberta and other Western provinces, this belief has sometimes led to feelings of alienation. For example, the battle over the NEP.
The most successful national political movement to emerge from Alberta led to the founding of the Reform Party - now part of the Conservative Party of Canada. Reformers wanted a greater voice and more control over decisions made in Ottawa. Some Westerners wanted separation.
What are equalization payments?
Equalization payments are revenues from federal taxes that are paid by the Canadian government to less prosperous provinces to ensure that public services are more or less equally available to all Canadians.
What is a responsible government? Whose idea was it?
A responsible government is a government that answers to the people rather than to colonial governors. The concept was introduced in Canada by Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin.
