Week 2 - Federalism Flashcards
Define federalism
•Federalism: systems of government built off of a constitutional division of powers between a central government and lower levels of government.
•Neither level of government is subordinate to the other within their defined jurisdictions.
List the alternatives to federalism
- confederal systems
- unitary systems
What is a confederal system
•Confederal systems: systems of government with multiple levels of government but the central government is dependent on the lower levels for its existence
•(e.g., America under the Articles of Confederation; the European Union)
What is a unitary system
Unitary systems: systems of government where the central government is supreme.
There may be lower levels of government, but they are dependent on the central government for survival
(e.g., UK, France, Sweden)
What isn’t federalism? Define it
Decentralization: the transfer of power to local levels of government regardless of constitutional protections.
•Federations can be more or less centralized. Unitary systems of governments can also be more or less decentralized.
What is the 3 criteria for federalism
A federal state has the following three criteria:
1.Levels of government whose authority cannot be removed unilaterally by one another (split sovereignty).
2.Each level of government is selected independently (e.g. distinct elections).
3.Each level of government has authority on at least one policy area.
Is Canada a federation
➢Can sovereignty of provinces be revoked unilaterally?
No (although federal controls were used until 1961). General amendment formula (Constitution Act, 1982 Sec. 38) requires seven provinces and 50% of the population (7-50 Rule).
➢Are levels of government independent?
Yes. Defined in constitution: federal institutions (Constitution Act, 1867 Sec. 9-53), provincial constitutions (Sec. 58-90).
➢Does each level have at least one area of authority?
Yes. Defined in Sec. 91-92 of Constitution Act, 1867.
List the three benefits to federalism
A substantial literature has developed to test what are seen as normative benefits of federal regimes:
•Responsiveness to citizens
•Laboratories of democracy
•Protections against tyranny
Why is responsiveness a benefit
Perhaps the most cited benefit of federalism is that federal regimes will be more responsive to citizens
•The more local the government, the more accessible they are to ordinary citizens
•Policymakers at sub-national levels may have more information about local conditions
Why is laboratories of democracy a benefit
Federalism also provides advantages through innovation in policy – called “policy learning”
•Policy makers can observe policy choices made in other jurisdictions and learn from successes and avoid failures
•Ex. Health care in Saskatchewan
Why is protection against tyranny a benefit
•Federalism diffuses power and in doing so prevents excessive concentration of power among one group
•It can give institutional power to minority groups for protection from the majority
•Subnational jurisdictions may mirror societal cleavages on language, religion, race or ethnicity, etc.
An important limitation is that such cleavages need to be geographic
•Groups that are more evenly distributed throughout a country won’t be provided such protections (e.g., Indigenous peoples)
•An argument to move beyond geography in conceptualizations of federalism
List the 4 costs associated with federalism
Important to acknowledge costs associated with federal systems:
•Race to the bottom
•Subnational jurisdiction inequality
•Authoritarian enclaves
•Inefficiency
Explain race to the bottom
•Competition between jurisdictions may devolve into a race to lower regulations and tax rates or to give out corporate subsidies
•Called a race to the bottom
Explain jurisdictional inequality
Countries may also have resource endowments that vary considerably.
•Variation in fiscal capacity = variation in quality of public services
•Equalization in Canada
Explain what authoritarian enclaves are
Federalism may allow the continued presence of authoritarian enclaves
•Provincial policy can deny citizens civil rights in response to local public opinion
•E.g., the Jim Crow south
Is federalism efficient?
•Federalism is also a messier, less efficient way of pursuing public policy: a lot of negotiation and a lot of duplication of services.
•On the other hand, reason to expect a different type of inefficiency with public monopoly.
•This cost of federalism is debatable
Why are federal systems created?
Common interests -> External or internal threat
Prior association -> Sense of military insecurity
Shared values or culture, ideology -> Sense of economic insecurity
Economic benefits -> Sense of cultural insecurity
Proximity -> Perceived threat to existing order
Similar institutions
Strategic considerations
Describe the main events of the origins of federalism in Canada
•Pre-existing colonies of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia vulnerable to American expansionism
•Union seen to bolster the economic and military viability of the Canadian colonies
•American Civil War escalated these concerns – possible resurgence of Manifest Destiny
•Anglophone leaders of Upper Canada wanted a strong unitary state (e.g., John A. Macdonald)
•Francophone leaders of Lower Canada, as well as New Brunswick and Nova Scotia favoured federal model (e.g., George Etienne Cartier)
•Confederation represented a compromise between these visions
List the important components of the confederation settlement
Important components of the settlement:
➢Division of powers and resources
➢Federal Controls
➢Intra-state federalism
➢Cultural guarantees
List some of the division of powers
- Provincial
- Federal
- Shared
Federal:
- Taxation
- defence
- foreign policy
- trade and commerce
- Currency
- indigenous Canadians
- Criminal law
- unemployment insurance
Shared:
- immigration
- agriculture
- old age pensions
Provincial
- direct taxation
- hospitals
- education
- property and civil rights
- admin of justice
- municipalities
- all other local matters
List the 4 initial federal controls
Initially the federal government was dominant in Canadian confederation
•Taxation power (i.e., tariffs and indirect taxation)
•Disallowance and reservation
•Important spheres of jurisdiction (e.g., military and foreign affairs, trade and commerce)
•Residual powers federal government
define intro state federalism and what is resulted in
Smaller colonies concerned about representation in national institutions. Known as intra-state federalism.
Resulted in:
➢Rep-by-pop in House of Commons, but equal regional representation in the Senate
➢Regional representation in cabinet (informally)
➢Regional representation in the Supreme Court (eventually)
➢Intra-state federalism ultimately weak in Canada
What were the 3 cultural guarantees to address the anxieties of the French
Anxiety of French Canadians addressed with…
➢English and French as official languages in federal government and courts
➢Separate denominational schools for Catholics and Protestants
➢Property and civil rights given to provinces so Quebec could maintain civil code
List the 6 phases of federalism
1)Quasi-federalism (1867-1920)
2)Classical federalism (1920-1945)
3)Cooperative federalism (1945-1971)
4)Competitive federalism (1971-1992)
5)Collaborative federalism (1992-2006)
6)Open federalism? (2006-)
