Mistakes Made: Will the Council of the Federation Be Effective?

Abstract

Constitutional issues have always been an integral and controversial part of Canadian politics and federalism since Confederation in 1867. It became even more so after the Second World War as the jurisdictional line became blurred when different levels of government began to introduce programs together. However in this present day with the written Constitution of 1982 patriated without the consent of Quebec, there is an even greater controversy over jurisdictional powers. Particularly with the growing complexity involved with the development of programs and services and the inability for the provincial governments to effectively influence nation-wide policy due to the political nature of the Canadian Senate. The needs of each province/region differs from one another but because of the provinces’/territories’ disagreements on how things should be done, the federal government has frequently taken unilateral action by imposing what it believes is good for Canada and Canadians overall rather than taking in enough consideration for the diversity of this country. (author's abstract)